Summer 2020

 Just like everything else lately, our summer hasn't exactly been "normal", but I think we would still all say that it was a good one!  Colorado was definitely the highlight for all of us, but we managed to have some other fun too! :)

We had really missed our beloved Alicia's during the 3ish months that we stayed away from restaurants.  We've taken the kids back a few times now and we needed to document our reunion. ;)

We were given the piano from my aunt's house that originally belonged to my great-grandmother Meemaw.  Guinny came over to help us get acquainted with it.  Reid and Georgia have started lessons and they are both really enjoying it so far! 

There is a cute story behind this cat.  When Guinny was showing Georgia pictures on google of similar pianos (before we picked it up from my aunt's house) there was a picture of one with a cat by it.  Georgia asked, "It comes with a cat?!"  Guinny thought that was so cute, so she ordered Georgia a cat named Peachy for our piano. :)

We took a Preston family getaway to the Hill Country and had lots of fun!

These brothers both played baseball all summer.  We thought our spring season was cancelled, but the league decided to just postpone it.  It was HOT, but also fun to have something to do.  

We had the very BEST coaches this year!!! :)

Georgia didn't get to go to dance for almost 3 months, but they ended up getting to have a couple of virtual classes and a parking lot recital toward the end of June!  The girls did great and we loved the costume this year!

We celebrated the Fourth of July with our friends who moved to Germany in December but were back visiting for a couple of weeks!  

We celebrated our favorite niece's birthday in June...

and our favorite nephew's birthday in July!

The kids worked so hard to make my birthday special and it was the sweetest day!

Alli and I took the kids to paint ceramics at the end of the summer and it brought back memories from our childhood! :) 

Mumsie and Popsie hosted a cousin sleepover (with all 5 grandkids!) to wrap up the summer!  

And of course, we've had LOTS of pool time the last several months!

Colorado Trip!

Back in April when our big summer trip got cancelled, Chris and I decided that we would plan a more "socially distant" vacation for the end of the summer.  Everything was going to be pretty much back to normal by then anyway, right?! ;) Ever since Chris and I went to Aspen two summers ago, we had talked about going back to Colorado in the summer and bringing the kids.  We decided to fly.  I was nervous about flying, but it ended up being fine.  The plane was maybe 60% full and everyone was really good about wearing masks in the airport and on the plane.  

 

We flew to Denver on Friday and then drove to Colorado Springs for the night.  We made sure to stop at Hickory House BBQ for dinner (one of our favorite restaurants in Aspen that has another location outside of Denver).  It was yummy!  We stayed in a regular hotel that night and then woke up on Saturday morning and headed straight to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo!  We loved it!!!  We got to see a lot of animals that we don't have at the Houston Zoo.  We especially loved the friendly Grizzly Bear and the Wallabies!

After a great day at the zoo, we made the drive to Vail and arrived late afternoon/early evening.  It was a rainy evening, so we just stayed at our house and got settled in.  We were so excited about the view!

We spent most of Sunday exploring the areas near our house.  We found this creek that ended up being one of the kids' very favorite things about the trip!  We visited the creek every day.  The water was very cold, but that didn't stop them from getting in and playing! 

Sunday night we got dressed and went to a pizza place in Lionshead Village and then went over to Vail Village to walk around.  We found a really fun pirate ship playground and then stopped for ice cream at Sundae (which we ended up going back to two other times on the trip). :)

On Monday we drove up to Piney Lake for a day of fishing (no catching actually happened, but you can't beat that view), canoeing, and hiking!  We all loved this day.  All three kids said canoeing was their favorite activity of the trip! 

On Tuesday we drove over to Leadville to go on a train ride through the mountains!  It was chilly and rainy at times, but it was a lot of fun!  On our way back to Vail we stopped at The Hatchery and saw about a million Rainbow Trout.  I didn't really get it, but Chris and the kids were excited! ;) 

That evening we got dressed and went back to Vail Village for dinner!

Wednesday was our last day and the kids still hadn't gotten their gondola ride they had been asking for!  The Breckenridge gondola is free to ride (as opposed to the very expensive gondola tickets in Vail), so we drove over to Breckenridge!  On our way to the gondola we stopped at Sapphire Point to feed the chipmunks!  This was probably tied with canoeing for them.  The chipmunks were SO cute and friendly!  We could have stayed there for hours!

That evening went back to Vail Village for dinner and one last stop at Sundae. :)

We weren't ready to leave on Thursday morning!!! :(

We loved our townhouse at the Vail Racquet Club!  It was a great location and the view was amazing!  

I am SO thankful that we got to spend time in Colorado!  The weather was beautiful and the change of scenery was good for all of us!   It was such a wonderful trip!!!