Now....let me stop here and say one thing: After this trip I am now a firm believer in the phrase- "whatever can go wrong, probably will."
And the fact that Brandon and I survived this trip, not only survived it, but we actually had a fun (not quite relaxing) time, proves that we can get through most any situation together. And, now that I've peaked your interest...here's the story of our very first Riffel Family Vacation.
First, let me just say that my boys are the best travelers! Not everyone can take their 8 month old and almost 4 year old on a 9 hour drive and only stop twice!! Here's what I love most about road trips- it gives me uninterrupted time with my little guys. In no other place do I have their undivided attention, except for in the car. We played games (our favorite is the license tag game), watched movies, snuggled, counted "oil pumpers", tickled, giggled, sang songs, colored, and read books. We did so well that the time went by super fast and by the time we made it to Colorado, I was really proud of my super duper travelers!
There's something about the mountains that is in our DNA- we love it there....and, if our families weren't in Kansas, we would have packed up and moved out west a long time ago. In fact, as soon as we pulled into Colorado Springs, Parker asked me, "Mom, can we move here?!" Brandon gave him a high five and we explained to Parker that we are just visiting Colorado, but that after this visit, we would be back!
Our first stop in Colorado was Colorado Springs....not for the sight seeing, although there is so much to do there, but this was a trip to visit with Brandon's family. Most importantly, we were there to see Poppy (Brandon's grandpa, Leon)....Poppy had never met Andrew!!
We always enjoy our family in Colorado Springs. Aunt Becky and Uncle Jay are always so welcoming (and always offer up their home for us to stay with them, but this year we opted for a hotel room...our families are just getting too big!). Grandma, Pa Pa, Morgan, Avery, Aunt Dana, and Uncle Joe were there as well, and Parker and Andrew got their fair share of attention on this trip!
In Colorado Springs, we visited with cousins, ate some good food, and swam in the hotel swimming pool....and we enjoyed our first few days of vacation....
All except for that first night in Colorado Springs!!
(This next part may be too much for some of you to handle, so be warned....there is poop involved)
Like I said earlier, my kids are super duper travelers. So, when we went out to dinner that first night in Colorado and Parker whispered to me that he needed to go poop, I didn't think anything of it (he's still young enough that I need to go with him to make sure the wiping and hand washing get done correctly). So, I took him to the bathroom. Parker hopped up on the toilet and started his usual grunting to go poop....well, after a few seconds, the grunting turned into screams and cries and Parker started to plead, "help me momma, help me momma!!"
I told Parker to "shush" and that he needed to calm down. I thought he was just tired and that maybe his tummy hurt...but, when I looked down at the toilet and didn't see anything, I grabbed a piece of TP and reached around to his little tushy. What I felt there, I hope no parent ever has to feel. It was like a fist was stuck up inside his pooper. I tried and tried to get it out, all the while, Parker had gigantic alligator tears and he was screaming bloody murder (I can only imagine how bad this hurt him).
When the door to the bathroom opened, I was praying that it was someone that might be able to go out and get Brandon...it was Morgan...thank God!! I sent her out to Brandon, Brandon ran in, felt Parker's tush, and said, "we've got to go to the hospital!"
Parker was so brave.
We drove to the hospital (about a 10 minute drive) and he didn't cry, didn't say a word, and just sat there concentrating and looking at me with pleading eyes. It was breaking my heart to see my big boy in so much pain.
Someone up above was watching out for us that night. We went to the ER and the doctor there was so sweet to my sensitive Parker. He fixed him right up and reassured us that this happens all the time to kids, especially when they've been traveling. He told us to give him a lot of juice and fruit in the next few days and that would help Parker get going again.
This doctor was so nice that after we were in the car, on our way to our hotel, Parker looked at me with sad eyes and said, "Mom, we need to go back to that hospital. I forgot to tell that doctor that we are staying in a hotel with an indoor swimming pool!" I told Parker that we could call the doctor in the morning (of course, Parker forgot).
Thank God, Parker didn't have any more trouble the rest of our trip...
After our two night stay in Colorado Springs, we headed up into the mountains to the Mt. Princeton Hot Springs Resort. Ahhhh....the mountains are breathtaking, the trees are so green, the lakes are pristine, and this resort was charming.
We spent our first day swimming in one of the hot springs swimming pools. It was a comfortable 84 degrees outside and the water at the pool was 98 degrees. It felt great!!
Right before we left Kansas, Parker took two weeks of swimming lessons. Throughout the lessons, he clinged to his teacher, Laurie, and hated the idea of "diving for rings." Something must have clicked with Parker in the hot springs water, because he got over his fear of the water pretty quickly.
And, Andrew, in true Andrew fashion was just as happy as could be swimming in his swimmer and watching his brother do his tricks for us in the water. (He also got lots of smooches in the water because he is just so darn cute!)
The next day we decided to go on an adventure with the rest of the Riffel/Blubaugh family. We drove out to St. Elmo and fed the chipmunks!
It took those little chippers awhile to warm up to us...
But, after a couple of hours and the little guys eating out of our hands, I decided that Parker could be the next Chipmunk Whisperer.
Andrew took it all in and I think he was wondering, "Why in the world is my family chasing these little rodents around with sunflower seeds!" But, my goodness, did we have fun!!
