ATV's, horses, and caves .. Oh My!

The last few days have certainly been a whirlwind of activity, driving, and great food! We left Fort Collins this week after some fabulous cinnamon rolls, stopped for a quick lunch in Denver (again, following our tummies), and then made our way down to Castlerock, CO to visit some great friends their fabulous house and view. Ty and Jesse spent some time on their ATV's, while Hills and Aspen fed the turkeys, chickens, and ducks. We were able to visit with Ty's great friends from college, Spencer and Elise, and their sweet kids, over a fabulous dinner.


After Castlerock, we made a quick stop in Elizabeth, CO. Ty, Aspen, and Jesse stayed with Isaac, one of Ty's best men from our wedding, and his parents, while Hills got scooped up by our friend Haley for a "girls' weekend." The boys enjoyed great homemade bbq, while Hills and Haley drove to Denver for ladies' night and line dancing. (Free margaritas aren't always a great thing ..)
Hills spent another day with Haley, hanging out at the barn where she trains show horses and nursing her hangover, while Tyler, Jesse, and Isaac drove toward Lake George to stay at the Indian Paintbrush Ranch for some gorgeous lodge living.

After Hills' much-needed girl time, she picked up Trevor, and joined the boys at the ranch, where Hills, Ty, Jesse, and Trevor got the opportunity to explore the ranch on a two hour trail ride. Ty and Jesse proved their cowboy tendencies and took the lead of the ride, while Hills and Trevor stayed back and chatted with the wranglers. We all got in some great hiking and took in fabulous views! Boys will be boys and did all the jumping, hanging, and climbing they could possibly muster up:

After two days of isolated ranch living, Ty, Jesse, Hills, and Trevor headed back down to Monte Vista to pick up our much-missed Birdie! This Mother's Day was full of driving and waiting as we sat around waiting for the mechanic to re-secure the bolt they forgot to put in when they replaced the transmission! OOPS! (Let's hope we don't run into anymore technical issues).

With our trusted steed finally back in good health, we've made our way down to Carlsbad, NM to check out the Carlsbad Caverns. (PS - New Mexico may very well be the ugliest state in our country!) Hills poked her head in the first cave and was right back out after five minutes. Too dark and too small. The guys, however, are currently exploring miles of underground caves, equipped with their harnesses, ropes, and climbing shoes.


Aspen's hanging in there. The driving is a bit much for her - our little bear is still too small to face forward in her seat and gets awfully frustrated when she can't see the scenery throughout the drives. She did take her first step on Mother's Day though! Yay! Soon, she'll be running!

Aspen having a temper tantrum: These are new for us: