Rocky Mountain High

We are home from an amazing trip to Breckenridge, Colorado, to celebrate G&G's 70th birthdays! We had beautiful weather, an amazing Airbnb within walking distance to all the entertainment, and the best company.

We rented a car here in Plano and drove to Breck after picking up Sara from cheer camp. We made it to Amarillo by late afternoon for an early dinner at The Big Texan! Definitely a spot we'd been wanting to see and try for years. It was as kitschy as you'd imagine, but actually really cool and the food was delicious!

We had a seat upstairs overlooking the "challenge stage". Steve and I tried their house-brewed Mexican lager - two thumbs up.

I had to take a picture of Sara's "clean plate club" plate. This girl loves her steak!

We had planned to stop in Raton, New Mexico, but when we got there we felt like we had just a bit more left in us. We stopped for the night in Trinidad, CO. Good timing because it was dark and we hit rain. We had a quick sleep and got back on the road in the morning to be in Breck by noon! The extended fam was already there so we wasted no time unloading the car and heading up the mountain in gondolas.

There was so much to do! It was fun to see the ski hills turned into summertime fun. Emma rode the alpine slide and the coaster. She was annoyed to be behind a slow rider on the slide, and said the coaster was awesome.

She and Cal also played mini golf.

Meanwhile, G&G and Sara took a ski lift even further up for views, bags, and snacks.

Steve and I enjoyed tasting the Rockies, as one should in CO!

We stayed less than a block off the main drag, which was awesome. After our gondola fun and several times throughout the week, we spent time in shops and restaurants. The Blue River runs adjacent, and there were lots of great places to stop for a rest and refresh.

Such a cute area!

We got lightly rained on a couple of times for just a bit, and otherwise had gorgeous weather and views. It was pouring rain the day we left ... so it was a good time to hit the road.

One night, we had a professional chef come in and prepare a multi-course meal. It was SO good ... and SO much food. We had a dance party to try unload. Cal was definitely the life of that party!

No downtown would be complete without donuts and ice cream, and the kids had plenty of both during our trip. This was a cute little glow room in the ice cream shop that looked cooler in person than in my photo.

We made a trek to see the troll we'd heard so much about. We were hot and sweaty, but it was worth the walk!

"Yay, mountains!"

A major highlight of the trip was our white water rafting adventure! G&G, Melissa, Adam, and Cal took a calmer ride out of a different location, while the four of us hit Class 3 rapids. It was quite the ride (and workout), and amazingly, we all managed to stay in the raft!

Steve and Adam took a day to try fly fishing. They had a good time and caught several rainbow trout (all returned to the water).

We also got some sibling time out with M&A. Always thankful for the time I get with my sister.

On our last day in Breck, we opted for another ride on the gondola. We'd bought all the souvenirs, tried as many restaurants as our bellies could handle, and we all just wanted a little more mountain time! 

We spent time catching up and reminiscing mountain-side at Robbie's, and then continued down the mountain at Ollie's on the river. This was such a special trip for us to all be able to take together, and I'm thankful for the many memories made. These photos are a fraction of them, but provide a decent summary!

After leaving Breck, G&G were driving back to MN while the rest of us were flying. On the way to the airport, we stopped in Golden for a short visit. 

It was so fun to be back in the spot where Steve and I celebrated twenty years of marriage last summer!

We hit the shops and other important local establishments!

We dropped off our rental in Denver and flew back to MN - primarily for the purpose of attending Angie's wedding! I was so thrilled to be back home to celebrate with my friends of thirty+ years. It was fun catching up with several people from high school, but especially with these ladies who always make me laugh.

While in MN, Sara was lucky enough to get a red car lesson from Grandpa! She did a great job driving it, and looked pretty cute in it, too. 

I have many fond memories of cruising in the red car, and Sara was proud to show off her driving skills in it.

Our MN time was short, as we had to get back for soccer signing, Sara's 4th plans, and getting the girls ready for camp ... life! We ended with a night on the deck at Melissa and Adam's - always a spot filled with good times.

We got to meet their new pup, Whaler. Cal kicked around the big ball we couldn't resist buying, Emma entertained us, and we all enjoyed just being together.

We ended the night with sparklers. To me, nothing says MN summer like this!

There was summer before CO, and there's been some since, that I'll post about at another time. For now, I'm just so happy to have had this trip be part of our summer. Definitely still feeling that Rocky Mountain High!