A Colorado Vacation

We had really been looking forward to our trip to Colorado this summer, Josh working at Eastside's family week was the perfect excuse to have a family vacation to see the grandparents. We had a blast on our Christmas trip and were so excited to see what it was like in June. 

The boys did so good on the plane, Finn slept most of the way or just cuddled and Lucas read books, sang songs, and ate the snacks that the stewards always give him extra of. We had to wake them up a couple hours before their normal wake time to get to the airport, so they were both tired but oh so excited. I was a little nervous about the potty training child on a plane, but he was great--he actually held it for 6 hours after he caught site of how little the plane potty was. Totally my kid. 

 Lucas was about to jump out of his skin that the day had finally arrived to go see Sugar and Grand Da. We were just minutes away! 

We landed and there was much rejoicing in the world. Thankful for direct flights that get us there pretty quickly, we stopped at a great sandwich and cookie shop for lunch that just so happened to have a splash fountain outside, so off he went. What a perfect thing for a kid cooped up in a plane all morning. 

 As if the splash fountain wasn't enough water fun, Lucas had to check out the pool at Sugar's house once we got there--not a bad gig for a kid, huh? Pool on the lower deck with the mountains behind you? Tough. And he had a bubble gun which was pretty cool. All of this I got to view from my mom's comfy patio furniture. I think I will survive this week ;)

 Day 2: Lucas and Grand Da went to a Cowboy museum in the morning while the rest of us got ready. They stopped for a snack, including bubble gum and root beer (which of course Lucas shortened to 'beer' all day. . .hilarious.) and a stop at a toy store-- those grandfathers;) 

We then drove back to Denver for a Rockies game! Another MLB park to check off my list--and of course, as with all of my new park experiences, we got a great freebie at the door: Rockies shirts! They came in handy when a storm rolled through and we wrapped Finn all up warm and cozy. 

 We had closer seats, but we ducked in under the balcony when it started to rain. Lucas loved learning all the cheers. Check out his new Rockies hat that Josh bought. . so sweet on him, but even more sweet memories from when my little brother wore a Rockies hat pretty much his whole childhood, every single day. I am trying to get a picture so I can show Lucas.

On Monday, we rode up the Cog Railway to the tippy top of Pikes Peak! We weren't able to summit last time because of snow and downed trees so this time we were really excited! 

 The views were just incredible, I am not a heights person so sitting by the window was quite the experience;) It really was beautiful.

 Lucas pointing to a large group of Elk we saw running by.

 We made it to the top! 14,000 feet up and just a little bit colder at 37 degrees but so much fun and so beautiful. They even make fresh donuts at the top! 

 Lucas picked up a bunch of the rocks from on top and shoved them in his pockets. My mom's poor washer found many the following days :)

 The first of two interesting systems to watch come through. This one was a sand storm, a couple days later was a hail storm where the hail lasted 90 minutes--it was crazy!

 Coolest zoo EVER is the Cheyenne Zoo in Colorado Springs. It is on the side of a mountain. There were so many giraffes and they came right up to you to eat lettuce out of your hand!

 Lucas was not a fan of the giraffe and its long tongue.

 Who gets to ride a pony and wear a purple helmet at the zoo? This proud kid.

 He had so much fun and I was so proud of him! We had placed bets on at what point he would change his mind and refuse to go but he loved it.

 Of course, Finn was our happy little buddy the whole day.

 Riding the sky train with daddy, it went pretty high up the mountain, I think daddy was even nervous!

 Quite possibly my favorite thing in the world is the Olympics. And guess what? One of the Olympic Training centers was in Colorado Springs. ahhhh! This girl was so excited. 

 The tour we took was so good, we saw a lot of the training rooms, some athletes and recognizable coaches. We heard that Phelps was around and had trained in the pool earlier, oh  I would have just died if I saw him. Oh well, at least I got to see the pool! 

 Future Olympian practicing his pose.

 I seriously could have sat here forever watching the athletes.

 Even though CO doesn't get much humidity, the last day we were there got pretty warm so we had another pool evening, Finn loved it, or it might just be that he loves having Sugar that close to him.

We are back home, in our routines again, and all the laundry is put away. What a fun trip, but we are glad to be home. Lucas had ZERO accidents while we were traveling, so a Monkey Joes trip awaits us!