Colorado Trip & 4th of July

We had a great time visiting my sister and her family in Colorado this Summer.  We went to celebrate Ty’s 12th Birthday and see him get ordained to the office of a Deacon.  It was pretty awesome!  I can’t believe the kids have grown up so much since the last time we made a trip to Colorado.  I was pregnant with Brooks and Dalton was 3 years old and Ashby was 5 the last time we went in the pictures below! 

So I didn’t take any pictures of the plane ride there (yes we actually flew with all 6 of us!!).  It was a bit crazy to say the least.  The kids were actually really good.  I was a little worried about Ryder because he was a lap child (he didn’t turn 2 until a week later).  We were really pushing the envelope on that one.  He’s getting pretty big to sit on my lap and the airplane seats aren’t very roomy.  I was hopeful the flights would not be full so he could get his own seat anyways.  Didn’t happen.  Flight was packed full both ways.  He did fine with my big bag of snacks and by activity backpack with never-ending supplies of stickers, activities, toys, etc.  On the way down Me, Ashby, Dalton and Ryder all sat in one row.  Brooks sat with Ryan across from us with a stranger on the end.  It worked out pretty well.  Brooks got a little motion sick and started dry- heaving into his blanket at one point.  He was crying saying his mouth hurt.  It was so sad.  Ryan was able to quickly calm him down and put him to sleep somehow.  He’s a genius!!  After he woke up he was fine and did perfect the rest of the way.  On the way home I made sure to give all the kids some Dramamine to prevent any more motion sickness.  Honestly the hardest part about flying with all six of us was the whole luggage situation.  Ryan was carrying like 6 bags by himself while I’m strolling the 2 little boys in the stroller with multiple bags hanging off of it and a backpack on my back.  Next time we need to invest in roll away suitcases for the the kids so they can carry their own luggage.  Denver is tricky too because the airport is at least 1 hour away from the city.  So after you fly in you still have a lot of traveling left to do.  Not very fun at dinner time with hungry cranky kids who are done traveling.   We had to rent a car so it would fit everyone while we were there.  Ended up being a super small car that barely fit us and all our stuff.  Turns out Ryan’s free rental car SUV was blackout dates because of the 4th.  Classic!!  We were stuffed in that car like sardines.  The kids had the stroller at their feet and I had several bags on my lap the whole ride there.  Needless to say we were so happy to finally make it to Dan and Shelli’s house!  The kids really did love going on all the interesting modes of transportation to get to their house.  They kept saying, we rode on a subway, a bus, a car, AND a plane to get to their house!  They were so excited.

Me and Shelli July 2013 Aubrey was so sweet to paint Ashby’s nails a couple times during the week.  This session was for 4th of July nails.  Ashby was in Heaven!  Of course whenever I DON’T want to take a picture of Ryder he sits down and smiles really cute.  It’s a totally different story when he knows I want to take his picture. :) 

Our first trip to Chick Fil A once we got to Denver.  Tuesday night is family night.  The kids decorated their own 4th of July bandanas, they had a balloon maker, and of course the cow for the kids to see.  We LOVE Chick Fil A!!  Ryder followed the cow around the whole restaurant wanting to shake his hand and kept saying, “Hi, hi, hi, hi”.  That poor cow.  He gave him lots of hugs too.

4th of July we started the day of with a movie, Despicable Me 2.  We all loved it.  It was Brooks’ first time at the movies.  He did just fine.  He was loving all the popcorn and treats in his tray. 4th of July hair. :) 

Our favorite: Chick Fil A for lunch(round #2)!  Oh yeah!!

  Jumping on the trampoline became the favorite activity for all the kids whenever we were home.  Our boys were in heaven.

Mom interrupts the fun for a mandatory family 4th of July pic.  The kids were so over it can you tell?!  

Fun with poppers!!  Even the little ones were getting the hang of these things.  Cousins!!

4th of July treats at SOHO Frozen Yogurt.  Yumm!!

Ashby took this picture for us.  After we went shopping at the outlets.

