Colorado: Spring Break 2016

Disclosure: long post with loads of pictures!

Spring Break 2016 took us to Colorado. We've never actually been able to get away during spring break, so this was a real treat. Ryan's work typically doesn't allow us to travel spring break week, but this year, it happened to line up perfectly. Nearly every family member or friend asked us "why Colorado?". The fastest answer was "cheap (short) flights", but the longer answer can be seen in the (many) pictures below. It is one of the most beautiful places to visit. The natural beauty is breathtaking, something that pictures just don't do justice. Along with the fact that Ryan's most favorite brewery is located in Colorado, coupled with the fact that only I had been there, made it a great spot for our family spring break trip.

We hit the ground running when our flight landed. I'm not an "all-inclusive" kind of traveler. Maybe someday, but not at this point in my life. I love to sight-see and move around and take in all the world has to offer. I had our days pretty fully packed, and we started off with Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs.

It was a perfect way to spend the "golden hour" of the sunset as we hiked around and climbed on a few rocks. As we drove up, it was one of those "oh my!, look over there!, wow, look at that!" over and over. Even the kiddos were mesmerized!

I joked that we should've bought a selfie-stick for our trip, which the kids quickly dismissed. My parents had given me a gorilla-pod tripod for my big camera which worked great on this trip, but sometimes I used my cell phone and a selfie-stick would've been great!

That evening we drove into downtown Colorado Springs the check out the area, find dinner and eventually (after 8pm!) make it to our hotel. We landed at the most wonderful burger joint: Bingo Burger for dinner and everyone was very pleased to sit down and fill our bellies. Ryan then opted to stop at a liquor store where we had to lock the doors and pray we wouldn't get mugged while he was in the store. There had to be a dozen liquor stores in the area and we pick the one in the worst neighborhood.

The following morning, we drove to nearby Manitou Springs to take the Cog Railway up Pikes Peak. The idea behind this adventure was to make it to the top of the mountain (14,000 feet above sea level) without having to drive ourselves....and let's just say it was a pretty good idea because I'm not sure either of us would've survived the drive. Side note: Ryan and I quickly learned that in Colorado, they don't post population signs as you enter a city, they post elevation.

It was a long trek up and down the mountain, and we had to keep ourselves entertained because eventually, the beauty is not enough for the kids. Lincoln opted to pretend sleep while standing up so he could have his nuk....and I'm a sucker for that little boy.

Once we were part way back down, the allowed us a break off the train to stretch our legs and explore. We ventured into a clearing and found some massive boulders to climb around and use as a beautiful back drop.

See those mountains in the background? I could've taken pictures of the area all day long. I kept setting up the gorilla pod and herding our crew for another picture. They were troopers though and obliged knowing just how beautiful the background would be.

Lincoln stayed pretty close to me as we walked around and perfected his fake CHEESE smile, pretty annoying. He was growing tired and likely hungry but he hung in there for me. The entire trip, that little boy did amazingly well without a nap, constant on the go and making it to the potty every single time. So very proud of how well he traveled. His manners are out of this world, he says "bless you" for every noise you make. At one point on our trip, I climbed into bed next to him and sneezed. In his deep sleep he said "bless you"! I couldn't believe my ears and sat up to be sure he really was sleeping. What a honey!  

I'm a little sad that this picture was taken on my phone as opposed to my camera. You can see the mountains in the background, which is where the train took us to (holy buckets was it not only beautiful, but super cold!) and sadly, too dangerous to get out at the summit and explore.

Although we went on this adventure early in our trip, Lincoln talked about the Choo-Choo train every single day! He adored the time on the train and begged us to go back again!

After lunch at a place called Oliver's Deli (another awesome find thanks to Yelp) we drove up to the Air Force Academy to explore the cadet chapel. On the drive, Ryan rolled his eyes and said "Liz, you're taking us to a church?". He had no idea what he was about to see. On the walk from the parking to the chapel, we had to pause for these most precious views. I just couldn't get enough. The mountains are massive, and the miles of evergreens are endless.

Then we came upon the chapel. The tallest, most beautiful chapel I have ever seen. Both inside and out, it is spectacular. At this point, my family was still unimpressed. The Air Force Cadet chapel is a place I remember seeing so many years ago on my first trip to Colorado, it made quite the impression in my mind. And I couldn't wait to get my family inside.

