The first week in October we drove up to Breckenridge, a beautiful ski town tucked into the mountains of Colorado. We were deciding between visiting Vail, Estes Park, or Breckenridge and decided on the latter because it was a bit closer to us. The 2 and 1/2 hour drive was really beautiful winding up through the mountains.
Here is the view that welcomed us.
The air was very crisp and cool. The kids were excited to get bundled up and get out of the car after a long drive.
Andrew loves walking sticks. He shared some with daddy too.
And he just loves collecting sticks in general. He's working hard.
Mommy and the kiddos hiking the mountain forest.
Sylvia was so bundled up. Her hat kept sliding down over her eyes, and we forgot to bring gloves for her so she used an extra pair of her socks. It was silly, but not too far off from mittens, right?
Her tiny face poking out is so precious and why we wanted to share this picture. We finished our hike and had a picnic lunch before driving back into town.
There was a fun railroad park that had pretend and real trains!
Riding in the mining car
The kids had lots of fun going down the slide and playing on the other play equipment
The park was awesome, too bad it wasn't closer to our house!
Tyler driving the train
In front of the real (not functioning) train.
Andrew riding the caboose.
Enjoying our vacation
We visited a couple of museums which were free. This one is the Edwin Carter museum, it had some artifacts from the mid 1800s, especially in regards to mining and taxidermy.
Checking out some of the interactive displays
They had several taxidermy specimens and Sylvia was drawn to the, "BURDS!!"
The kids learned about which animals leave which footprints.
On our way to the next museum Sylvia just fell asleep in her car seat. Daddy and Andrew continued on to visit the firefighter museum while Mommy waited in the car while Sylvia took a little snooze. Andrew loved seeing the firetrucks.
Then we walked around downtown Breckenridge. We visited some shops and stopped by the famous crepe stand. (We had read about it on the internet)
It seemed as if there were endless options of fillings for the crepes but we opted for the seasonal pumpkin caramel creme one and shared it. It was sweet and tasty!
Later in the afternoon we checked into our hotel and went right out to visit the swimming pool! Now as I mentioned it was cold (highs in the 50s) and the pool was mostly outdoor, but since it was heated and the kids were so excited about it, we were brave and went to check it out.
The kids loved swimming! The pool was very warm so even though it was cold outside, swimming was still pleasant as long as you were swimming around.
Look at Andrew go! He swam all around the pool with his life jacket but didn't want anyone to hold onto him. His swimming practice this summer really paid off.
Andrew and Daddy
Sweet Sylvia did need someone to hold onto her in addition to her life jacket, but she also likes to kick her legs.
Swimming Andrew
What a view we had!
These are from our hotel room. It was very comfortable and had everything we could have ever needed!
The kids slept in the pack and plays and the bathrooms and shower are around the corner to the right.
Here the kids are relaxing and getting warm after swimming.
This was the view from our hotel balcony.
This was also the view. It was just beautiful!
The next day after a good nights rest for everyone (the kids were tired out from swimming and Andrew hadn't had a nap), we woke up and went swimming again before we had to check out of our hotel at 11am. We then drove to the bicycle rental place downtown and rented some bikes.
It was awesome! The rental place suggested a bike path for us to take and we followed it almost to the neighboring town.
The kids rode in the buggy behind. On the way there they were perfect but started fighting a little bit on the way back.
It was another cold fall day but we loved breathing the mountain air and doing something we don't normally get to do!
We stopped at a trail head and Andrew wanted to try to ride the bike. He's not quite big enough.
The fall colors were beautiful! Heading back the bike riding was a little more challenging because it was slightly uphill and the elevation took its toll.
Another shot of the kids.
In between us is the 'Welcome to Breckenridge' sign. We took this on our way back into town.
We headed back after riding bikes for a few hours and ate a 'picnic' lunch in the car as we drove home. Our two days in Breckenridge were super fun and recharging. And we got a taste of what Fall weather should feel like. When we returned home, it was 80 degrees!
