Colorado Vacation Day Three

Woohoo!  I'm up to day three of our Colorado Vacation.  Okay, this is going to be another picture intensive post, so even though it may seem long, it should be an easy read.

Day three was all about driving as far as we could to make up for some lost time.  That being said, there were several potty breaks (ahem, HOPE!) and a few stops for picture taking as well.  Here we go....

 Once again, Kim and the older girls got up early and went to breakfast.  Emma had insisted that she would not need her coat.  Soon after they got outside she knew it was a mistake, but it was too late.  Daddy wasn't going to risk waking the baby.  He gave her is shirt to keep warm in.  I think she really liked this at first, but soon she noticed a trend of people laughing when they saw her and saying, "How cute!"  This "embarrassed" her.  Embarrassed is E's newest feeling and she is embarrassed by almost everything it seems.  She's only five, I thought I had until the junior high years before this cropped up, guess I was wrong!  Anyway, this is the look I got after laughing when I saw her.

 Hope was thrilled to find an umbrella as we were repacking the van.  She carried it around as long as she could.

 Grace, well, she's just cute.

 ANYTHING to keep her occupied at a table!

 She wanted to walk everywhere herself, it was new to her.  The problem was that she also wanted to stop and explore every little thing.  "Ooooo, a rock!!!!"  Okay, she didn't say that but I just know that she was thinking it.

 It seems we've entered the phase of the forced smile.  I don't care, I'm just glad that she'll stay still and attempt a smile for the camera.  There have been years of her running the other way whenever she saw it.

 Like I said, she wanted to walk herself!  This kid can be VERY wiggly when she wants down!

 Okay, who thought that it would be a good idea to give Hope yogurt covered pretzels in the car?

 Hope had been saying that she needed to go potty for several miles.  We finally found a rest area and pulled off the road.  I turned around to this face and a faint whisper of, "Mama, my throw-up's coming out."  Fortunately she didn't actually throw-up but I think that those windy mountain roads were getting to her.  Poor baby, Daddy and Mama both know how you feel!  But seriously, who gave her the yogurt covered pretzels?

 Okay, so the next several are some of the scenic views we passed.

 I LOVE it when the trees are so yellow and sunlit that they almost look like they are on fire!

 This is one of my favorites.  I really like the yellow contrasted against that blue sky!  This compressed version of the image isn't doing it justice.

 Who is this kid?  My daughter has always avoided pictures, this one strikes a pose and begs me to photograph her.  Really, what happened?

 Okay, if my Dad's hair were darker in this picture I could easily mistake Emma for myself at that age.  Seriously, every time I look at this one I can't believe how much she looks like I did.

 Hope was the first one to touch snow on this trip.

 If I had gotten it together enough to participate in the October Photo Hunt, this would have been my Faces in Nature picture.  This totally looks like the Grinch with his hands up at his cheeks to me.

 Couldn't resist all of those vertical lines!

 This is E trying to fight the wind as she's climbing.  She was sure that it would blow her away.

 My Dad.  Hmmm, I wonder why it is that I love photography so much?

 Does this remind anyone else of the opening to Little House on the Prairie where Carrie falls down as she's running down that hill.  Aimee, if you read this, that one's for you.

 If you can't keep up with them, ride them!

 I was so amazed by the colors here.

 Yes, he's a great Dad!

 I love watching my Dad with my kids.  He is a wonderful Grandfather!

 This is Silverton, CO.  We had pizza for dinner at a little shop called The Bakery.  The locals (a group of about 5 kids) told us that it was the best pizza in town.  This isn't actually a picture of The Bakery, but it's a nearby building.

 This was Gracie's favorite part of the day!

 We HAD to pull over to take pictures of this sunset!

 At the hotel in Ouray, the Victorian (BTW, I HIGHLY recommend it!!) We set Gracie up with a pillow stuffed chair and a Baby Einstein while we snuck out to the hot tub.  Yes, my Mom stayed in the room with the baby!  We all enjoyed ourselves.

I couldn't get over how cute her little arm looked on that arm rest.

Well, that was our day.  I hope you enjoyed the pictures as much as we enjoyed the scenery.