Splash Park Fun

    A few weeks ago, we had a water filled day.  My brother, Ashlyn, and I all went up to Denver to go to Water World.  This has become a yearly tradition for us and we had such a fun time.  Dawson and Gracie are still too young to go, so they stayed home with Joey.  We picked a really hot day to go.  Joey decided to take advantage of the great weather and took the kids to a local splash park.  He said they had a great time.

Lunch break

Salida

   On Tuesday, we took a little trip down to Salida.  I really like Salida and think it's a pretty neat little town.  We always make a trip down there when we spend the week at the cabin.  We started our time there with a trip to the river park . The kids had fun playing and we walked along the river which is breathtaking.
    After we walked along the river, we walked towards some shopping.  It's similar to Old Colorado City and has some really neat little shops.  There is a toy store that we always stop at and let the kids each pick out a little something.  That store is just packed with toys and the kids always have a hard time choosing something .  We walked around a few more stores.
     We usually go to a local pizza place for lunch, but we have something really similar in town so we decided to try something different.  We had read really good things about a local bakery/deli and we decided to give it a try.  It was the cutest little place with an amazing selection of sandwiches.  The bread was all fresh baked and it was honestly some of the best bread I had ever had.  Our only complaint was we really wanted to try one of their brownies for dessert and they were out of them.  Oh well, next time because there will definitely be a next time.  It was very good.
       After lunch, we decided to head back up to the cabin.  We really didn't spend anytime there the day before and we wanted to spend some time up there since we were heading home the next day.

Park fun

Ashlyn is apparently part monkey and scaled up this pole like a little monkey.  

The Arkansas River

So pretty

A little rock climbing area they have

Such pretty girls

Taking in the views

Gracie found a stroller to push

Gracie enjoying her lunch

The lunch place had amazing fresh baked cookies 

Our sweet Ella

Dawson playing with the trains he got at the toy store

Mt. Princeton Hot Springs

   On Monday of our trip, we ventured down the road to the Mt. Princeton Hot Springs.  We have gone in years past and the kids have always had such a fun time.  It is an expensive place, so unfortunately we only go once a summer.  We figured a Monday was a good time to go since it would be a little less busy then on the weekend.  Joey's dad lives about five minutes away from there and we invited him to come along since we really needed an extra pair of hands.
     The clouds looked very ominous, yet the weather managed to remain nice all day.  The pools were so warm and the perfect temperature for little kids who loathe being cold.  We got there right when it opened and stayed until the afternoon.  The waterslide was a huge hit like usual.  Jameson got to ride for the first time and he loved it.  He literally laughed the whole way down each time he rode.  It was precious!  We all swam until we couldn't swim anymore.  We changed and headed to Joey's dad's house for an awesome spaghetti and meatballs dinner and a nice hot shower!  What a perfect day it was! We all slept very well that night.

Ashlyn had so much fun swimming with her Papa

Snack break

Dawson loved the small pool since it was so warm.  He spent a lot of time here.

Katy and Jameson on the slide

Dawson and me

Trying to get in some much needed rest

You would think after all that swimming Jameson wouldn't have the energy to run down the hill like that.  

Trip to Cabin

   We spent the rest of our time up at the cabin aside from a few day trips.  We were there from Saturday until Wednesday afternoon.  We decided that next year we will be staying for a full week. It still just wasn't quite enough time up there for us.  I think we could live up there during the summer.
    Times are just so much simpler up at the cabin.  We are surrounded by old mining buildings and artifacts  from long ago.  It almost seems when we go up there we are stepping back in time.  We fill our days with things like hiking, throwing rocks in the river, watching hummingbirds, feeding chipmunks, looking for wildflowers, etc.  We all sit on the porch for hours talking and laughing with one another.  I am glad we don't have much technology up there.  It really does force us to unplug and truly spend quality time with one another without the distractions in our day to day lives.
   Here are some of the pictures from our time up at the cabin during our trip.

Gracie is a nature girl to the max.  She loves to be outside and running and exploring.  

We went on many, many walks and hikes.  It was our attempt to wear the kids out.  Unfortunately, the adults also got quite worn out too.  

A girl on the go

Dawson and I walking to town

We got to feed the chipmunks every morning

Such a nice picture of Ella

My loves

Jameson enjoyed the chipmunks this year

Gracie is really learning how to feed the chipmunks

My dad recently got this tight rope thing for the kids.  They love it and Jameson had to try it out

The cool boys ready to go on a ride

Exploring

Our river dog

These two live for the mountains

Playing by the river

The girls got these wax lips at the general store.  They were pretty silly

The girls are obsessed with the rope swing and spent every chance they got swinging.  

Dawson fell asleep pretty early on night on the couch.  So much fun really wears a boy out!!!

Playing with his cars

More river exploration

Cool stick

The girls picked out some ladybug playgrounds when we went to the toy store in Salida.  When we got back, they immediately had to go ladybug hunting.  Ashlyn has a good eye for spotting them.  

Looking for ladybugs

Bed buds in the whole world

Our view for the week

Ella holding her ladybug playground

Ashlyn showing off her bugs

Thanks to our handy wildflower guide book, we were able to identify a few new types of flower.  This particular one is a wild iris.  It's so much fun to find a flower and try to match it.  We learned the Ute Indians used to eat this flower.  

She really wants to pet one!

Being silly as usual

Too many kids for one chair

Popsicle time.  Boy were they excited!!!

Ashlyn swinging away

  On Wednesday, we left the cabin around 3:00.  We decided to go back to Buena Vista to grab dinner before heading home.  We tried a new restaurant that specializes in healthy food and it was amazing.  They had a really neat outdoor eating space with lots for the kids to do.  This pipe and magnet area entertained them well.  

Lots of building

    We decided to end the trip on a very sweet note and go back to the ice cream place one last time for a final treat.  It was the perfect ending to the perfect trip.

More ice cream

Such a nice brother to share with his sister