Colorado Craziness

It was a big trip for us so I warn you that this is a big post...

Wednesday, July 13th we made our way to Durango, Colorado. It was a lovely trip full of whining, crying, screaming and of course... some fun. No, it wasn't a terrible trip but there were a lot of rough moments. Ben is only 15 months and hasn't quite learned to love traveling yet. At least Steven has started to love trips and he did really well. I was proud of my little Steegen.

We caravanned to Colorado with my family in one car, my parents in another and Mike and Rebecca in the third car. We were equipped with walkie talkies which made things even more fun.

On the way to CO we took A LOT of breaks and it made the trip pretty bearable for all, even though it took us much longer. One of our breaks was at this great tourist place in Holbrook. Outside of it there was this little dinosaur that terrified Steven. This was also the place where Steven decided he would not willingly pose in any pictures-- the whole trip.

(If you can see the time & date on this picture you might notice it's wrong. Steven was sweet enough to change the settings for me.)

Late afternoon Wednesday we arrived at what Steven referred to as the "big house." My mom did a good job picking out a hotel for us. We had a 3 room executive suite with a full kitchen, living room, & 2 bathrooms. Because we had children we were also lucky enough to get the master suite. Ben got to live Harry Potter like and sleep in the walk-in closet. Steven slept on the spacious floor by our bed. It worked out splendidly and we felt spoiled rotten.

After all that traveling on Wednesday we decided to reward our children with a 7 hour round trip train ride to Silverton, Colorado on Thursday. Ben really loved us for that. He showed us his love by screaming most of the way there. I know the people on our train car really loved us as well. Thankfully he napped for most of the way back so the ride back was much better.

When we weren't being stressed out by his crying, and we could take a look out the window, it was a really beautiful view. At one point we were literally at the edge of a mountain looking down on a raging river. A little scary but so gorgeous.

Silverton itself was nothing too special. Just a very little town with touristy shops and very scenic views. It was however, a nice break from being stuck in a train with a screaming baby.

Steven pouting because he wants the train to start moving

On Friday we visited one of my favorite Colorado places from my childhood, Honeyville. As you can see Steven is still refusing to pose for the camera...

Tyler just loves those little bees

The rest of Friday was spent with some of my favorite relatives, eating food and chatting comfortably. It was good to see people I haven't seen in years and have them actually meet my children.

Saturday was spent at the Palmer Family Reunion. There was a photo scavenger hunt which we one first place in, a bounce house that made Steven's day, a river close by to wade in, an auction in which someone bought something I made for $45 (go me!) and lots of family to talk to. It was hotter than I had hoped it would be but it was still good times for me. Poor Tyler though got stuck in the car for a couple hours trying to get Ben to nap and then making sure he stayed napping. However, I secretly think he enjoyed it because he got to take a nap too.

Ben wanted to bounce too! (By the way Ben is really starting to walk now. Like from one side of a room to another before falling on his bottom. So impressive!)

My favorite cousin, Breezy. So good to see her again!

Mike was nice enough to take Steven in the river. Yes he is pantless since we forgot to bring proper river attire...

Steven with one of his new friends (check out his friend's awesome arm bands)

Look, one picture of me!

Tyler refusing to smile...

On Sunday it was time to face the drive home. This time we pushed through and took only a couple stops. One of those stops was a must stop though. We stopped at Fort Courage whis is only the coolest stop ever!

Check out this cannon!

And this awesome house/fort thingy

Despite some of the trying times I think overall it was a fantastic trip because I got to spend time with all of my family and that's my favoritest thing to do :)