Golfing Anyone?

After our adventure to the Royal Gorge, we made it back to Buena Vista with enough time for nine holes of golf!  The kids were so excited to play on vacation.  The little course in town was perfect for them!  They both played really well!

Golfing with mountains in the background with sweatshirts on!  How fun!

The weather was perfect for our whole vacation.  The rain decided to show up on our last night and it was perfect.  We were totally worn out from all the activities, so we went to our B&B and opened the windows and played cards.  We laughed and laughed and talked all about our favorite parts of the trip!  The perfect ending to our spontaneous trip!

The next morning we got up and said goodbye to Liars Lodge.

We hit the road on our way back to Texas.  We planned to stop on the way, but just kept trucking along.  It's so much easier just to be at home, so that's what we did.  It took 16 hours!  And, the kids were fabulous travelers, once again. And, Clark is a rock star driver!  I think I only drove two hours the entire trip!

I feel quite confident that this wasn't our last trip to Colorado.  The Woods will be back!

Royal Gorge

Another day, another adventure!  This time... the Royal Gorge.  It's a big hole in the ground, but it isn't the Grand Canyon.  Still very cool.

What's also cool... places who make things more fun for kids.  This "park" included a puzzle for the kids to figure out.  Way to keep them interested!

First we went across in the gondola.

Lots of fun rides on the other side.

Then on the way back, we walked across the bridge.  The bridge that has slats.  Which means if you happen to look down, you see all the way to the bottom.  In my old age, I've gotten so weird.  I blame it on the post-cruise vertigo I had a few years ago.  I can't handle that stuff anymore.  It makes me woozy. Which I find very annoying.  I think it amuses the kids and Clark.  I will fight through it in order to do fun stuff with my family, but it isn't easy.

We were able to find the Texas flag for some pictures!

And, before we left, the kids became official Royal Gorge Rangers!

 See, working through the puzzle pays off!  How cute.

Riding the Rapids

Before we got to Colorado, we all talked about wanting to go white water rafting.  We had the option of a family float.  Just going down the river, not really paddling or any real rapids.  I was told that Walker and Everly were big enough for a more intermediate ride, so we went for that.

Ready for action!

I stupidly believed that since it was later in the summer, it would be less rough.  It is true that there is less water later in the summer.  But, that means more rocks!  The guides warned us that we would get stuck... and, they were right! I got very nervous several times.  Worried that Walker or Everly would fly out.  And, I one point, I really, really thought we were going to lose Clark.  But, we listened to the guide... did what we were told and stayed safe!  I'm actually kind of proud of us for stepping up to the more challenging trip.  It shows the kids that we can be adventurous!

Everly stayed in the middle of the boat the whole time, but Walker did get to paddle.  He did a great job and really enjoyed it.

Here are some pictures from our trip.

They both said they would love to do it again, so I would call that a success!!!

It was pretty exhausting, so we tried to be calm after the trip.  We had some lunch near the river.  The kids enjoyed skipping rocks and wading in....

And, when we got back to the cabin, we got some more river time.

We love how brave and adventurous the kids are becoming... it makes for amazing memories!

We're on a Train

Sadly, we did have to say goodbye to Breckenridge.  But, not to Colorado.  So much more to see!

Our next stop was Buena Vista.... with some sightseeing on the way.  

All aboard!  There's an awesome mountain train in Leadville.

It was a gorgeous day in the mountains. We all had fun looking for animals.

And, we enjoyed a stop along the way.

Everly and Walker got to see what it's like for the train engineer!

After our fun train ride, we made it to Buena Vista!  Our home for the next four days.  The B&B was right on the Arkansas River!

And, our room had a very cool loft.  A perfect spot for the kids.

My Zeta sister, Amy, lives very close to us in Texas.  But, we never make the time to see each other.  Well, she and her family were visiting her in-laws summer house... which happened to be 15 minutes from where we were staying.  So, we got to see them.  Our kids had a blast with the Hippel kids!

Gotta love the mountain backdrop!  Another fun-filled, fabulous day!

Best Day Ever

Breckenridge is gorgeous. And fun... even when you stay at the mountain in the summer!  They have an adventure park that is an absolute blast!  Here comes a picture overload.

We got to go down the alpine slide. Walker is such a big boy, he get to go by himself.

Walker was a rock climber.  Everly was too little.

They both panned for gold.

Cuties on a chair lift.

If you notice in the background.  There's putt putt.  That was really fun, especially since the kids have gotten so into golf!  I would like to point out... Mommy won!  I think everyone was shocked by that.

Flying high on the trampolines:

This part cracks me up:

Yes, they are in a maze.  The loved that thing.  They did it over and over and over.

I guess it made them feel accomplished!  It's very cool to see them enjoy unusual things.

Here's a family chair lift selfie:

Some amazing views on top of the mountain:

More alpine sliding:

The adventure park was so fun because you could keep doing things over and over.  We spent a good six hours having an absolute blast.  The kids declared it "Best Day Ever!"

We went into town for dinner and shopping.  Breckenridge is fantastic.  I have a feeling we will be back.

I have to include this....

Such sweeties.  They were so pooped... Getting some really good sleep after a really good day.