a couple more from Colorado

The Kids

Here are just a few pictures of the kids. The Erber kids were great with Alana and Kate. They played really well with them. It was fun to watch them run around together. They helped keep an eye on the girls while they played in the playground during the reunion.

Misc. Pictures

We went to the continental divide and hiked up to 12,000 feet. You could really tell how high you were because of how easily you got out of breath. I noticed a few times that if I stood up too quickly that I would get dizzy (hold the jokes on that one). The kids really didn't seem to notice the change much.

Come on Dad, let's see whats over here!!

Sleepy kids. They were tired out from our very busy morning. We had Kate in our car for the first few days so that we only needed 2 cars to drive around. It was a lot of fun watching/listening to Kate and Alana make up songs. They changed the words to Row row row your boat. They even pretended to make breakfast for each other, mmmm eggs with strawberries on top!

Alana pretending to be asleep. But I thought it was pretty cute. Wishful thinking that she would actually take a nap!

Beaver Creek Stables

We went here to take the kids on a pony ride. Of course the ponies weren't enough for Alana. Once we got there some of Dave's family were getting ready to go on an hour ride. Well Alana thought that she should go too, the ponies just didn't cut it. So we asked if Alana and Kate could just sit on a horse for a few pictures. Thankfully they lets us. They thought they were pretty cool sitting way up high. Alana really wanted to ride it around.

Pony Rides!!

Well one thing Sarah and I picked out to do with the kids actually ended up working! We hadn't had much luck before this with our planning. We found a place that did free pony rides (they just ask for a donation) and we were lucky enough to have Sarah's friend Rebecca there with us. She used to teach riding lessons so she knew a thing or two about horses/ponies. Normally they just let the parents put the kids on the ponies and have at it. Sarah and I did take turns going in and walking around with the girls. They laughed the whole time. Alana kept wanting the pony to go faster. My brave child :)

Tyler really seemed to enjoy horseback riding as well. He slept the whole time so he had no idea we were even near horses or that we had even stopped the car!

snow

We took the Ski lift up to about 10-11,000 feet. That was sort of scary until we put the safety bar down. I was a little nervous but so glad I went up it. It was one of the most beautiful sights I had seen. At the top there was a little bit of snow. Alana went straight for it. Tyler liked it up until he fell and stuck his hand in it. It was too cold for him! It was pretty warm out there, even though there was snow.

I took Tyler back down by myself so Dave and Alana could ride with Dan and Kate. He ended up falling asleep on the ride down. Not sure what is with him and falling asleep the second half of everything we are doing!

Kate and Alana decided they needed to pick some pretty flowers. They probably would have stayed there all day if we would have let them!

Our Dare Devil!

Ever since Alana saw this on Hi-5 she has been wanting to do this. Her, Kate, and Dan all went first. Alana had no fear and was going pretty high! I was impressed! She laughed the whole time! Kate was a little more hesitant at first but then really started jumping too. Sarah and I did it as well but I don't have any pictures to prove it. Really we did it though! It was fun and a little scary at first....but hey I couldn't get shown up by my 4 yr old!

Train Ride

We went on a train ride the first full day we were there. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. Alana and Kate had fun sitting next to each other and laughing. Auntie Virg was a great help with keeping them happy and helping with snacks on the train. Tyler enjoyed it so much that he fell asleep. Go figure. We plan this trip especially for him and he sleeps the whole second half!

We're home!!

Well we survived our trip to Colorado. It was a beautiful place to visit. We all had a great time. It was fun seeing Alana and Kate play together. They had such a great time and tired each other out quite well! Dave got to see a lot of his family that he doesn't get to see that often, they live all across the country from VA to CA! I will be posting pictures a little later of the fun stuff we did. I have some to go through still and I am waiting to get the rest of the pictures that were taken from other family members, no rush Sarah ;) Sarah is the keeper of all pictures. She was the smart one that brought her computer to download all of the pictures on, almost daily.

Over all it was a great vacation and we would love to go back. We all think that in a few years when the kids are older there will be much more we can do with them. They can go rafting and horse back riding and all sorts of other things.


To give you an idea of what we saw every morning when we woke up here are a couple pictures from the back deck of the cabin!

Packing...

