Colorado Vacation Week

Tyler had some vacation days he needed to use up or would lose in the fall and we found out he would be taking command sooner than expected at the beginning of July.  We decided to take a family vacation before that in June up to Colorado because it was only an eight hour drive!

Loaded up in the van!  We packed everything we needed and everyone was comfortable- Mommy rode in the back between the big kids to hand out snacks and keep the babies happy.

We broke up the 8 hours into two days which means we stayed the night in New Mexico.  For one of the meals we stopped at McDonalds.  Here is a funny picture taken by Tyler from the drive through of Rachel and Sylvia after using the bathroom inside the restaurant.

The babies did well on the trip!  Here Melody is sleeping quite comfortably and Christian is holding Daddy's hand.

Mommy and Sylvia selfie! The big kids also traveled well and watched a lot of movies.

Once we entered Colorado the scenery was really beautiful.

We drove into Colorado the morning of our second day.  We then had the morning to explore Southern Colorado.

Years ago Tyler visited a famous Colorado attraction called "Bishop Castle" while he was volunteering at Scout Camp. We decided to visit it as a family during our trip back. It was hand built by one man named Jim Bishop, over the last 40 years.

This is a view of some tunnels underneath the entrance to the castle

Here's Tyler posing with Jim Bishop, it's amazing to think that one person built this entire structure!

It can be a little nerve wracking at times because certain areas don't seem like they are that sturdy... but I guess if the structure has been around for 40 years without falling down it must be safe enough!

Tyler's family lived in Europe for a lot of his childhood, but exploring a castle was a new experience for Rachel and the kids. 

This is the main room in the castle with amazing vaulted ceiling, sky lights, and large arched windows.

Beneath the main room is a smaller room with amazing stained glass windows. 

The adventure Carsons exploring the mysteries of Bishop Castle.

Tyler had seem most of the castle when he was there before, but with the kids leading the way he discovered new areas that he didn't explore last time. Leave it to a child's inquiring mind to search

 every corner of such an exciting place. 

The moby wrap and hiking backpack came in handy to carry the babies around while also having our hands free to grab on to hand rails. It also makes it fun to take over the shoulder selfies!

The kids had such a blast exploring the castle. They have been told "dragon stories" at bed time for a few years now, so now they can attach images from visiting Bishop Castle to their mind's eye as they listen to dragon stories at night.

Rachel and Christian stoically contemplating the luscious nature of the Colorado mountains.

We left Bishop's castle and headed north for Colorado Springs.

It was great to be in colorful Colorado again!

We drove through Fountain and drove past some of our favorite places including our old house and our good friends' house.  They were loading up their moving van and set to leave in a few hours but we had a chance for a quick visit.  Here are the kids together with their friends!  We hope to run into the Harnois family again in the future!

We then drove up to Colorado Springs to get settled in the Airbnb we booked for the week.  It was a downstairs of a home in a nice neighborhood located on the side of the mountain.  As we were first walking up to it, we saw a big deer!  It was so close!  He didn't seem too bothered by us. Can you spot it?

Andrew was helpful while unloading the van.  We had a lot of baby gear!

We were so glad we brought the baby walkers, double stroller, and both high chairs.  The babies were especially glad they could run around the hardwood floor open space.

Sylvia and Andrew got their own rooms at the Airbnb,  it worked out great and the kids slept well our whole stay.

Andrew's room was interesting because it was decorated in a Beatles theme.  The theme even extended into the bathroom with a yellow submarine curtain.

The twins stayed in pack n plays in the same room as Mommy and Daddy.  The only downside about the living space was the lack of air conditioning but there was always a nice breeze from outside and portable fans to keep us comfortable.

The next morning we headed down to Fountain to meet up with our friends the Heywoods at the park.  Andrew got bored while waiting for everyone to get ready and wrote on his face.

Reunited with Lily!

These girls are so loving to each other!  Lily and Sylvia have been friends since Sylvia was a tiny baby.  Lily was happy to see her again!

The boys were so excited too!  Andrew and Blake are in the middle and Hunter and Leland are on either side.  Little Leland has grown so much in the year we had moved and is just adorable.

It was a fun morning for the kids to play at the park together.

Even the babies played.  This is one of the first times the babies experienced grass! Like everything they tried to put it in their mouth and were utterly intrigued.

We played at the park for a bit and then went back to our Airbnb for naptime.  After naptime we drove down to the Heywoods house and brought pizza for dinner.  It was a great time seeing our old friends!  

The next day we drove to Cave of the Winds near Manitou Springs.  Tyler had been before but neither Rachel nor the kids had been. This is the amazing view before entering the caves.

Daddy and his mini

Getting ready to walk through the caves.

Our group shot.  The big room/ photo shoot was right at the beginning of the path.

Here are some of the cool shots and views.  It was much more narrow than Carlsbad Caverns but had many interesting cave formations similar to Carlsbad Caverns.

We both had baby carriers and Christian fell asleep on Daddy!  So cute!

Next we went to visit Miramont Castle in Manitou Springs.  We always wanted to visit and never made it while living in Colorado. 

