Our drive was awesome. I had never been through the Rocky Mountains during the day time and the views in Glenwood Canyon were awe inspiring! I just wish I had gotten out to take some pictures. You'll just have to take the drive or take my word for it. Ethan loved driving through all the tunnels and seeing all the trains.
Then, there was the drive through the canyon to Mesa, CO. WOW! I didn't think to stop at the most impressive views for pictures but I did get some pictures.....
There wasn't much of anything to do at the actual resort but I think that is what made it so nice. We didn't have loads of distractions and if we wanted to just hang, we could. They did have a playground that was finished the day before Ethan and I arrived but the best time to use it was in the evening when the sun wasn't so harsh and then you had to deal with the large population of mosquitos. Apparently just before we arrived, Kristin and Connor got to see one of the local bears on the property. Very cool. Ethan and I also got to watch some Woodpeckers eating out of a tree just a few feet from our balcony. Ethan kept laughing and saying "Tickles!".
Not too far up the road were loads of lakes to explore. We took a drive up there one of the days we were there and the boys had loads of fun tossing rocks, sticks and pine cones into the icy water.
There was still loads of snow up at the Ranger's Station and surrounding many of the lakes.
Here we are at the Ranger Station. Ethan wasn't into the whole photo thing. He wanted to run around like a typical boy getting into all sorts of trouble. I had other plans.
Here is Ethan with Kristin and her boys, Connor and Brendan. Can you tell which boy does not belong with this happy, smiling family??
From up above the resort, we stopped to try and capture a good picture of the grandure we were enjoying but the day was quite hazy and the pictures just don't do it justice. Here is my attempt....
From up here we could see so many little lakes hiding in the trees as well as the impressive mesas and geology of the surrounding area.
We stopped at one of the lakes for some lunch. After, the boys (Connor and Ethan, not so much Brendan) had a great time chasing each other around, finding sticks and other stuff to show each other or throw in the water.
Humm...I wonder what they are watching so closely here.....
Sweet stick, Connor!
Here is Brendan, sitting pretty happily in his stroller, watching the birdies clean up our lunch!
The water was pretty cold but that didn't stop Ethan from jumping around in it. By the time we left, he was soaked from his waist down. Connor was jumping as well and fell in, just like Ethan. I don't think Connor really wanted to get all that wet though. Ethan didn't care.
The evenings were spent bathing the boys,
reading books, learning to share and watching The Backyardagains. The boys spent a lot of time arguing about who's owns what, "Mine!". I am sure my trying to referee was just as annoying.
It was nice to have plenty of down time to watch the boys and talk to Kristin. Sometimes I wish Ethan would stay at Brendan's age. Here he is just snuggling with and smiling at his Mommy.
The next day we took advantage of a kid's free day at the Grand Junction pool. It was packed and insane but we all had fun escaping the heat for a few hours. There was even a local church giving away free lunch of BBQ'd chicken sandwiches. Complete with a cookie and a drink!
Kristin and the boys really got their money's worth (they didn't end up paying at all....I forgot to add Kristin to my card when I paid and the guy just let her in for free) but they played until they closed for their mid-day break. Ethan was done long before that so we hung out near the entrance of the pool under some big trees. We got to observe a large group of young hoodlums trying to be bad-asses while watching the local bike cops. Yea, there were like 5 bike cops hanging around the pool like it was a daily occurance to keep the peace at the pool. Strange.
It gave me a chance to watch Ethan try to climb trees and take some pictures of him.
All in all we had an awesome time just hanging and relaxing. It was a welcome change from the day-to-day humm drum at home. Thanks Kristin!
The Olson Family, minus Daddy (Michael). You guys are so great to hang out with. You make an effort to do and see and make every little trip as full as possible and do it all without making it seem overwhelming. I need to join you guys more often so that I can study how you pack so much into your vacations without going bonkers! Thank you so much for letting Ethan and I tag along. We had such a great time!
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For some reason when I logged on, I actually logged on as Josh. So, this post was all me (Katie) as was the previous one.
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