Garden of the Gods

We made it to Garden of the Gods around 1:30, along with many other travelers in CO that weekend...and a wedding party. It was a popular place to be apparently! 

Such an amazing place to view God's work...just amazing.

Sweet little Jonah, slept almost 2 hours like this while we walked around.

He turned 9 months old on this day!

They loved climbing around the rocks.

The rest of the family arrived and we roamed around a bit more, before an afternoon shower moved in.

 I like this picture quite a bit.

 I sure am glad for these two...letting all of us tag along on a big ol' family vacation!

Colorado Vacation [our family]

Family Vacation

Oh this vacation is one I have been SO looking forward to this summer. I have been working full time hours since the last week in May, and by far the hardest part is being away from my little boys.

So, the 2 1/2 days that we spent together prior to the larger Sweigart family vacation was very much needed and thoroughly enjoyed.

We left as soon as we could get things around in the morning on Thursday. The boys traveled well.

We got to Colorado Springs late afternoon. Checked into the hotel, then went to find some food. We ate at an authentic Mexican restaurant, which was good. It had started to rain while we were eating, and when we came out..the most beautiful double rainbow greeted us. Its so amazing to see God's handiwork...mountains and really bright double rainbow...no words to describe the awesomeness.

 I also had forgot to pack swimmer diapers, so we made a stop at Target (and by coincidence they had SEVERAL good clearance items that made it into our cart).

Our little minion man. He looked like he was made for this hat (however, we did not buy it.).

Friday, we ate breakfast at the hotel (a pretty nice continental breakfast). We then headed to Cave of the Winds near Manitou Springs.

 We had to wait about an hour before our tour. There was a wooden cave maze that was set up like a big box crate for Christian and Noah to go through at least five times. And then, we went with the 12 or so others on our tour of the cave inside the mountain. It was very informative, yet enjoyable for Christian and Noah. Jonah slept in the baby carrier I had on, almost the entire 45 minutes. It's just so fascinating what they can know about the history behind these caves and what the people from along time ago went through to see them.

We were very hungry after all the walking and stairs, and it was well after noon. So, I'm very glad we found this pizza place in Manitou Springs. It was a hole-in-the-wall type place with amazing pizza and cheese breadsticks. Savelli's...I would definitely go back there if we're ever in the area!

It was overcast, so we decided to just walk around a bit while we were in the area. There was a path that followed a stream...nothing more than enjoying being outside with the boys I love, surrounded by nature. Loved this.

My very favorite picture of my guys.

We went back to the hotel, took naps, then went to a park in Southern CO Springs.

Just a really nice day.

We ate a place called the Mason Jar on the way back. It was kind of like Cracker Barrel, just a unique place. Ben went swimming with Christian and Noah at the hotel in the evening before calling it a day.

Saturday, we got our things around, ate the breakfast provided at the hotel and headed out. We went to Focus on the Family, which I had been to when I was younger with my family. I don't remember all that it entailed. It was VERY family friendly. The young infant-toddler room was very conducive for Jonah and Noah. For a long while we were the only ones in there. Then, one other boy came in and made friends with Noah...and then the little boy in the picture came in with his brother. It was so sweet how Noah makes a connection with other little kids that wear glasses. He thinks they share the same feelings, and he gets all up in there personal space with a big ol' smile and starts to go for the hug. He has the very best intentions, but I have to ease him into the idea that maybe the feeling is not mutual.

And the BIG hit for Christian was the 76 ft corkscrew slide (3 stories). I went on it once, which was enough to know the experience. I think it was more enjoyable for someone his size. Clearly, he LOVED it, as he literally went down it for an hour and a half. You put your feet inside a cloth sack to keep your shoes from catching, and open socks over your elbows to prevent them from getting banged up. Every time he got to the bottom, a huge smile...and he'd say "AGAIN?!?"

 There were other kids friendly things to check out, we got a smoothie at Whit's End, and then spend some time in the bookstore. I was very impressed with this stop...it was way more interactive and enjoyable for all of us than I had anticipated.

After this, we had packed a lunch from all the leftovers from previous meals (as we had a refrigerator in the hotel room)...and ate while we drove to Garden of the Gods. This is where we were set to meet up with the rest of the Sweigart family.

Gather together

We spent a little extra time at Mom & Dad's house mid July...Tim and Carissa's family were here and so all the family got together a couple times.

Jonah had a couple girls that really liked to watch and play with him.

Mia & Jonah playing the instruments.

Grandpa definitely got his work out in the pool...launching the kids in the pool.

Christian is soaring in this picture, and it looks like two more kids are lining up to go next! 

Poor Grandpa doesn't get a break.

Gia and Noah..she's a good lil' mama cousin.

One evening, we had frogmore stew...

a messy, but tasty meal. And the clean up is super fast, just throw away the paper!

Noah enjoys his cousins, however, he really likes to be by himself. Too much activity, and he is off finding his own thing to do. So during a moment like this, he piled up the chalk in the tricycle and made a "river for Grandma to 'wim in"

Jonah and Kade

Kade was saying to him, "you and me are going to be buddies when you get bigger."

Aunt Carissa reading Seven Sneezes (a favorite library book)...she's a pretty animated reader!

Christian [6 years-part 1]

Christian is turning SIX in August.

He seems so big!

While Carissa and Tim & family were around, we celebrated with the Sweigart family a bit early.

We had hamburgers, hotdogs, pasta salad, carrots (his favorite), finger jello, and chips for supper.

His favorite dessert is icecream...so I used ice cream sandwiches to make a 'cake'.

It was super messy to serve, but he was a fan..so that's good.

We opened presents outside. Christian and Kade needed to look over the new Lego set...he was pretty pumped about getting that started!

We gave him 'flippers' and goggles. He has been asking for flippers since January (for his birthday). Each time asked what he would like...this was it! I was completely shocked when I ran across them at TJ Maxx...and they were his size, so it was meant to be! He was pretty excited to say the least. He walked around the yard with them on, and lucky for him all the cousins spent the night at Mom and Dad's that night..so he even got to try them out in their pool before bed!

Its fun to get to celebrate with everyone here! He gets to draw out his birthday celebrations each year, just because of who is around...which is just an added bonus.

Summer fun

A glimpse of a few summer fun times....

One evening, we had planned to go to the airport restaurant (which ended up having a class reunion occupying the outside portion..which is kind of the best part of eating there). So, we ended up eating at Olive Garden (Christian's favorite) and then went to Barnes & Noble afterwards. It was a really fun time. We read books in the children's section, played with the Legos, and searched through the toys. Afterwards, we walked around near the water fountain and got a scoop of bubble gum ice cream from Marble Slab. It was a successful and fun night!

 We went to watch Mitchell play softball one evening. The Possums were smoking the pants off of the other team, so we walked to the nearby park. Oh Noah and his faces...he cracks me up. 

Just moments after this picture, Noah was going up the slide stairs, almost near the top when a fly ball flew over the fence, and landed at the top of the slide. My mama heart...aaaahhhh! I was thankful for the angels that kept him safe.

We went to the drive in on a Friday night to see Minions and Inside Out. These two stayed up for BOTH movies! Jonah needed some assistance to fall asleep, but then he was good to go. Snacks and drinks...made this outing complete. It was a humid night, but hearing their laughs made it very worth while.

I think the summer fun check list is probably not going to be completed this year..

but I'm grateful for the things that we DO get to do!