Day 2 in Colorado

Day 2 was a fun filled day. I might start with the fact that I knew my kids loved being outdoors but I truly saw how much they loved it this vacation. Both of them loved Colorado. They wanted to "climb mountains and rocks" each day. 

On day 2, we set out and ate at the Pancake House. Then it was off to our first hike. This hike was labeled "easy" but I am not sure I, nor any of our family, would agree to that term. It was quite a trail, but all 4 kids and all the adults made it! We hiked to a waterfall and it was beautiful!! See the pictures below to see some highlights of the hike. 

This was the view behind us as we hiked up the mountain. 

Sophia was an amazing little climber. One of her sayings was "I can do it!" and she would get really frustrated if you didn't let her try. 

The boys standing by the cave we found.  Kampbell was getting to close to the cave, so big cousin, John held on to him and said "No Kampbell!" Kampbell hates the word no so he cried, but John felt good that he had "saved the day". 

My sweet Sophia had a common theme through this vacation. It was "Momma, hold you". If she wasn't saying "I do it myself."  she was wanting me to hold her. We had a lot of bonding time this trip. :) 

This was the scariest part of the hike. Most of us stayed down below when we reached close to the top. To the right of the picture, is the waterfall. Kurtis and Luke headed on up and John was not going to be left behind, so up he went. Matt followed along and captured a few shots of John climbing. This boy seemed to have no fear. He did however, not want to come down next to the waterfall. He took the longer way around because he refused to get close to the water. We aren't sure why...but he made it down safely! 

Sophia was not going to be left behind either. She wanted to climb. We did climb a bit higher, but I finally convinced her to come down with trail mix! 

John climbing more of the high part.

He was quite proud of himself. 

Luke and Kurtis by the waterfall. 

The family taking a rest before heading back down.

 After hiking, we had a picnic by a stream and threw rocks. 

After lunch, we headed to an old abandoned mining town. They call it a Ghost Town. It has one little General Store and then a bunch of old buildings. It looks like a scene right out of a Western. Across from the General Store, there is a place where all these squirrels live. You can buy food to feed them. They are the friendliest squirrels ever! Barb sat down and a bunch of the squirrels jumped on her lap. It was crazy!!

The day ended with a meal back at the house and S'Mores for dessert. The kiddos were worn out and slept well.