Breckenridge, CO 2010

This has to be the best vacation we've had as a family since the addition of the boys. We went to Breckenridge, CO with my family. It was AWESOME. It was the first time in...forever...that both my sisters and I were in the same place at the same time!

We opted to drive to save a little money. It took us 22 hours one way. The boys were SO good, we were very proud of them. We did take two days to get there and back to make it as tolerable as possible. We had the van jammed full of our stuff and bought a DVD player to help keep the boys entertained. It was a life saver to say the least.



As boring as Nebraska and Iowa are to drive through, they have THE BEST rest stops! They're totally designed for traveling families. Playgrounds! We had Riley's bike accessible so we could take it out each time we stopped. This really helped burn some energy!






Here's a picture of the condo we stayed in. Loved it! It even had an indoor hot tub! Boys loved it!






We did so many great things everyday. At first the elevation took a little to get used to. Breck is 9600 ft. above sea level. Just walking up a flight of stairs would really make you winded. I had a hard time sleeping the first couple nights, but it got better as the week went on.

One of the days we went to the local ski resort and had an adventurous day. There was so much to do! You could ride the alpine slides...




But beware! you can fall out of them! No one mentioned this to us, so we all just barreled down as fast as possible. Luke, Soren, My Dad and sister Christine weren't so lucky. They fell out leaving some nasty battle wounds.






You could jump on the awesome trampoline, I felt like a little kid again...







or just enjoy the view by taking a chair lift to the top. B E A U T I F U L...









On another day we rode the Leadville train. The train ride was full of breath-taking panoramas across the Arkansas River Valley. It wasn't the best weather (rainy) but when the sun did show it's face we could ride in the open cars and enjoy the view.
















Had to add the picture of my dad sleeping. But I wont show the pictures of us making fun of him. I think he'll appreciate it :)

Toward the end of the week my sister Amy and I rented some bikes, a burley and a tag-a-long and rode the bike path from Breckenridge to Frisco. A mostly downhill ride with some really pretty views. We even found a TP! We had to stop and play for a while.





Once we made it to Frisco we had some lunch and walked around town. The boys had to stop and smell the flowers :)





We also got to hike up some of Quandary Peak. Peter and Amy were looking to get Soren up his first fourteener. Dan, Christine the boys and myself were just along for the ride. We turned back about halfway up.





(Below) Dan doing the "Nagelkirk pose". You can catch Dan, his brother or their Dad standing like this at anytime, it's what they do.





At this point we turned back with my sister Christine. Peter, Amy & Soren continued on and ran into these guys! Oh how I wish we had just gone a little further!




In case your wondering, they had to abandon their hike to the top on account of Amy's boots literally disintegrating off of her feet. She hiked the whole way down barefoot!

Peter, Amy & I got away one night to see Cheryl Crow in concert at the Red Rock Amphitheater. It was better than I could expect. Red Rock Amphitheater is tucked away in the beautiful red rocks near Denver. It was absolutely beautiful as the sun set and you could see Denver lit up behind the stage. An absolute MUST SEE if your ever near Denver. The pictures I got weren't the greatest. They're from my phone. We weren't able to bring our cameras in due to the "artist's request". Boo!





Dan was a pretty happy boy all week with all the mt. biking he got to do. He did some scouting throughout the week to find a trail that I'd like to ride (Im picky). I had to rent a full suspension bike for the ride. It was soooo worth it. I loved every second of it. It was by far the hardest and most fun trail I've ever ridden. I've only ridden the hills of MI before, never the mountains. I can't wait to do it again!





While Dan and I were out biking Amy took Soren and Luke to The Country Boy Mine for some fun mining adventures, which also included a stop at the local ice cream shop :)







We truly had an AWESOME time. I love Colorado!