Totally High in Colorado

Okay, not really, but you'd have thought so every evening when the kids got the sillies until J threatened them with random threats until they finally went to sleep. We got back this week from our 5-day family vacation to  southwestern Colorado, where we hiked in Mesa Verde; silver mined in Silverton; and river rafted, alpine slid, ziplined, bungee trampolined, and more in Durango. (Note:  all pics were taken on our phones since we forgot to bring our camera with.)

On our way to our first stop, we swung by the (totally uneventful) 4 corners in order to hand over our $3 a person to use some disgusting port-a-potties and to take these lovely pics:

Our first stop was Mesa Verde, where we actually were high in Colorado. I remembered visiting when I was a kid and thinking the ruins were amazing, but I'd forgotten how breathtaking the views were and how high the mesa was. We stayed that first night in the park and ate at the Far View Terrance, which was aptly named.

  The tram ride to the Long House trail was one of H's favorite parts of the day.

After Mesa Verde, we headed to Durango, where we stayed the rest of the trip at the fabulous Marriott Residence Inn, where we made good use of their hot tub, pool, sport court, and hot breakfast, and where J and I nightly praised the existence of the separate bedroom for the wild and crazy kids. 

Durango was our home base for river rafting (this picture is not of us, unfortunately, because we couldn't take our camera on the raft and their photographer was gone the day we rafted).

 

And for the day trip to Silverton, where we went on a mine tour, which Sweetie didn't like because it was a cool 47 degrees in the mine. We also planned on renting a jeep, but couldn't find one available. 

 And we spent some time at the Durango Mountain Resort, trying our hand at the alpine slide, the mechanical bull, the bungee trampolines, and the zipline.

 Getting ready for the zipline (H did not participate, but sported the helmut nicely). Look closely and you can see Mister half way there on the next pic:

We had a great time and would gladly be high in Colorado again someday.

Catching Up: Utah Vacation

My final grades were due yesterday (insert cheers here!), so now I can enjoy the last 2 weeks of the kids' summer vacation. I have a lot of grand plans, which include reading a good book, taking a nap, and catching up on my blogging (oh, and I should probably clean the bathrooms--to say they aren't looking so great is an understatement). 

So, to catch up on blogging about our Utah vacation . . . We had a great time, of course. We decided kind of last-minute to leave 3 days earlier than planned to get out of the heat and have more time with family, and I'm so glad we did. The trip was already packed with fun, and it was nice to have the extra days. 

We went to North Ogden's pool one day (no pics there). Another day we took the kids to a splash pad while the men golfed, after which they joined us at the park for a picnic dinner and kickball. 

We got to spend a lot of time with Grandma, which I'm so glad about.

 Another day we met everyone at Cowabunga Bay, which was perfect for the kids. After swimming, we went to the Red Iguana, to the Church history museum, and to City Creek.

On the day we'd planned on having Laura take our family pics, it rained. The entire day. We did manage to go to the local park and have her squeeze some pics in, though, in the evening. It sprinkled a bit, but we were glad she was willing to adapt and let us benefit from her talents. That day we took the kids to Brigham's little museum with a kids' pioneer area. They really liked it. 

  

 On Friday, we headed up to the cabin and enjoyed the mountains and the 4-wheelers, of course.

Thanks for coming up and spending so much time with us, family! And thanks for letting us eat your food and mess up your house, mom and dad!