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.

Road Trippin'

The kids were supposed to start school on August 10th.  But, the school was damaged by May flood waters, so we got an extra three weeks of school!  I'm not gonna lie... when I first heard that, I was sad.  What was I going to do to entertain the kids for another three weeks? But, thankfully, Clark is a great sport and we decided on a week long road trip to Colorado! So fun!

We got the kids involved in the planning, although I use that word loosely.  The coolest thing about a road trip... you don't actually have to plan.  If fact, we kept changing which days we would leave... definitely a change for me, but good for me.  I actually embraced it!

So, off we went... with a plan to stay in Amarillo.

The kids got their first taste of the "license plate game"! Oh my, it was a hit!

We stopped at the Big Texan in Amarillo for some steak.

And, since the kids had done amazingly well in the car, we decided to keep going.  Why go sit in a hotel room?  So, we made it 800 miles to Raton, New Mexico.

The next morning we got up and we were in Colorado in no time.  We knew we wanted to make it Breckenridge, but didn't really know where we wanted to stop on the way.  We decided on Colorado Springs.  With a magnificent stop at the Air Force Chapel!

Wow, that place is gorgeous!!!!  Beautiful stain glass everywhere and fabulous architecture.... an awesome stop.  PLUS, there are lots of interesting license plates in the parking lot. Bonus!  They found Alaska.

Then we decided to drive up Pike's Peak.  Yes, up over 14,000 feet one day after being at sea level.  Not exactly the best idea.  I was totally freaked out the whole time.  Clark and the kids wanted to make it to the top.  But, the light-headedness finally got bad enough for Clark to turn around.  I was thrilled.  We did make it over 13,000 and the kids were very disappointed that we didn't make it to the top. But, I'm very thankful that we didn't plummet off the side of the mountain!

It was cold up there!

A few more hours later.... Breckenridge!

We decided where to stay an hour out of town.  Like I said... embracing the non-planner in me!  Our condo was fantastic and we were super happy to be out of the car for a few days!

Ryder is a Teenager!

We love it when Ryder comes to visit! And, August is especially fun because we get to celebrate Ryder's birthday!

We had lots of fun in the sun.

Ryder's first visit of the summer was Walker's first basketball game.  His second visit was Walker's last game!

Then we headed to the farm for all kinds of fun.  Ryder got to hang with Aidan and another friend, and of course Walker and Everly had a blast.  I'm not sure how this is possible, but I didn't take any pictures while we were there!

Then we came back to Conroe for a little birthday celebration!

Yep, that's 13 candles.  The boy is a teenager now!  We are so excited that we get to celebrate exciting events with him!!!