Some dear family friends blessed us with the chance to stay in their condo in Vail, Colorado, last week. Mountains? Cooler air? A place to relax? Yes, please!
The drive took two days there and two days back, so we had lots of quality time and adventures. I got to know parts of Texas I’d never seen before, like the plains and the panhandle. If there was ever any doubt, I now know that I’m a city girl through and through. All the wide open spaces with no buildings for as far as the eye could see made me very nervous! It was beautiful though. We spent the first night in Amarillo and ate at The Big Texan, which is an experience I’ll never forget. The next day we drove up through New Mexico and got to see the Capulin Volcano, which was very intriguing to Jackson. He wanted to know where the lava was. The drive from New Mexico into Vail was like going from glory to glory. The mountains got bigger and bigger until we were finally driving right through them in tunnels because there was no way around them. The scenery was incredible. We celebrated big time when we finally got to the condo in Vail and saw the lovely creek behind it. It was perfect!
The best thing about our time in Colorado was being able to play outside with the kids in the cool air. Vail is filled with really neat playgrounds and we tried to visit all of them at least once. One day we drove through Independence Pass and got to see the Continental Divide. It was cold up there, y’all! And glorious! We had lunch in Aspen and I promise you I’ve never fallen more in love with any town.
We headed home on Sunday and just happened to be driving right by New Life Church in Colorado Springs right before their service was starting. At the last second, we exited the freeway and headed that way! It ended up being the perfect thing to do. The kids loved getting to play in their classes and Curtis and I enjoyed having some time to worship the Lord together. Even though we didn’t know anyone there personally, we had the same Father, Son and Holy Spirit and it felt like family. I love that about the body of Christ. I even saw a lady carrying the Esther DVD set and wondered if she was a Siesta!
You may be wondering how on earth we survived 4 days in the car with a four-year-old and a one-year-old. We couldn’t have done it without these things:
–Psalty CD’s
-A DVD player
-Candy blocks and necklaces
-Lots of snacks
-Sticker books
-La Quinta Inn
-My Blackberry (for my sanity)
-Mommy hiding in the back row of the Suburban behind the whining toddler. It took us a while to figure this one out.
-The grace of God!
Here are some of the pictures we took. If you click on a thumbnail it will enlarge once. Click again and it will be full size.
Thank you for blessing us, Weir family!
We love living here in Colorado and you visited some of the most beautiful areas the state has to offer. Your photos had backdrops that we could name in an instant..fun! When you were in Aspen, did you see the park dedicated to John Denver where the big hunks of rock have lyrics to his songs engraved on them? Both of those towns have expensive shops, don’t they? No Walmarts there! Glad you got some R and R! You’ll have to come back to Colorado Springs. There are so many neat places to take family there. You could spend a week without any trouble!
Love the one of your man at the end breaking out the sword! Amen and amen!!
Also, Jackson was CRACKING ME UP with that toy out of the window.
We are road tripping it next weekend to Kansas. my man bought a cabin up there to hunt (I pray it isn’t a dump). So, I would at least like to know where he is for most of the winter. I just would rather fly! =)
Jenny, I hope you noticed that the toy was a gun. I thought you’d appreciate that.
Jenny,
You are so on the other side of the state, how about just going ahead and road tripping it on out to me!!!
One piece of Road Trip with Children Advice…ditch the DVD player as soon as possible. We’ve been driving 12-hour days since the kids were born and watched DVDs on one TODDLER TRIP. By age 4, let them entertain themselves. They’ll complain…but then they’ll start reading and talking and singing… We also listened to some amazing books on tape that my kids would never have read on their own. (They were trapped ; ) Enjoy the adventures!
Our family lived in Trinidad, CO for 3 years because of my Hub’s job with the BNSF Railway. I would go to Capulin Volcano with the kids and we would hike and take a picnic lunch. For my money, try a trip with the kiddos to the Great Sand Dunes outside of Alamosa, CO! Medano Creek comes down from the mountains and the kids will LOVE playing in the sand and water. You can even hike to the top! There’s tons to do in Colorado that is so family friendly beyond the obvious Pike’s Peak, etc.
Connie Hopkins
Denton, Texas
Connie, we thought Trinidad was so cool! Of course, we only saw it from the highway. Next time we are definitely going to the sand dunes.
Beautiful pictures and smiles!
Amanda, next time you’ll need to take a trip up to see us in Steamboat Springs. We live in another beautiful ski town with an awesome church (Steamboat Christian Center)just to the north of Vail.
We travel throughout Colorado for our son’s sporting events and are still amazed at God’s goodness in placing us in such a beautiful part of the country.
Love the pictures and thanks for sharing. Hope it’s the first of many trips to our lil piece of heaven.
Pure Bliss!
