Road trip to Kansas City and beyond.

FINALLY posting pictures from our road trip to Kansas City and Lincoln in June. Yep, it's been almost two months but here we are...better late than never!

We took our first non-mountain, long road trip with the kids this past June. Our destinations were Kansas City to see friends and family and Lincoln, of course. The kids declared road tripping awesome. McDonald's in the car plus snacks plus movies equals a good time for sure!

We stayed in Lawrence with Don and Susan on Saturday night. They were gracious enough to tolerate our late arrival and made us feel incredibly welcome in their home. Sarah, Joe, and the boys came over Sunday morning for a delicious brunch. The Noltemeyers are old friends but they always treat us like family. It's so nice to having people like that in your life.

Speaking of Noltemeyers, our next stop was Olathe to see Matt, Sally, and the girls as well as their new home!

Love the Noltes and love these kiddos. They are all so sweet and are all so sweet together. Must because they have awesome parents. (Tee hee.)

Fireflies. Madelyn and Sawyer were beside themselves with the fireflies.

Brunch on Monday before heading to the Plaza. Let's do this again soon, Noltes!

Monday we moved to the Sheraton in the Plaza. We walked around some and did a little window shopping.

Met the cousins, Aunt Judi and Uncle Elvin, and everyone else at the Kansas City Country Club for night swimming and a picnic. It's been too long since we saw everyone but we had a blast. The kids loved the high dive and swimming. (Our joke was to see how many different pools we could swim in on this trip. As of this point, we were only at two.)

What a sweet group. Aunt Judi and Alasdair recruited us to help plan the Knight family reunion in the Fall and we're happy to help. Looking forward to seeing everyone again sooner rather than later!

Tuesday, we went to Oceans of Fun and had an ocean of fun. The weather was perfect and we got to the park early enough that we got to do multiple rides on all the really popular, really fun rides.

You'll never believe it but in the park, there was a trio of men playing drums and they were wearing tank tops with cats surfing on slices of pizzas. You should ask Madelyn if she saw it. (Also, wink.)

Hey, it's Ben Franklin!

After dinner treat on Tuesday - The Waffle Bar. Mine was good but I should have stayed simple.

Wednesday was an important day for our family. It was Sawyer's 7th birthday. Happy birthday, little brother! It was also the day we left Kansas City to go to Lincoln. GO BIG RED!

Stopped at the Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City. Took a tour and picked up our free baby trees.

Ate lunch at Valentino's also in Nebraska City. Madelyn has declared their spaghetti to be the best. I'm not even sure what to say about that. Hello...pizza?! I know she's mine but sometimes her food choices make no sense. Either way, thumbs up all around for Valentino's.

After arriving in Lincoln and checking in at the Cornhusker, we drove over to campus. There really is no place like Nebraska. I got all sorts of nostalgic walking around campus. For real, it's been TOO LONG since we visited.

It was also really hot but that didn't cut my campus tour short.

Memorial Stadium. This was as close as we could get to the field on short notice. Also, one of my little campers was quickly running out of steam and any interest in doing anything else besides having some birthday dinner and swimming, again.

Birthday dinner at Shogun. He was intrigued but a little nervous. Griff caught the shrimp in his mouth and while Sawyer wasn't interested in catching shrimp, he did realize that he really likes shrimp. Happy birthday, Sawyer!

We had birthday cake back at the Cornhusker. I think it was a molten lava chocolate cake in a cast iron skillet with ice cream although I don't have any pictures of the treat. But, we did get a picture of this tiny boot of beer. How cute is that?

We headed back to Colorado the next day and it was good to be home.

This trip made me realize I miss the midwest, humidity, mosquitoes, and all. I loved getting to see our family and friends and getting to share Lincoln with my family. Bonus: I may have sold both kids on going to the University of Nebraska, too, so I think the trip was a win all around.

Oh, and our final pool count is below:

1 - Matt and Sally's neighborhood pool

2 - Swimming with the cousins at Kansas City Country Club

3 - After KCCC, swimming back at the Sheraton KC Plaza

4 - Oceans of Fun

5 - Swimming at the Cornhusker

Balloon festival 2015.

Children looking to hitch a ride to the mountains.

Last weekend, we packed up the old family truckster and headed west to Steamboat Springs. Our 8-seater Pilot seated six comfortably. This year, Honey and Poppie came with us. It was a very last minute trip but boy did we have fun!