And once inside, everyones attitude changed.

In one instant.

It was pretty incredible. Ryan's jaw nearly dropped and the girls' breath was taken away. It's hard to explain just how large this place is. The organ, pictured below, is probably 2 stories itself. I only wish we could've heard it being played.

This cross hangs above the alter. So pretty.

This picture of the kiddos in the forefront might give you a better idea of just how big this place is. At the end of our trip, Regan said that this stop was one of her most favorite things to see. And that right there, made it worth my while to add it into our itinerary.

Below the main chapel, we toured the smaller chapels (Catholic, Buddhist and Jewish) all which were beautiful in their own aspects, but not like the main chapel. Nothing beats the main chapel in my eyes.

From there we headed back to Denver where we would call 'home base' for the following few days. We had a little snafu with the hotel that we booked, as they never alerted us to their pool being closed. Wowzas, deal breaker. So the front desk supervisor worked his magic and got us another Embassy Suites just down the road, and we lucked out because the new one was much nicer.

Ryan did most of the driving, and me the navigating throughout this trip. Early on, as he nearly rear-ended a car and later slammed on the brakes at a stop light I declared we were all going to die from his driving! With my hands over my eyes, the kids laughed in the backseat at my over-dramatic self begging him to keep us alive.

We did a little switch-around for the remaining days, following a check of the weather. It was apparent that Denver was bracing itself for a major snow storm (more on that later), so we took advantage of a gorgeous day and drove up the Fort Collins. First up: a city playground!

It was a gorgeous morning and the kids were so excited to be playing around and screaming in delight. They climbed and slid and jumped and ran to their hearts content.

Fort Collins is a total college town and home to more breweries than I can count (really, they're on every street corner it seems!). So after lunch at Pita Pit (gosh we picked some winners while we were out there), we dropped off Ryan at O'dell for a tour and tasting. He was in beer heaven.

The kids and I decided not to venture far, but instead parked downtown and we explored Main Street, which is a lot of fun shops, restaurants, candy stores and even toy stores. We found a few sculptures along the way and had to pose for some photos. The kids spent their travel money on toys and candy and had a wonderful time.  

This piano is out in the open, for all to enjoy. Sidney played on that thing for a very long time and I sat nearby, watching Lincoln dance and letting the warm sun hit my face. It really was a perfect afternoon and I sort of fell in love with Fort Collins.

After a stop to pick up Ryan (while he was in the midst of dealing with the bank who had put a hold on his credit card thinking it was stolen due to all the out of state purchases), we started making our way to Estes Park. Our family has declared Estes Park one of the most beautiful places on earth. Seriously, you need to go there. I had to do the driving on this leg (remember, Ryan was just at a brewery). And I joked that the only driving I did in Colorado was on the most narrow road in a valley of mountains. The signs warning us to "watch for falling rocks" and the 25 mph curves were enough to turn our leisure drive into a white knuckle ride for me. Ryan on the other hand, was in scenic overload taking it all in.

Estes Park is surrounded on 3 sides by Rocky Mountain National Park. And the purpose of our time there was to take in the park with a family-friendly hike. We located Lily Lake which is an easy hike only about a mile long. We took our time and soaked in another "golden hour" moment.

My gorilla pod was hard at work, and it did not disappoint. We let the kids climb up on rocks and into the woods a little. Ryan joked that this is the type of area where people become a part of the show "I Shouldn't Be Alive".

Hands down, this place was one of our favorites. Had we given ourselves more time on our trip, we would've stayed another day so as to explore another part of the incredible National Park. (And Sidney is not playing on that ipod in the picture, but rather brought it everywhere we went so she too could take pictures).Funny side story on Sidney: she has sleep issues since birth and when we travel, they come out in full force. One night, she sat up straight in bed and raced into the bathroom. I thought maybe she needed to pee but I followed her just in case. She stood in the middle of the bathroom staring at me. I urged her out into the living room where she sat on the couch. Ryan's eyeballs were the size of golf balls watching this scene unfold. I asked him repeatedly to video tape her because I was laughing so hard but he was too stunned to move. Sidney sat on the couch and answered all of my questions in her most matter of fact, totally wide awake answer. "Sidney are you tired?" "Yea mom, I'm really tired".
Only she wasn't really awake. She has no recollection of the entire event!  Thankfully I was able to coax her back into bed and she stayed there the rest of the night.

