Palmer Vacation - Part 4

Monday was our final day in Crested Butte.  It was probably my favorite day because of the weather and the views. I'm sorry that my pictures barely capture the breathtaking scenery we enjoyed this past weekend. I almost get disappointed after I take the picture. Nothing quite captures the amazing-ness of God's creation. 

We decided to go on a little hike just up the road from our house in the tiny town of Gothic. The drive there was wonderful. 

I'd totally love to spend all fall in that little house. 

A picture that doesn't quite capture the beauty of this valley. 

The local wildlife ;)

We hiked a 1/2 mile to Judd falls. The kids did great. Only a small issue with Jack and his legs being dead on the way back. Thankfully a story about my broken thumb (from high school) brought his legs back to life. 

We stopped to take a big family picture and Mike found a very dead tree. He decided to help it fall. 

Judd falls. 

Cool man Jack. 

Kieran (22 months), Mike and Julie.  

Looking at the falls. 

Alisha, Chad and Allanah (21 months) 

Hanging out with grandpa. 

We stopped for lunch with a view. 

And a nap :)

The original 5. I love this picture. Such a great family. 

Doug, Mark, Julie, Chad and Margie. 

I can not believe the blue of the sky. I love that about Colorado! 

"Mom. There's cow poop on this log."

More sky. 

Stopped at the Gothic visitor center on the way back. 

We go out to dinner once while we're on vacation. We chose a pizza place called the Secret Stash. It was good pizza. Took a while though. So we took pics to document. 

Julie and Margie. 

Uncle Chad and Kale

Jack and Doug

Kate, Mike and Kieran 

Us. Mark and I tried to get one of ourselves at first but the older two didn't like that. 

So we took another one. 

Alisha, Allanah and Chad

Jack pulled into his clothes in hiding. 

This is very random but I had to show what the bathroom was like. It was crazy decorated. I'm not a fan of this kind of decoration but it definitely made a statement! 

We decided to leave at 8 Monday night and drive home so we could be back in time for the funeral today. We got all the kids together with grandpa and grandma for a quick pic before we loaded up and drove home. 

We got home around 1am and it reminded Mark and I that we aren't as young as we used to be. But we were so glad to be here for the service. It was beautiful.

We heard this afternoon that our nephew Kieran had a seizure after lunch today on their way home. He was taken to the hospital in Salida. He's doing much better but it was scary for the family. They think it was related to a fever he's had this past weekend. At least that's the initial thought. He will hopefully go home tomorrow. 

Not excited for the way the trip ended but we had a great time. Wonder where we're headed next year!  

Palmer vacation - part 3

Sunday. Day 3. 

Today we decided to head to downtown Crested Butte and see what the shopping was like.  It's a cute little Main Street. Lots of fishing shops.

We went into several shops, ate snacks at their farmers market and snapped a quick photo of the grand kids with Papa Doug. 

Kale, Kate, Jack, Doug and Allanah (Chad and Alisha's daughter). 

We missed Kieran (Mike and Julie's son) in the first shot and this one below shows why. He wanted grandma more than he wanted to join the fun. 

They had some neat iron work around town. 

Found this sign for Jack. Cracked me up at its appropriateness for him. 

My sweet boys. 

Kate wanted a wagon wheel photo. 

This snapped accidentally but I thought it looked cool. Unique. 

After shopping we headed to a park and ate lunch. They had a neat playground. 

And great swings. Yes they were the same as every other swing I've seen but for some reason the kids loved them. 

This is Kieran and Allanah getting ready to roll. 

Love this shot. 

These are my favorites. His face is priceless. :)

Kate and I looked through pictures and had a photo shoot. 

Then she snapped one of Kale. This is what he got on his souvenir shopping trip. Surprised? 

After lunch we decided to check out the cemetery. I think old cemeterys are so neat. I know that seems weird but there's history there. This one was located in a beautiful spot. 

This is the only cross I've seen in this town. Lots of prayer flags but no crosses. 

Doug, Marige, Chad and Alisha explored with us. 

You know you're in a ski town cemetery when there's a ski chair at a grave. 

Wandering our way back. 

Sweet niece Alannah outside. We all went out and watched Jack "use the force" and start grandpa's car. I posted a video of that on Instagram and Facebook. You may be able to click on it on the right side of this blog. It's pretty cute. 

And then we took grandkid picture. We tried to buy them matching shirts (incredibly hard to match 18month olds to an almost 10 year old). We managed to find similar things and snap a couple good pictures. 

Monday is our last day here. I think by the last day we all are tired and ready to be home. It's been a good trip though.