Fall Break in the Rockies

I really do love that the school district we live in has a two-week fall break.  It is so nice to have a break after the first quarter!  We were lucky enough to spend the first week of fall break up in the Winter Park area of Colorado.  When we booked our week at the resort, we received a week free, so we booked another room for PC's parents and brother.  It was pretty cold up there but really pretty.  We did a lot of hiking and relaxing in the hot tub.
One of our first hikes was to go up to this little gazebo we could see on the top of the hill.  It was straight up, but not very long.  PC and the kids ran up it.  Baby Girl was trying to go to sleep so I stayed with her in the car.  She would have nothing of it, so I put her in the pack and we went up.  She fell asleep as we walked down. She slept a lot in that pack on these hikes.

 This was the other side of the hill that housed the gazebo.  We got Papa out there with us that day. We did not go too far. Baby Girl had just woken up from a nap and I ended up on a rock to nurse her. She was ok after that, but the kids were tired.

 

 One of our favorite hikes was up to Adam's Falls.  This is part of the Rocky Mountain National Park.  It was an easy hike, but so very peaceful and beautiful!

 We saw a deer on that hike and a couple squirrels. This squirrel kept going right in front of us.  He wasn't afraid at all.  Goofy and Bucko thought it was the coolest thing and kept telling me to take more pictures of him!

Another day, we hiked the first part of the Devils Thumb trail.  We didn't make it to the top, as it got very steep after the first mile and a half.  And the trail was covered in snow!  It was so beautiful and we saw several mule deer on the drive up to the trail.  We had read that it was a good spot for moose, so we were really hoping to see some.  They must have all been hunkering down out of the cold, because there were none in sight.  The first mile follows this little creek.  It was all really beautiful.

 This was the day before we left.  We hiked up another hill we could see from our resort.  We loved how the sun shone of the fallen aspen leaves and made the road golden.  It was beautiful.

One evening, Nana and Papa treated us all to bowling.  It was a fun little place and we all had a blast.  We loved the atmosphere and the low, leather couches to sit on while you waited your turn.  Fun times!

We did get snow a couple days.  I love the picture of Minnie trying to catch the snow.  We spent a lot of time in our little condo relaxing, coloring pictures, and playing games.  Nana and I split up the dinner schedule so we only had to cook every other day.  We would eat at the condo of whoever had cooked.  It worked out really well.  Baby Girl really took off on her crawling abilities this week as well.  She loved mastering that little step! Tink turned 12 the day we left, so we baked cookies the night before to celebrate and had her "blow out" the battery operated candles we had brought along.  It was a nice holiday, but always nice to come home too.

Kidnapped

Tink turns 12 at the end of the week.  So, yesterday morning, the Beehives in the ward came and "kidnapped" her for breakfast.  She knew they were coming, but didn't know when.  It was fun.  The girls were all so excited and had so much fun sneaking into her room to wake her up.  The lighting was horrible because it was still pretty early in the morning, but I took a few pictures anyway.  I love the one where they are surrounding (and on) her bed.  She had a blast!  They went to the YW President's home for pancakes and fruit.  She is really looking forward to officially being a young woman!

Walk to School Day

October 9 was Walk to School Day for the elementary school kids.  Minnie wasn't feeling well the night before, so I wasn't sure if we would get to do it.  Last spring, I didn't do it with them because Baby Girl was so little and it was really cold.  We did do it in the fall because we did it as part of our Landsharks practice.  The weather was gorgeous for us this time, though, and Minnie was feeling better.  I was able to snap a picture of them before they went to class with their school mascot, Molly the Bulldog.

XC Landshark Season

Bucko, Minnie, and Goofy all participated in the cross country Landshark season this year.  They had three races, and they all did very well.  This was Goofy's first season, and he really enjoyed it.  He only had to run the half mile track.  The first race was September 24.  Goofy ran his half mile in 6:52.  Minnie ran a mile in 11:19, and Bucko ran a mile in 10:42.  The second race was 30 September.  Goofy ran 6:44, Minnie ran 11:52, and Bucko ran 10:10.  The last race was October 7.  Goofy came in at 6:37, Minnie at 11:21, and Bucko shaved a whole 40 seconds off his original time, coming in at 10:02.  We were proud of them all, but Bucko and Minnie seem to not want to continue with it anymore.