Although it was snow covered and chilly, it wasn't all that cold. Sidney tried to ditch her sweatshirt jacket claiming to be too hot, but we squashed that idea quickly. The sun was warm, but it certainly wasn't hot.

I think our short 1 mile hike probably took close to an hour with all of our pictures, stops, climbs onto rocks and time spent taking in the beauty.

Ryan found this log and decided it was a good idea to try walking (log rolling style) from end to end. Well, monkey see monkey do in this family and the girls were quick to follow suit.

Ryan and the kids found rocks and tossed them into the lake, realizing quickly that the ice was no longer very thick and definitely unsafe to walk on. It was a good lesson in ice safety because Sidney was insistent that we could walk out on the ice without problem.

The sun started moving across and we knew we should probably start heading out so we wrapped up our hike and headed back to Denver for a wonderful meal at Highland Tavern (a Diners, Drive Ins and Dives feature that Ryan just had to try).

The next morning, we woke up to this. And by that I mean, a blizzard. A full-blown Denver Colorado blizzard with 2 feet of snow dumped on us and 50 mph winds making it impossible to see my hand in front of my face at times. I had planned to tour a rehabilitation hospital nearby (for work), but after clearing off the car and then having to redo the first side again, I made it only 4 blocks before turning around. It was impossible to see anything and just unsafe. There would have been no way for us to make it up to Estes Park like we had originally planned; and we thanked our lucky stars that we had flip flopped days. The highways eventually closed as well.

I picked up the family and we headed to the Downtown Aquarium where we realized there were dozens upon dozens of stuck cars and many more in the ditch. The whole reason we were going was for Sidney to see the mermaids ("mom, real live mermaids!") but sadly, those mermaids got stuck in the snowstorm themselves :( It nearly ruined her trip and she is still upset because she didn't get to see mermaids.

There were all sorts of crazy fish, shark, salt and fresh water fish to keep us entertained as we made our way through the aquarium.

Lincoln raced from tank to tank pointing out all that he could see. He was in little boy heaven!

Sting rays are always my favorite when we go through a tunnel because they always look like they're smiling! I love those sweet things.

These domes provided some fun entertainment, the kids swore they were inside the tanks right along the fish.

Every aquarium we have ever visited (and we've been to them coast to coast and in the Midwest), my favorite has to be the jelly fish. They are so pretty and graceful when they swim and I could watch them far longer than the rest of my family.

Sidney and Regan took some time at the touch tank feeling the sting ray. Although I like their smiles, I don't trust those things and recalled a time when my brother had his hand in a touch tank without paying much attention and a ray came up and scared the bejeezes out of him :) I'll stay behind the camera while everyone else has their hands in those tanks.

With every restaurant in the city closed as well as the Denver International Airport, I knew we were in for a treat. We spent the afternoon at the hotel swimming and keeping ourselves happy in the room. At one point, I was standing by the window, with Lincoln teetering, my hands near the cold window. Lincoln was pointing out all of the stranded cars, buses and then lifted up his shirt and hollered out "hey bool bus, watch" and did a little truffle shuffle!!

I called 18 restaurants, and even attempted dinner at Mc Donald's before giving up. We ended up feeding the girls gas station nachos and Lincoln leftover cheeseless pizza. Stellar parenting moment.

The next morning was our departure day....along with a million other people in the state.

Although the airport was a complete nightmare (2+ hour lines just to drop off our 1 checked bag) and a race through security to make it to our gate just in time, we eventually made it on board. I discovered that not only did I lose my voice at the airport, but also my ID! Without time to go back and retrace my steps, we were on our way home!!

It was a lovely spring break, despite a few bumps in the trip, we all had a great time and are thankful for the experience and together time!

Regan's 10th family birthday party

 It was a long several weeks, but Regan was finally able to have her family birthday party! With a set of grandparents that head south for the winter, she has made the very mature decision to wait for her party until they return. It basically just draws out her birthday celebrations over the course of many weeks...smart kiddo!

