Telluride

We decided to take a family vacation to Telluride and we were not disappointed.  It was beautiful with great weather.  We all had such a relaxing and fun time we talked about a move.  Although the thought crossed our minds since the pace of life in the mountains is similar to that in beach towns it is tempting but winter beginning in early October has us comfy back in the city.

 A walk through town

 The skate park was a huge hit

 The view on our walk to the Gondola and the grocery store, this actually made me want to grocery shop just so I could go for the walk.  It is also where I walked each morning to get a cup of coffee early and quiet, wonderful.  I would drink it while I laid in the hammock not a bad vacation. 

Here's my view from the hammock

 Vacation is exhausting she passed out while doing a little Ipad.  

 One of the many views from the Gondola ride which we took often and never tired of seeing.  

 The view in town.  

Swimming in the pool 

 Marin loves to swim underwater fun but a bit nerve racking.  

 Symeon has become quit the fish and even did a spin off the side of the pool without being caught he was so proud and although I held my breath he did great.  

A hike with Daddy 

So beautiful a double rainbow but it is hard to see the second one. 

We played lots of games every evening.  Here is a game of operation which was a huge hit they have improved the game since I was a kid so it was actually fun which is not what I remember from my childhood.  

Fishing - they had a stocked kid's pond in town and it was a big hit.  We fished for about 4 hours and each kid caught several fish it was so much fun.  

 Here he is just waiting and watching he was very serious.  Behind him you can see a bridge lots of people were coming over it to go to a concert in the park and so many would stop to see us reel in our catch.  He had quite the audience when he caught his first fish and everyone was cheering.  

 Here she is working it reeling in her big fish you know the one that got away but was huge.  

 Enjoying the time with their Daddy!

 The worm girl, when she was tired of waiting she would spend her time playing with the worms, she loved it.  

 Here they are with one of their catches.  Marin reeled this one in with several large guys watching her and they were cracking up that she caught such a good size fish with a princess fishing pole that she loved.  

 Here she is reeling in another one and she caught it "all by herself"

The big catch and she was even willing to touch it!

Day Trip to Mesa Verde

Shawn and I have been wanting to go to Mesa Verde and since we were only 1.5 hours away we took a day trip to the National Park.  It was amazing and the kids did great on the long hikes down and up to see all the villages in the rocks.  

 Taking it all in and listening to the ranger.  He had lots of questions and really enjoyed so many aspects of the tour.  

 Trying to get a cute picture with Dad and a slight head butt causes a bit of melt down and in the reality of life we went with it. 

 Babes and Daddy

 Still recovering from the head butt

 The kids hiked a lot and did great.  Here we are on the hike up.  

The tricky climb out 

One of the villages we hiked down to a great view from the top of the hike when we were finished.  So many people commented on how amazing the kids were they couldn't believe they did all these hikes and had so much fun.  I guess I didn't think much of it since we hike with them often but they were some tricky hikes long and steep and they did do great.  

I almost forgot the funniest part of the trip.  On the way home I was driving and I ended up following a car for 2 hours that was going under the speed limit.  In general I have a bit of a lead foot and with no where to pass on a tiny two lane road I was like a caged animal.  So when I got my chance to pass in a small town that opened up to four lanes I jumped on it.  I mean literally when the light turned green I floored it only to find myself zooming past a police officer.  He turned around and promptly pulled me over. I had not idea how fast I was going and he informed me I was going 65 in a 30 oops.  He asked me for all the stuff which I had to fish out of the trunk of the car.  He also told me he could take me to jail did I want to to go jail.  I said no and admitted I was speeding and explained why. 

So up until this point in life I have been pulled over 5 times and only received one ticket so I thought here come my second ticket and it is going to be big.  Well he was in his car for a few minutes and when he returned with no ticket I was shocked.  Shawn who was sitting in the front seat did not say one word and the kids asked what I did and I explained the error of my ways.  The police officer told me that he has run out of citations and the other officer he called to bring them to him was stuck at the train crossing.  What are you kidding me?  Does this happen?  These were Shawn's questions as I was let off with a verbal warning and given the officer's business card in case I need anything.  He did give me stern talking to about my kids being in the car, jail, speeding, court appearance, and to be honest I felt terrible.  Shawn is still in disbelief and I don't know why except I always tell the truth and admit when I did something wrong good life lessons I guess.  Anyway Shawn who has received a ticket every time he has been pulled over got a good laugh at this one.  

We had a great time together as a family the whole trip was relaxing and fun!  I feel so grateful that we were able to spend some time together as a family.