Our Last Day

Today we got to spend the morning sleeping in and being lazy, yay :-) We saw Jason & Hollie for lunch in downtown; really great pizza place we'll have to re-visit! It was very good to see and visit with just them as last year it was us plus all the kiddos (much more quiet this time ha!)



After that we spent time with the nephews and then the parents. Went out for dinner with the parents to a great local Mexican restaurant and then visited a little at home before saying our final goodbyes.

We saw the nephews again and everyone got hugs and even some rides from Uncle Jon
:)









We had wanted to go to a Rockie's game but that was a) kinda far away and b) expensive SO we settled for a Sky Sox game instead. Supporting the local minor league :)It was going well for the first couple of innings and then it started raining-really raining! So we decided as fun as it was it wasn't worth getting drenched! Here's a pic before the inevitable downpour



It has been a great week and I'm a little sad to see it end but it will feel good to return to my KC home, my own house, even our manic puppy Layla ha It is good to be able to return to those who helped shape who I am today, those who have been in my life during formative years. There is also the realization that there are so many in KC who have helped to shape my "adult" years since I moved there. It is easy to forget how important those people, and their influences, are in my life. As much as I miss the Springs, I am slowly realizing I would truly miss KC, perhaps even just as much albeit in a different way, should we return to CO permanently. Until then, KC, here we come.

The Rocky Mountains

Yesterday was our adventure day :-) It's been way too long since I've been through our mountains and Jon really never has so we decided that was the perfect adventure to have.

We drove through Denver (stopping to have lunch at Landry's, SO good) toward Estes Park. We stopped along the way to do a bit of trail hiking and then back on the road. From Estes we headed to The Rocky Mountain National Park. We took our time, stopping to take pictures and admire the scenery. (pictures to come later) We decided to take a different route home, going through Winter Park and then back through Denver. It was definitely a full day but it was worth it ~ That's the kind of stuff you only experience in the great state of Colorado! Again, some of our favorite pics~
















Amazing views and an important reminder of all the beauty and wonder God has created for us!

More food, friends & family

I'm realizing as I type this the main thread through all our trip and posts are food. Hmm... better hit the gym when we get home! :-p

We got to have lunch with just my brother today which was nice - Always nice to get more time with him without the kiddos climbing us haha From there I got to spend the afternoon with Tara - This was a great treat as she is one of 2 people I have been best friends with since Jr High - That was a loooooong time ago! She just had her first baby in April and this was the first time to meet Ian. It was a great time to be a part of her mommy experience for a short time. We went to Chapel Hills, the mall we frequented as kids, walked around, got Orange Julius' like when we were kids, and even went into Claire's to look at cheap jewelry and giggle at the teen girls in there who reminded us of ourselves 10 years ago. :-)

Meanwhile Jon tooled around the Springs, going into some stores, napping, and generally having some chill time - Very cool husband to let me disappear for an entire afternoon!

Tonight we met with my parents and god-parents, Rick & Kathy Kite, for dinner. It would not be a complete trip without seeing the Kites (we'll see her daughter & family Saturday!). They are indeed my 2nd set of parents and I treasure the amazing yet rare relationship we've always had with them. We were at dinner a good 2 hours and I'm so glad we had that time together. Yay family :-)

Nephews, Animals & Family Time

Jon's been battling altitude-sickness since Tuesday so it's good we didn't have much carved in stone for the trip-enjoying the trip is more important than cramming as much in as possible!

We laid low most of yesterday and then went to see the nephews around lunch time. After that it was nearing nap time so we decided to use some coupons my mom had to go to the zoo. It was fun although we got sprinkled on a bit it was worth it. We saw almost everything and got some exercise to boot! Here are some of our favorite pics from the zoo~









Last night Jon got hit with the worst of the altitude sickness and instead of the planned outing with Dad to go to Bible study, he ended up back at my parents house curled up asleep in the lay-z-boy. Again, glad plans are flexible! I had planned to visit with Stacie, a dear friend, to have dinner & catch up with life. Since my Mom was playing nurse for Jon and there was nothing anyone could do but let him sleep, and he was quite understanding about my girly-date I was still able to visit with Stacie for a bit.

Fortunately this morning Jon was feeling better. Yay! We met my Dad for lunch at Noodle & Co. - we don't have one in MO so I'm always glad to go when we're back here. We tried to go see The Dark Knight afterwards but the times for the IMAX showing changed from yesterday when I looked.... :-( So Jon & my Dad went to the shooting range and I hung out with Mom and saw a family friend to kill time before the next showing. We went back and saw the later showing-very good, very intense, definitely will end up buying it and watching it over and over.... :-) Got pizza with Dad afterwards and then it was chill-time, which is always a good thing on vacation.

With the trip half-way over I'm already getting a little sad about going home but am doing my best to focus instead on all the wonderful things yet to come this trip! :-)

Family Time

*Disclaimer* If you are in CO and I haven't let you know so we can get together I am VERY sorry but we only have a few days here so it's impossible to see everyone we may want to see. Don't take it personally, hopefully the next time around it will be easier to see more people :-)

We are officially in CO - Began driving Sunday after church ( and after we finally packed! ) and stopped half way in Hays, KS. On the way we took a "side-trip" to Wilson's Lake. Several miles off the highway we found it and it was very pretty although we thought we'd never find it!






Finished our drive in yesterday, getting here shortly before 1pm. Yesterday was also my Dad's birthday so we had a celebratory dinner at my bro's house with the parents, his wife Melissa, and the two rug-rats, Jonah & Mason. They both, especially Jonah, attacked Jon and spent most of the night hanging off him wanting to play play play haha








We got left-overs to take back to our hotel room (yay mini-fridge) but I'm not sure when we'll eat them!The matress however is hard as a rock! We hit up Walmart for a egg-cushion-thingy and it definitely helped, thank goodness! Unfortunately Jon isn't feelin' so hot so we're hoping it's just some weird allergy to the new environment and if it's a cold hope it goes away fast! No fun to be sick on vacation. We'll be hangin' out with the family again today so many more stories to share later I'm sure!