Colorado Vacation

I meant to get this post out a little sooner, but we are still trying to get back in the swing of things after our wonderful vacation last week in Winter Park, Colorado. My family (The Maxey's) gets together every summer for a week and this summer we decided to return to our old stomping ground in Colorado. When I was young, we would go to Winter Park every other summer, but our last visit was in 2000, so it had been awhile since we vacationed there.

Charlie, Austin, and I flew into Denver where we met up with the rest of my family. Austin was an absolute angel on the first leg of our flight, which was wonderful and allowed Charlie and I to relax, read, and even snooze a little on the 2 hour flight. Thank goodness for Disney's Cars on Charlie's ipod! Austin didn't even wear the earphones, but he still enjoyed being able to hold the ipod and watch the movie. The second flight was a bit more painful, but we arrived ready for a fun vacation!

We did so many fun activities while we were in Winter Park. We went mountain biking, alpine sliding, drove through Rocky Mountain National Park, and of course we did a little shopping. We also did plenty of laughing and just hanging out, which always makes our family vacations so fun. Austin had such a great time playing with cousin Mallory (Madaree). The played so well together - I was shocked! Every morning, Austin would wake up and the first words out of his mouth were "Cousin Madaree, play?". He also loved spending time with his Uncle Scott (who we swear he was calling Uncle Gus), Aunt Kar Kar, Aunt JJ, MiMi, and of course his Pop Pop.

Before we knew it, the week in Winter Park was over, so we headed back to Denver for one last day of fun before we flew out. We went to the Denver Zoo, where the animals were pretty active. Austin loved seeing the animals and Charlie and I enjoyed it too. Later that evening, we had a bbq with some of Charlie's friends who live in Denver. It was a great visit and an awesome way to end our vacation.

The next morning we headed back home. The first leg of the flight was the absolute worst plane flight we have ever had with Austin (and we've had many!). He was a terror and threw countless numbers of tantrums for the people on the flight! We were definitely "those people" on the flight - thank goodness he was better on the second flight or poor mom would have melted down as well!

We have lots of pictures from the trip, so I hope you enjoy them! I can't believe it is only two weeks before we head out on another week long vacation!

Austin watching Cars on the flight

Austin and Dad playing in the creek during a rest from our bike ride

Charlie with his bike and the cart that carried Mallory and Austin

The three of us at the top of the mountain before we went down the Alpine Slide

Charlie and Austin going down the Alpine Slide

The girls (Julie, Me, Mallory & Karson)

The Boys (Charlie, Austin, & Scott)

MiMi, Austin & Pops

Uncle Scott (Gus) and his 'stache

Austin and Mallory in their cute shirts that Aunt Kar Kar made

The Moose in Rocky Mountain National Park

Mommy and Austin in RMNP

The Elk in RMNP

The infamous close-up shot of Charlie and I

Charlie on the rocks

Austin, Mommy, and the Tiger at the Denver Zoo

Austin watching the Polar Bear at the Zoo

Austin and his new friend Boo-Boo Baby

Chris, Mark, and Charlie (friends from high school)

Mrs. Essick, Baby Sadie, Austin, and Kristen

Ashley, Baby Sadie, Austin (with Lightning McQueen), and Kristen enjoying the burgers!

Love the faces in this shot!