Colorado Part 1

The week after the fourth we headed out for an exciting trip to Vail, Colorado. We were supposed to fly but after much deliberation (due to the pandemic) we decided to rent a car and drive the 16 hours. That might sound awful to some, but it actually wasn't horrible. I would do it again since we were able to leave whenever we wanted and take our time. 

We drove eleven hours on the first day. We made our way to Colby, KS and stayed in a hotel. It was a long day but didn't seem too bad. We arrived around 6:00. We take Paige's little potty in the car so we don't have to make that many potty stops, and we usually eat lunch in the car. Those things save a lot of time!

We were so happy to have the first leg of our trip behind us and relax before we did it all over the next day. 

We headed out that morning and made our first stop at the "Welcome to Colorado" sign. I pictured it with a mountain backdrop, but it still looked like we were in Kansas. You don't start seeing mountains until you hit Dever. 

We were so happy to make it to Vail around 1:00 in the afternoon. I'm not even kidding when I say I was exhausted when we got there, and the altitude hit me hard. A nap would have been nice, but there was too much exploring for a certain five year old that we had to do. 

 Vail is such a beautiful place. There is really nothing like it. Some say Disney World is magical. I say Vail is magical. :)  Just typing this right now makes me want to go back.  The Colorado weather is fabulous too. It was high's around 70 and some days we were able to wear sweatshirts. That is unheard of around here in July. 

The owners of the condo we stayed in had hummingbird feeders on the balcony. I have never seen so many hummingbirds and enjoyed watching them all week long.  

Once we were settled we had to get the lay of the land. We were so lucky to have Gore Creek running right behind the condo and bighorn lake was just beyond that. We could see both from the balcony. There was also a nice playground which Paige loved. 

We spent a lot of time at this playground and used a lot of sanitizer!

I loved watching dogs jump in the lake. There were tons of dogs running around, playing. 

The beauty of Vail is summed up in this picture. It's my happy place!

Ella enjoyed climbing on the rocks and being the daredevil that she is. She loves the outdoors (and cooler temps) so Vail is perfect for her. 

The water in Gore Creek is so cold, but we enjoyed getting our feet wet. 

I knew we would be tired on our first day so we just went into Vail, checked out the shops, and ate lunch. It was unfortunately a little more crowded than I would have liked due to a farmer's market so we were in and out of there pretty quickly. 

The town of Vail is so charming!

We had lunch at "Up the Creek" which is right on Gore Creek. It's a great little local restaurant with good food and a nice setting. 

On our second day in Colorado we decided to go to Sapphire Point and do a little shopping and have lunch in Breckenridge. 

We had been to Sapphire Point on our last trip, and it was our favorite part of the trip. We love seeing the chipmunks and feeding them peanuts. 

Paige was brave enough to join in this year. Last time we were here she was too scared to feed them. 

I wanted to put one in my purse and bring it home. They are the cutest little animals. 

Ella has a lot of patience and could sit there for hours waiting for them to come out and eat. 

We caught this little guy as he (or she) was coming out of a hole. He was a pretty hefty chipmunk, and we left enough peanuts to last the whole winter. 

Those cheeks!!

We didn't go to Breckenridge last trip so I definitely wanted to go this time. I'm so glad we did. It's a great little town with a lot of nice shops and restaurants. They closed of their main street and added outdoor dining so everyone could eat outside. 

They were hardcore about masks. We didn't see one person not wearing a mask while we were there. These signs were all over town. 

Colorado is so beautiful. This was in the middle of their downtown. 

We went to Blue Mountain this trip to see some incredible views. It was seriously beautiful, but it was COLD. We were not dressed for the chilly weather. I honestly didn't care, because it was so pretty. Everyone else sat in the car and waited for me while I took pictures. 

These pictures don't even do it justice. 

On our way back we spotted this little guy. I think it's a muskrat, and it was SO cute. 

I mean seriously, look at that face! 

It was a great first few days in Vail!! Stay tuned for the rest of our trip. 

Fourth of July 2020

Fourth of July is my favorite holiday of the year. I love it all: the food, fireworks, parade, and swimming. It's all my favorite! 

This year we even had a special treat in the morning. Kona Ice drove through the neighborhood so we had shaved ice while we were watching the morning parade. 

Nothing like getting sugared up at 9am in the morning!

We love getting decked out for the 4th! 

The parade starts at the other side of the neighborhood so we have to wait a bit for it to come by our house. It was HOT which was good for swimming but not good for parade watching.Adam put up our canopy so we could have some shade.  

I bought Paige some noise cancelling headphones for the parade and fireworks. Last year, she didnt make it through either. She cannot handle loud noises so I hoped these would be helpful. They did the trick. She didn't mind the firetrucks or fireworks this year. 

After the parade we swam and grilled out. It was a great day for swimming since it was so hot. I am so glad the weather cooperated with our plans. You just never know. 

Once everyone left we regrouped and got ready for round 2 at my parent's house. It's always a long day but so much fun. 

We love the fourth! 

Fireworks ready!!

We all got a big kick out of my dad with his grabber stick. He lit a firework, grabbed it, and held it in the air. Imagine me laughing hysterically, because I was. I appreciate the stupidity that fourth of July brings out of the Pennells on the fourth. Lol! 

Since there were no fireworks at the river this year (due to COVID) most everyone was at home doing fireworks. There were so many fireworks being lit off all around the city, and that's about all you could hear. It was something! 

It was nice that Paige (and Mammy) could actually watch the fireworks this year and enjoy it. 

Autumn is a true Pennell. She helped light off everything with Terry and dad. 

It was truly a great fourth of July. Looking back, I'm sad it's over. It was an other great fourth spent with the family! 

Amish Country

There is something about Amish Country that I find fascinating. Each spring, for the past few years we have gone to the amish greenhouse to buy flowers, and I always enjoy the trip. I love seeing the Amish women out mowing the lawn, their laundry hanging on the lines, and the horse and buggies rolling down the road.  I admire the fact that Amish can survive without electricity, phones, the internet, and cars. I'm sure that list could go on.  Although I love all "the fluff" that life has to offer, I definitely can appreciate how simple their life is. 

Shortly after our spring trip, I saw on Facebook an advertisement for dinner at an Amish home. I knew we had to do this so I texted my mom and got her on board as well. Luckily it worked out that the whole family could go. Once the day came we worried all day about the weather. Most of the activities were outside so the rain was not an option! It POURED almost the entire way to their house, and shortly before we got there it stopped. 

We ate dinner at The Yoder's home. Sharon and her husband were the nicest people. We also met their son, daughter in law, and grandsons. They made a delicious meal complete with cinnamon rolls. I could have only eaten the cinnamon rolls and been happy. 

After dinner we were taken on buggy rides and a barrel ride. It was so much fun. We did ride after ride in the barrels. The kids (and the big kids) loved it. They took us down the road and around some of the other homes. We even got to see a baby pony that had recently been born. They also had a fire going that we sat around to drink coffee and chit chat with them. They were the nicest, most hospitable people. It was a great night. One that will be not forgotten anytime soon. 

Paige on the barrel ride. She loved it! 

Their garden was nothing short of impressive. 

It's hard not to love the back country roads they live on. It was so calm and quiet. 

Paige was living it up. She took barrel ride after barrel ride. 

I had to get in on the fun too! 

Paige had absolutely no hesitation to go on buggy rides with them by herself. 

My mom was meant to be amish I think. Stick a dress and bonnet on her, and she would fit right in!

The big girls had fun too!

 It was so neat to meet the Yoder family and get a closer look into their lives. It was a wonderful evening spent with a great family!