Colorado Fun

Today we got a lazy start to our fun Colorado day with the Benak Family.  We started out at Staunton State Park for a hike but the weather was not that cooperative and a storm was very threatening.

Harper on the trail.

EB and Tate.

All the kids!

Peter with the dark sky behind him.

Tate and Nicholas literally talked the entire hike.  

EB and Mia.  

The boys!

EB on a rock!

We stopped at Hoosier overlook but it was so so cold we lasted only a few minutes and never even got to see the overlook!

Off to Breckenridge

The kids all ready to ride the gondolas.  It was so cold, it was crazy.

How cool is this chalkboard?

Tate super excited for the ride.

The kids in the gondola.  Check out the view

At the top!

There were tons of fun, expensive things to do at the top and the kids all agreed on the Alpine Slide.  We let them go up alone.  It was a big leap of faith but they rocked it!

EB and Fisher.

Tate and Harper.

Peter was not having any of it.  He was cold and tired and sat in a chair.

Harper, Fisher and EB!  Where is Tate?

Harper

Fisher and EB!

Finally Tate.  We should have known.  He barely made it down the mountain he kept braking.  He was at least 5 minutes behind the others.  When he finally arrived he had a backlog of at least 10 riders behind him.

He is very serious and not so sure.

That is a long Alpine Slide and the kids LOVED it and would have all gone again.

How fun is this group shot?

The boys being silly.

Loved all the beautiful flowers around the town.

Fisher cannot get enough of Mia.  So very cute.

Nebraska

We spent the night in Omaha with plans to have it be a great day at the Omaha Zoo.  The weather did not cooperate with big storms rolling in so we decided to head right to your friends in Colorado with a few stops along the way.

Not sure what this statue is but very cool in Council Bluffs, Iowa.  A must do picture stop.  

There is not much between Omaha and Denver along the expressway but there is the Bailey Yards Railroad, the world's largest rail yard so we stopped and totally enjoyed it.  It is very impressive to see it in person.  Peter remembers watching some Modern Marvels with it featured.  We can see why after visiting. 

It was way too sunny and the kids REFUSED to face the camera. 

From the observation tower.

From the outside observation deck.

Finally I am in a picture.  I did trust Harper and EB with the camera for a bit. 

Kids wanted a funny picture!

EB!

Family shot!

This is where the fisheye goes terribly wrong.  They were all laughing so hard it was hard to be angry with them.

Their pennies from the store.  Big fun had by all. 

One last family shot!

On the road again!

No one was more excited to start our road trip to Colorado than Tate. He LOVES a road trip from settling into the car to every stop we make. He said it had been way too long since we had road tripped. Last one was this past Christmas!

FIRST Stop Ronald Reagan's boyhood home in Dixon, Illinois.

All Smiles

Harper striking a pose!

The kids hanging out before we head on to "learn".

Peter and "Dutch".

On the front porch hanging out!

The kids were so focused through the tour it was amazing.  This is in the dining room learning about the dishes and it was so neat to hear that people from all over had sent the same style dishes that were used when Ronald Reagan lived in the house.

Kitchen.

Kitchen.

Dining room.

Each and every one of the kids loved the fireplace and the story about where the pennies were stored.  So fun.

Sitting room.

Kids hanging out by the statute.

Corn in his hand. 

Beautiful sunset on the way to Council Bluff, Iowa.  We stopped to get a picture of the kids with it but I could not get the light right to have the kids lit and still see the sunset.