Rocky Mountain High

I was on a Rocky Mountain high, but I've come off it now since our vacation was weeks ago. Once again, I'm a little behind but the trip was a winner, so I'm going to tell you all about it! And by you, I mean the future me since I'm probably the only one interested.

I had the bright idea that my kids needed a week in the mountains this summer, seeing as how we're "so close" and all. I also know my limits, so I asked my parents if they might be interested in joining us (Jeff can't take leave during school, so it was single parenting if no one else bought into my grand plan). Lucky for me, my parents are always willing to travel. In fact, one should not even mention a trip to my dad if not serious; within an hour of me tossing out the idea, he'd located several condos from which to choose. Mom agreed to ride in the backseat between carseats so it was settled: the five of us were heading off on a road trip!

In case you're like the lovely people I met in Boston last week who are unsure of the middle states' geography, I'll help you out. Hold up your hands, back of hands facing you. We currently live near your right hand's pinky; Breckenridge is your left hand's middle finger's knuckle. Not super close, but definitely driveable if you're willing to spend about ten hours in a car. Now that we have that covered, I'll tell you that my kids are pretty great travelers but having Grandma sandwiched between was awfully helpful. She's very adept at holding the laptop for movies, dishing out snacks and generally keeping the peace. Dad is an excellent passenger, very capable of getting movies loaded into said laptop and doling out travel treats as needed. I, well, I'm a pretty stellar driver if I do say so myself.

Within the first two hours, Mom had both kids doing crossword puzzles with her.

After a lunch stop at the McDonald's in Hays, KS (if anyone is crossing Kansas anytime soon, I recommend that stop - great indoor play area and it was remarkably clean), we pressed onward to Limon, CO. I'd like to tell you the kids took great naps, but that would be a lie. Natalie dozed for thirty minutes and Wyatt eked out an hour. I even turned on the farm report in attempts to bore them to sleep but it didn't work. We stopped for gas and travel treats in Limon, where Wyatt discovered his first wild animal.

Oh, that's right, it was stuffed. Nevertheless, Natalie wouldn't go near it.

Fast forward a few more hours and we made it to Breckenridge where we spent the rest of the week doing whatever made us happy. Things like hiking,

feeding chipmunks from our hands,

fearing chipmunks,

climbing rocks,

feeding fish,

 and feeding baby geese,

finding snow,

relaxing on the deck,

riding chairlifts,

alpine sliding,

enjoying scenic vistas,

being one with nature,

hunting rocks,

gathering rocks,

throwing rocks in the river,

and posing for lots and lots of pictures

Ahh, yes, it was a great week. Colorado, you didn't disappoint - we'll be back!