Our Trip to Colorado....

Yes, we made it there and back safely. We are very glad to be home, but a little sad that Chuck isn't here with us. It's going to be a long 2 weeks until we see him again. Our busy packing day (Thursday) was especially jam-packed as we decided to trade in our gas-guzzling Excursion for a mini-van. We had to trek to the cities and used up 6 hours of precious packing time for the exchange. During our trip down there we recieved a phone call from a realtor saying they would like to show our house while we were gone. AHHHH was my reaction. So, we booked it home, packed the kids and ourselves, loaded the trailer with all Chuck's possessions and frantically cleaned the house. Sigh....it makes me tired just thinking about that night. Here's a picture of our new van:




A little dirty. I took it at a truck stop in Nebraska.
Friday:
We loaded the kids in the van and truck--Chuck, of course, drove seperately from me, and were out of here by 6:00 a.m. We had great weather, and it was very nice for the kids to switch vehicles halfway. A little change of scenery. I was the lucky one to have the boys the second half, and heard (every two minutes, I swear) "Where are the mountains? Where are the mountains?" and the cherished phrase, "How many more minutes?" We still had 3 hours at that point. We arrived while there was still a little bit of daylight, so that was a relief. To actually SEE the mountains, finally!


The view I saw the entire way--that would be Chuck's trailer.


Here we are burning some steam at a truck stop.

Could those be MOUNTAINS in the distance?? When we arrived, we all unpacked Chuck's trailor, ordered pizza and crashed for the night. We didn't hear any complaints about sleeping on the floor (including myself) as we were exhausted. I don't think the kids slept one wink all the way down there. They were so excited.
Saturday:
Our friends arrived that afternoon and we immediatly drove to the town we are eyeing as a possible homestead. (Evergreen) It's a very beautiful town.


All the kids by the little stream that runs through town.


Feeding the ducks by the ice cream shop.




The artificial turf lacrosse field at the high school in town. (Maybe a football field, also?)


A partial picture of the high school the girls picked out.


Sunday:
We did a lot of the same stuff today--drove around, checking out different areas. Our plan was to go to Vail today, but the mountains were getting a huge snow storm and the interstate was closed, so we decided to do that another day. We ended up driving to Boulder and shopped and walked down Pearl Street. There were some great musicians playing that day--and a lot of green-wearing for St. Patty's Day.










Watching the storm in the mountains.


Ya think it's snowing up there? :)

Monday:

We woke to 6 inches of fresh, wet snow today. So much for heading in the mountains today.




Our view this morning.


So, we decided to do the Coor's Brewery tour today! It was a lot of fun--mostly for Chad (our friend), who was in heaven, I think. I'm not a big beer drinker, but I tried a few different kinds. Let's just say I won't be buying any cases while Chuck's away. :) The kids were bored out of their minds, I believe.



Doesn't Chuck look like a tourist? :)


Chuck and Gail


Chad and I. He's always so proud when I have a beer with him. I think this was the 2nd time in all the years we've known each other.


"Can we go now??"


I would have had a few more beers, I think, if I would have known what was to come next.

Chuck decided to take us up to Lookout Mountain, but, on one of the back roads. Sorry, I didn't get many pictures on the way up as I was pleading for my life. I think I even shed a few tears.


This is a view from the top.



One of the tame roads.



Keep your eyes on the road, Chuck, we're coming to a curve.



The view of Golden.




Tuesday:


Our final day with Chad, Gail, Eli and Adi as they were heading home on Wednesday. It was also our final full day with Chuck. He started work on Wed. also of that week. So, today we went to Vail. It was a beautiful drive. A little nerve-wracking, but at least it was interstate the whole way.

The view on the way there was spetacular!

Such a cute, little town. I felt a little out of place without some ski boots on my feet.
If you look really hard, you can see skiiers on the hill (or should I say MOUNTAIN).


Tanner said it was torture watching all the skiiers and not be able to ski, too. We told him not too worry, he'll get plenty of skiing in--in due time.






Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday:
We said our farewells to our friends, and sent Chuck to his first day of work. It was like sending him off on his first day of school. I was nervous for him. And a little nervous for myself as now I had to do all the driving around the city. The kids and I went to an awesome mall full of outlet stores, and spent a little money on some clothes.
Thursday we drove back to Evergreen and had ice cream by the stream again. We checked out some neighborhoods and they all agreed that THAT is where they want to live. We saw elk feasting right next to a very busy road. (Scared me half to death) They say that's a daily occurence.
That night we ate out with Chuck at Red Lobster. It was delicious, and had to walk around afterward because we were all so uncomfortable from over-eating. :) It was a good feeling.....
Oh, I forgot, that was the day we met everyone at Chuck's office. Everyone is so extremely friendly and nice. What a great group to be working with everyday.
Friday we packed up, and the kids and I headed for home. It was a little hard for me to leave Chuck. The closer I got to home, the more sad I became. It'll take a lot of adjusting, I think, for all of us.
I drove straight to Omaha, then stopped overnight at a hotel with a pool. It was great to sleep in a bed after a week of sleeping on an air mattress (sorry, Chuck). On Saturday we made it home by 4:30, so that was nice.
So.....that was our trip. I'll illaberate more on what I think of Colorado in another post. This one has about wore me out! Hope you enjoy the pictures!