Colorado Vacation

Colorado Vacation 2014

Our vacation started last Monday, July 21st. Jeff didn't have to work so we went uptown Madrid Iowa for breakfast. I had not been to the Town and Country Cafe so it was a treat for me. I had their famous HOBO breakfast - hashbrowns, ham, eggs, peppers, onions, and lots of cheese! Yum!!

 On Wednesday morning we woke up early and made it to the Des Moines Airport for our 6:00 flight to Denver. It was a smooth flight on Frontier. I would highly recommend this airline...we had great flights and each seat had its own TV.

 Since we had sometime to spend in Denver on Wednesday I looked up the best breakfast spot in Denver...it came across the same name over and over... SNOOZE!

 Snooze is called an AM Eatery. They serve breakfast and lunch and it is delicious! The atmosphere is amazing. We had a 15 minute wait for breakfast...must be the spot to eat! The decor is fifties vintage and we were all in!

 I had an almond latte in the cutest yellow mug!

 We both ordered the pancake flight and were given many choices of types of pancakes to choose from. Mine were (left to right) Blueberry Crisp, Peanut Butter Cup, and Strawberry Malted Pancakes. I think I had a sugar rush just eating half of this plate! I would highly recommend this restaurant! Here is the link to their website http://snoozeeatery.com/

After breakfast we headed towards Estes Park to meet my family for vacation. We stayed at the Silver Moon Inn in Estes Park and it was perfect! The staff even had a surprise for my mom and dad for celebrating their 40th Anniversary!

 Here is the view from our hotel...gorgeous!!

 Much of our week was spent just watching my nieces and nephew explore and enjoy the beauty of Colorado. I loved seeing them experience the mountains for the first time!

 One night we went to a local pizza place called Poppy's Pizza and Grill. This was special for Jeff because he calls his grandpa Burich Poppi!  (Notice my new Snooze shirt) :)

 

We went up the Trails Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park on Thursday. It was gorgeous!

At the first stop...it was so windy!

 We climbed to the highest point on the route...lots of steps but we made it!

 Another day we walked around the most beautiful lake...Bear Lake!

 

It was a wonderful trip with family!!

My life in photos

It seems like summer is flying by. Here are some photos that show what we have been up to the last few weeks! On my last day of music camp I had a special visitor - my niece Addie! We spent the day together. Our day included lunch at McDonalds, seeing the movie Malificent, and grilling out at home with Jeff that night. We even walked up to the Filling Station (ice cream shop) and had a silly string fight! It was so fun having Addie stay over night. She is such an amazing girl..sweet, smart, funny and truly joyful!! We love you Addie!!

A few weeks later my second niece got to have her Aunt Lisha day. For our day together Lauren and I went to Jordan Creek Mall. We had lunch at the food court, played at the play place, took her bear to Build a Bear to get a bath, and then headed to Scratch. Lulu loved picking out a BIG cupcake to eat! She chose Hot Fudge Sundae...it was delicious!

When we got home we created our own pizzas with Jeff. Lulu loves Jeff and that makes my heart smile! I thought Lauren's smiley face pizza turned out great! (Check out the green hair!!) Lauren is a creative, sweet, smart and kind little girl. I love our conversations we shared as we walked around the mall. That girl is a born shopper!!! We love you Lulu!

The other BIG excitement of our summer has to be our new Traeger Pellet Grill/Smoker! This is Jeff's baby but I am greatly benefiting from it!! Here is a picture of the grill and then a whole chicken we smoked (before and after) with some veggie skewers. Everything he has made has been wonderful!

We spent the 4th of July with Jeff's family! (I didn't take any pictures - gotta work on that) We went to the Slater parade and then to Jeff's sister's house for an amazing cook out!! That evening my parents came over for dinner and a fire! We had a nice relaxing day!

To finish off my latest photo post I want to share my latest Bailey pics! You will never believe how we found her sleeping the other day!! We love her so much!!