Road Trip 2015

Our first stop on our trip was Hilton Head.  It was a long two days, especially getting through Atlanta.  We stayed at a hotel right on Coligny Beach, which was beautiful, the hotel room not so much.  Spent our days splashing in the water and building sand castles.  We went miniature golfing, swam at the pool, watched the pelicans dive and ate too much food at a great Cajun restaurant (we went two nights in a row).

Building sand castle

Danny loved miniature golf

Walking the beach after dinner

Exploring the wading pools

The second part of our trip was a stop at the Smoky Mountains on our way back home.  We stayed at Pigeon Forge, which is like Branson on crack.  We did some hiking at the national park and rafting on the Pigeon River.

 

Getting ready to start a trail

Smoky Mountain National Park

Laurel Falls

Rafting on Pigeon River.  Think the photographer told us to make a face, so check Maura out.  

Winter Park (Summer)

Think it is official, we love Colorado.  After going skiing in Winter Park this winter, we decided to go again this summer.  It rained (and hailed) more than we would have liked, but still loved being up in the mountains.  We hiked a couple of days in Rocky Mountain National Park, Aaron rode up Berthoud Pass and we made it to Dillon to fill our growler at Pug Ryan's.  Danny and Maura enjoyed exploring (aka hiking), climbing on every rock they saw and a great playground on Main Street.  Here are the pictures:

Alberta Falls

Herd of elk in Rocky Mountain National Park

Playground fun

Hiking in the rain

Check out those clouds, hail was soon to come

Adams Falls

Aaron rode up a mountain, the kids and I met him at the top

Milner's Pass (along the continental divide)

Snow in July

Danny's first selfie

Winter Park

Just got back from a week at Winter Park in Colorado.  Lots of snow.  Very spoiled by the house we stayed in.  Danny took two days of ski lessons and wants to do more!  Maura wasn't the biggest fan of the snow, but does love to eat it.  Aaron got four days of skiing in and I got to read a book by the fire.

Sunset from balcony of house we rented

Geared up before our first lesson

Our trooper, she was sick until the last day of vacation

Awesome hill for sledding right next to the house

Attempting to hike

Danny after 2 days of ski lessons, check out the "pizza" and the turn

Aaron's epic powder day

Colorado

Hiking, biking and beer would have been our Colorado vacation before kids.  Now we include playgrounds, ice cream, throwing rocks in the lake and Wreck It Ralph (or as Maura calls it eck it alph).  We drove to Dillon, Colorado for a week of fun in the mountains, stopping to check out the Downs celebration along the way.

Watching parade in Downs

Having fun on the slide at the carnival

Maura loved the backpack

Lake Dillon

Lily Pad Lake Trail, Danny hiked 3.2 miles!

That's a Moose

Water Taxi across Lake Dillon to Frisco

Lower Cataract Lake

Attempt at a family portrait, couldn't get the kids to stop throwing rocks

Steak at Pug Ryan's, think Maura ate almost half of it

View from Swan Lake Mountain, Aaron's first categorized climb

Time flies

I can't believe it is almost Christmas!  We had such a busy fall, thought I would do a little update

Happy Halloween from Mario Danny

and the Princess

Guess know what...Danny still loves cars, trains and dinosaurs.  He has been wanting to do more coloring and art projects since starting preschool.  Still not a fan of peanut butter, but is always willing to try new food.  Loves to eat at the crab rangoon restaurant.

Danny's first KU football game, loves nachos!!

Maura went from cruising the furniture to walking to running in about a week.  She is constantly on the go, keeping Aaron and I busy.  Will nod her head yes if she wants something and babbles all the time.  Still our happy little snuggle bug, especially the snuggle part since she is getting molars.

Happy Birthday Maura!!

Loving her birthday cupcake!

What is this thing in my hair?

We've started finishing our basement, hopefully it will be done in time for the Super Bowl party.  Aaron went to Vegas for a guys weekend and I got to go to Rome to babysit my adorable niece Olivia.

Road Trips

Some people may think it's a little crazy, but Aaron and I love to go on road trips.  Don't get me wrong, sometimes a plane is the way to go, but there is just something about getting to see the country that makes 8 hour days in the car with 2 kids worth it.

Our first road trip this summer was to El Paso for Olivia's baptism.  We spent a couple of days in Dallas before heading across Texas to El Paso.  Not sure I need to drive across Texas again, but we had a lot of fun seeing the sights and hanging out with family.

The kid loves animal style

In N Out Burger

Maura's First French Fry

Fort Worth Stockyards

Ikea!!!!

My goddaughter Oliva

White Sands National Park

White Sands

Our second road trip of the summer was to Destin, Florida.  We got the chance to spend a week at a beach house with our friends the LaBarges.  Surf, sand, good friends, a little thing called Hurricane Issac.  We can cross being in a hurricane off our bucket list, even though the worst we had was a power outage one night and closed beach for a couple of days.

Our first day at the beach, Maura loves the water.

Danny had a great time building sand castles,
then "smooshing" them

View from the balcony, Hurricane Issac rolling in

Beach next morning, water had gone right up to the houses

Back on the beach