We drove up on Friday morning and stayed at Trappeur's Crossing near the base of the mountain. (Took a break from The Ranch this time.) Griff stayed there a few times with his family when he was a youngster and remembered it being nice. He also remembered a Baby Ruth-like incident occurring which involved one of his siblings who shall not be named but felt confident that 20+ years of chlorine had likely taken care of any lingering poo.

He was right about Trappeur's Crossing. It was nice. And, the pool was clean.

Saturday was the day we chose to attend the balloon festival. We jam-packed our day with activities.

6:30A Balloon festival. We left the condo a little after 6:00 to catch the shuttle bus out to the field where the festival was being held. The weather was PERFECT -- clear blue skies, cool temps, and no breeze. Saw some great ballooning (if that's a word) and enjoyed the event.

National anthem featuring US flag and Colorado flag balloons.

It was early and a certain someone wasn't ready to have his picture taken.

Mile High Madelyn and Griff suddenly find themselves in the shadow of another balloon inflating.

Honey and Poppie taking in their first balloon festival.

Up, up, and away!

Balloons skimming the lake.

Madelyn and Sawyer are looking the wrong way!

We even ran into the Nolte girls and AJ (Aunt Jen) at the end of the event. Unfortunately, they were headed out of town that afternoon but it was still a treat to see them.

10:30A Gondola ride. There were a few sweaty paw pads. BUT thanks to our expert kid skiers who learned all about riding the gondola when they were in ski school last March, we had nothing to worry about. It rained off and on at the top. As a result, we couldn't spend a ton of extra time but we still had a chance to walk around and take in the spectacular views.

Kids on the top of the world!

Standing on the download side at the top of Thunderhead Express lift.

Hello, down there!

Just enough time for a group picture in between rain showers.

Coming back down, we were some of the last set of passengers on the gondola before the lightning stoppage. As is the case in the mountains, ten minutes later, the weather moved on. Skies cleared and everything on the mountain went back to business. On to lunch!

12:00P Lunch at Slopeside Grill. Located slope side as the name would lead you to believe, we enjoyed a delicious lunch on their patio.

1:30P Quiet time at the condo. A movie for the kids and naps for the adults before heading out to the pool.

3:00P Swimming and ice cream social. Swimming was cut short due to lightning and bad weather. However, bad weather doesn't stop ice cream! We got our ice cream at the condo association's ice cream social and went back upstairs to wait for the weather to break.

4:15P Swimming part two. Good times at the Trappeur's Crossing pool. No Baby Ruth bars, thankfully. Just lots of jumping, splashing, smiling, and hot tubbing. Madelyn and Sawyer are getting to be such good swimmers. I love it!

6:00P Domino's Pizza for dinner in the condo. There's just something about Domino's Pizza and ski condos that just feels right.

8:00P Balloon glow at the mountain. Our condo was only 1/4 mile from the gondola so we just walked down for this event. Even with two tired kiddos, not to mention a few tired adults, it was an easy walk. As far as the balloon festival events were concerned, I think this was my favorite event. First of all, we had had such a great day that it was a nice way to wrap it up. Secondly, I was so thankful that Honey and Poppie were/are healthy and could attend this time. Thirdly, the event just seemed so much better than 2013. 2013 was fun but this just seemed better. Eight different balloon teams showed up and put on quite a show.

Our little photographer honing her skills.

Watching and waiting as the balloons get ready.

Five of the eight balloons participating in the Glow. It's such an amazing sight!

Sunday morning, we went to Winona's for the required cinnamon roll and breakfast before returning to Denver. It was a quick trip but we packed in a lot.

I love that Madelyn and Sawyer get to spend such quality time with all their grandparents. They certainly enjoy it. I know as they get older, they'll look back fondly on all the fun trips to both to visit family and with family.

Steamboat Springs or bust!

Spring break for us was the last full week in March. Yes, this post is late. But, better late than never! We decided to take a break from Arizona and try our hand at skiing.

For me, it had been seven years and two children since the last time I skied. Honestly, I was pretty nervous about taking the little ones up. Below are several of my freak outs and anxieties -

Freak out 1: I'm older and a stay-at-home mama. Being injured will really mess up our normal life.

Answer: No injuries! I may be older but apparently my legs are a lot stronger than they used to be. Griff still skies faster than me but I can keep up and actually even ski better than I remembered.

Ski date.

Freak out 2: Will my gear which hasn't been used for seven years fall apart?

Answer: No.

Freak out 3: Skiing can be exhausting and requires a lot of gear. Are the little ones really ready? Am I ready for them to be ready?