(thanks Lincoln for wanting in on this photo op)

The weather was gorgeous so she opted for presents by the pool as we all soaked in some sun and warm weather.

Our little girl is growing up so quickly. I joked with her that pretty soon there won't be enough room on her cake for all of her candles! Just look at all of them! Where has the time gone!?

Happy birthday (party day) Regan!

Conference time

This week, while the kiddos reunited with Grandma Jan during a couple of days off from school, Ryan and I attended their school conferences. We are quite proud of our two elementary students. The girls both seem to do well academically, though not without effort. 

We visited Sidney's classroom first and had a great chat with her teacher. He showed us some of her work, which produced proud mama tears (see below). On her self-evaluation, she admitted that spelling was her least favorite to which her teacher whole-heartedly agreed. He chuckled and told us his response to an unknown word is: "google it". I asked how often he wanted to say that to his first grade class! 

(Translation: my favorite part when it is winter break is when my brother open his present. Because he gets excited and it makes me laugh so hard and my family too). Now honestly, it warms my heart to read what she wrote in that she found so much joy in watching her little bro open presents, and fills us with laughter how she spells out words. 

He talked about how she is a born leader (didn't think that was usual for middle children?), but he isn't the first to tell us this. She is kind and helpful to her classmates; and her peers enjoy being around her. 

She's attentive to her homework, organized and disciplined. She likes to follow rules and be prepared for each day. Seriously, she's setting herself up for success down the road! We are so proud of her. 

After we wrapped up with Sidney's conference, it was in to 4th grade for Regan. We spent time reviewing recent homework, test scores and handwriting. She excels in reading and strives to have beautiful cursive despite it is no longer formally taught in 4th grade. 

Regan's teacher (as EVERY teacher prior), told us her biggest challenge is staying focused and not chatting during work time. Seriously, we started hearing that from her kindergarten teacher! Honest though, someday it will serve her well and I just know she'll end up in a job where she can use that strength of hers. 

She's become much more organized in the last 2 months and enjoys her new 'teacher binder' as she calls it, to organize her papers and planner. She works hard in class and gives it her best...though homework can be another story with her! 

After wrapping up conferences, we did something that Regan has been doing daily this year. We ventured down to her 3rd grade classroom to chat with Mrs. N. Last week, after hearing for the gagillionth time that she was in Mrs N's class after school, I decided it was time to send her an email to thank her for being such an amazing teacher, mentor and friend to Regan. This woman blows my mind the way she opens up her classroom to chat with former students. Every. Single. Day! I just had to thank her again in person for going above and beyond the call of teacher duty. She is such a gem!

These girls work hard and both received excellent marks on their conferences this week! I'm so happy that they are a part of this school and can't wait to see what the rest of the year brings for them.

Way to go girls!

Potty training....number 3

As both of the girls approached age 2, I started (and successfully) potty trained them. (side note: Ryan will admit he had nothing very little to do with this milestone). I'm not saying it was easy peasy, in fact, I probably shed a lot of tears. But the way I remember it, it was not terribly trying either. Fast forward many years, and along came Lincoln. He approached age 2, and I tried, without much luck one fall day, to potty train him. I didn't remember it being so hard with the girls! Plus it was 1 against 4 in this house and I wasn't getting much support from Ryan and the girls. 

So I quit. I would say that I was lazy, which I probably was, but in my defense, I was up to my eyeballs learning about Lincoln's food allergies which was a total game changer for all of us. 

Several months later (this past weekend), on a little bit of a whim, I decided to take the plunge again. This time, I warned Ryan and the girls to either get on board, or get out of the house :) I was fully prepared for them to leave for the weekend! But they didn't, and in fact, with only a little mumbling and one screaming episode (Sidney got peed on), they were even helpful! I have THIS pretty hilarious video (be warned....offensive language!), that I took one day as he was sitting patiently on the pot.

My plan is always to "pull off the diaper and never look back", and that's what we did. Stay home, drink loads of liquids, and pee. By day 3, Lincoln was a complete champ! I, on the other hand, felt pretty frazzled and was beyond excited to get out of the house this morning. If there's one major difference between boys and girls----aim! Ryan said it best today "it's like a missile"! Needless to say, the bathroom floor has been scrubbed many times/day because the boy has zero aim and makes a complete mess. One thing at a time, right!? 