Boy how times have changed. I remember when I used to throw things in a suit case and not worry too much about what I had. As long as I had clean underwear I was happy! Now I not only have to worry about my stuff I am now packing for 4. Well 3.5 Dave is pretty good at packing for himself, he just needs a little guidance here and there. :) If Alana had her way she would throw every stuffed animal she has in her suitcase and put on her favorite blue flowered dress and wear that for the week. Undies....who needs 'em. Tyler... give me my stinky pooh bear and my trains and I am cool. They don't have to worry about weather and if they have their tooth brushes. That's what Mom is for I guess. We make sure that everything is good to go.
When we went out to lunch the other day I amazed myself. I had the 'magic' diaper bag. The kids were getting bored so I pulled out some peel and stick place mats with Dora on them. That kept them happy for a few minutes. Then I pulled out some trains, and a few cars and that kept them happy until lunch came. Then once lunch was there Alana needed a spoon for her oranges and low and behold I just so happen to have a plastic spoon still in it's wrapper for her to use! Tyler was having trouble with his scubetti (As Alana calls it) and sure enough I had a smaller spoon that he ended up using. I even had a pad of paper and a couple small boxes of crayons in there, just in case. Dave always makes fun of me for the amount of stuff that I think of to pack, but he is always grateful when the kids start to fuss and I pull something out of the magic bag and it occupies their time so we can finish our meals in peace, well as peaceful as it can be with a 2 and 4 yr old! I guess some part of Girl Scouts has always stuck with me! You have to be prepared for anything!
Though at times things maybe going a little crazy and life seems like a non stop roller coaster, I wouldn't trade this life for anything. I have grown to accept the unpredictability of having children. It makes you a little more relaxed, if you can believe that. You don't have to try to pack in going to every party and trying to do everything, sometimes it's best to just sit back relax and enjoy some quality family time. Even if it is just for a few brief minutes between tantrums and fighting and bloody noses. Oh yes we just had one of those. Alana apparently wasn't happy with Tyler and hit him in the nose with something. She of course immediately said it wasn't her that he did it himself. Ummmm try again.....nope it wasn't Blitz either......you don't have any other siblings to blame it on! She then broke down in tears (she knows how to work it) and apologized very dramatically to Tyler and we took them up for a bath to calm them both down and all is right in the world. A bubble bath does wonders!
Well now that I have avoided packing a little longer. I guess I should get back to it. Needless to say I won't be adding anything to the blog in the next week or so since we will be in Colorado for a family reunion! I hope everyone has a great week and I will post more pictures when I get back!

Moon bounce

Amy and William brought their moon bounce with them to try out with all the kids. That was one of the best things! The kids just had a blast playing in it. Tyler was more interested in the slide at first. It took a little encouragement (aka a shove) from Aunt Amy to get in the bounce part. Once he was in there he was hooked. There were a few collisions of kids trying to get in and out so we finally got them to go in threw the back and out down the slide. We were trying to figure out where to set it up since our weather really wasn't the greatest. Well it ended up fitting perfectly in our screened in deck! We pushed the table out of the way and sat in the chairs and watched them jump around like crazy! It was great. This would also easily fit in our basement so it could be used year round! Now it's a matter of convince Daddy that we NEED it, you know "it's for the kids!" That should work :) Or I can have Alana bat her little eyes at him and have her ask. How could he say no?!

Outlets of Gettysburg

On Saturday we decided to go to the outlets in Gettysburg. I have never been there and we thought we would take advantage of the sales plus tax free clothing shopping! The outlets are nice, smaller then the Queenstown outlets, but they have just about everything you would need. I was strong and didn't go into the candy store to get chocolate covered strawberries. Now I am kicking myself since those are one of my favorite things. I guess I'll be taking the kids soon to the candy store here in town to pick up a few!
There was a little merry-go-round that the kids really wanted to ride on. The only 'bad' thing was there were 3 horses and 4 kids. Luckily it wasn't Tyler's 'thing'. He sat on the horse but then wanted to get off once it started moving. So he stood in the middle of it for a bit until he was done with that. The other kids wanted to go a couple times. Not too bad, 50 cents for the 3 kids to ride around and have fun!
We took the kids to Fridays for lunch and they all did great. Both boys fell asleep on the drive home so we drove through the battlefields a bit while they slept. The girls watched a movie and that kept them happy.

4th of July

Amy, William and the kids came out for a long weekend over the 4th of July. It is always great getting the kids together to play. They all get along really well. Alana and Elizabeth had to wear matching dresses the first day and Aunt Amy actually was able to do Alana's hair and put it up! We were all shocked. Granted it didn't last long in her hair but we got some pictures to prove it was up at one point! We didn't do any fireworks or anything to celebrate, just grilled out and had the kids play, before the rain started.

the ballerinas
dancing around
snack time