Pikes Peak YMCA - Estes Park

    Every Spring Break we usually try to go somewhere.  We no longer have our house in Arizona, so we can't go down there any longer.  This year, we decided not to take a long trip because Emmy is still pretty young to spend long stretches in the car.  Joey and I decided that we did want to do something with the kids.  We decided to take a two night trip to Estes Park.  None of us had ever been there before, so it was a new and exciting adventure for all of us.
    Estes Park was the perfect destination because it was only about a 2 1/2 hour drive.  The drive was pretty scenic and there was lots to look at along the way.  We are members of the YMCA and they happen to have an amazing  hotel/cabin property there.  Since we were only going for two nights and it was the off season, we booked a hotel room and not a cabin.  We were not sure what to expect, and we were completely blown away when we saw the property.  It was gorgeous and I can only imagine how incredible it is during the summer months when everything is green!  There was so much to do there that you didn't even really have to leave.  Our room was pretty basic, so we had to drive into Estes Park for all of our meals.  We enjoyed trying out some new restaurants.

We saw a lot of elk

The hotel

Elk roamed around the property.  

Where we stayed

The view out of our window

     The first afternoon we arrived, we checked in and settled into the room.  There was a craft building that was one of the neatest things in the world!  It had areas to make every craft imaginable from tie dye, ceramics, leather crafting, mosaics, and jewelry. Ashlyn insisted that we get right over there and get started.  The kids all picked a different ceramic to paint.  

Relaxing in the room

So scenic

One of the cabins.  Joey and I really want to come back in the summer and stay in a cabin

    After we did some crafting, we checked out a museum they had that was in an original YMCA camp building. They were encouraged to touch things and the kids really liked it.  After the museum, we headed into town to have dinner.  The place we wanted to go was actually closed when we got there.  We used Yelp and found a good place to have some New York pizza.  It was pretty good pizza.  After dinner, we were all pretty tired, so we went back to our hotel.  They had a skating rink there, so Ashlyn, Gracie, and I all went skating.  Gracie did not care for skating at all, so she watched as Ashlyn and I skated for a bit.

They do love each other

They had a museum at the Y that we toured

Checking out life long ago

Playing with the old switchboard

Checking out some old toys

Pretty girl

   While Ashlyn was busy painting a Harry Potter mug, Joey took the kids outside to play at the park. The park was pretty neat, we just wished it was a little warmer.

Pretty girl

Getting crafty

Dawson was insistent that he wanted to tie dye something.  They had a bunch of different designs to pick from.  He knew immediately he wanted to make a red and black shirt.  He had such fun making his shirt.  This has now become his "at home" shirt.  Right when he gets home, he puts on this shirt and wears it every night to bed.  He is very funny.  

Dyeing his shirt

    We all slept really well that night.  We all woke up the next morning ready for some breakfast!  We headed to a local breakfast spot.  Ashlyn got a waffle with apple toppings she really liked.

Yummy!

Our only complaint about the Y property, was that all the activities (besides the craft house) were only available during certain times.  The pool was only open during certain hours as well.  The kids were dying to go swimming.  We got all dressed and headed to the pool to discover that they were at capacity and weren't letting anymore swimmers in.  The kids were bummed, but we decided to go mini golfing instead and swim later that evening.  Golfing was a bit cold, but the kids still had a great time. 

Pausing for a quick snack break.

   We went to dinner at a place that is supposed to have some of the best pie in the country.  We all sampled a different flavor, and it was pretty tasty pie!  After dinner, we made our way back to the Y and finally got in some swimming.  Joey went in with the kids while Emmy and I watched.  The kids swam for a solid two hours and had a lot of fun.  They were all very ready for bed after that.  

Swimming

Hanging out with mom

  Sadly, on Wednesday, our time in Estes Park had come to an end. We all agreed it was such a wonderful little vacation.  We hope to come back, and hopefully when it is warmer so we can take part in all that it has to offer. Next time, we would like to do some hiking in Rocky Mountain National park as well.
   We still had one more surprise for the kids on the way home.  We surprised them with a trip to Dave and Busters.  I hadn't been to Dave and Busters for many years.  The kids had never been and I don't even think they knew it existed.  I had forgotten how neat that place is and how much there is to do.  It happened to be half off game day, so the place was absolutely packed, but the kids had a great time and it was the perfect way to end our short little spring break trip.

Playing some air hockey

He liked this one a lot

Emmy just long for the ride

Happy boy when he discovered Mario games

They have all these new video games that are like games on steroids.  You go inside a big booth and shoot at different things.  Gracie was actually really good at playing.