Way to go buddy! We are so proud of you :) 

Regan is 10

Well it happened. Our biggest little person has turned 10. Double digits. Someone just asked me how that feels. And the answer, is a flood of emotions. I'm so proud of her, and so excited to have more grown-up conversations with her. But on the flip side, it really does feel like last week she was our little toddler. A girl who loved to dance and sing, do arts and crafts at the kitchen table and the baby who never wanted to be held (that was such a sad part of her newborn stage). We had a fun tubing party with her friends the weekend she was turning 10. It also happened to be one of the coldest days of the year. But let's face it, kids don't care about cold and they had a great time! 

For her birthday, we decided it was time to change up her room from the pastel little kid room, to the pre-teen double digit decor. She got to help with the planning, and the night before her big day, we transformed it while she slept. Her most favorite part is the biggest bean bag chair she asked to be custom made. There's still some small things to add, but she scored her own desk and her very own garbage can (which has been a huge source of stress for Sidney because she wants her own garbage can!). Yes folks, we have tears over garbage cans here. 

I'm hoping that turning 10 will also bring a little more responsibility for herself and her school work rather than the constant nagging by her awesome parents :) Wish us luck! Happy birthday Regan! We love you forever! 

Birthday Eve

It's another birthday eve tonight; this time, we will wake up tomorrow to celebrate Regan. Tonight, she falls asleep in the single digits for the last time. Almost a rite of passage to turn 10. For both her and me! Thinking back 10 years. All the tears (out of both of us!), the laughs, the happiness and joy that we have experienced in those 10 years is incredible. Parenthood has been a journey like none other. One that only a parent can understand. 

I recall her birth story like it was yesterday. Coming 4 weeks early (that little peanut wasn't due until March 13th!); but clearly ready to face the world. I remember details like opening a door inside the hospital only to see my own doctor standing in front of me, where we exchanged "what are you doing here's?!" Or the ugly purple run down house that I stared at out the window while getting an epidural. Or that immense feeling of love when they placed her on my chest with a delight of "it's a girl!" And Ryan's immediate comment to the doctor that "she's going to date!", to which she laughed and reminded him that she wasn't yet a minute old....we had time. 

Oh, but that time slips by so quickly. And before you know it, she's turning 10. I don't think you ever stop parenting, and I look forward to whatever the next 10 (20 and 30) years bring our way. Happy Birthday Eve Regan! 

A new sport

I strive to expose the kids to a variety of sports. Let them try things (at least once) before making a decision about actually taking up interest. Sometimes, despite the battles it takes, I hit the nail on the head. 

And this time, I even surprised myself! 

I don't like winter much. I don't like cold. But if there is one thing I do like about snow, it's downhill skiing. But I'm no pro, so I knew that waiting for the kids to get a little older was in my best interest. Finally, this winter, I asked the girls if I could sign them up for skiing lessons. Ryan complained (it's expensive, they're involved in a lot already, and aren't they too young!?). 

Although there were tons of nerves and maybe a little whining this morning, an hour on the hill and they were both hooked! 

And good!

I truly was in awe at how well they both did. After their lessons, I couldn't get them off the hill! They spent another 1.5 hours going up and down, up and down. Don't get me wrong, they have a lot to learn yet as they only worked at the bunny hill today. But they loved every second and are so excited for next week! 

Click HERE and HERE to watch each of them in action. 

Way to go girls! 

Keep on keepin' on

Life has been keeping us busy these days, but I wouldn't want it any other way. January has come and gone and so far, 2016 has been a lot of fun! My birthday fell on a Friday, and while I was able to have the day off from work playing and snuggling with my little buddy, we spent the afternoon/evening at the girls' dress rehearsal for dance. When they were finished, we snuck out the side door and headed for a quick treat. We are so thrilled that even Lincoln can enjoy this yogurt bar (with their dairy free option and a few pieces of fruit topping). 

The girls have started into softball clinics on Sunday nights (and soon Fridays as well). I love this softball association we are a part of, and the girls are gaining some great skills and tips during the off-season. 

With winter and school comes illnesses. Thankfully these tests came back negative and their couple days of fevers ended as abruptly as they came on. But I want to remember this picture: Sidney's face of disgust as she just finished being swabbed and Regan's gross sounding gag as she was swabbed. We love our probiotics, essential oils and lots of hand-washing! 

