Week at the Cabin

  The first week of August, we made our annual week long trip up to the cabin.  We usually go mid-July, but my sister couldn't get the time off until August.  As always, we had such a great time and found so much to fill our days with.  It is so nice to get away for that long and just relax in the mountains.  Here are some of the things we filled our week with.

One day it rained, so the kids worked on some craft projects.  

Dawson painting his car

Jameson

   One night we had some excitement. After dinner, we heard a helicopter overhead.  We all ran outside to discover an ambulance and a Flight For Life helicopter.  This is totally not what you want to see up there because we knew someone had been seriously hurt.  The chopper set there for quite some time before the ambulance came down and brought someone on board.  We later learned that a man and woman had gotten in an ATV accident, and the woman actually died.  It was a very sad situation.  The medical crew that works for Flight For Life are incredible and I am so thankful that they exist to rescue those in such critical situations.

The Flight For Life taking off

Going for a walk

best buds

  One day, we made our yearly trip to Salida.  We love the river there.  The river was really flowing high this year, so the kids weren't really able to play in it.  We were excited to discover that they had put in a brand new playground that was really cool and the kids loved it.  

   After playing for a bit, we tried a new pizza restaurant for lunch that was amazing. We all decided it will definitely be our new go-to lunch spot in Salida from here on out.  After lunch, we had to make a stop at the toy store where all the kids got to pick a toy.  Then we made one last stop for some awesome ice cream.  It was a really nice day and it was nice to get back to civilization for a bit.  

The river

Ashlyn trying out the rock climbing wall

The new park that has a river theme.  It was adorable!

The boys in the raft

Stopping for pizza for lunch

Ice cream while looking at their new toys.  

Bishop's Castle

    On our way home from Monte Vista, we decided to stop for one more adventure.  We stopped at Bishop's Castle in Rye, Colorado. Bishop's Castle is definitely a sight to be seen.  A man started building this castle all by himself and he continues to build onto it to this day.  The castle is extremely primitive and guests are welcome to climb through it.  The builder is very eccentric and he was there the day we were there.  He doesn't seem the most mentally stable, and he was yelling and going on about this and that.  Quite frankly I think he scared all of us a bit.  However, we managed to stay out of his way.  My mom, Gracie and the boys did not want to climb through the castle.  Ashlyn and I did some parts, but it was pretty terrifying.  When he builds the castle it doesn't seem he has safety in mind.  There were lots of steep staircases, and many areas with out any railings.  It was pretty scary, but of course Ashlyn loved every minute of it and was not scared at all.  I had my limit and only did part of it.  Katy took the girls to the other part.  It was definitely a neat, but very scary experience.  We want to go back with the younger kids are a little older and can really enjoy it.

The castle.  Pretty impressive that it was build by one man.  

Apparently it is always under construction

The castle

A part you can climb to the top of.  Katy and the girls climbed to the top of this side.  

This room is on the second floor and actually quite lovely.  People often get married here and I can see why.  

A few from the top.  Ashlyn and I were up pretty high. 

Another tower

This child has zero fear.

Dawson's face is priceless.  He took one look at all the stairs and said, "No way!"

 

Gracie attempting a part of it.  

Group photo

Southern Colorado Trip

  Every summer we take an end of the year trip to somewhere fun.  In the past, we have always gone to Denver.  We decided to switch it up this year and head a totally different direction.  Instead of going North, we headed South.  We were all very excited to try some totally new adventures and see completely new things.
    We started at the Pueblo zoo.  Most of us had never been before and we were excited to see a different zoo.  We love the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, but it is always so crowded in the summer.  We were amazed to be practically the only ones at the Pueblo zoo.  It is a much smaller zoo, but it is very flat and has lots of trees.  It was the perfect size for us to tackle in one morning.  The kids liked seeing some different animals.  The red panda seemed to be the favorite of everyone's favorite.  After the zoo, we had lunch in Pueblo and were off to our next adventure.

Our zoo crew

Ashlyn on a giant egg

Dawson's turn

Off to see the animals

The adorable red panda

The farm section

I loved all the trees.  

Crazy kids

Feeding the chickens

Love these girls

They are some good jumpers

Looking at the birds

Riding a camel

The kids discovered a bunch of snails and thought it was the coolest thing ever

Snail

     After lunch, we drove about two hours down to the Sand Dunes area.  We decided to go to a alligator farm that we had heard was fun.  It was pretty funny because the girls loved it and the boys wanted nothing to do with it. Jameson wouldn't even go in.  Dawson wanted to leave the entire time.  The rest of us enjoyed looking at all the different gators.  They had a ton of them.  We even learned that you can pay to wrestle with the gators.  That would take an awfully brave soul.  It was a different experience and now the kids can say they have held an alligator.  

The gators

Basking in the sun

The also raise tilapia here.  This was a tilapia cage and made me thankful I don't eat tilapia.  

These giant turtles roamed around

Ella petting a turtle

The gator they held.  We all got a kick out of the fact his name was Joey.  

Getting their certificates for holding Joey

 

The brave girls

At least Dawson was brave enough to get in for the picture. 

More exotic animals

  After the gator farm, we drove to our special hotel for the night in Monte Vista.  We had read about this hotel on the internet and knew we had to visit.  The hotel is situated to face a drive-in movie theater.  You get to watch the movie right from the comfort of your hotel room.  They even have special speakers in the room to play the sound.  The kids thought it was the coolest thing in the world.  They were playing the new Spiderman that night.  I don't think anyone besides my mom actually made it to the end of the movie, but it was still so much fun.  We all decided we have to go back next year.

All the rooms are named after famous actors and my sister was so excited to see that we got her favorite, Audrey Hepburn. 

Our view from our room

The had a little playground that the kids played on. 

Crazy boys waiting for the movie to start

Movie time!!!