Grand Lake, Colorado- Summer 2011

The end of June my parents, their 4 children plus spouses, their 11 grandchildren, and 1 grand dog met in Grand Lake, Colorado and spent the week together. It was heaven. It was a beautiful town. Simple, slow pace, lots of family fun things to do, everything in walking distance, great shopping and icecream shops, and did I mention it was beautiful. The night we got there it was cold and raining. It made me nervous that I packed for warmer weather, but the next day the sun came out and we had perfect warm sunny days all week. Each family had their own cabin and then we had a gathering cabin that we played cards in and cooked in etc. Each family took a turn cooking dinner one night for everyone. It worked out really easy and made it kind of fun. All the grandkids got along SO well. I can't remember one single arguement all week. They had so much fun running around outside free all day long. My brother in law, Barry, rented a boat one afternoon and we took a long ride around the entire outside of Grand Lake. We got to admire all the amazing summer homes that people build there. We even saw where Tim Allen lives in the summer. We rented paddle boats and kayakes and took turns taking those out on the lake. The water was way too cold to actually swim in, so the kids enjoyed playing on the beach and getting their feet in the water near the beach area. They loved that! We went on hikes, picnics, shopping, horseback riding, bowling, go cart racing, you name it, we did it! At night we would all sit around the campfire and enjoy the chilly mountain air. We laughed and talked a lot around the campfire, which were some of my favorite moments from the trip. I love that my family genuinely likes each other and we like being around each other. 

Thank you to my mom and dad for organizing this trip for us all. My girls talk about it all the time and we loved every minute of it. Love you!    

(Aunt Tamara had the great camera and was our offical family photgrapher while we were there. Here are just a few shots I snapped. Will post better ones after I get the CD from Tamara.)

 Future Miss Wyoming?? Auntie Tamara rocks! She brought all 3 of my girls Wyoming sweatshirts. They really came in handy on those chilly mountain night. 

 Daddy giving Layla her morning bath in our kitchen sink. She thought it was fun!

 Alyssa kayaking with grandpa and cousin, Ashley. She thought is was awesome!

 "Sitting on the dock of the bay..." Bella did not want to go out on the kayake. So daddy and her watched them go in and out from the dock.

 Me and my girls enjoying the boat ride. Layla's life jacket cracks me up.

Ahhh...the love birds! Olivia and Chris.

 Grandpa and his buddy Ethan. They were 2 peas in a pod this trip. Ethan just really loves his grandpa.

 Tamara and Barry - the grill masters! They made some killer kaebobs!

 Uncle Barry letting Alyssa "drive" the boat. She thought she was so cool.

 Cousins playing on the beach.They moved around so fast it was hard to get one of their faces. (Alyssa, Bella, Kadie, and Garrett.)

 Alyssa mounting up for her horseback ride. She died and gone to heaven after that ride.

 This was Bella's first time on a real horse. She loved it. She kept saying, "Cowgirl Dora, yeehaw!"

 The girls in front of their horses. They were pumped up about it!

 This last picture just captures our silly  family games. Pretty much any game that can make us look like crazy people- we play it! This one is a hilarious!