The Northpole

There is a great place in Colorado Springs called The Northpole.  It is an amusement park with a Christmas theme.  The great thing about it is our kids could ride everything.  We went on Sunday evening and got the Twilight pass to come back another day.  So we went again on Friday.  The kids loved it.  I have to say I am not a fan of rides that spin, but I survived the Tilt-o-wirl and some crazy swings for the sake of my kids.  Tim and I both must be getting old! 

This pole was made of ice!

Glade's favorite, the motorcycles.

Addison enjoyed "shooting" us on the airplanes.

He's really a good driver!  Addison on the other hand...

Purple Lady bug of course!

I love the smile on her face!

These were the crazy swings! 

They went around and up and down.  I was so dizzy I just had to close my eyes!

The ferris wheel.  The highest one in the world.

Grammy and Glade.

Sweet girl riding the train

The train and the conductor

Firing the guns on the airplane

Daddy's turn on the ferris wheel.

We had such a good time.  The kids LOVED this place! 

I think this is the end of our vacation...glad that I could finally get it finished.  Seeing as we have been back for almost a month!  I can't wait to plan a trip next year!

The Zoo

Addison and Glade were talking about the zoo even before we left for Colorado.  I don't think they completely understood what a Zoo really is.  Addison kept saying we were going to see a farmer.  Either way, they were excited to go see the animals.  We walked in and came to the gift shop, Dad had to go buy a hat to cover his head...someone is missing some hair up there...  So Addison and Glade got to look around and of course they both found things they wanted.  We told them we were going to wait until before we went home to get them.  And cue big fit from Glade!  He pretty much missed the giraffes.  He wanted the helicopter. From the zoo.  Tim got him settled down and he got to feed the giraffes. 

After the giraffes, we walked around and saw lots of other animals.  I won't show you all the animals but will show a few and some of my favorites of the kids. 

This is a favorite of mine!

They got to pet a baby wallaby.

These animals were just out and able to hop around.  There was no cage.  It was so neat to be able to see them up close.

These little guys were all over the place.  And they were not shy.  I think they get fed regularly.

Don't worry, it's not real!  We looked at it a while before we figured it out!

Do you see the peacock?

It was just sitting in the shade outside one of the building.  Later we saw one walking around on the path.

Hey it's Jeff.  What is he doing at the Zoo?

  We learned real quick to walk fast through the monkey house...they STINK!

He's thinking about it!

Look at the little baby hands!  It was so CUTE!

The zoo is to be continued...

blogger won't let me upload any more photos for this post right now.  Check back tomorrow!

Flying W Ranch Chuckwagon Supper

Tim's brother Rob suggested we go to the Flying W Ranch and see their show.  We got to see an Old West town and enjoy a chuck wagon supper complete with tin plates and cups.  After supper the Flying W Wranglers entertained us with singing and comedy.  We all had a great time.  At one point during the show Glade asked what the cowboys were doing.  I told him they were singing.  Glade said "Cowboys don't sing, they ride horses." 

These are some pictures from the ranch.

Glade and Addison in jail!

We hiked up a little trail to an overlook.  Here we are taking a rest from all the steps.

Look at that face!

Some of the views in the area...this one I took from the car driving to our cabin.  I think this is the Garden of the Gods, but we didn't go there.

This is taken at the overlook at the ranch.

We got to see some Indians perform several dances.

Here are my favorite people enjoying the show from the Flying W Wranglers.

Not the most flattering picture of me, but I'm with my baby boy and it makes all good!Addison enjoyed playing in the rocks instead of watching the show!

This is a mystery photo that appeared on our camera.  I thought it looked pretty cool, but have no idea what it is.

More views from the overlook, I tried to put them all together, but blogger was being funny with the pictures.

The wranglers sang a song about a possum, I am working on finding a recording of it.  It was very funny!

Focus on the Family

What do you do when you are 3 years old and waiting for the grown ups to get ready to leave?

You play in the rocks in the driveway!

Lots of people told us to go to the Focus on the Family's welcome center.  They have a play area for kids.  So we decided to head there on Monday of our vacation.  I don't know what I expected, but I guess with all the people telling us to go I expected great things.  So we were pretty disappointed when the play area for our kids was nothing more than a play area we would find at McD's or Chick-fil-a.  There is the huge green slide that our kids weren't big enough to go on, but that is about it.  Glade enjoyed the airplane and pushing the buttons that made sound.  They spend a lot of money painting and making it look neat, but as far as holding the kids attention...we would have done better at the fast food places!  So we didn't stay very long.  We left Focus and headed to the mall to get Glade's build a bear to the doctor for surgery.  The kids had fun playing at the mall area while mom and I searched for a purple watch.  Yes, Addison had decided she wanted a purple watch.  Do you know how hard it is to find watches for kids?    With that finished we picked up the bear and headed back to the cabin for lunch and a nap. 

Here are few pictures of the kids playing in the different areas of the welcome center.

Colorado here we come!

We left for Colorado on Friday August 13.  It was a whirl wind of laundry and packing for me that week as well as watching the Sorrells' kids.  We loaded up my parent's suburban and hit the road.  The kids did pretty good.  Mom and I had packed a lot of stuff for them to do.  We made it to Childress, TX before stopping for the night.  We checked into a  hotel with an indoor pool thinking it would be great for the kids to get to swim.  After getting our bags into our rooms we headed out to K-Bobs for dinner.  After dinner the kids, Tim and I put on our swimsuits and headed to the pool.  All ready for some great relaxing pool fun, we stepped into the pool of ICE COLD water!  It was COLD!  So we opted to hang out in the hot tub for a while.  Tim and I braved the cold water so the kids could play.  We alternated between the cold pool and the hot tub.  Then we went up to our rooms for a bath and bed to prepare for our long drive the next day.

Here are the kids and Tim on Saturday morning.  Do you think they look ready for a long drive??

The kids did pretty good on the drive there.  They did get pretty fussy at times.  We had to stop for potty breaks and wardrobe changes a few times.  We also had to stop to help Addison get her hand unstuck.  She got it stuck in one of the toys I had packed for them to play with.  It was one of those pin impression things.  You put your hand on it and turn it over and the pins (plastic things) leave the impression of your hand.  Mom has pictures on her camera.  I will have to get those from her.

We made it to Colorado at about 3 on Saturday.  Our cabin was cheaper than any others for a reason I am sure.  We found out when we walked in.  The first thing we noticed was no a/c.  Now you might be thinking "It's Colorado, you don't need a/c."  When you sleep in the sleeping loft upstairs, you need a/c.  Luckily there was a window and a box fan that plugged into the mystery extension cord that came from a hole in the wall...we don't know where it went.  All of our meals were either eaten outside or as a picnic in the living room.  There was not a true table in the cabin.  All it had was a bar height table with wooden stools.  Not the best for wiggly kids to eat at, not to mention not big enough for 6.   Needless to say, the cabin would not have passed building code in Texas.  Even with the less than luxurious accommodations we had a great time!

This is the stream that ran behind our shack cabin.  It was so relaxing to sit and listen to the sounds of water.  The kids had fun wading in it too.

Just some pictures from behind our cabin.  Pictures can't do it justice.  I have so many more.  It truly shows the beauty and majesty of our God.

Stay tuned for posts about

Focus on the Family

Flying W Ranch

The Zoo

Santa's workshop

Cripple Creek and Victor

Seven Falls

Playing at the park

We had such a great trip just spending time with our family and enjoying the cooler weather.