Minus the car ride part! You guys rock!
I don’t know how my parents handled driving us to PA every year!!!
I loved the photos and descriptions of your vacation. It brought back memories of my childhood and vacations with my children who are grown. These times become such wonderful memories for all of you to treasure. Vacations and spontaniety definitely refresh us as the Lord intends for them to do. Your decision to stay home with your children will bless your entire family. I made that choice years ago when as an engineer I thought I could be supermom and dedicated professional and for me it was not posssible to do it all well. I really loved the fact that I could respond to my family’s needs without feeling guilty about shortchanging something else. By doing that it has now enabled me to be able to care for my mom who has Alzheimer’s, because we are adjusted to the one paycheck lifestyle. Thank you so much for sharing.
Amanda, These photos are precious. Annabeth could not get any cuter. My favorite picture is her laying on the stairs sucking her thumb. My thumb-sucker is 13 years old and it seems like yesterday we took a photo of her laying just like that.
I love living and traveling vicariously through your trips….
The joys of The Traveling Sisterhood in Blogville
Beautifully Awkward
I love the pictures! Thank you for sharing your trip and family with us. I have never been to Colorado, but I bet it is amazing. After reading a John Eldredge book…always makes me want to go.
My family may have passed you on the highway! My husband, 21-year-old daughter, and I were in CO visiting our 24-year-old son in Breckenridge. We all drove the Independence Pass on Thursday – for a family from Michigan, it was a piece of heaven! We thoroughly enjoyed a rare opportunity to be all together in a GORGEOUS part of our country, and our son was proud to share his new home state.
Thanks for taking us with you on a “mini vacation” to our beloved Colorado! What an unexpected joy to be with you “in spirit” for a few moments in time, and get to see all the great pics of you and your man and darling family.
After you sharing with all we Siesta’s of your “retirement” from LPM, I didn’t expect we would get to hear from you very often, and I knew I was sure going to miss you and hoped you would still get on line and share pic’s now and then, so your post came as a surprize. We lived in Colorado for 5 years and still have family there, so we get to go every two years or so, and love all the places you got to see. Hope someday (if you haven’t already)get to go to Estes and Rocky Mt. National Park, and up to Trail Ridge Road, the highest auto road in the US, and have hot cocoa in the Chalet and marvel at the view of the whole Eastern slope heading out to the plains. Be sure to bring binoculars and let the kids look for little herds of deer on the slopes. You are so blessed, and so are we…Praying especially for your Mom and all the Siestas getting blessed at LPL this weekend.
Hugs in Him,
Pam H.
Beautiful family + beautiful scenery = beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing, Amanda. Isn’t getting away such fun! It is especially fun getting away during Houston’s summer months and when friends/family let you hang out at their place. A friend of mine just moved to Colorado and my only comfort (other than the fact that she left for ministry) is that I have another cool spot to escape to.
Glad you all stopped for church. One of the best parts of trips for me (whether in the U.S. or in other countries) is to visit churches and worship with believers that I will probably never meet again till heaven. It is the sweetest experience. God has some colorful children and I love it! The most unforgettable for me was visiting Time Square Church during a visit to NYC years ago. It was like a little taste of heaven!
Eposi, Times Square Church is one of my favorites! Yes, a little taste of heaven indeed.
We used to live in Colorado for 8 1/2 years and now live in Houston.
Your pictures really made me homesick for Colorado, even though I am a native of Houston.
You give me hope that if you could do that drive with 2 young ones than my husband and I (even though I have a medical condition), along with our dog can make that drive and see that wonderful state again.
Thank you for sharing!
Now I’m curious about what Curtis was studying in his Bible. Love that picture!
And that dandelion Jackson was holding is HUGE! He must have found that one in Texas???
You and Annabeth are having some good hair days. Your hair looks shorter and her hair looks longer. Love her on the steps with her blankie…
Wasn’t that thing crazy? He tried to blow it but it wouldn’t budge. Finally tore it up with his hands. It was definitely in Colorado!
Amanda,
Just when I think Jackson can’t get any more handsome and Annabeth can’t get any more beautiful, you post new pictures and prove me wrong! So glad you are had a great vacation – I love Colorado..when went I stayed with a friend on a ranch up in the mountains with a view of Pikes Peak out the front door and tons of horses where 2 of the mares had just foaled. It was glorious! I commend you on making the decision to stay home-these are years you’ll never get back. God Bless You! Marylee
thanks for sharing such great pictures from such a great vacation! i have been to the continental divide up there also and it is so beautiful! a little hard to breath when you have asthma, but still so amazing!
Wow, I can’t believe how much Jackson has grown. Seeing him inspires me to give you an older mother to younger mother suggestion.
