Estes Park

My college friends try to get together every couple of years. However, there were quite a few babies being born the  past couple of years, which made it more difficult to travel. This year we were back in action and decided to go to Estes Park.

Saturday:

Our house was the meeting place before heading up to the mountains. After I cleaned the house, the boys were excited to discover there is actual room and floor space under the desk. Who knew?

Our guests finally arrived:

Aiden was concerned that Piper (above) was trying to get his gold fish:

Sunday:

Up in Estes Park, Janina found a great house/cabin for us to rent. There were 12 adults and 10 children and we all fit quite well. The entrance to the house was at the top of a hill. Underneath the living room and kitchen area, there were three more levels with bedrooms. 

We celebrated Lila's birthday with donuts for breakfast: 

The boys approved and enjoyed their first donuts:

I thought it was cute that Reid ate the sprinkles and top part first:  

Heading back through town on our way to a great park:

Checking out the nearby lake: 

When we were walking back to the others, Reid spotted a baseball field and quickly sprinted over. "Run fast! I run fast!" 

I think he just crossed an item off of his bucket list: 

Monday:

On Monday we drove up into Rocky Mountain National Park:

We saw this bike rider several times throughout the day. Amazing that he more or less kept pace with us in our cars: 

Bill, Mark, and Madeline: 

Our caravan of vehicles: 

The view from the top at the Visitor Center: 

Bill, Melinda, Jen, Mark, and Madeline: 

That same bike rider: 

Elk soaking up some sun in the field: 

Janina, Me, Colette: 

Panoramic view: 

The boys fell asleep on the ride down: 

We packed a picnic lunch: 

Back at the house, Reid works on his tech skills: 

The view from the top balcony. Eric and some of the other guys were playing horse shoes: 

We took a bunch of the kids down to the nearby playground. The boys enjoyed the sand box: 

Bill quickly made a friend in Reid. Especially when he had his iPad out: 

Tuesday:

Janina and Colette had the good idea to pose all of the kids in Iowa State t-shirts. I managed to get a few good pictures. (We also took a picture of all of us when we went up on the tram, but I don't have a copy of that yet.) 

Another view from the top balcony: 

Waiting to ride the tram: 

Checking out the chipmunks: 

Untying Adam's shoes while waiting in line: 

Next stop- Fun City, a little amusement park. "Driving" the car. The boys didn't know that if you put in money, the car will move. I'm not sure how long we'll get away with that trick: 

They LOVED the big slide. I enjoyed it too. I think it had been at least 25 years since I had ridden on one like these at the county fair in Casper: 

Wednesday:

Playing in the dirt with Wyatt while we packed up the car: 

One of the highlights of the entire trip- seeing a train go by as we were eating lunch at Wendy's:

I had a great time seeing my friends and was pleased with how well the boys did.