Summer Vacation

~Beautiful Colorado~

This state is an amazing place to enjoy God's magnificent handiwork and creativity! We left on Sunday and arrived in Estes Park, CO Monday late afternoon. I cannot express enough how great Blake did in the car, much thanks to entertainment from Grammy and Auntie E (Grampy was a huge help on the way home too). We could not have traveled with such ease without them! On our way we picked up Ryan and my dad (Grampy) at the Denver airport. They had been vacationing in Costa Rica the week before and I have to say I was a little jealous of their time at the beach. I have been a beach girl since birth and love it, but I am grateful for my husband who stretches me and takes me on new adventures, like the mountains. This was our third time since we have been married to go to Estes Park and it was great to share that with our little man! In the past we have stayed in a pop-up camper at Rocky Mountain National Park and this year we all stayed in a very nice and comfy home near the river. That is my kind of camping! We went with my family and my aunt and uncle, Neil and Sherie, and their kids, Kyle, Stacey and her boyfriend Ryan. We are sooo blessed to have them in our lives and enjoy every minute we spend with them!


(Warning: this is a very long post! I promise not to be this lengthy every time, but this blog also serves as a journal for me of our family adventures! Enjoy!)

Away we go! Colorado here we come!

Grammy and Auntie E (AKA Blake's Entertainment)

Yes, that is a trailer and car top carrier! One of my strong points is definitely NOT packing light, I bring everything:) But, we were prepared for all sorts of weather and activities!

Our Home Away from Home!

Big Thompson Creek-Behind our house! Very Relaxing Sound!
As we pulled into Rocky Mountain National Park there was a double rainbow over the mountains! Breath-taking!!
Blake setting up his first campsite and building a fire! In addition to the house we also had a campsite at RMNP for those of us that wanted to enjoy sleeping the outdoors! I did brave it one night and Mike and I camped in the tent! I have to say it was not bad and I slept like a baby (maybe b/c we were alone and Blake was at the house?)
He loved jumping on the air mattress! Yep pee!
Our first day we hiked from Bear Lake to several other lakes on the Mountain for a

total of 6 miles!
Blake checking out the wilderness

On our second day we traveled up Trail Ridge Road that is a windy, narrow road up the mountain to 12,000 ft above sea level. This drive always makes me very nervous b/c of the steep cliffs on the side road and this day the weather got very cold and snowy.
Down to 38 degrees to be exact! The weather was in the 70s at the bottom of the mountain!
A big change for only traveling a few miles up!
At the top! The views are amazing!

My Family-Steve, Heidi, Ryan, Elizabeth, Me, Mike and Blake
Neil, Sherie, Kyle, Stacey and Ryan

Later that day after we descended down Trail Ridge Road we went to see a waterfall!
Blake's Favorite - WaWa... as he says!
We are so grateful to the Easterhaus family for loaning us the backpack carrier!
It made hiking a breeze and Blake learned to love it!
On our third day the guys went on a 8 mile hike and the girls went into town to shop:)
Me, Mom and Sis-matching T's
Blake was happy most of the time and my Aunt Sherie likes to refer to him as our
"Angel Baby"
However he had his moments were I would maybe refer to him as our

"Monster Baby"

But, all in all considering that he was not on his routine and had very short naps he was an "Angel Baby"

Blake's two favorite people the whole trip: Ne-il and Sta-tcy. He loves them and still says their names daily! Every time he was with them (which was the entire trip) he would say

"Hi Stacey, Hi Neil" So Cute!! We wore him out with a total of 15 miles hiking on our trip! He napped in the carrier, sooo adaptable!

On our fourth and final day we hiked to Dream and Emerald Lake! There was a lot of snow on the trails, which we were not expecting but was a fun surprise for a June vacation!
That afternoon Mike, Blake and I went into town again to spent time together, just the three of us!

Estes Park is such a cute town! This shop below is probably the most fun and unique boutique I have ever been in! It was like an art museum of home decor!
That evening we ate at this yummy, Italian restaurant on the river called Mama Rosa's. It was a great end to a fun vacation! So we headed back to Texas on day five and drove allll the way through - a straight 19 hours!