Colorado Chronicles: Wednesday thru Saturday

We left Idaho at about 10:15 Tuesday night. Mom, Cody, Hillary Gideon and myself. We set out in a rented Toyota Highlander that was packed tighter than any vehicle I've ever seen. (Yes, I'm including the trip in which our 9 person family drove to North Carolina in a 7 passenger van which had Hillary sitting on a cooler and Cody on the floor the entire way. Still, there was sort of room to maneuver in the van. Not so in this Highlander.)

Even so it was a good trip. I drove all the way until we hit Cheyenne. In my family I'm the designated overnight driver because I don't suffer from sleep driving. (I might run out of gas in the middle of the night, but I won't fall asleep. I once again reference previous NC road trip.)

Gideon did great. Of course it was night so he slept most of the way. He was only a little confused to wake up in his car seat. We made it to Pueblo by 9:30am, so Cody was even on time for his 10:00am wrestling practice.

While Cody was at practice the rest of us set off in search of a spot to call home for the next few days.

Okay so it looks slightly desolate.

We unloaded and mom tasked Hillary and I with setting up camp while she went back to get Cody and a few things from Wal-Mart that we'd forgotten.

I feel like this picture should be in a "Where's Waldo" or "I Spy" book. Can you spot the first time camper?

It was Hillary who ended up setting things up, with only occasional help from me, because I was busy trying to take care of a fussy baby boy who clearly was disturbed because he didn't understand what was happening.

Still she managed to get us set up alright.

And even though we were experiencing wind gusts up to 40 mph, the tent held and we all managed to get a little nap.

Cody had a date that night so after practice he and I drove around the state park trying to locate shower facilities. We finally found some. Then he was off to meet his girl.

The rest of us took it easy at camp, had an early dinner and were in bed by 8:30. (Somehow driving through the night made us all very tired. Even so we ended up staying awake and talking until after Cody's date brought him back at around 10:00)

I was amazed at how well Gideon did. He slept for a solid 8 hours that night before waking up wanting fed. And then he went right back to sleep. And we were blessed that the winds died down in the late evening, so it didn't get terribly cold overnight.

Thursday while Cody was at practice we went and admired all the exotic animals at "Pet Paradise." The munchkin even got to feed some Koi.

We picked Cody up from practice all of us went and used the shower facilities at the park. We had lunch in town and ran errands before I had to chauffer Cody out to another date with the same girl from the previous evening. This time we picked her up and she ran around with us. The date was a disaster because nothing they planned seemed to pan out. But that's a story you'll have to ask Cody. It's actually kind of funny. So she ended up with us as we went to dinner at Bev and Larry MacCartee's house and then played cards back at camp. Even though their plans fell through, Cody reported with a sly smile that "At least it ended well." I'm just going to leave that alone. By the time we got her home and got back to camp, it was after midnight.

Friday morning I woke up to find my son driving the car.

(Okay that wasn't exactly how it went down. Because it was so windy the car became the designated "calling" spot, so if you had to use your phone, you were in the car. Gideon was apparently talking to Grandpa in Morocco when I came upon this scene.)

Side bar: One thing about the munchkin, it appears he's a born camper. He just loves to lay in the tent and kick and talk. He literally did that for hours. And he didn't want me there because he'd fuss when I'd try to talk to him or pick him up. He just really enjoyed the outdoors and especially the tent. And he slept for at least 8 hours every night we were there. He was a pretty happy guy. I'm sure his father is so proud.

Friday once we dropped Cody off to catch his ride to Wrestling camp, we called my mom's friend Kelley and her daughters, Lauren and Enea and asked if they wanted to spend some time with us. We went shopping in downtown (they have the cutest boutique shops there.) And then went and played Glowgolf (miniature golf played indoors under blacklights. It's really fun.) And then we invited their family out to camp where they joined us that evening for tin foil dinners. It was a nice evening, if still a little windy, but we all enjoyed visiting and eating.

Saturday was busy. We got up early and broke camp. Gideon fussed and cried as we took down his tent. He was very disappointed.

We went to the laundry mat to wash the camp smell out of our clothes. And then went to Grandpa Darryl's favorite store. The Arc Thrift Store. We even bought a few things for him while we were there.

Hi Grandpa!

Then we went over to visit Kelley and her girls for a few minutes. Enea just couldn't stand it. Her exact words were, "I must hold him."

She turned out to be a great baby watcher. While we practiced our number for church on Sunday (yes when the bishop and R.S. President found out we were in town, mom was asked to sing, and at the last minute decided to have Hillary and I sing with her.) Anyway Enea read him books and played with him and in general kept him entertained. It was a big help.

And then we went camping my style. Hello Marriot!

Okay so the munchkin clearly takes after his father more than his mother regarding where he likes to stay. He wasn't nearly as amused by the hotel room as he had been by the tent. I mean camping is fine but give me a hot shower and high thread count bed linens any day over an air mattress and sleeping bag.

Still in Gideon's mind the hotel did have one advantage: A Pool!

When we discovered this, we called Kelley and her girls and asked them if they wanted to go for a swim. Naturally they didn't hesitate. (That's Lauren on the bed behind the munchkin.)

Okay so the pool was indoors, but the ensemble was so cute, we had to get a picture.

(That's Kelley holding him and Hillary fixing her contact.)

Turns out my boy loves to swim. Once he got over the inital shock of being placed in tepid water (he didn't cry, just made a funny face until his body temp acclimated to the water), he kicked and splashed and smiled and laughed. We didn't keep him in very long, maybe 10 minutes. Still looks like he's going to be a swimmer. He really enjoyed it.

After the pool (and hot showers) we went to Kelley's house for dinner. Her husband, Dave, did some amazing things with chicken and pineapple on the grill. And the garlic green beans were so good my mom came away with the recipie.

(Kelley, if you're reading this, thank you soooo much for everything! We really love you guys.)

Anyway after that we were pretty much exhausted and just went back to the hotel to veg for the rest of the evening. (Amazing how camping and swimming can wear you out.)