colorado trip, part 2: ponies and hikes

We left Kansas City on Monday morning and drove a very long, mostly flat 12 hour drive to Estes Park, Colorado.  Everyone was thrilled to get out out of the car…including these two buckeroos!

Jeff and Julie rented a cabin at the Y Camp in Estes Park and it was perfect for us…with three bedrooms, three bathrooms, kitchen complete with dishwasher and washer/dryer!, large living room with lots of room for the kids’ toys, fireplace, wrap-around porch, and a million dollar view.  The weather forecast for the week was a little chillier than we were expecting with a couple days of rain in the forecast.  When we woke up on Tuesday morning and it wasn’t raining, we took advantage of the weather and went pony riding!!  The Y Camp has lots of fun things for kids and families to do, and they have a very impressive livery (or if you’re like Travis and didn’t know this term, they’re also called stables).  The livery had over 100 hundred horses (I think…Jeff could give you the exact number) and several ponies for the little kids to ride.  Before pony riding the kids chose their helmets, which I’m pretty sure Owen thought he got to keep. 

Molly’s horse was named Star. 

And Owen rode on Strawberry.

Owen absolutely LOVED riding his pony.  He can sometimes be timid when he approaches new experiences, but not this time!  He wasn’t afraid at all and didn’t even need us to hold onto him.  He was confident and comfortable the whole time.  Maybe it had something to do with all those Indiana Jones scenes his dad has shown him over the years.  This little video shows you a clip of O riding his pony.

The kid had a smile on his face the whole time.  It was great.

Molly was a different story.  I wouldn’t go so far as to say she hated it, but she was definitely nervous.  She clung to us for dear life the whole time she was on Star.  But she stuck it out and stayed on the horse the whole time.

Here’s a little clip of Molly’s pony-riding experience.  After rewatching it, I’m wondering if her fears had anything to do with the fact that her helmet was almost completely covering her eyes.  Just a thought.

Even though she may not have loved horse back riding,  she sure dressed the part.  Let’s pause for minute and take note of her adorable pink cowboy boots.  Julie had Molly ready for the Wild West!

After the pony rides were over and it still wasn’t raining, we decided to take a quick hike.  We found a great little trail that led us down to a gushing mountain stream.  Owen was in heaven…throwing rocks into the water is a hobby of his.  And the mountains of Colorado provided him with some pretty good sized rocks to chuck into the water. 

Yep, that’s a coon skin hat you see on Owen’s head.  He wore it during most of our Colorado trip.  You’ll get used to seeing it.

We finally dragged Owen away from throwing rocks so that he could climb some.  When we got to the top I made him shout “I’m the king of the world!!!” as loud as he could.  He thought I was hilarious.  Four year olds can make you feel so good about yourself.

There were so many huge rocks to climb.  The kids thought this was great and they couldn’t get enough.  And what’d I tell ya?  That cap is still on his head…and you can even see the raccoon tail that hangs down his back  in this picture.  Pretty fabulous, huh?  Obviously Molly thought so.

We posed for one quick girl shot as it started raining on us.  Molly has started to think posing for the camera is great fun and will stick out her neck, give a goofy smile, and yell CHEESE!  She didn’t disappoint when we asked her to say “cheese” for this picture.

And then the rains came.  At one point Trav had Molly in the backpack and he was carrying Owen while climbing up a huge mountain.  It was pretty incredible and earned him some serious dad points.

Day one was great!  At the end of the trip Owen told us that the pony ride was one of his favorite things.  But there’s still more to come!  Only you’ll have to wait for the next post…

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