*Photo heavy post, be prepared.*
At the end of August, we drove up to Oma and Opa’s house for an extended trip. The combination of homeschooling and Keller’s ability to telecommute is hard to beat! We spent three weeks in Colorado and had a fabulous time! The weather was beautiful — sunny and mild the entire time. There are rocks to climb, games to play, deer to spy, hikes to take, and dessert to eat. What could be better?!
Rocks were a big hit when we were staying home for the day. The kids did innumerable laps on the small rocks in the back yard. They really liked climbing the massive boulders too! It was fun to climb up them and even more fun to slide down them on your bottom. A couple pairs of pants didn’t survive the rough descent.
While school and structured work isn’t scheduled while we are traveling, I bought the kids each a workbook to have while we were in Colorado. The kids like to have something they can work on in the morning before everyone else gets up and it gives them something they can do independently so the adults can get a mental break for 15 minutes here and there. Caden had a Kindergarten level workbook and is able to do the grand majority of the content without much trouble. I bought Kamy a Second Grade workbook, which forced her to stretch a little but was the right difficulty for her.
I bought two new games before our trip and Oma found several at a thrift store. Dragonwood was the most popular and was played nearly every day, but Zeus on the Loose, BrainQuest Trivia, DoodleQuest, and Word Crossing were all popular.
The first full day we were there was going to be the last of the warmer weather, so Opa and Oma took us down to Casto Creek to let the kids wade in the water. We also drove down to the Platte River to watch the rushing water.
Four wheeling remains a hit! The kids love everything about four wheeling, except drawing the short straw and having to ride with Momma or Oma instead of Daddy or Opa who go faster. We took the four wheelers up to the Slaughterhouse trail twice, the kids and Oma and Opa took them out while we were in Vegas, and we did a long ride up Geneva Creek to an old mine. The kids are now talking about saving up their money for a kids’ four wheeler. =) Kamy really likes going fast and Caden loves splashing through water crossings and puddles. Even riding around at Oma and Opa’s is fun!
While I like Slaughterhouse for its familiarity, my favorite ride was Geneva Creek. Opa drove his off road motorcycle, so all 5 of us were able to go. There are a series of old mines, empty log cabins, and spectacular views along the route. We ended up way above the tree line too, right next to the continental divide. At the old Brittanic Mine, we found a beat up pick up with a panoramic view. Keller drove the four wheeler a little higher before turning around, but Keller, Opa, and the kids followed the creek to its origin. At one point Caden just started climbing up hill, scaling the mountain! There was even a little snow left from last spring, so the kids got a kick out of touching it. The views were incredible!
Of course, after all the fun on the trails the four wheelers (and cars) needed a bath. Kamy was a big helper, while Caden mostly watched from the sidelines.
One afternoon, Oma and I took the kids down to the Denver Museum of Science and History. We have a membership to the local science museum in Tyler which gives us free admission to a lot of other science museums, including the one in Denver. The kids really liked the dinosaurs, the water table, and an erosion exhibit. What kid doesn’t like playing with water?
Keller and I took the kids to the Forney Museum of Transportation. Kamy was being pitiful and wanted to go home, but Caden liked seeing all the big train engines up close. I especially liked the massive snow eater on the front of an engine and the Big Boy locomotive. The museum didn’t hold Caden’s attention as long as we thought it would, especially since you have to look and not touch, but it was still worth seeing.
Another day, the kids and I drove down to Highlands Ranch to visit one of my friends who moved up to Colorado a couple of years before. We went to the park, ate lunch, and then spent the afternoon playing at their house. She has kids too, so they had buddies to play with. We also went to a couple different playgrounds in Denver and up on 285 throughout our trip.
Oma, the kids, and I went hiking at Crystal Lake one afternoon. We made the mistake of giving the kids the choice of hiking around the lake (level and easy and short) or taking a longer, higher, mountain side route. Of course the kids chose the long route, but about a half mile in they changed their minds so we hiked back down the hill and then around the lake instead. We found some little wild raspberries on the mountain though, so that was a fun little surprise.
We went to Breckenridge too! We went Labor Day weekend and were concerned that it would be busy, but it really wasn’t bad. It got a little busier in the afternoon, but it was deserted in the morning. We bought all day access passes for the resort which gave us unlimited access to the activities at the base. The kids LOVED IT. We rode the alpine slide three times and the alpine coaster five times.
Then we moved over to the kids’ zone where even more fun was waiting. There was a ropes course, a zip line, and a “sledding” hill. Kamy was a pro at the ropes course and did it over and over again. Caden’s favorite was the sledding hill where you get to take the magic carpet up hill and then slide down a chute. Both kids did the zip line multiple times too.
Just before lunch we moved over to the bungee trampoline where both kids jumped and jumped and jumped. Kamy even did a back flip! After lunch we returned for a couple more runs on the alpine coaster and the kids did their favorites again. Next we went back to the resort and hopped in the swimming pool. The weather was clouding up and it was beginning to rain, so they kicked us out of the pool pretty soon after getting in. Caden and Kamy both got to do the tube slide into the outdoor pool really quickly though, a goal from our previous trip. Everyone had a great day and we all were tired that night!
One afternoon I took the kids down the hill to Tiny Town, a kid sized steam engine and museum. It’s been around for nearly 100 years and has a lot of cute little buildings to look at. There was a play ground too. We rode the train twice and the kids waved to the passengers each time it went by.
When choosing our dates, we were able to line up this trip with Keller’s travel for work. Oma and Opa kept the kids so the two of us were able to take a belated anniversary trip to Las Vegas and enjoy some one-on-one time. We stayed at the Vdara Hotel which worked out great. We bought tickets to see the Cirque shows O and Ka, and we also went to the Penn and Teller show. We had Korean BBQ for lunch, a dinner at Bardot, and tapas at Lago. Lago was the highlight of the trip for me. Lago has patio seating right on the pool for the Bellagio Fountains. We lucked out and were given the best table in the house as walk-ups and spent about 2 1/2 hours munching, talking, and watching the fountains. The kitchen closed an hour after we got there, so there was not any pressure to hurry out for other diners. It was very special.
What a wonderful trip! I have already made a photo book (with the majority of these pictures) so we can remember how much fun we had. Thanks for hosting us Oma and Opa!