Estes Park Awesomeness

 I love Estes Park.  This was our second year at "Trail's End" cabin at YMCA of the Rockies.  We took off right after school on the boys' last day & spent three nights getting up-close-and-personal with nature. (With indoor plumbing, my favorite combo!)  There is just so much beauty there and it's very peaceful, even though the camp itself is huge.  We like the cabin because of the amazing views, wildlife sightings and marshmallow roasting ability in the fireplace, among other things.

 Mimi & Grampy shucking corn for dinner.

 Carter scoping out the scenery from our front deck.

 Firing up the marshmallows for S'mores!

 Sister & Davis getting in on the S'mores action. 

 Breakfast at the big table.

 Carter & Davis climbing the BIG rock.

 The tire swing was a huge hit.

 On our daily hike from our cabin to the Craft Center.

 The boys did some classes & got to dig for "fossils".  Anything involving dirt is usually a hit with these two!

 Heading to the Craft Center with Grampy. (You should see the mug he painted this year--wow!)

 This deer trio got really friendly with us after dinner one night.

 Sister has a special touch with the wildlife.

 I think the deer could smell the blood on Grampy's hands from his many years of hunting, because they backed up instantly when he came outside.

 The boys were amazed to be this close.

We're heading back up to the park at the end of July with Grandad & Grandma Nancy.  Can't wait!!!

Estes Park YMCA

What a wonderful family destination!  We were so happy with our time at YMCA of the Rockies.  I booked a 3-bedroom cabin at a great price and we headed up after the last day of school.  Mimi & Grampy were in town to join us and Aunt Sister went, too!  The cabin was amazing: big, secluded, stone fireplace to roast marshmallows and free Wi-Fi.  There are a ton of pics here...we had lots to do and lots of great scenery, so I wanted to capture it all!

The playground was one of our favorite spots.

The Craft Center was AMAZING!  We painted wooden toys...

did mosaic glass artwork ...

...and Mimi made a tie-dye shirt!

We saw lots of elk. So cool!

A beautiful rainbow from the porch of our cabin.

The boys had a blast splashing in a mud puddle after the rain while we watched from the porch.  That gave Mimi an opportunity to use the washer & dryer in our cabin, so all's well that ends well.

We got in a game of mini-golf while we waited for our pizza order.

Mimi got a hole in one!

Family Fun!

Early morning coffee at the cabin.  (Sorry for the no make-up shot, mom!)

Snuggling with Aunt Sister.

 Our "hike" to/from the main grounds.

 Cool sign!

 More good times at the playground.

 See the group of deer to the left of Grampy & Sister, by the light pole?  They were just grazing close to the playground without a care in the world.

 Davis getting a lift from Grampy.

 Love these little stinkers!

 Mimi making the most of our big kitchen.

 Grampy made us a fire so we could do s'mores! Yummy!

We can't wait to go back to our cabin in the woods next Summer!

Estes Park

We headed up to Estes Park on the Friday after Thanksgiving for a little Christmas spirit.  They have a really cute festival every year that kind of kicks of the holiday season.  It was very cold, but no snow this year! We enjoyed checking out the shops and having dinner at our favorite pizza place.  After dark, they have a parade with lighted Christmas floats.  It was a fun day and definitely gets you into the spirit of the season!

 This would have been perfect with a little snow!

 Being careful not to fall into the river...

 Much better view of the parade with a little help from Grandad.

Sean had his own vantage point staked out.