There's No Place Like Home.... Except Colorado

Eli and I have successfully survived our first "vacation." I use that term loosely bc although it was technically a vacation, Nebraska and Colorado wouldn't necessarily be my dream vacation. Fun places to visit, but I'd maybe opt for the Caribbean.... Anyhow, we went with my parents to visit both of my brothers. Neither of them had met Eli yet, and my parents try to make the trip once a year or so. And they invited us, so I figured we'd tag along. I mean, hey- who wouldn't want to take a 4-month old on a 14 hour car ride? :)

To summarize the entire week would take a whole lot of typing. So I'll just hit some of the highlights.

-Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes were so much fun, as always. It doesn't seem to matter how many times I've been there. It's always different from previous visits. This time we saw lots of elk, a couple caribou (or so my dad claims they were. I could only see the antlers), and one of the most beautiful rainbows I've ever seen. It was a double rainbow that you could see in its entirety (see photo above). It truly was a once in a lifetime experience that more than made up for the rain we had to endure earlier in the day. I only wish the picture would do it more justice.

-Eli did great in the car. He didn't really fuss at all until we hit McPherson on the way home. I think by that point in time, he was pretty sure he was tired of his carseat. And I couldn't really blame him. I was very tired of being in the car myself.

-It was great seeing family and getting to spend time w/ my brothers who I rarely see anymore.

-The weather in Colorado was BEAUTIFUL and really made me miss living there. 70's with a nice breeze was wonderful! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see any of my old friends from Denver bc we only drove through it on our way back. And it was at 10:30 in the morning on Wednesday. Not the most ideal of times to meet up with people.

-My baby niece, Brooke, is absolutely adorable. She has such a fun little personality and is seriously cute. Her "monster face" made me laugh every time and really made me look forward to when Eli is 9 months and doing more fun things.

-I braved driving while in the park while it was pouring down rain. Normally I don't mind driving in the mountains, but I really don't enjoy driving in the rain. But seeing as how my mom doesn't even like riding in the car at high elevations and my dad was riding w/ my brother, it was either me or Eli. I thought I might be the safer bet :) Anyhow, it went fine and we didn't fall off any cliffs. Even if my mom thought we were going to. Her job was to sit in the back and entertain Eli. But since he slept for the majority of the day, I'm not too sure that she didn't get the better end of that deal....

But even though I we had a great time, I was definitely ready to be home. It wasn't really difficult w/ Eli. He really was good. Just a change in his normal schedule, which any parent can appreciate. And I was ready for him to sleep in his own crib and me in my own bed. Plus, we may have missed Aaron a little. I know he was ready for us to be home. He claims that Eli put on several pounds while we were gone. And while that is most definitely an exaggeration, he is quite a bit "huskier" than b
efore we left. His little legs are starting to get pudgy!