We left after ET's last baseball game for the season on Saturday, June 30th. We were on the road at 10:50am, and arrived in Kearney, Nebraska at 7:30pm. Kearney is just an hour over the half way point. We stayed at a hotel for the night and woke early on Sunday to head back on to the road. We left at 7:50am, and arrived at Twyla and Doug's by 1pm (Colorado time). We were happily greeted by Twyla's entire family waving on the deck as we drove up.
Here are pics of the boys during the long car ride. They had quite the setup! We were amazed at how awesome both boys were the entire way there! I created "thirty minute tickets" for ET. These were small slips of paper that read, "30 minutes" on each piece. I stuck them in a bag and after every thirty minutes ET would hand me one. He was able to count how many tickets he had left and figure out for himself how much longer we had to go. This worked awesome because he never once asked, "Are we there yet?" Jay drove all of day one and I drove all of day two.
After we arrived in Breckenridge we unloaded the truck and ate a late lunch. We all agreed to go into town for a bit. I challenged myself to a bike ride there. Little did I realize the elevation and steep slopes would just about do me in....it was quite an embarrassment. Jay needed to take ET to town in the truck and he ended up having to drive me back. I quickly learned that you can't go very far in Colorado with just a cheap Target bike!
We walked around town for a bit and then headed back home for a yummy dinner of hamburgers and veggies on the grill!
Here is Twyla and Doug's house, and a few pics at the views seen from their deck. It was simply breath-taking!
This house has seven bedrooms, and eight bathrooms! It also has two laundry rooms! The kitchen even has two dishwashers! WOW! We have never stayed at a place with such luxury before.
This is a pic of the guest suite where Jay, Nate and I slept. Nate managed to take over my spot on the bed every morning.
On Monday morning we woke up, had a simple breakfast and then headed back to town. We took the Gondola up to the Breckenridge Ski Resort/Summer Adventure Park. We ate lunch there and spent a good portion of the afternoon going on rides until everything was closed down due to lightening. It only sprinkled a bit, but they closed everything for safety. We needed to catch a bus back downtown because even the Gondola was closed. Luckily though, we got half our money back and were still able to go on over half of the rides.
Here is a pic of us in the Gondola....
After all the fun, we headed into to town for a bit of time shopping before dinner. Unfortunately, ET was complaining of a serious stomach ache so we dropped him off at the house for a nap. Uncle Doug was at the house and so he kept an ear out for him while Jay, Nate and I headed back into town for a quick 45 minutes of shopping before dinner. After this we headed back home for a spaghetti dinner. Twyla absolute spoiled us with her cooking! By this time ET seemed fine again.
On Tuesday, we awoke to my Uncle Jay and his friend Kristie making breakfast omelets for everyone!
While Jay and Kristie were making omelets, Sam came in the house and told everyone that ET was playing outside with a dead chipmunk. I screamed and ran outside to see ET cradling a dead mouse!!!!! I seriously could not believe my eyes! ET didn't think anything of it and thought I was overreacting! I know he likes to catch bugs, but come on! Twyla and Doug informed us of all the crazy wildlife surrounding them (deer, grizzly bears, wolves, etc.) I guess a mouse isn't too bad after all. YUCK!
After breakfast, we headed over to a mine cave for a tour! This was nothing short of spectacular! We walked 1,100 feet into a cave! We had an awesome tour guide who told great stories of what it was like for the miners back in the day. Shortly after telling us about the number of rats living in the caves, he completely turned off the power and lit a dim flashlight so we could get a feel for how dark it was with just candle light years ago. Oh, and he told us about the loss of lives and frequent ghost spottings since! :)
I am surprised this building is still standing...
After our tour, we headed to a place called, "Eric's" for lunch. This is the kids favorite place. They had great food and a great atmosphere. It was at this time that ET started to complain of a serious stomach ache. Luckily, he made it to the restroom before throwing up. He didn't eat a thing and so we needed to bring him back home to lay down for a nap. Jay was nice enough to stay back with the kids while Twyla, Sydney and I had a couple hours of "ladies time" shopping in town. We got to watch the local orchestra practice at the theater. This was so cool for Sydney to see because she is excelling so much with her violin. We also stopped for a bit at D'Vine Wine to taste a few wines. It was a lot of fun!
ET was better almost immdiately, but unfortuantley nearly everyone in the house experienced a stomach bug for at least 8-12 hours during our time there. Bummer! Luckily Nate did not get sick...shocker isn't it?!
