Glenwood Springs

Over the weekend, we discovered one of our new favorite vacations: Glenwood Springs! We ended up leaving Friday around 3:00, took the boys from Benson's teachers quorum some fried chicken, beans, and potato salad dinner on the last night of their 50miler. I don't think I have ever seen 40 pieces of chicken disappear so quickly, or a group of 14-15 year old boys so grateful for food. Then we continued on our way to our hotel. We arrived at around 9:30, and since the pool closes at 10:00, what do we do of course, we race for our swimsuits and jump in!

The next morning we rode up the side of the mountain on a tram

to explore the Glenwood Springs Caverns. The cave was discovered in the late 1800's and turned into a very high societal attraction, where people would pay a lot of money, and actually dress up in formal gowns and tuxedos to crawl around in the caves.

(I guess we were a little under dressed)

Apparently the grand finale, is when the cave opens up to the largest cavern in the US, full of cool formations, but of course Peyton and Kennedi couldn't last the 70minutes without a potty break.

After the tour, we stayed all day at the adventure park. I have to say that this was the perfect size amusement park, there were only about 6 major attractions, no crowds, and the only ride that we ever had to wait in line at, was the Alpine slide.

We filled our day with bull riding (complete with an injury)

One arm up and everything!

rock climbing,

Racing down the mountain on the Alpine Slide,


4D movies,


Laser Tag,
Paroosing (is that a word?) the Gift Shop,

Getting into a little trouble with the Law:



and the ride that made everyone's weekend, the Giant Canyon Swing. Umm, yes, they need to come up with a better name. But seriously, this swing was AMAZING! It literally launched you up to 50miles an hour over the valley of Glenwood Springs. There is nothing between you and the Colorado River - which is 1,300 feet below - except a small, little bar that I had to keep asking them to push down tighter against me (to which they responded, "Mam, you can actually have a few inches between your lap and the bar and still not fall out" - very comforting=).

All I'm going to say is that the expression on Talie's face says it all! The first time Ashlynn rode, she kept her eyes closed the entire time! I'm not sure how many rides she went on before she actually opened them. But the kids ended up riding it about 30 times, and Benson and I probably got in about 10 each, so I think we definitely got our money's worth.

We ended up staying until about 8:30, when we finally dragged everyone out of the park and stopped at a yummy Chinese restaurant on the way back to the hotel, where we watched a documentary on Bear Attacks. Hmm, great footage for children to view right before bedtime=). But all in all, I would highly recommend Glenwood Springs to anyone, and we didn't even make it to the hot springs.

4th of July Weekend!!

Since the 4th of July landed on a Sunday this year, I guess we decided to make the whole weekend a holiday celebration! Friday night we went with our friends, the Searles, to the drive-in. I had promised Peyton that if he learned how to ride his bike, we would take him to Toy Story III, and so we loaded up the truck with pillows and sleeping bags - oh and lots of junk food, of course - and off we went! It was a fun experience and a cute movie - thanks Peyton for taking us to the drive in!

Saturday morning, we woke up and decided to drive down to the Royal Gorge, which is the highest extension bridge in the world, standing 1,053 miles above the Arkansas river. It was a fun drive complete with a rainbow, lots of out of state license plates, little pit stops for Peyton and Kennedi, and a quick pull over to visit with a bull.


On the way home, we stopped in Colorado Springs at the Flying W Ranch. There we hiked toan overlook, danced with Indians, visited a jail, sat in a Tee pee, and ate a cowboy dinner, while listening to cowboys sing, tell jokes, and express how grateful they are to live in America.




Sunday was filled with church, a Monopoly tournament, and us sitting in the back of our suburban, waiting for the rain to stop to watch the Highlands Ranch fireworks display.


On Monday, we did chores and had a culdesac 4th of July BBQ, complete with fireworks and water balloons! I am thankful to live in America, with all the freedoms that we enjoy and I am grateful for those who sacrificed so much so that we can live in this great land. Thank-you.

Big Bike Rider

This is what Peyton wore the first time he tried riding his two wheeler (Now I have to chase him down to make sure he has shoes and a helmet on). I think all the pads accomplished was to get in his way. The second time he tried, we told him that if he kept trying, and learned how to ride his bike, we would take him to Toy Story III. Well, by the end of the evening, he was riding around in circles with the neighbors cheering him on.


My favorite part of Peyton riding his bike, is that when he falls, he just sort of lays there on the ground. He doesn't cry or say a word, he just lays there and then all of a sudden he jumps up and gets back on his bike. I'm still trying to figure out if he counts to ten, or what it is that makes him decide it is time to stand up.

I think that Peyton literally thinks that Kennedi is a princess. He loves to hold her, and one day he was walking around carrying her - I don't think she minds the princess treatment either.