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Colorado

We had a great trip to Colorado and felt very blessed to be able to go after thinking we might be stuck at home for the summer. 

We haven't experienced a road trip as a family that equated to more than 7 hours of driving in a very long time, so I was nervous about how the kids would do.  They must have been a little nervous too considering our horrible recent experiences of fighting and throwing up for just our short 2-5 hour drives. Our anxiety made for very good preparation. The kids helped plan activities to keep themselves busy and I was better about planning snacks. We also made sure each section of the car had access to a garbage bag. 

The kids did very well with a little fighting, mess, and silliness. I had expected a lot worse considering we have no empty seats in our car and, therefore, no way to get away from each other.
 Our first day of driving took us to a hotel in Denver (12 hours). The next day, we drove 6 more hours to the Belts house in Durango. 

The kids were so excited to see their cousins and the adventures began. 

First was a couple of runs down the river. 
The next day's big adventure was paint ball wars. 

We had a great day at the lake our final day there. I didn't get pictures of that even though it may have been the favorite activity overall. 

On Sunday, we drove about 5 hours to Glenwood Springs to the Gudgel Family gathering, and the fun times continued.

First on the list was a visit to the hot springs swimming pool. 

Brooklyn didn't last as long swimming as everybody else, so she practiced her "selfie-taking" skills. There were a lot of funny pictures of her on my phone, but I like this one best:

She learned that pose from her sisters. If I were really mean, I'd share some of their    double-chin selfies. But I'm super nice, right girls?

Playing games in the hotel lobby was super fun. 


The adventure park was super fun too. Just the tram up the mountain was exciting for Sean. 
Rock climbing was a highlight for the boys. Andrew made it to the top of the tower several times. 
The rides were great with short lines. 
Brooklyn was technically too short for that ride, but we didn't know that until later in the afternoon when a new attendant was on duty. 

The cave tours were cool to see, but the tour guides annoyed me with their talk of "fairy dust" and "dragon snot."  Caves are cool enough without teaching the kids dumb made-up facts about the formations. I am more interested in the scientific names of the formations and the process of their growth.
At one point we came out of the cave to a beautiful view on the side of the mountain.
We also got to spend time miniature golfing and walking around down town. 
Brooklyn had to get creative with the restaurant napkins to keep herself entertained until food came. 

The kids were a little less well-behaved on the way home--either that or we were all tired and less patient. The drive home is always harder than the drive there. 

Emily and Andrew got ahold of my phone while we were in the grocery store getting  food for our last night in Omaha on the way home.

It was a great trip!

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