Get the video camera out and tape your sweet babies while they are still babies. Capture the sound of their voices and their laughter, capture their bedtime prayers and their playtime.
My kids are 22, 19, and 17. When they were little I would video tape them on just ordinary days, doing ordinary things, like playing in the kiddie pool, on the swing set, playing with legos, etc. etc. At the time I never watched the tapes, because really who had time. However, now those videos are some of my most prized possessions. There is nothing like hearing the sound of their sweet toddler voices and laughter again. My heart just melts each time I watch them.
Enjoy these days – they go so fast.
Linda
Great pictures Amanda. So glad that you guys could get away to relax and enjoy each other. Your kids are getting so big. That Jackson is just too cute to be a little boy! Annabeth has lost that little baby look and definitely entered toddlerhood! Just beautiful!
Jan
This is awesome! It really sounds and looks like you had a glorious time. I’m happy for you for your great vacation.
What wonderful pictures! I loved that you stopped spontaneously at a church and worshipped. I have not a spontaneous person but we travel quite a bit because of my husband’s job and I internet shop for a church to visit and have had some the most wonderful experiences. Baptists are friendly. We visit Gainesville, Ga. FBC often. The last time I was there a lovely “younger” woman invited me to sit with her and told me this is where we sit so come on and look for me next time. Isn’t God great to welcome strangers with his special angels as our guides?
I’ll never write like you ~ you’ve got some serious genes for that 🙂 But do you think you could come to Budapest Hungary and teach me how to “Blog” properly and how to post that many pictures at a time? My family would be so ever grateful and I may not turn totally gray 🙂 So glad you could get away, cool off and take in God’s beautiful creation!!!!! We are doing the same thing and giving thanks for each moment!
Amanda: Sounds like you gusys had a great time. I live in Amarillo, how was your Big Texan experience? I hope it was a good one. Last year I took my California family to the Big Texan becaue they wanted to “experience it” and it was not such a great experience for them or me. As we were leaving, I fell down their old, rusty stairs and broke my left ankle and the food was not all that great. 🙂
Marilyn
Oh no! That’s not good! We sat at the top of those stairs and the kids kept needing to go to the bathroom (after being in the car so long, bless their hearts), so it was a weird dinner. It was definitely memorable though!
How wonderful!!! I love hearing about your family….
Loved the pics Amanda!! It is always so good to see the children and see how much they have grown. You saw some beautiful countryside!! Traveling with children is usually a challenge and sounds like you are handling it very well!!
Will miss you on the blog – at least as often as you used to be. Totally understand wanting to be at home for the little ones. They are definitely little for only so long.
Will anxiously await a “word” from you once in awhile as the Lord permits the time.
Blessings to all of you,
Bible Bunny in NO MI
So funny to see you at all the playgrounds we visit! I live in Evergreen but we have a place in Vail and are always up there. Pepe’s is our favorite place to eat (my husband is German) and my kids love the fountain in Vail too! And we spend a lot of time in Aspen too – I agree, it’s the greatest town! Looks like you had a fun trip! Roadtrips are so great for kids – they get to see the country and realize how big it is – but that was very brave with such little ones! Good training!
Amanda,
So glad ya’ll were able to get away on such a fun trip! Our family was just there last July in Vail…actually a little above in Beaver Creek/Bachelor Gulch. We too, were priveleged to be guests of some dear friends from the church my husband was on staff. I recognize the village! And because we had older children, we did a LOT of hiking the trails up in the mountains. I remember seeing so many beautiful ferns and flowers and moss covered rocks along the streams so high up that few would pass and see. And yet, I thought how magnificent our God is to grow such beauty just for the joy of it. Our hubbies also did some mountain biking. You’re right, the weather was invigorating : ) Our kids did ice skating in the center of the shopping center at night. Did you see that? We marveled at the flowers everywhere. Our kids all did the bungee style trampoline thing that looks like Jackson is doing…and the mini putt-putt, too!!
Thanks for sharing your pictures and adventure. It brought back great memories and it was delightful to see ya’ll making memories there,too!
xoxo, rene
Such wonderful photos. Such an encouragement.
I loved seeing Psalty as part of your trip. My daughters (20 and 16 now) can still remember those songs and they saw him in person! Mr. Donut Man is awesome too.
