COLORADO!

Well, I am back from a wonderful and interesting trip to Colorado. I'll warn you now that there will be no pictures in this post because I have so many to share. I'll try to figure out how to add another album on the side of my blog, and I'll let you know when it's available to look at.

Here is a brief over-view of our trip:

On Wednesday evening, we set out for Colorado in the Tahoe with a trailer behind us since we planned to bring my mom's motorcycle back home with us. We drove through Iowa (stopping for the night in Western Iowa), Nebraska and most of Colorado to get to where my dad lives, which is Pueblo, Colorado. I'll mention now that I was not only nervous to confine my children in a small space for two days straight but I was also nervous for myself. I get car-sick no matter how far we drive so a 15 hour drive wasn't sounding so great to me. My in-laws gave me something called "Sea-Bands" which are little wrist bands with a bead on it that pushes on a point on the inside of your wrist to make you not motion-sick. I couldn't believe it: they worked wonderfully!!! I didn't get sick once the entire trip. I'm also glad to say that the kids were rock stars for the entire car ride to Colorado. Hannah got bored and fussed for the last hour, but honestly, after 14 hours in the car, could we blame her?

We got to Colorado on Thursday night and met up with my dad for breakfast on Friday morning. We first drove around Pueblo and then out to a man-made reservoir. My dad then suggested that we go to a local playground to let the kids run off some steam, which was a fabulous idea. As it turns out, the playground was right next to a zoo so we checked that out, too. It was so fun and also so warm outside. The first "sun block" day of the year, for us! We ended up going back to the hotel that afternoon and taking huge naps while my dad went to work. We checked out the pool and relaxed for the rest of the day, which was so nice after our long trip.

On Saturday, we decided to see the mountains. I had been to Colorado before and seen the mountains, but of course, I was sick from the car ride that time and couldn't fully appreciate it. I put on my Sea-Bands and crammed myself into the very back seat of the Tahoe for our day-long trip. My dad sat up front with Chris and pointed out different areas and different mountains. I have one word to say about this day-trip: AMAZING. It's so awesome to see the different climate changes as we drive farther and farther along. First desert with cacti, then snow and pine trees, then rocky desert conditions again. We went through a mountain pass and stopped for lunch in an adorable little mountain town. We stopped along the Arkansas River at a point called "Pinnacle Point" and the boys got out to walk around. It was chillier this day---in the 50's---so they didn't stick their feet in the water like they wanted to. At this stop, Caleb fell down and was crying. About this time, we all noticed a pack of mountain sheep just a few yards away across the river. Caleb came back into the truck and said "Mom, I losed my balance and the mountain sheep was watching me cry!!!" When the kids fell asleep in the truck, we happened to find a little "Scenic Drive". Turns out, this "scenic drive" was quite scenic because it has you drive way way up a little mountain on a VERY narrow road that goes straight down on both sides!! Chris and my dad were talking about how it was a little bit nerve-wrecking, but there I was in the back of the Tahoe, practically hyperventilating!! Once we were on the ground again, I was able to say how awesome the little detour was, but I do NOT want to do that again any time soon!

We were all exhausted by the time we got back to the hotel, needless to say.

I'm very amazed that the kids did as well as they did during both days that we were in Colorado, considering how crazy our nights were at the hotel. On Friday night, Caleb first puked on his bed, then an hour later fell OUT of bed----poor guy. On Saturday night, Hannah kept waking herself up with an horrible cough and cried until Daddy could console her back to sleep. For the first time ever, she actually slept in an adult bed right in between Chris and I, which was cute but also too bad since we knew she wasn't feeling well. Both mornings, however, the kids woke up with shining faces and were ready for our next adventure. Chris and I were certainly in awe at our children's patience throughout the whole trip.

We headed home with the motorcycle in tow on Sunday morning. We took a longer route this time to avoid construction that we encountered on the way out. We went through Kansas, Missouri (again, stopping for the night) and Iowa. Somewhere in the middle of Kansas, we drove through a major rain storm which was very stressful for both Chris and I. I am so happy that I have a husband that is so capable of getting us through stressful or hard situations---I was not a patient passenger during the storm!! :) We finally got home yesterday (Monday) around 5pm and our house was a sight for sore eyes. The kids and I are taking today to unpack and get organized for the week.

Thanks to my dad for showing us the wonderful state of Colorado! We had a great trip and while we aren't necessarily excited to drive for 15 hours anytime soon, we can't wait for our next trip to the mountains!! :)