We spent the long weekend up in Breckenridge with Sam's family, who had rented a 3 bedroom condo within walking distance of Main Street. We arrived on Thursday night and settled in, and then were up and ready for the big parade on Friday morning.
We found spots on the shady side of the street and watched the mountain bikers start the Firecracker 50 race. Matt, Jillian and Ava McGovern and Matt's sister Marcy arrived, and the kids all got a boost to see the start of the parade.
It quickly became apparent that our little monsters are solidly built, so we encouraged them to go up to the fence lining the parade route for a close-up view.
After stuffing themselves and their pockets with candy, the kids were sad to see the parade come to an end (the boys really enjoyed the long line of Vipers and Prowlers cruising past). We headed back to the condo to put Jack down for a nap and Sam stayed with him while the Flemings and Ryan and I enjoyed a barbecue lunch on the Riverfront lawn.
After nap and lunch we went to check out the pool at the condo complex. It was just a bit too deep (and cool) to really be fun for the boys, but they enjoyed themselves nonetheless.
The National Repertory Orchestra puts on a great concert of patriotic music, so after dinner in the condo we walked over to the Riverwalk Center. This was the boys' first "real" concert (they've been to kids' concerts and have really enjoyed them) and they were particularly excited by the tiny flags they were handed when we walked in.
Of course they were bound to get a little wiggly during the concert, so Nancy had wisely selected aisle seats for us! I would have been worried if all the marches and rousing music had not inspired them to get up and move around.
At one point the orchestra performed a medley of Big Band music, including "Sing Sing Sing". The conductor picked up a clarinet and performed a feature solo - which made Ryan really upset because he didn't think the orchestra would know how to play if the conductor was not leading them. A few bars later, when the conductor picked up the clarinet again, I looked over to see Ryan waving his flag wildly. I asked him what he was doing and he said he was helping the musicians know how to play, since the conductor was busy.
After the concert we walked outside to watch the fireworks - Ryan and Jack's first fireworks display as we've had so many dry summers resulting in fire bans. They were appropriately awed but the most memorable part of the evening came when little Ava, after a particularly dramatic burst of fireworks, hollered, "Is this really happening?!" We all just died laughing.
Bedtime came easily for those tired little men!
The next morning we headed out on a hike up the hill, where we discovered this teepee built from cleared beetle kill pine.
Our hike took us up to the Sawmill Reservoir, home to the BOEC's Griffith Lodge and the site of our wedding nearly 11 years ago.
We found a geocache and then headed down the trail through the forest.
We ate lunch back at the condo and then Sam put Jack down for a nap while I rode my bike with Ryan in the trailer down to the grocery store (note the "down" - it was a long slow slog back up to the condo!). Jack was still sleeping when we got back, so Sam took Ryan to ride his
glider/scooter around town.
I guess Jack was pretty sacked out as he slept for almost 3 hours! Sam and Ryan were on their way back to the condo at that point, so then we loaded both boys into the bike trailer and rode out to the historic train and train-themed playground.
The boys really are too big to fit in the trailer (and too heavy, if you ask Sam!) but it's the most efficient way to get anywhere with them until they get a bit bigger.
We then headed over to Matt and Jillian's condo via bike for a big family dinner.
After a long, busy day, bedtime came easily again!
Today was departure day, so we cleaned out the fridge and located tiny Lego pieces hiding under furniture before loading up the car. Bill, Nancy and Sarah hit the road back to Denver but we decided to spend a little more time in town and drive down during nap time.
We rode the gondola up (and then back down), visited the Budweiser Clydesdales, and slid down a giant inflatable slide. All in all, it was a pretty great weekend escape!
No comments:
Post a Comment