Estes Park, CO

(Warning.... lots and lots of pictures below!!!) :)
Like I said in the last post, we went to Estes Park, CO last week and stayed at the YMCA of the Rockies.  It was a Family Camp with our church.  It was an amazing trip.  We were able to be together as a family, meet so many new friends and grow in our understanding of God's word.  We had about an hour each morning (except Wed - family day) when our pastor taught on Philippians.  It was great and I took pages of notes each and every day. The boys all had classes during that time.  The kid's teachers were awesome and really used their time to love on our boys.  They spent some fun time at the playground each day, hearing Bible stories, learning a memory verse, singing songs, doing crafts, and just being kids!
I have not done my Project Life post in a few weeks (um.... last photo is 5/27), but plan to catch up on that soon!  I may just copy and past from here....
Saturday, June 5 - We left our house at 5:45AM and hoped to put the boys in the car and drive a few hours while they slept.  Mason woke up at 5am as we were finishing packing the car.  Miles and Max were excited to be up and did not go back to sleep either.  Oops!  We drove all day.  Stopped at McD's for breakfast, Dairy Queen for lunch (and actually saw another couple from our church there but didn't know it at the time!), and ended in Raton, NM for dinner and sleep!

The boys really needed to get out and throw a few rocks after a full day in the car!

Poor Maxer just needed a nap!

Sunday, June 6 - Happy Birthday Daddy!!!  We started with coffee from Star*bucks. We knew we only had a few hours to EP, but couldn't check-in until 5PM, so we started north and made a detour to see the Royal Gorge.  Beautiful canyon and scenery.  Really scary bridge!!!  Especially since cars can drive across at the same time people are walking across.

This pic just cracks me up!!

We could have walked back across, but the boys really wanted to ride the tram.   Talk about pushing Mommy to her limits!

We rode an inclined train to the bottom of the canyon to get a closer look at the river and the train tracks.

Looking up at the bridge we walked across earlier.  I did NOT feel better about taking the boys across it!! But look at that sky - this pic does not even do it justice!

We made it to EP around 6pm. We had dinner, the boys had a little time with their class and we had our first evening service.
Monday, June 7 - Friday, June 11 -
We ate, had class, napped, hiked, rode horses, climbed rocks, looked for wildlife, and thoroughly enjoyed our first (of many) vacation as a family of 5!!!  Yeah, that about sums up our days!  It was great family time though!

Yes, I am hiking in a skirt.  I had no idea we were going to find a trail to go down.  And, I hold firm that only a mom of 3 boys would attempt it!  :)

Wednesday was family day.  We hiked up to Gem Lake with a large group.  It was about 1.9 miles each way.   Amazing views, fun times and a challenge for everyone in our little group, for sure!  But so worth the energy!

Beautiful Gem Lake.  Notice the person climbing up the rock wall.  CRAZY!!  So pretty though.  And COLD! 

Miles decided he did not want to get his clothes wet.  So thoughtful, don't you think????

We ended the day as a group at the big slide in town.  The boys all enjoyed going down - including Max!  He had a trip down with mommy and daddy.  (That is Daddy, Max and Mason on the red slides.)

It was a wonderful trip.  The boys did so well during the long drive.  We drove straight through on the way home so we could sleep in our own beds Saturday night.  It was a 15-hour drive, but so worth it to all be in different rooms!!!  We are already looking forward to next year's trip!!!