Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to Colorado we go!

At the end of July we took a long awaited trip to Colorado!  And let me tell you, it was incredibly fun :)  We had a couple of days at the beginning and end with just the four of us, and we were so lucky to have my parents and Mike & Em with us in between!  The girls had a blast, which made it even more fun for us.  These pictures are not complete- several of them are on my iPod thanks to Instagram, and I have yet to upload those.  So, this will be a beginning post, and a second post of pictures will come sometime later (with my luck it will be way later)!

 {Mountains in WY near where we camped}

 {Yes, so we went on a "hike," a term which I will use very loosely as Chloe is wearing flip-flops and Chad is pushing Berkley in her stroller.  Yes, it was a "hike." }

 {Just when we thought camping was a terrific idea, this rolled in.  The moral of the story: check the weather before you drag camping stuff six hours away or else you will be rained and hailed on in your tent &, if you're anything like us, you will have a toddler and a preschooler in your bed with you as they worry about the thunder and lightening... all night long!}

 {Pronghorn just over the Colorado border}

 {Hummingbirds galore at the Moose Visitor Center in CO}

 {A sweet barbed wire moose @ the Moose Visitor Center}

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OK, so this is very important, every time we ate outside the weather turned inclement! It would turn overcast, then rain without fail.  Sad, huh?  But we luckily stayed relatively dry :)

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 {the only wildlife we saw in Colorado... it was a bit disappointing to be completely honest}

 {Sweet Sisters}

 {Us girls- yes, I realize the color is not fabulous, but after so many attempts to help it, I finally said, "Good enough!"}

 {Near the top of Rocky Mountain National Park- it was what, about 11,000 feet or so?}

 {Grandma with her girls}

 {My darling Berkley}

 {Chloe checking out this elevator... who knows where this is?  Do you recognize it?  I took several not great photos of the exterior, so perhaps you would know right away if I had posted one... This is the Stanley Hotel, home of the movie "The Shining."}

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We visited Breckenridge, which was amazing, and we went gold panning at the Country Boy Mine.  It was an experience, one that I think we all wish had been less of a sham.  Nothing like panning the same dirt, sand & silt as people from probably 1970 on... :) 

 {Berkley wasn't much into it, but she gave it one good try!}

 {Chloe enjoyed this thoroughly, and she even brought a piece of Fool's Gold home}

 {The entire trip Berkley was obsessed with Emily's purse, namely her lip gloss. Here is an equation: Berk + lip gloss = sweet, hot mess}

 {Chloe crosses the "river"....}

 {.... me capturing her mid fall!}

 {the sweet, freckly aftermath. beautiful}

 {Chloe being one of the donkeys they had there}

{Never fail my girls will find animals.  This cat sort of wondered up by us out of nowhere.  They love it. Go figure :)}

We had a great trip!  I captured a lot, but what I am sad that I missed was taking my camera into Santa's Workshop, an amusement park near Pike's Peak not far from Colorado Springs.  They had so much fun!!!! Berk's favorite was the roller coaster, while Chloe enjoyed the Tilt-a-whirl!  I think we spent four hours there, and I am positive they could've spent even more time.  It was fun.  I love seeing my children be happy.  It was a wonderful day, and it was a fantastic trip.  Let's do it again soon, OK guys??