colorado

we are back from our much anticipated trip to colorado. i can't believe we are already home from it. i remember being in idaho when daron called to let me know that we were going. how has it already come and gone? we arrived late thursday night. carter was a champ on the flight over. the flight was from 7 - 9 p.m. which is carter's bedtime, so it was not an ideal. luckily we sat next to a woman that had a 7 month old and was very understanding. we chatted all things baby and i basically felt like her best friend by the end of flight. she ended up showing me pictures of her little one and i was sad that i wasn't going to meet him and that in all reality we probably wouldn't ever see each other again. it was a good reminder of the bonds motherhood instantly creates. you could have nothing else in common and then you realize, "hey, you have baby!? hey... me too!" suddenly, there is everything to talk about. 

the mornings of the trip were pretty dreamy. linnea and steve would hear carter crying in the mornings and sneak in and grab him before we woke up. this resulted in me and daron getting almost an hour of extra zzz's every morning. can i get a hellelujah?! if only i could tell you how long i had been dreaming of that exact scenario. thanks to grandma & grandpa, it actually happened! 

daron and i had a blast watching carter interact with the family dog, scooter. it was sort of this love/hate relationship. he would crawl after him but the moment scooter turned around carter would throw up his hands with a little yelp and squint his face in the funniest expression. 

we ended up dubbing it his "dog face" 

watching scooter and carter interact made me want a dog, really bad. but then linnea would bring me back to reality and remind me that i actually don't want a dog and i realized she was right. not yet at least. but one day, mark my words, a dog will be part of this family!

saturday we went to the infamous lake that daron has wonderful memories of growing up. i actually slalomed and wake boarded which i hadn't done since last summer when i was 4 months pregnant (which doesn't really count). so it was more like 2 summers ago. daron and i also chased each other around on bumper boats which are a new favorite on our list. 
(thank you jen and dustin!)

later that night, we took carter to the denver aquarium. it took a little bit for carter to realize what he was supposed to be looking at. but once he caught on, he was fascinated! of course i was looking more at him than the fish. 

                mmm yummy barracuda^^

                                                                            smile! you're on camera :)^^

sunday we relaxed, chatted with neighbors, and had dinner with carter's great-grandparents lee and shirley. i also got bit by mosquitos which i truly wish i could zap away from the planet. there are a few things on this earth that i could really just do away with.

monday we drove about an hour north to estes park. a beautiful little valley town, nestled up next to the bottom of the rocky mountains. 

we took the gondola up to enjoy the views,

                                             carter and his iron grip on that sucker^^

walked up and down main street checking out every dessert shop available. 
i have steve to thank for that! he and me. we share the same love for all things dessert. if only i could get daron on that band wagon!

we stopped at the greatest taffy shop i have ever seen. i am not a taffy person. but this is the best taffy you will ever have. i repeat: it is the best taffy you will ever have. not sticky. not so chewy that it hurts your teeth. just melt in your mouth taffy that brings happiness. i wish i ate more of it. but unfortunately, i ate my weight X3 in ice cream.

                                                         as my mother would say, go big or go home^^

we ended the day with a trip up trail ridge road. 

trail ridge road is the highest maintained road in the nation. it takes you up 12,000+ feet and people from all over the world come to check it out. the views were stunning. daron and i both had headaches because the air was so thin but it was worth it. 

our last day was spent enjoying time with cousins. it all went by too fast. colorado is a wonderful place. but even more, i feel so blessed that carter has such wonderful grandparents. they love him dearly. they care for him as much as we care for him. it means so much to me to watch them love carter with all of their being.

we already miss you colorado!
that means you grandma & grandpa