July was our big month to travel. We usually try to be out of town for at least a couple weeks because it gets so hot and we just need a good break by then. We had planned a long trip and we thought we’d be gone for at least a week longer than what we ended up doing… but I am a homebody 🙂 and I’ve rubbed off on Micah a little bit. Even still, we did have some fun adventure!

CABIN

We started our trip by going to the cabin for the 4th of July weekend. Krista, Steve and Lincoln were there and they always bring a party. We got there on the 4th and Krista had made the most delicious and amazing meal – She had gotten fun decorations and we had such a blast with them!  Autumn was a mess and threw a ton of fits. She hated not having her pacifier (we had lost the last one a few weeks before and didn’t buy any more). We finally broke down and decided to buy her one since we were going to be with a lot of people throughout the trip. Magic! It definitely did the trick. 4th of July was on Thursday, and we stayed at the cabin until Tuesday. We were off to see the Tripps in Los Alamos, NM.

NEW MEXICO

We stopped in Albuquerque for the night since the Tripps themselves would be staying the night in Albuquerque to pick up Caemlyn from the airport and drop Zephram off.  The next morning we worked our way up to Los Alamos to hang out for the day while Micah got a little bit of work in.  We visited a science museum and stayed the night at the Tripps house.  They made a yummy dinner for us! The next morning we visited the Bandelier Cliff Dwellings.  After visiting the cliff dwellings we said goodbye to the Tripps and started our drive to Denver. Thanks to Megan, Justin, Caemlyn, Kezia, Ada, and Tyghe!

In Taos we hit some traffic and at one stop light we got rear ended by another van. We started to pull over to check the damage and exchange insurance info but after we pulled over the car that hit us kept driving so we quickly pulled behind them to get their license plate and dialed 911.  A block later they pulled into a parking lot and got mad at us for chasing them.  It was quite the experience and lets just say we were glad when we were able to get back on the road an hour later!

COLORADO

When we got into Colorado there were the most beautiful wild horses on the road. There were a few colts which were fun for Jackson, Lacey, Chelle and Autumn to see and the weather was cloudy and beautiful. We loved Colorado from the moment we crossed the border!  We had so much fun with Dave, Teneal, Elena, Kaylee, and Olivia! We got in to town right about nap time. Originally we had planned to go do some fun outings, but Autumn NEEDED a rest. So we played around the house and the kids swam in their pool. They served us some delicious snow cones, and then made a delicious dinner.  We went to a yummy frozen yogurt shop and the kids loved the little projector game area. On Saturday we went to the aquarium, and then we spent a little time at the Denver Zoo. The afternoon was rainy, so we had such a blast running from exhibit to exhibit and getting soaked. We were laughing so hard at each other and the kids were such good sports! We went to church with them on Sunday and then we hit the road again. The Coonsies were so nice to take their whole weekend to hang out with us!

ARCHES, MESA VERDE, 4 CORNERS

At this point in our trip we had to decide our next move. We had kinda left it up in the air. We thought we might goto Nebraska then on to Iowa, but we chickened out. The thought of the long drive to make it back home sounded a little daunting. We were all ready to be getting back. So that day we headed out to part of Utah that none of us had ever been to. We went to see Arches national Park. It was awesome! I would totally do that again and plan a little more time for hiking and just seeing. We hiked a to a couple view points, and surprisingly our kids loved it! I am always surprised how our kids really do enjoy and appreciate nature. I don’t know why its surprising, I guess I always just think they will think its boring or something. They are almost always up for an adventure. That night we stayed at a hotel and had a great time being together.

The next morning we got up and dipped back into Colorado to go to Mesa Verde. It also was awesome and something I think I will spend more time at when my kids are a little older. What a great trip! The kids loved Mesa Verde too. After that though, it was a long day of driving with a stop at 4 corners. I don’t know why we feel like we need to stop there, I’ve been there 2 times and both times have not been all that exciting. 4 corners is hot and the sun was so bright you could hardly open your eyes. You can see from the picture the kids were totally over it before we even got out of the car. Check that one off the list, I don’t think we will ever go back. The tourists sure enjoyed us again though. From there we were ready to be home. We drove the rest of the way that day. We got home late, but it worked out ok. It was definitely nice to be back at home. We made some great memories on this trip – so glad we went!

Home sweet home. This is the good life!