Parker and Avery (and Brandon) had so much fun that they decided to build a Chipmunk McDonald's when we got back to the campsite and the little chipper at the campsite got quite a good meal at McDonald's later on that day!
I've got to pause for a minute and tell you all just how sweet my little chubbaroo Andrew is on his cousin Morgan. Morgan is nine and is so good with my little guy. And, on this trip, she showed just how grown up she is getting and Andrew showed us all just how much he loves being with his Morgan. Morgan would hold Andrew when he was sad, play with him, walk him around to look at things, feed him, and she even got him to take a nap one day! Yep, Andrew sure does love Morgan!
On the other hand....Parker and Avery are two peas in a pod. And, if you ever catch them together unsupervised- you better watch out, because most likely, they are up to some trouble!
On the next day (What day are we on?? I've lost track!), instead of going fishing, we decided to take all of the kids to a local fish hatchery. I didn't know what to expect from a fish hatchery...but, this place was great! Especially for my inquisitive little boys and nieces (and Brandon too)!
The volunteer working at the hatchery, explained everything to us...there were over 1.2 million little rainbow trout at this hatchery! Crazy! And, after the explanation, she gave us all a little bucket of fish food and told us to have fun feeding the fish!!
Let me tell you- those fish loved us! They were well fed that day!!
And, I have to admit, it was a great way to spend our second morning in the mountains!
After the fish hatchery, Parker and Andrew wanted to show the girls "their" swimming pool! You see...Dana, Joe, Morgan, and Avery were all camping with Grandma and Pa Pa Riffel. Normally, we would have joined them camping, but camping with an 8 month old and a 4 year old, doesn't sound like a "fun" and "relaxing" vacation for the parents of those two boys! (Next year we will have a new camper and I will camp for weeks if the boys want to!)
So....that afternoon we took everyone to "our pool" and we had a great time swimming, splashing, going down the slide, diving for fish, and just enjoying the time together in the mountains.
Ohhhh...one of my favorite parts about being in the mountains and doing so many fun activities in the looooooong naps that we take in the afternoons! Oh how I love to snuggle up, with the windows open, and the sweet mountain air floating around us as we snooze in the big comfy resort bed!!
Or, even better, on a blanket under a big Aspen tree!
And, something else that I love about the mountains (let's see how many times I can change the subject here) is that our cell phones don't work! Yes, I said it....we didn't take phone calls, check e-mail, send a text message, or look at facebook for three whole days. It was like heaven...I'd forgotten what life was like without the Internet! I was so proud of Brandon. You see my husband lives for technology, so when we got to Colorado, I was shocked to find out that he had turned his phone off...even when he did have cell phone service, he wasn't using it!
And, when I did bring him his phone...while he was napping with Andrew one day (I thought he may be able to check in for a minute)...he put it away, in his swim trunk pocket, and he snuggled up with Andrew instead. Hmmm...you ask, "Did he remember to take that phone out of his pocket before he got back in the pool?" Well, of course he forgot it was in there and his iPhone went for a swim with him! Let's just say that made it even easier for Brandon not to check his phone every five minutes....LOL!
Where was I?? Okay...our last day in Mt. Princeton was sad. None of us wanted to leave. Parker was sad. Andrew was sad. And, Brandon and I definitely did not want to return to reality.
The only way we talked Parker into getting into the car was to tell him that our vacation wasn't over yet! We still had three more days of hotel sleeping, eating out, visiting with family, and one more thing....the Denver Zoo! After the boys heard that, we were out of there!
The Denver Zoo was perfect. While Brandon, Andrew, and I wanted to see the animals, Parker could have cared less about the animals and luckily there was a train, a carousel, and a lot of cotton candy!
Our Denver family is also fun to visit! While in Denver we ate some yummy pizza and Mexican food, and we got to visit some more with aunts, uncles, and cousins that we haven't seen since Andrew was born. We played pass the baby and Andrew loved it. Parker showed off his skills on the iPad and taught everyone how to play the "ball game." And, Brandon and I got to catch up with Brian and Heather (cousins) who are expecting their first baby in September.
After our visit in Denver, it was really time to head home. We were all sad to be leaving, but we all agreed that was missed our Bella girl and our beds at home.
On Saturday afternoon, we headed out. And we drove the entire way home...
I have some friends who don't take their kids on vacation. They say that it's not really a vacation if their kids are with them...it's not relaxing. Here's what I think: I love this "family vacation" thing. I love spending time with my kids...sleeping in hotel beds with them, staying up late and sleeping in (I'm thinking one day my kids will sleep in). I love being with my little family 24 hours a day and going on adventures with them. I love it that, in a way, we had a "Griswald family vacation", but that we laugh about all of those little hiccups that we had along the way. Brandon, Parker, Andrew, and I now all have memories that we will keep for a lifetime and inside jokes that we will talk about for months. We got to spend time with aunts, uncles, cousins, grandma, Pa Pa, and Poppy, laughing, being silly, trying new things, and even arguing a little.
Yes, I'll admit, it wasn't all that relaxing...but, it sure was fun! In fact, I'd go as far as to say it was wonderful and extremely memorable! And, as I'm sitting here writing this, my head is already spinning about where we'll venture to next year...what we'll do...where we'll stop along the way. I'm ready for it!! I'm ready for the next Riffel Family Vacation!!
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