Our family vacation-Summer 2011

My family (which this time also included my nephew) just returned from a family vacation in Colorado.  We have not gone on a vacation that was just us (again, my nephew was there, but he was just one extra kid...still different than going with my ENTIRE family and having 18 people doing everything together) since before the twins were born.  Well, this year Mr. Fantastic got his 3rd week of vacation (hallelujah!) and we actually had a chance to get away together.  IT. WAS. WONDERFUL.  The kids got along (mostly), we relaxed, and we took the kids to some awesome places they had never been before.  (Well, Motormouth had, but he was 2, so he doesn't remember. 

The first few days we stayed where we normally do, which is just about an hour outside of Denver.  Other than a visit to the Colorado Railroad Museum, which, by the way, was so much fun, we really just hung out.  We went hiking to Lily Pad Lake and the weather was beautiful....plus, when we got to the lake, we saw the cutest chipmunks.  We ate lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. in Breckenridge.  We rode the American Eagle lift up Copper Mountain and then hiked down.  We went to the pool.  It was just really laid back and relaxing.  The kids had a great time, and really only complained a little about the hiking. 

On Thursday morning we left the condo and headed to Canon City to visit the Royal Gorge.  That is one GIANT hole in the ground.  Oh, and before I get to talking about that....the drive between Breckenridge and Canon City was the most beautiful drive I have ever been on.  We nearly bought a ranch in the mountains and never looked back.  If you have never been, I highly recommend the route we took.  I don't see how people could look at the sights you see in those mountains and not believe there is a God.  So, when we got to the Gorge, we rode the little tram thing down into it and then we walked across the bridge.  Mr. Fantastic managed to get through this without totally freaking out, which is great, because he hates heights.  Oh, and we visited EVERY gift shop they had there.  And believe me, there were a few.  Which leads me to my biggest complaint about the entire trip...........

GIFT SHOPS.....I hate them.  They were everywhere!  When you have 4 kids whose grandparents have given them spending money, of course, the first thing anyone says when you get to any place is NOT "Oh wow!  Look at that scenery!  I can't believe how amazing this is.....look at what God has created!".  It's "Where's the gift shop?  Can I spend my money?  How much do I have left?".  And then when you enter said gift shop..."If I buy this and this, how much will I still have?  And if I put this back and get this instead, how much?".  AND you are hearing this x4.  Fantastic.  If I get an ulcer in my stomach because of an over-consumption of ibuprofen, I blame it totally on the gift shops.  I cannot express to you how relieved I was when they all ran out of money. 

So, now that I have ranted about the gift shops, back to the good stuff.  After we left Canon City, we drove to Colorado Springs.  We dropped our stuff off at the hotel, and headed to the Garden of the Gods.  It was beautiful....we did more hiking there.  The biggest complaint there was that we had 3 little boys with us....5, 9 and 11.  When boys that age see big rocks, guess what they REALLY want to do?  Climb them.  And you can't.  Unless you are an experienced climber with gear and a permit.  Or you will be fined $500.  They weren't thrilled with that one, but we explained that, even though we don't make the rules, we DO follow them.  So then we headed to the GIFT SHOP.  Actually, there were two of them.  By that time I would nearly eat the ibuprofen like candy.

The next morning we got up and headed to Pike's Peak.  This being Mr. Fantastic's 3rd trip up the mountain, he stayed relatively calm.  They paved most of the road, and threw in a couple of guard rails for good measure.  So all in all, MUCH safer than the last time.  Hahahaha.  He got especially uncomfortable when I was trying to lean out of windows to take pictures.  When we got to the summit......yes, you guessed it.....another gift shop!!!  AND....two more on the way down the mountain!  We spent about an hour in the gift shop up top and took some pictures, and then ventured back down.  The view from the summit is breathtaking.  You can see for miles and miles.  I really do recommend it, just make sure your driver is a seasoned professional, like Mr. Fantastic.  He may have been nervous, but I knew the whole time that we were all in good hands.  Plus, on the way up, my nephew said "Don't worry, we're going to be fine.  I just prayed about it."  I LOVE hearing things like that out of the mouths of kids.  Teaches you something about faith.  :)  On the way back down we visited the other two gift shops, one of which we ate lunch at. 