It is a huge mansion/castle tucked away on the side of the mountain.  We passed it unknowingly anytime we went to climb the Incline.

The Castle was built in 1895 as a home for Fr. Jean Baptiste Francolon and his mother from France.  Eventually they gave it to the Sisters of Mercy for use as a sanitarium.  In 1946 it was sold to private investors who divided it into apartments.  In 1976 the Manitou Springs Historical Society bought the building and saved it from condemnation.  It has been restored and is now open to the public.

The basement is a Fire Museum in place of the original home's furnace and coal rooms.

It is a really fun place to visit and the view from the windows is beautiful!

The Historical SOciety has done a good job of making the Castle an interesting place to explore.

They host a traditional afternoon tea and lunch in the Queen's Parlour Tea Room.  THey even host a Christmas dinner in historical garb.

The suit of armor was very cool.

This exhibit is American, German, and Japanese memorabilia displayed in honor of the patriotic men and women who served our country.

Sylvia checking out the antique doll display.

This view is from the top floor.

The terraced gardens out back were really beautiful.

Babies are having such a great time!

One afternoon we went to visit a nearby playground and lake.  This is Melody's first time on the swing.

Looks like they love swinging!

We started to walk around the lake after that only to get caught in a rain storm.  We hurried back to the van and drove back to our Airbnb as the sun came out and we saw a rainbow and watched the storm clouds move off down the mountain.

Another day we drove up to Denver to visit the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.  The Dead Sea Scrolls just happened to be there before returning to Jerusalem.  It was exciting to see the ancient manuscripts, pottery, and other very old artifacts.

The Dead Sea Scrolls were an separate exhibit but the rest of the museum had three floors of awesome things to see.  We stayed there all day and saw maybe 90% of everything.  Mommy is being silly with Christian.

This was the Space Odyssey section.  Here we are looking at an astronaut in a simulated Mars landing.

Andrew and Sylvia even got to pretend they were astronauts and play in a spaceship.  There were even moon rocks so it was pretty fun.

Then the gems and minerals exhibit rocked!

The exhibit made it feel like you were walking through a mine.  The pictures don't do the gems justice.

We also liked it because we had just been down in a cave the other day!

Here we are with the North American Indian Culture exhibits... it was really fun to explore.

Sylvia liked the baby papoose.

She also loved the Koalas! (Her favorite stuffed animal is a Koala baby)

The animal floor was really interesting.

The kids loved looking at all the cool animals and scenes.

Papa Bear

This was an interactive floor designed to look like a river bed.  The kids "caught" trout by stepping on them.

Polar bears and the babies.

Cougars

This buffalo looked like it was rolling around.  Pretty neat!

We also explored the human body exhibit.  Mommy is talking to the kids about the digestive system.

That afternoon our good friends who now live in Colorado met us at the the museum.  Here the kids are looking at fossils.

Dinosaur bones!

And lastly- mummies! "Nowhere but at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science will you find yourself nose-to-nose with a polar bear, plunging into a black hold, uncovering dazzling gems and minerals, and getting as close to a T. rex as you dare."

We had a great time at the museum.  After, we went out to dinner at a fun restaurant close by.

We love the Isoms!  They were the ones that encouraged Tyler to call Rachel back when he first arrived in Alabama for flight school.  They have been living overseas until recently and we are really happy we could meet up.  Dinner was a blast with great food and company.

The next day we went to the splash pad.  Here we are with our friends, the Paynes.  Their little baby boy is so grown up!

The Heywoods came too.  They kids love their friends so much!

Andrew and Blake

We had nap time at our Airbnb and then headed back to the Heywoods house for a barbecue.

It was so fun to spend time together.  The Heywood kids love the twins.

Sylvia and Lily played Anna and Elsa.

The big boys were superheroes.

Nice muscles Andrew!

Having fun.

Some of our other friends we met in Alabama when the twins were born now live in Colorado too.  They came over to the Heywood's house.  Luke is Andrews age and he was haibin fun playing with the boys.  Hunter's face in this picture makes me laugh.

Here they are all together in the backyard with ice cream.  We has a blast with the Heywoods and Hopsons.  We are blessed with great friends everywhere we live.  As you can imagine, they kids didn't want to leave even when it was bedtime.

The next day we went to visit Garden of the Gods.  These pictures are from the fun visitors center.  It looks like Sylvia is riding on a dinosaur but its an optical illusion painting on the floor.

Great view!

Selfie

Picture of the sleeping twins at Garden of the Gods.

And here is a family shot inside the park.

Mommy and Christian 

Daddy and Melody.

Happy babies had fun seeing the cool sites of Colorado.

Our last day was Sunday.  Here we are saying good-bye to our great Airbnb apartment and our great view.

Rachel and Bobbie before we said good-bye after church.

We loved seeing our old ward family!!

Sweet friends.

We will be back to visit again soon.

Our drive home went really well.  We did the whole eight hours in one day arriving hoe late Sunday night.  Christian just couldn't be any cuter.

We had a great vacation and were happy to visit our friends, see parts of Colorado, and visit old stomping grounds almost exactly a year after we left!