Vacation for two!! =)

After getting home from Grand Junction and Glenwood Springs we had the Fourth of July weekend back at home. We pretty much just took it easy and I did laundry =) Sarah stayed down at Matt's house with her cousin Lauren so it was just Bill and I and the boys. Bill and Evan went to a movie on Friday and on Saturday we all went up to 11 mile canyon to spend the day with my parents who were camping there. We had fun hiking around and playing in the river and visiting. On Monday when they got back from camping we took the boys and the dogs over to my parents' house and Bill and I took off for our vacation to Las Vegas! We drove about five hours to Matt's and spent the night and then it took us about seven hours to get to Vegas the next day. We stayed with my brother Aaron and his wife Tatiana!! It was such a life saver (and money saver) being able to stay with family!! I am so thankful to Matt and Aaron and their families for letting us stay with them!! =) Vegas was pretty cool! We saw The Lion King and also a Cirque du Soleil show called KA. Both shows were AMAZING but if we had to choose, The Lion King would be our favorite! =) It was so nice being able to spend so much time together and reconnect before Bill deploys in August! I am especially grateful for my parents who watched the kids and dogs for us so we could go and have a great time!! What a wonderful family I have!! Bill and I have some great memories to get us throught this next year!! =)

Adventure Park

SO MUCH FUN!! Thanks Matt, Nic, and Lauren for going with us!! We had a blast!!

Fun with Family and Glenwood Springs

After Marie left we had a couple of days before we headed down to Grand Junction to visit my brother Matt and his family. We spent a couple of days just hanging out with them and then we all drove to Glenwood Springs which is about an hour and a half from Grand Junction. We spent the first day at the hot springs. The second day was spent at the Adventure Park. This small amusement park is up on top of a mountain! We got up early and spent the entire day there riding the rides over and over. The kids and my sister-in law Nicolle LOVED the Giddy Up ride!! The alpine coaster was right up there with the Giddy Up ride as top favorites. We also loved the 4D theater =) We also toured some caves while we were there. Pretty cool!! The Adventure Park was definitely the highlight of our trip!! So much fun!! (The collages from the Adventure Park are on the next post)

Marie's Visit Part Two

Bill and Evan took Marie to the Olympic Training Center. I haven't been there yet but they said it was pretty cool. They especially liked seeing all the torches. The second collage is from the Flying W Ranch. It's a working cattle ranch that is set up like an old western town. You can walk around and visit all the stores, hike up a huge rock, and even watch some indian dances. Then when the dinner bell is rung it's time to eat. Dinner is served on a tin plate with a tin cup for your drink. Everyone sits outside at picnic table and when dinner is over there is a little show put on by the Flying W Wranglers. They tell jokes and sing and were very entertaining! It was such a fun time!! The last collage is from our trip up to Pikes Peak. Rather than drive up we took the train which was much better and less scary than driving =) The views were spectacular and the donuts we bought from the snack bar on top of Pikes Peak were soooo yummy!

Marie's Visit Part One

This summer has been pretty busy. Bill took three weeks of leave and we did a ton during those three weeks. We started with a visit from Bill's mom. We were so grateful she was able to take time off work and drive the long, boring 15 hours from Arkansas to Colorado. It was so much fun having her here!! We tried to do one thing every day she was here. We took her to Garden of the Gods. The first collage are pictures from there. It is so beautiful just walking around and taking in the amazing scenery! The next collage is from Casa Bonita. A cool restaurant up in Denver. Bill and I had gone to it like 17 years ago and we were pretty excited it was still up and running. The inside looks like you are outside a little Mexican village or something. There are cliff divers, little magic shows, a gunfight show and other fun things for the kids like an arcade and little rides. The last collage is from our trip to Helen Hunt Falls. It is amazing that we can drive 20 minutes and be up in the mountains surrounded by some pretty awesome views of the city and of the mountains. It was a good hike but so much fun and so beautiful!