Lincoln scored this sweet fireman's hat at lunch one day and wore it proudly all day long. He wanted to bring it to bed but was convinced to leave it on the dresser over night. 

Oh is he just so cute! 

I just can't get over it, sure I'm quite biased, but that face, it honestly melts my heart! 

The other day, as I got him dressed and he looked at me with those big dark (almost black) eyes, I smiled and told him "it's your eyes! you're gonna break someone's heart some day with those eyes".  And he smiled and ran off to play. 

Before today's snowstorm arrived, we took in the gorgeous sunny temps and I brought all 3 kids to the local sledding hill. We quickly shed our jackets as we trudged up and slid down, time and time again.  

Lincoln adores being right beside me in the kitchen. As I bake breads for breakfast the next morning, or cook dinner, he stands in his stander and asks to watch. Sometimes he wants to stir, and on this occasion, he begged to eat the "lmenon". Yes, he eats it. Like bites off the rind and chews it! 

It's been a fun start to 2016 and we look forward to more family time and making memories. 

Winter dance recital '16

 The girls participated in the winter dance recital with their studio this past weekend. It was a full month of added rehearsals as we geared up for the show. I think our car could drive itself to the studio at this point! 

Regan had taken a year off from dance last year and was excited to be back in the saddle as she joined the danceline class. After watching the other dances in the show, she has asked to also start back with tap/jazz/ballet next year (in addition to danceline). She's hooked! 

I was able to video tape during dress rehearsal and you can watch HERE if you'd like! 

Sidney and one of her BFF's are in this gigantic K-1 combo class (note, it's actually 3-4 classes performing the same dance on stage). She is too darn funny as she gets ready for class each week, making sure her leotard is the perfect one for the night and even adding some bright pink lipstick (every. week.). 

She loves dance as much as her big sister does. Click HERE for her performance at the rehearsal. 

There's quite a bit of talent at this studio and the girls each look up to those big girls. It's fun that they get to know the older girls who are "helper teachers" too; they sure feel special to see them around town and say 'hi!. 

More dance is definitely in their future! 

Technology

Seems like most days, this little scene is happening: 

All 3 kiddos, huddled in front of a device, talking with Grandma Jan and Papa. Sidney cried the hardest when they  deserted us for warmer weather again so we are thankful for technology to bring us together. We get texts and pictures, but the kids all prefer to see them and chat so they regularly beg to FaceTime. Can't wait for you to come back! We miss you! 

Lincoln says....

Our little boy is growing up so quickly. It seems that he has made leaps and bounds in gains in his language since turning 2. People who haven't seen him in a few weeks will comment "oh my gosh!, he doesn't stop talking!".
Nope, welcome to our new world with a toddler. 

He is constantly talking, telling me what he sees, insisting on a response, and narating his day. 

He has completely mastered his colors, and although we were working on them daily, I know he picked up a lot from watching YouTube (because I was not teaching him grey and he knows it). He likes to watch a little 5 minute video on YouTube with monster trucks, and it's entirely educational teaching all of the colors.
Brilliant I tell you!

His favorite color is orange, we have orange trucks, orange trains, orange cars, orange bowls, orange spoons, you name it. And he ONLY wants the orange ones!

He can count to 10, though sometimes skips over a number or two. My favorite is his way of saying 'six', because it's a high-pitched 'sic' and you'll miss it if you don't listen closely. We count a lot of items, but he still hasn't figured out one versus two. When he wants a cracker, he will say 'one'. We hand him one cracker and he cries "no one!".
That is one buddy!
We hand him another and he smiles "yea, one"

No buddy, that's two! 

"No, one". 

Whatever. 

Ryan finally came up with the notion that he wants one in each hand. 

Maybe so. But for now we know when he asks for one, give him two. 

Ryan's favorite part of Lincolns verbal skills is that he is no longer referred to as "mommy"! He has his very own name: "gawdy". Not daddy.

Nope. 

"Gawdy". 

He is cute and sweet and funny as ever and now that he's talking more, look out! Because he will repeat whatever it is he hears :) though maybe not exactly the way it should be said, like Thomas the Train's friend--Percy.....

I have no further comment.