Last month, we traveled to Estes Park, CO to celebrate the marriage of my cousin and her new husband. They had a
beautiful private ceremony in RMNP, and we got to help them celebrate at a reception afterward. We were able to stop in Denver on the way to (to visit a cousin from the other side of my family) and from (to visit a friend from college), which made the trip extra-worth-it.
The Airbnb we rented (something we had not really done before) housed us, my parents, my brother and sister-in-law and kids, my aunt and uncle and cousin, and my grandpa! It was such a great location and came fully furnished - everyone had a bed and (mostly) their own room. The kids got to have a big sleepover, and they did really well. There were games and books and movies on location, a huge deck with a fire pit, and a hot tub, which the kids enjoyed in the mornings and adults took advantage of in the evening! We took enough food to feed an army for a week, but also ordered some local pizza for one meal. The space felt luxurious and truly could not have been better.
While there was fresh snow in the highlands, the weather where we were was perfect - we really lucked out! During our short time there, we were able to get in a visit to RMNP, go on a couple hikes, and do a bit of shopping in downtown Estes. I have such fond memories of several different family vacations to Estes, and it was fun to relive those a bit with my parents and brother and share it all with our kids, as well! Bryant and I had also traveled there for our first anniversary (his first time), so it was doubly special to revisit some places we had visited on that trip with our kids on this trip. I'll start the photo montage with some then-and-now shots. ;)
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| As mentioned in a recent IG/FB post, we saw a herd of elk (50+) in our backyard the first morning we were there. We'd heard them bugling in the distance, and about a half hour after Lydia asked if they would "come out from hiding," they did. It was truly amazing and definitely provided some early-morning entertainment for those still on CST. ;) |
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| One of my very favorite hikes. ♥ |
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| Uncle Quinton relived his childhood by making all the kids' off-the-trail dreams come true. |
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| If you build it (a mountain stream through a downtown district) they (kids throwing golden aspen leaves in the water) will come. |
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Jacob found a Junie B. Jones book on one of the bookshelves and polished it off in about an hour.
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| The kids had spent part of the afternoon prior to the reception practicing (and planning) their dance moves. It was precious to watch them all together - they literally danced the night away. |
Speaking of
precious...this is my 89-year-old grandpa with all of his great-grandchildren. It was
wonderful to have him there and even
more wonderful to get to witness this:
This trip felt
different than past vacations with kids, and in a
good way. It was refreshing to travel
without a lot of the baby gear we had in the past and
with so many hands on deck to help with kiddos (food, entertainment, etc.). We were blessed with good health, great travelers, and (mostly) willing hikers.
Looking forward to future trips,
Kensy
Favorites of the day:
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| fall party with our sweet homeschool group |
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having that same group (20+ kids and 8+ adults) over to play in the leaves
(This is the before and after, but hardly does it justice - it was magical (the perfect weather didn't hurt). A "during" picture would have shown the gigantic pile of leaves they made at the bottom of the slide, the line of kids waiting to climb the ladder to slide into it, and everyone working together to help fill the ten bags you can see in the bottom picture.) |
Jacob initiating cleaning his room
(This is probably something I could write a whole other post about. It was something I had wanted to work on together for a long time, but did not really want to force it...and was waiting till we had some solid time during a holiday break, or something. After taking the diaper changing station off his dresser for the first time in his life, however (hooray for Lydia's potty-training really taking off), he asked if we could make some other changes. Initially, I said we would need to wait till we had a full day, but I realized I would be silly not to capitalize on his willingness and enthusiasm, so we skipped school in favor of doing this (literally) all day. He did not complain once and is still telling people about and wanting to show off his clean room - a huge win, all around.)
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| This is the "before" - the seeming-pile of cardboard is a "camper" he's been working on (and collecting pieces for) for a while. |
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| This is "during" - we cleared out everything but the Lego table, including what was in the drawers under his bed, and he chose what to keep, throw away, and give away. While the predominant decision was "keep" (that pile landed on our bed), he made some good decisions about things to throw away, and we put logical systems in place for when he put everything back. |
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"After!"
The cardboard camper is still there, but before we moved it back in, he had a taste of how much more floor space he could have, so we'll see how long it lasts. The new orientation of Lego City (not only creating access to more of it, but also creating a "cozy corner" with easy access to all his Lego books) blew his mind most. This reorganization has also led to him playing with toys he had likely forgotten about, because they are no longer shoved at the back of a drawer.
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