Quick Get-away to Winter Park

We made a last minute decision to head up to Winter Park for Labor Day.  We left after church, and headed up to the mountains.  We stopped and ate Pizza at Beaujoe’s in Idaho Spring, then finished the drive up to Winter Park.  We got in kinda late, but the kids, of course, wanted to go swimming.  So, I put Blake to bed while Rusty and the kids wore themselves out at the pool. 

The next morning we swam again, and then headed out to do a mile hike to a lake that was 10 miles away.  What we didn’t know was that it was 10 miles on a very bumpy, narrow dirt road, straight up the mountain.  After about 40 min, we got to our destination.  The wind was blowing like CRAZY, and it was about 42 degrees.  I was ready just to head back down the mountain, but Rusty wanted to keep going.  He was sure the wind would die down once we entered the little valley where the lake was.  So, with Blake and Josh bawling their eyes out, and Halle and I freezing to death, we made our way down to the lake.  Where is was still freezing and windy.  The kids and I immediately wanted to turn back, but we sat frozen for a few minutes trying to eat our lunch.  We started back up the hill with Josh still crying.  So, I stopped the kids, and we talked about how important it is to try our best, and even when things are hard, to put on a happy face.  We promised we would all do our best to get up the mountain, and not whine and cry.  Halle was amazing.  She was our little trooper blazing her way up the hill.  I didn’t hear one word of complaint out of her.  We kept saying things like, “we’re so strong, we’re so brave” and she loved it.  I gave Josh a piggy back ride most of the way up and he had to say things like, “you can do it, mom!” in order to give me “energy” to keep carrying him up the hill.  I put him down about 50 yards from the top and let him finish himself.  Both he and Halle were so proud, and I was too! 
A few days after we got home I had asked Josh to do something and he said, “It’s so hard, Mom.” I said, “Is it harder than climbing that mountain?” He said, “No.” I told him if he could do something as hard as climbing a mountain in the wind, he could surly do this small job.  He thought about it for a minute, put a big smile on his face, and went and finished his job.  It was really sweet. 

After the crazy hike we decided we needed something fun.  So we went and rented some bikes and rode along a beautiful trail right along the river.  Halle and I had a tandem bike, and Rusty pulled the boys in a trailer.  We stopped and threw rocks into the river—always a favorite pass time with the kids. 

The kids just love staying in hotels, jumping on the beds, and having adventures.  I was so proud of the way they acted, and can’t wait until our next grand adventure.  As long as it’s not cold or windy :)