After coming home, Twyla made lemon fettuccine with marinated flank steak for dinner! It was de-lish! The kids swam in the hot tub before heading off to bed, and then the adults sat for a couple hours. It was a great time talking and relaxing!
Wednesday was the Fourth of July. Unfortunately, Colorado currently has a state-wide fire ban because of all the forest fires, and so we were not able to see any fireworks or have a campfire. It was a shame because the weather would have been perfect. We still had a lot of time doing other fun activities in town though.
We started out the day by going to the town parade. They started the parade with a 50 mile bike race through the mountains! There were over 750 mountain bike riders! This was so thrilling to see them get ready and then leave for such an excruciating yet exhilarating race!
July 4th is also Twyla and Doug's wedding anniversary. They celebrated nine years this year! Congratulations to them!
After the parade, we headed over to the theater area where we set up blankets for an outdoor concert and BBQ. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was playing. We ate great food and sipped on cold drinks. It was a blast!
Jay and I walked around again with the kids. We found a lot of really great deals. We both bought North Face jackets, and a Patagonia backpack for half off! We also bought some t-shirts and sweat shirts, and a few souvenirs for the kids. ET picked a metal shovel and Nate picked an ice cream truck. Their choices describe them to a T.
It was shortly after our time in the park that Jay and Kristie left for home. We snapped a great pic of all of us in front of the house. Afterwards we grilled hot dogs and spent a quiet evening relaxing and watching a movie.
We woke up bright and early on Thursday morning to go horseback riding! This was yet another incredible experience! Nate rode with Jay, and ET rode on his own horse with a wrangler helping him along the way. The views were incredible!
Late in the afternoon, just Jay, ET, Nate and I headed over to Frisco for a later lunch and more sight-seeing. We ate at a Brewery at the end of town. It was great, but we were bummed we didn't get a table on the patio. We shopped the stores a bit, and then Twyla and the kids met up with us. We bought the boys new Keen tennis shoes for the Fall, and let them pick out another souvenir. Nate picked out an old-time red car, and ET picked out a stuffed horse. While walking through Frisco, we found an an old-time village set up like a museum....so cool!
On Thursday evening, we ordered pizza for the kids, made popcorn and then sent them off to bed. We left Kelsey (Twyla and Doug's Nanny) in charge while we headed out for a late night dinner at a fancy restaurant called Blue River Bistro! We had so much fun!
Friday morning we woke at 4:00am and were on the road again by 5:50am. It is extremely hard to believe, but we drove straight home! We arrived at home at 12:30 am. Nearly 19 hours later!!!! The kids could not have been more perfect! I really don't know how we all did it, but it was not bad at all. We stopped a lot for treats, meals, and bathroom breaks. Each time we got back in the car, neither one of the kids complained one word. We also stopped at Mount Rushmore for an hour, and Wall Drug for about 20 minutes. The only time Jay and I stressed was when it became dark outside (9:30pm), and we still had 3 hours to go. We saw a person crashed on the side of the road from hitting a deer, and this caused me to have a panic attack. Nate slept from 10:00pm to 11:45pm, and then woke periodically because it was storming. He would wake and let out a little cry, and then go back to sleep. It started storming as soon as we hit Lakeville. This made the last 45 minutes really hard. We definitely learned that if we were to do it again, we would go through South Dakota on the way there and spend a day in Rapid City. We were amazed at home much there is to do there. Then on the way home, we would go through Nebraska and Iowa nonstop. This way would have cut down our time by 3-4 hours.
On our way to Mt. Rushmore, we drove off to the side of the road to take a few pictures of Crazy Horse...
We had such an unforgettable family vacation, and we are already talking about when we will go back. Jay and I want to give skiing a try, and get our boys familiar with the slopes. Maybe we will go a week around Christmas.
The weather was wonderful. In one day we would need to switch back and forth between sweatshirts and t-shirts more than once. The mountain air can change on a dime. It would be hot during the day and then cool down at night, which made great sleeping weather. Nobody has air conditioners in Breckenridge because of this. Colorado just felt at home to me. We could definitely see ourselves moving out there if our boys ever decided to relocate to Colorado.
Twyla and Doug were such great hosts and so generous to our whole family! They really helped make the most of our time there. I loved spending so much one-on-one time with my sister staying up late talking and shopping around town! The kids loved playing with their cousins, and Jay and I loved being together and taking a break from work. We are just so fortunate to have been able to go!