Ty’s Birthday fun at Dave and Busters.  Ashby won the huge teddy bear from the claw game on her 2nd try after Ryan told her not to waste her money on that game.  Ha, ha!  She was so excited!!  Afterwards they ate at Freddy’s for lunch.  Delish!!

     

Older cousins having fun at the park on Ty’s Bday.  Ty taught Dalton how to really throw the football.

Ryder loving “Jump Street”.  He was amazing on these trampolines.  He had such great balance when he was jumping. 

Ashby trying out the mechanical bull.

 

Brooks with his beloved “light saber” he found in the backyard.  It was actually a bubble wand.  Lol.  He couldn’t have been more happy.

Brooks slept in our room the whole trip.  He slept so good every night and for his naps.  We must have really wore him out during the day. :)

Castle Rock has this great indoor water park at their community rec center.  It’s awesome!!  It has water slides, a lazy river, and different slides and water features.  The kids had a blast and the best part is no sunscreen!!!

Ty feeding Ryder is bottle before bed.

We took all the kids to the Denver aquarium on Saturday.  It was a really neat place.  The older kids really enjoyed it.  Ryder had a hard time staying with us.  He wanted to run uninhibited all over the place.  It was so crowded I was afraid I was going to lose him.  Coupled with watching the other kids who all wanted to go in different directions all at once proved to be a difficult task.  By the end Ryder was tired and cranky.  He got in one of those moods where he would not stop crying.  It was so frustrating.  We cut the trip shorter than we wanted to because of our unhappy little guy.  Wish we could have spent more time there with the older kids.  I’m not sure why ALL of our kids are so darn independent and stubborn.  Seriously, they don’t get that from me! :)  Don’t be fooled by all the cute pictures of Ryder either, he really was a nightmare. 

The coolest part was when the scuba divers came in the tanks to feed the fish.  They would really interact with the kids through the glass.  The kids LOVED it.      

This is in the shark tank.  The scuba diver’s sign says, “Is there a shark behind me?”  Ha ha.  The kids loved that!! 

Lunch at Freddy’s afterwards.  Look we have 6 kids!!  How fun is that?! You should have seen the looks we got at the aquarium and at lunch.  PRICELESS!!  This time it was my turn to try this place out too!  Frozen custard and the BEST burger I’ve ever tasted hands down!!  Even grumpy Ryder was happy at Freddy’s!!

Climbing Castle Rock.  This is the castle shaped rock Castle Rock is named after.  We hiked it with the older kids on Sunday.

Brooks and I made it to the bottom of the rock and stopped there.  Dan took the older kids and climbed all the way to the top.  It was a pretty steep climb with no easy way up, but with Dan’s help the kids made it to the top!  They were so excited.

On the way up the mountain

This is the part where they climbed up the rock to the top.  It is a sheer cliff of rocks. 

They made it!!! On the top of the castle rock (see the rainbow in the background?!). AWESOME!!

Coming down the mountain.  Brooks was loving the horsey ride from Uncle Dan!! :)

Ty’s big day receiving the Aaronic Priesthood.  Handsome boy!  Ty was so sweet with the kids while we were there.  He would give them various stuffed animals, hats and prizes to take home.  The kids were so excited.

Aubrey and Ty July 2013 The whole group

Ashby loved hanging out with Aubrey the whole trip.  Ashby was in Heaven sleeping in her room every night.  Aubrey was so sweet to do Ashby hair almost every morning.  I love that they will always have each other.  Seriously how cute are these two?!

Ashby was so excited to visit an actual American Girl store in Denver.  She had been saving her money for over a year to buy a doll.  We finally made it to the mall towards the end of our trip.  She was so cute looking at all the neat things in the store.  She knew right away what she wanted and got the girl of the year “Saige” doll with a few accessories.  She was one HAPPY girl!

A few random pics of Me and Aubrey and Me and Shelli at the movies.  Aubrey was so sweet and babysat the kids for us a few times so we could go out to dinner, shopping, and out to the movies!  Thanks Aubrey!!!  Dan and Shelli were awesome hosts as always!  Thanks guys for letting us come!  We had a great time.