Answer: The kids were totally ready. Steamboat is known to have one of the top rated learn to ski programs and we were not disappointed at all. Madelyn and Sawyer had a blast both days. And, while Sawyer wrapped up day number two in tears of exhaustion, they're ready to go again.

Sawyer riding up the magic carpet.

He looks so tiny!

Madelyn riding up the magic carpet.

Yesterday, we signed Madelyn up for the Epic School Kids Colorado Pack so we have an excuse to get a few days in next year, too.

Practicing turns.

After lessons on day two, Madelyn, Griff, and I rode up on the real lift and came down a real run...TWICE. She did great! That girl is so brave and so determined. Once again, I found myself wanting to be more like her and embody her spirit. Way to go, Madelyn!

Future Olympians.

You saw them here first.

Freak out 4: It is going to stink if it's cold. I've skied too many cold, windy days in January and February. It's tough on an adult let alone on little kiddos. So this one really freaked me out. 

Answer: Fortunately, the weather cooperated for late March and we definitely had Spring conditions. Mornings were cool but not cold and the afternoons were warm and slushy. Sawyer even skied one afternoon without his coat because the kid was HOT.

From our balcony.

There's a lot of brown but still plenty of white.

Lunch with a view.

In spite of it being Spring break, and maybe this is the beauty of Steamboat, it really didn't seem that crowded. Which was nice.

We stayed at the Sheraton Steamboat right at the base. Grammy and Grandad went with us but did not ski. We had separate rooms that were connected by a living room with kitchenette. The set up could not have been better. All we had to do in the morning was take the elevator down, pick up our skis at the ski valet in the hotel, and walk right out the door to the lifts. It was awesome.

It turns out that freak outs were unnecessary. Next time we'll stay longer and ski an extra day or two. What a trip!

Arizona 2014

We spent Spring Break 2014 in Scottsdale, Arizona. Honey and Poppie came with us this year, too! Our trip lasted three nights -- Friday through Monday -- and we stayed at the Westin Kierland. The weather was terrific this year. No rain! And, once again, the Kierland proved to be an outstanding, accommodating, family friendly resort.

Notable memories include:

* Kids First Class on the airplane.

* Friday and Saturday evening s'mores. Somehow, there was confusion when s'mores weren't available on Sunday. I'm not sure who was more upset - Griff and Poppie or Madelyn and Sawyer.

* Boy bed and girl bed in our hotel room. Madelyn wanted to continue this after our return home but Griff and I vetoed.

* Family breakfast in the club room.

* Trying to sneak up on Honey and Poppie's room only to have our plan foiled by the time we made it down the hall. We don't travel quietly especially when someone has to be first and someone else doesn't agree.

* Pool time. (See post to follow.)

* Child sized Candy Crush throughout the hotel. Or, so Sawyer thought.

* Rockies game. (See post to follow.)

* In N Out. Enough said.

* Cruising around Phoenix six passengers deep in a rented Dodge Caravan. Sooo cool.

Thanks, Griff, for very fun Spring break trip. And, thank you, Honey and Poppie for coming along. We had a great time and made lots of memories that I know the kids will fondly remember.

Stay classy, San Diego.

Last week, we went on our first family vacation as a foursome. We flew to San Diego on July 4 and enjoyed five fun-filled days. Below are a just a few highlights of our trip -

  

Parade, park, grilling, and fireworks on Coronado. Grandpa was right when he said that it doesn't get any more American than 4th of July on Coronado.

Paddle boarding and sand castle building at Glorietta Bay.

A great bike ride around the island (sans children).

More beach time at the ocean including sand castle building and swimming.

Hours of endless playing with cousins at Aunt Sandi and Uncle Jerky's house including dungeon master and sprinkler/hose fun.

LegoLand.

San Diego Zoo.

It was such a great trip. Even though we were all wiped out by the time we returned home, every minute was worth it.

Grandpa - Thank you for opening your home to us. After spending a few days with you, we can understand why you love Coronado so much. We look forward to coming back and spending more time together. Madelyn plans to learn to swim before next time so she can paddle board out farther with you.

Uncle Jerky, Aunt Sandi, Emery, and Camden - Thank you for sharing your stroller, car, and toys with us. I don't have to tell you how much fun Madelyn and Sawyer had with Emery and Camden. The dirty bath water and exhausted children each night was proof! Wherever your travels take you, we'll fondly recall all the fun we've had with you at Pipit Place.