From there, we drove to the Manitou Cliff Dwellings.  Once again, the boys were a little disappointed that they weren't allowed to climb everything, but they still really enjoyed it because you do get to explore the dwellings.  It was all very educational also, which was nice since we are starting school Monday.  I love getting in a little learning while having fun.  :)  And of course, before we left we visited the gift shop!!  By that gift shop I was nearing meltdown, but luckily everyone exhausted their funds there, so when we went to the next place, NO GIFT SHOP!!! 

Well....I take that back.  There were actually 3....and a cafe.  Which we had to visit all of, because the kids got a book that they got stamped, and then if they got all 4 stamps, they got a prize.  Of course, all 4 stamps were located in gift shops or food places.  But we were able to do it pretty quickly because we just reminded them that they were out of money!  Oh!  I forgot to even say where we were....haha.  The last stop on our vacation was beautiful Seven Falls.  Absolutely gorgeous.  We walked up the (scary) stairs to the top of the falls, and then hiked the trail behind them to Midnight Falls.  It was so peaceful there....I could have stayed for hours.  Another Colorado Springs must-see.  When we left the kids got their prizes.....Seven Falls posters for their bedrooms.  Pretty cool.

We really had a fantastic time, and enjoyed the time with the kids and the break from the normal day to day grind.  Colorado is a great state to visit, and the city of Colorado Springs has tons to do.  I recommend a visit. 

Here are a few pictures from our trip....some are still on my camera, so I'll have to upload the rest later.  Enjoy!

Oops.....looks like those are on the laptop.  I guess you'll have to be in suspense until my next post!  I have to go get ready for Bible study, but hopefully I'll post again soon.

Oh, P.S.......I started training for a 5k today.  I wanted to die.  That is all.

How honest should I really be?

Now, before you jump down my throat, NO, I don't mean I should lie.  I'm just wondering, since I am blogging about my day to day experiences as a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom, if I should really divulge the good AND the not-so-good of the job.  Part of me thinks no.  Because I really, really love my kids and am so thankful that I get to be with them.  Part of me also thinks yes, because the whole point in the blog is to be kind of cathartic for me.  Write about my frustrations, and then I can get them out in a healthy way, as opposed to melting down on a bad day and considering selling my dear, sweet progeny on Craigslist or Ebay.  So it's kind of a toss up at this point.  I would never, EVER want anything I write to do any of the following:
     1. Make people think I don't love being with my kids.  They are my life, and that's definitely what I want. Sometimes momma just needs a minute.
     2. Make people think that homeschooling is a scary or bad thing.  It's absolutely a great choice.  I just feel like people need to be prepared for the good AND the bad days, because if they aren't, then they are in for a big surprise.  And not the good kind, like remembering the ice cream buried in the back of the freezer, or finding a twenty in the jeans that are in the dryer.  I'm talking the bad kind, like remembering the Diet Coke that was buried in your freezer getting nice and cold...until you forgot it, and it exploded everywhere.  Or finding your kid's sucker from church in the pocket of their jeans that are in the dryer.  THAT kind of surprise.
     3. Make people think that I am truly, certifiably insane.  Because believe me folks, I have my days that I wonder.  Some of that may come out in my blog posts if I'm not holding back.  

So, my dear, faithful readers (all THREE of you).....what are your thoughts?  Please, I would love some honest feedback.  Because I really want to make a go of this blog thing, and stick with it for more than 4 or 5 days.  And I would like for it to be something that is actually enjoyable, educating, or AT LEAST a little bit funny so that when you do take the time to read it, you don't feel like that the 5 minutes you spent on it are 5 minutes of your life you'll never get back, even though you desperately want to.