Breckenridge

We spent the past week in Breckenridge on family vacation with Monica's family, and had a great time!  One day we even rented a boat, and the kids loved it!  I don't think they've ever been on a boat before, but they had a blast, especially when we sat in the front.  We stayed in a cabin up by the ski resort.  We definitely want to go back and visit again some time.

On Monday morning the kids snatched our bed!  They were very excited to go on vacation.

While we were getting ready, Winry got sad, and after holding her for a little Monica needed to continues getting things ready.  Brooke volunteered to hold Winry, and Winry was perfectly happy sitting on the couch with Brooke!  What a great big sister.  She even read to her a little.

In the early afternoon we made it to the cabin!

There was a little trike in the garage that Brooke was very interested in.  She rode it around a few times throughout the week and had tons of fun each time.  They also had that little roller coaster thing, and she really liked riding that too.

On Tuesday morning we headed to the lake.  We tried to get a boat rental, but they were all full for the morning, so we played at the playground for a while.  Winry loved chucking sand.

The kids also rode on the swings for a little while before we headed down to the lake. 

We'd seen online that there was a good beach at the lake, but nothing said where it was.  Well, it wasn't at this spot (Dillon Marina), but we made the most of it.  The kids had a lot of fun playing in the water, and Winry, well she threw rocks (and had her diaper talked about).  Also, the water was FREEZING cold!!  There was also some fishing, which Brooke had a blast with.  It consisted of throwing out a line and reeling it in.  No fish were caught, but Brooke loved it none-the-less. 

That afternoon I took a nap with Winry in the afternoon (I was sick, remember), and when I woke up there was a water fight brewing in the back yard.  Tricky thing about water fights and 3 year olds is that you can't get the 3 year olds wet...  I think most of the kids had fun, though there was some crying, and mostly ganging up on adults.

On Wednesday we went back to the lake for our boat rental at Frisco, and not only did they have a boat but they also had the good beach.  We didn't go to this beach at all though.  Upon arriving we parked next to a car that had a door mat outside the driver door.  Well, I know how to use those!  Thank you, fair citizen!  Also, it was not trash, and belonged to this car because when we came back both the car and door mat were gone.

We headed out on the boat and the kids had a hoot!  Winry loved looking over the edge and kept saying "Wa wa" when she'd see the lake (which, when you are in the middle of a lake is very often).  And Brooke said this.  She was really excited to tell us all about being on a boat, and it was very cute, especially when she tried to duck out of the video at the end.  There wasn't a boat big enough for the whole family to go on, so we got one for two hours and were going to send out two groups for an hour each.  We were in the first group, and our kids loved it so much they got to go out again for the second hour.  Monica got to go with them too, and I was left ashore!  It was a lot of fun on the boat, but I didn't mind as I was very tired.

Wednesday was the 24th, and therefore, Pioneer Day!  So our family tradition is to make biscuits and home made butter.  We had to make a lot more than usual, but Monica got all of the kids to help put in ingredients, mix, and cut the dough.  Then, while the biscuits were baking we got out the heavy cream to make butter.  I helped Winry shake her jar.

All the kids had a good time shaking up their butter, and formed a wild rumpus around the table on the deck.  There were a lot of wild rumpuses, which happened whenever all of the kids paraded around the table in a line.  Typical wild rumpus times were during meals, and.... well... typically just meals.  That was usually when all of the kids were out there together.

On Thursday morning Winry threw a cap on backward cause it was time to throw a dance party!!  Oh my did the kids have a lot of fun dancing!  It was a good distraction while the adults finished getting things ready to go.

We headed out to Burro Trail to go for a hike.  Our family made it about a mile and a half round trip, and we were the first to turn around since Winry totally lost it.  She was in a hiking backpack and didn't even need to do anything.  She just sat up there and ate snacks, and probably drooled on the back of my head.  Anyway, right before we got back to the car we crossed this stream and let the kids play.  This was a mistake because we were NOT there long enough, and Winry LOST it when we left.  She cried "wa-wa" all the way back to the car...

