But somehow, there has been more adventure than time... oops! I hate it when that happens. It's like being stuck on the Merry Go Around and you can't get off!
Well, 2 weekends ago, we went to Keystone Colorado for a family vacation, so this post is about that weekend!
Lets begin with the vehicle and face the facts, our cars are paid for but old! So, to add to the adventure, we decided we would rent a car for our 7 1/2 hour drive to Keystone Colorado.
Just because they have pickup service, my husband decided to use it. He requested the car rental place to pick him up and take him to get the car we would rent. It just so happens that on the way to our house, a rock fell off a truck and lodged itself into the front bumper of the car we were supposed to rent.
Bonus for us! We got an upgrade at no cost because it was no longer possible to take the car we rented.... here is what we took instead:
and here is the joyous start to our vacation:
See the happiness with the new "please stay happy and occupied for our 7 hour drive activity bags"
Well, I must say the drive was fairly comfortable and the girls did ok until lunch, then the tiredness was starting to come out just a little bit. Here they are hiding so I wouldn't take their picture, but I was one step ahead of them!
We arrived at our condo which was totally cheap because summer is off season at this resort!
We walked around the resort that night - it was really fun! A mini little village with shops, eating places, and condos!
The next morning we went to an outdoor play- it was a lot of fun and very well done!
The play was a twist on the Rapunzel story (just in case you couldn't tell by the long hair and the tower!)
Later that day we went to a tour of the Country Boy Mine. It was really interesting and I have a new appreciation for miners. Did you know they made $1.00 per day and it took them 10 hours to make two 10" holes in the side of the mountain where dynamite would later be placed. And if you think that is bad, they paid young boys, ages 7-13 to place and light the dynamite in the holes. They were also willing to pay these same boys 10 cents a day to shovel human and donkey poop and remove it from the mine - YUCK!
After the tour, Deryn and Mike panned for gold while Jansyn and I slid down the mine chute (which is now a slide)
Afterwards we drove into the town of Breckenridge and fell in love. That is where we are moving when we are rich. Beautiful, beautiful mountain town. We went to the art fair in the center of town, and walked up and down the streets and in and out of shops. I even got a new winter coat, so now I am excited for winter... although I am certainly willing to wait a few more months!
Later that night we went on a Gondola ride. Now, I admit I was thinking this would be down a river in a boat similar to what I might find in Italy. Apparently that is not the case. If you are in Colorado, a Gondola is and enclosed tram which will take you to the top of the mountain at a fairly decent speed. It was still fun, but there was no serenading going on! Our kids loved it though! Had we made this a couples trip, as was originally intended, we would have stayed at the top for a while and enjoyed the band which was playing and the delicious BBQ meal that was available for purchase.
But, because we made it a family trip, our kids were much more interested in eating chicken nuggets at a restaurant than in eating delicious BBQ in the open air with a live band. So, down the mountain we went!
When we got back down the mountain, Jansyn noticed the bungee trampoline. She is my adventurer, and even though she is only 5, she really wanted to jump on the bungee trampoline.
So, after purchasing her ticket, she but on the harness that went around her legs, and then stepped onto the trampoline where the harness was attached to a bungee on either side.
Then she started jumping! She went higher and higher! Eventually, with a little help from the employee, she was easily flying 30 to 40 feet in the air and loving every minute of it! She is so brave! We recorded it on our camera, although the quality is not to great. If I can figure out how, I will post it sometime.
The next day, we went River Rafting! This was a blast. It was Deryn's favorite part of the trip, and this time it was Jansyn who was a little scared.
Sunday, it was time to go home. We had been reprimanded in Stake Conference for using Sundays as part of our vaction, so we decided we would bring church clothes and go to Sacrament meeting on sunday. We got up and somehow managed to leave the condo later than we needed to (not really that surprising if you know us well).
We, or should I say I, drove like a crazy woman to get us to the church we googled which was approximately and hour away. I drove 90 mph in the 65 mph speed limit zone so that we would only be 10 minutes late for the Spanish ward???!!! What the??? Google did not say anything about it being a Spanish ward!
So yes, we sat through all of sacrament meeting (minus the 10 minutes we were late), and listened to words we did not understand. At least they sing the hymns in english! But, really it's the spirit that teaches, and the spirit has no designated language, so I am sure we were somehow spiritually fed, and if not, our children know church is important even on vacation!
Afterwards, we decided we must have been learning about Joseph Smith, because Mike said the second speaker said "14" a lot, but that was all he understood (which was a lot more than I understood!)
All in all, a great vacation! One we hope to repeat!
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