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!!! 

Celebrating Georgia's 7th Birthday!

 A couple of weeks before Georgia's real birthday (due to friends' availability), Aubrey, Maggie-Jaymes, and Emery came over for swimming, pizza, and cake!  The birthday girl had the biggest smile on her face all day!

On July 22, Georgia woke up to her birthday gift from us - a new desk and chair for her room! Then, Grandma and Grandpa brought over birthday donuts and gifts!

All this girl has talked about is having a "fairy sleepover" with Perry on her birthday, so that's what she got!  We dressed up, painted nails, painted faces, played games, had fairy cake, and watched Tinkerbell.  I hope it was everything she had been dreaming of! :)

Mumsie and Popsie stopped by with gifts for the birthday girl!

We loved celebrating you, Georgia Kate!

Georgia Kate is 7!

Our blue-eyed, curly-haired, freckle-faced little girl is 7!

Seven year old Georgia Kate is a lot of fun and a joy to be around!  I love her so much!

7 things about our girl at 7...

*She gets excited about things so easily and has such a grateful heart.  She loves having something to look forward to!

*She is very creative and LOVES to craft.  The floor of her room is pretty much always covered in markers, scraps of paper, and pieces of tape.  She is constantly digging through the recycling bin to find boxes to turn into something new, most recently an elaborate fairy house that she put in the bushes in the backyard. :) She loves making presents for people and thinks of others in this way a lot!

*She enjoys playing with all kinds of dolls, but she has recently gotten very into Barbies!  Seeing her play with Barbies brings back lots of memories for me from when I was a little girl!  

*She loves to snuggle and still comes into our bed almost every night.  She is very affectionate and tells me multiple times a day how much she loves me!  

*While she is SO sweet, she also still has a temper.  It doesn't come out near as often as it used to, but our girl can be quite the firecracker. ;)

*She is by far our least picky eater!  I wouldn't go so far as to say she's an adventurous eater, but she at least tries everything I make and likes a lot of it!  

*She's really funny and has a great sense of humor!  She enjoys trying out lines and phrases that she picks up from shows or books. Ha!  

Georgia Kate managed to hold onto her top teeth through her 7th birthday and then 2 days later the first one came out!  It's amazing how losing the top teeth can change their look so much!  

BIRTHDAY INTERVIEW

What is something you loved about 1st grade? my teacher

What is your favorite food?  cake, ice cream, cookies, popsicles, and Alicia's 

What is your favorite thing to do outside? roller skate

What is your favorite color? blue, pink, and purple

What is your favorite show?  Tinkerbell movie

What is something you're really good at?  my roller skates and dance

What is your favorite animal? a unicorn

What is your favorite toy to play with?  Barbies and dolls

What is your favorite book?  Nevergirls

Who are some of your favorite friends to play with?  Maggie-Jaymes, Aubrey, and Emery

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you want to go?  wherever fairies live

What is your favorite holiday?  my birthday, Christmas, Halloween, and Valentine's Day

What is your favorite thing to drink?  Fanta and lemonade

What is your favorite snack?  Poppable chips

What do you want to be when you grow up?  a fairy and a teacher

What is your favorite outfit to wear?  mermaid pajamas and the shirt I made (tie-dye shirt)

What is your favorite thing to do with Reid and Rhett?  play tag

What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy? read my book and snuggle

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy? snuggle and read my book

We love you SO much, Georgia Kate Sciba!!!  We're so happy you're ours!