To make it up to the kids, I took them on the gondola back up to where we were staying.  Breckenridge has free public transportation, which includes buses and more importantly, a gondola.  And the last stop was maybe a half mile from where we were staying.  So Monica dropped us off at the bottom, and drove back and made lunch while we rode up and walked home.  It was a lot of fun, and the girls were really excited to ride.

That evening we went to dinner at Fatty's in Breckenridge.  We ordered some pizzas to share, and while waiting for our food Winry was just losing it.  I tried walking around with her but that made it worse, so we came back and ate Parmesan cheese.  Sometimes, it's just whatever makes you happy.

Hum... I just realized I dropped the dance party video on the wrong day, because we made the tie-dye shirts on Thursday and all the kids wore them Friday.  So that video was definitely Friday, however, I like the backwards hat tie in, so I'll let me story stand.  Anyway, on Thursday afternoon the kids made tie dye shirts!  Monica and I stayed up late that night and partied in the hot tub until the shirts were ready to be washed.  They were all ready to be worn come Friday morning, and the kids loved em!!

On Friday we walked up to the gondola stop and rode back down to the town.  The plan was to walk around main street and head back for lunch.  Monica drove down because she gets motion sick, and our departure for the gondola was about an hour late, so when we got down there Winry was ready for her nap, so we walked back to our car and headed back for lunch.  But you know what, ride the gondola at every opportunity (it's free!).

Down by where we were parked there was a jerky cart, and this is where we parted ways with everyone else.  The real reason I took this picture is because I loved the wheel!  I like the wagon wheel just set on the outside of the actual wheel so it looks like a cart.  Bravo jerky man, bravo.

I totally missed this, but that afternoon Brooke read her Aladdin book to baby Laura.  Very cute.  She was reading it to everyone all week and almost has the whole thing memorized.  She even "taught" Audrey how to read by reciting the book to her!

Friday afternoon Pop took all the kids to get slurpees, because that's what grandpas do!  Brooke got blue raspberry and loved every drop.  She also had a very blue tongue.

And on Saturday morning it was crazy that it was already Saturday morning!!  The week flew by!  We packed up our things and it was time to say bye.  Winry really wanted to go home with Gram, as can be seen here.

Brooke gave everyone a hug, and we have many hug pictures, but I wanted to include her and Audrey because they are the best little friends in the world!  They had so much fun together all week long.

The drive back felt amazingly short, and on Saturday my previous sickness worked its way into a sinus infection!  I'm sure I'll feel better some day, but I wish that day was a few days ago...  Anyway, when we got home we put Winry down for a nap, and when she woke up we headed to the Ropers for a BBQ!  We stayed and hung out until Brooke was telling us she needed to go home for bed  (I should mention this was only a little after 5 pm!).  When we got home we did baths, got on pajamas, and then remembered we needed to check our garden.  Strawberries!!  First fruits of the year!  And they were so flavorful!  Definitely worth the excitement Brooke showed.

And that night after the kids went to bed it started raining, and there was a super bright rainbow in the sky!  There was even a double rainbow, though you cant really see it in this picture.

I went with Winry to nursery again today, and I didn't even try to leave.  She had a pretty rough go in sacrament meeting, so I knew it wouldn't end well.  When I got back from meeting with the missionaries after church Brooke was nowhere to be found, and I asked if she took a nap.  There had been a little tantrum/melt down, and Brooke had gone to her room to rest for a while.  What was the issue? "I don't like how much five is."  We taught Brooke how to play go fish yesterday, and she wanted to play again today.  Brooke asked Monica what the rules said for cards to deal, and Monica checked and said 5, so Brooke dealt 5 cards to each of them, and then yelled "I don't like how much five is" and started crying and was inconsolable!  Cant say we've ever had that issue before!  I just hope Brooke can get over this hurdle before she has so start math in school!

Well, that basically brings us up to the current moment, so that's all I've got for this week. Hope you all have a good one!