Vail Colorado- August 2008

Charles, Leif and I joined Mari Ann and Gordon (Charles' parents- aka MyMy and Papa) in Vail, Colorado for vacation in August. Other than our trip to NJ in May, this was Leif's first official vacation. Although, as far as he was concerned life was pretty normal- Eat, Play, Sleep, Repeat- with a few twists- lots of elevator rides and eating on benches outside and in gondolas. Unfortunately, the altitude really seemed to bother him and he was fussy the first few days. In fact, the altitude bothered me too and I had headaches and vertigo for my first few days. So, I understood his struggle. I also must have been allergic to something out there and thought I had a head cold for most of the trip. I figured it was allergies because as soon as we started our travels home, my sinuses cleared. Go figure.
Other than that, it was a beautiful week. Even the hotel room had a beautiful creek flowing past, and I spent a lot of time out on our balcony just listening and watching. It was in the 70s and low 80s all week, so that was a gorgeous break from August in Atlanta!







On our way out to Vail, we stopped in Georgetown to visit with our friends Jaimee and Sam, and their new baby Eli. I can't believe I forgot to take pictures of them, but it was just a busy day traveling and I forgot. Here are a few pictures of the town of Georgetown. The street view was taken by Mari Ann.
















Here are some pictures from the Betty Ford Botanical Gardens. Many of the images were taken by Charles, including the hummingbird. We found out that hummingbirds are a pretty common site in Colorado.



















We'd often see 2 or 3 darting in and out, up and over trees and bushes, hovering close by and then darting away again. I told Charles they reminded me of cartoon characters, they were so fast.










On Monday, Gordon, Charles and I bought lift tickets and rented downhill bikes and descended the mountain several times. It was a blast. Unfortunately, Gordon took a fall on a tight switchback on a trail ironically called "Lion Down". However, he was a good sport and walked away with a few bruises and a good story to tell about it. As you can see, the mountain was gorgeous!









Charles spent much of his week biking- on the road and in the mountains. Here are some of his pictures:


































He biked one day up to Lost Lake.
















He left me a message saying that later in the day we could probably drive the rental SUV up to the lake.
















However, after biking it, he realized that the trail could not be driven up. But, in the meantime, I had told Mari Ann and Gordon about it. So that afternoon, we all piled into the car thinking that we were going to Lost Lake. Charles was driving and was trying to explain that he was just going to take us up in the mountains but that we couldn't go to Lost Lake. I guess we were all a little distracted because we each individually asked if we were going to the lake. Charles was so flustered explaining it that he finally announced- "WE'RE NOT GOING TO A LAKE! DOES EVERYONE UNDERSTAND THAT?" So we finally understood, and settled in to explore the mountains.











As we drove, we passed the part where Charles had biked to, and continued on the mountain road. We started seeing signs for Piney Lake Lodge. So, we followed the signs and ironically ended up at a gorgeous lake- not Lost Lake, but Piney Lake- which had a lodge and canoe rentals, and a hiking path.













Unfortunately, we were too late to canoe, but Charles and I went for a little hike in the "wilderness" which they were kind enough to label for us, and Mymy and Papa took Leif to see the horses (although I think he slept thru that part!).














On Friday, Charles and I climbed Vail Mt. Well, Charles climbed the whole Mt- 3,000 ft, and then descended to meet me at the gondola, and then together we climbed the final 1,000 ft to the summit.



It was a 5 mile traverse, which climbed gradually, and would have been a breeze, except that it started at 10,000 ft, so my lungs felt like they had brain freeze for most of the climb. We took it gradually, which had its benefits- there was a gorgeous view for the entire ride. Most of the time we had a 180 panorama, and occasionally we would ride through a section of aspens or pine trees which was equally stunning.


















At the summit, we ate our celebratory peanut butter & jelly sandwiches.





















I fed a group of birds some of breadcrumbs out of my hands- they were amazingly brave!

Leif Says Mama

Well, I'm way behind with posts, and still need to write about our trip to Vail, Colorado, but right now I'm in NJ visiting family. Leif and I came up for a little visit because I couldn't wait until Christmas to see everyone. So this weekend, Heather and I packed up Leif, Hailey and Ava and headed up to my Dad's house in the Adirondacks and met Dad and Patricia up there. It was quite the baby weekend, but it was a blast.
Yesterday as I was changing Leif's diaper, he started saying "Mama"! It's adorable, although he often says it when he's complaining, like tonight when I laid him down to sleep, he didn't cry he just said "Mama" about 50 times in a row sounding really sad. My heart! It's harder than when he screams! But it was sweet, he woke up from his nap saying "Mama" and I was like, "Mama's coming". Very sweet. Next we'll work on "Dadda".
So here's a video of us on our drive home from the Adirondacks today. It was time for Leif and Ava to eat and so we were looking for the next rest area to feed them. Leif was complaining to me and doing sit ups trying to get out of his car seat, and saying Mama quite a lot!