Hi Amanda,
It’s been ages since I replied on the blog, but I had to because my family just got done driving from Pensacola, FL to San Diego, CA. There are four of us also with the kids being about one year or so older than yours. My son, Timmy, is five and has a fear of strange stuffed creatures like bears, moose, deer,etc. Well we ate dinner at the Big Texan and stayed at the La Quinta in Amarillo too, and we almost had to leave when we went into the Big Texan because of that big ole bear near the door. Timmy was totally terrified. Someone was attempting to eat the big steak while we were there, but every time people would clap or make other loud noises my kids would get very worried looks on their faces. We drove on to AZ the next day and saw the Painted Desert, the Petrified Forest and then on to the Grand Canyon. We loved Flagstaff and hope to go back sometime. Right now we are living in a Navy Lodge in San Diego. It’s been very difficult to find a place to live here. Imagine that road trip you took with your kids on steroids. That’s our life until we find a house. Do you have any good church recommendations for San Diego? We usually go to non-denominational type churches. Thanks for sharing your travels with us!
I always enjoy seeing pictures of your family. Just beautiful!
Amanda,
I so totally relate to the car road trip. We are on our last leg of a two week trip to Bozeman, MT. We went to a family wedding, fly fished, camped in two national parks(Yellowstone and Theodore Roosevelt), one state park, one national forest (beautiful Boulder River) and then last night, thank God a hotel!!! I was praising God for a hot shower and a pool for the kids to swim.
We survived with a 10, 8, and 6 year old with books on cd from the library, greatest thing ever. It’s so good for their vocabulary and the same effect as reading out loud to them! Plus we heard some awesome stories, a couple even classics. We also LOVE our radio theatre version of Chronicles of Narnia, from Focus on the Family! It transports you to another world!
We’ll all be thankful to sleep in our own beds tonight!! Woo hoo 🙂
Glad you all had a great trip also!
These pictures are beautiful! I enjoy your posts and love seeing everyone. I feel like I’m part of the family=^)
Hello!
Glad you & yor family got some vaca time! Really glad you also got to stop at New Life – the senior pastor there (Brady Boyd) is one of the former pastors of my church in DFW (Gateway Church), and he is great! Thanks for sharing the pics – I like the “thumbnail” approach a lot! Blessings!
Amanda,
It looks like ya’ll had a great time. Thanks for sharing your pictures with us.
Shonda
Love the pics Amanda, brings back sweet memories of our family trips when mine were young. What wonderful glorious years they are…enjoy them all!! God is good.
Roseanna from Bloomington, Indiana 🙂
I love that you all listen to Psalty. I grew up with it and of course my kids love it as well! Lots of charity church mouse and Melody, Harmony & Rhythm in our car!
I am glad that your family got to take a vacation. Vail is so pretty. We just got back from taking two of our older children to college. Probably traveled some of the same roads just days a part. It looks like you all had a great time. I love seeing peoples travel pictures. Thanks for sharing
Amanda, thanks for sharing your beautiful trip. I have been blessed to see this beautiful part of the world. I have a question? How did you get your pictures to appear in that layout? I am new to all this blog world. I keep updates on my jewel of a daughter has battled and WON her fight against the beast called cancer, I would love to put pictures on my blog in this format, can you give a girl some wisdom?
Aww, we grew up spending summers in Aspen…these backgrounds are VERY familiar! So glad you had a great time! I miss the mountains (and mountain air) so much.
Amanda,
I’m so glad that you were able to experience God’s wonderous beauty in Colorado. This life long Hoosier always yearns to breathe the sweet mountain air of Summit County. For some reason, I always feel closer to God when I’m in Colorado; perhaps its the altitude.
I have a picture taken in 1999 sitting on the same brick ledge w/ flowers that you and AB are in. The picture is of me and my then 6 wk old (who is now 11). Yes, we took our 6 wk old infant to Colorado for vacation.
I hope that you and the fam will get to travel back again. If you asked all 3 of my girls if they would rather go to Disney or hiking in Colorado all of them would say COLORADO.
Mrs. Amanda I’m soo glad you got to go to Vail:) A much needed break, and a blessing to you too:) Loved the pictures:):)
I’ve been a fan of your mom’s for almost 15 years (I’m in my late 30’s) and just came across the blog. What a great idea! Just looked at a few of your pictures from your trip–your kids are BEAUTIFUL! I’m an amateur photographer and appreciate good pics. Love the close ups of them on the slide. Blessings to you and your family!
You were in my neck of the woods girl and it sure is a pretty place indeed. If you would have comp up the road a bit farther in Colo. Spgs., you would have come to Woodmen Valley Chapel, that’s where you will find us worshipping and serving. Glad you had a fabulous time with your family in the great Rocky Mountains.
Amanda,
Thank you for visiting our state and enjoying our beautiful mountains. The last time I went over Independence Pass,I was about 7 months pregnant. Not a good thing to do. It is breath taking, that is for sure. Crazy that you stopped off at New Life on your way through the Springs. I live about 2 miles north of there, up by Focus on the Family. You should come back someday and make Colorado Springs your destination. Lots to visit here too. But next time, how about trying Rocky Mountain Calvary. Maybe we will see you there! 🙂
Great tips,thanks for the post.
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