June, Part 5: Trip to Denver, Colorado (Day Three)

On our third day of the trip (Saturday), the morning after we arrived in Denver, Colorado, we started off the day by driving up to the Buffalo Bill Cody museum. Holy cow, talk about a long and winding road. It was so cool though. Twisty, winding roads (though very narrow roads and lots of bikers) heading up the mountain. Plus, there was a breathtakingly gorgeous view at the very top. Then we were treated to an unexpected surprise. There was a classic car show in town and a bunch of the participants were at the museum, so we got to check out their cars. Not to mention the fact that there was also a super cool newer car that Pete and Jeremiah got to pose in front of. I don't know much about that car, but I liked the color. :)

Above: The car show people were really nice and gave the boys stickers and let them take pictures.















Above: Maybe I should be Annie Oakley for Halloween sometime.



Above: This was actually where Buffalo Bill Cody lived...and as you can see, it is also where he was buried.

Above: After the Buffalo Bill Cody museum, we grabbed lunch and then headed to the Colorado Railroad Museum.





Above: We got to explore some real trains and even take a little ride on one.





Above: It's hot and exhausting work to slave over a train stove cooking for others all day long.



Above: I'm not sure what the occasion was, but a bunch of people came to the museum dressed up in Steampunk Style. It was fun to see everyone's costumes and outfits.



Above: Holy cow, it was a super hot day though. Whew!







Above: One of the train engineers was nice enough to take our picture.



Above: It was a short trip, so it was a little jam packed. After we went to the Colorado Railroad Museum, we went to Dinosaur Ridge to see some fossilized dinosaur tracks.



Above: Holy Moly Ravioli...I know I have said it before, but it was such a hot day! It sucked the energy right out of you! This is why we usually only take vacations in the fall, winter, or spring!



























Above: It was really cool (at least for me!) to see all of the dinosaur tracks. I find that stuff so fascinating.



Above: It was nice to go back to our nice, cool hotel and relax after a hot day in the sun though.



Above: This was probably the best hotel setup we have ever had. We had one room with a king bed and another room with two roll away beds (because the sofa bed was broken). The kids loved it and it made it so much easier for me to get Dan to sleep.

On to the next day!

June, Part 4: Trip to Denver, Colorado (Day 1 and 2, Vernal, Utah)

After all the craziness of moving, we really needed to get away from it all and have a little break. So, we decided to drive to Denver, Colorado!

Above: We decided to break up the drive by spending a day in Vernal, Utah and enjoying Dinosaur Land! Here we are in our hotel in Vernal. Dan was a pretty good little traveler, but he cried for the last 45 minutes of our drive to Vernal. We had no idea what had gotten into him...until we got to the hotel and discovered that he had a poopy diaper. Poor little guy! I felt so bad that we had driven for so long that way. He was so uncomfortable! Lesson learned! We left Thursday night after Jeremiah finished his work for the day and spent Thursday night and Friday morning in Vernal.

Above: It's always fun for me to see how my babies just sense the excitement of a trip even though they are so little. Dan knew something was up and he was excited to be a part of it. Johnny and Pete were the same way on their first trips too.

Above: Maybe it had something to do with the fact that we were in a new room and his brothers were literally bouncing off the beds, walls, floors, and ceiling (okay, so not all of that was literal, but there was an awful lot of bouncing).

Above: We drove by the Vernal, Utah Temple because I like to show my boys each of the temples whenever we are nearby.





Above: No one else wanted to get out to pose, so Dad did the honors.



Above: Checking out the dinosaur museum on Friday morning.











Above: I like to do cheesy poses...mostly because it makes Jeremiah mad. Ha ha.



Above: A normal pose for Jeremiah's sake.



Above: This section was fun because they had some signs where you could find hidden things and animals in the exhibit. My boys have sharp eyes and found everything really quickly.













Above: It was a really fun museum. There were lots of cool things to see here.



Above: We don't often take trips in June. We underestimated how hot it would be! It was still early, but it sure was a hot and sunny day!







Above: Peter recreating this dinosaur's smiley face (mixed with a little Studio C Mona Lisa smile...our new favorite Studio C sketch).



Above: Another version of the dinosaur's smiley face.



Above: A sweet Pete smile.



Above: Johnny's turn to recreate the dinosaur's smile. He was taking a turn in the stroller while Dad held Dan because it was so hot and he needed a break.



Above: Standing by the sign so I can remember the name of this museum (the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum...that's a mouthful).



Above: After the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum (whew...deep breath to refill my lungs after saying that name), we drove out to the quarry to see the dinosaur bones.



Above: I swear, when I was a kid, this stegosaurus was simply green.



Above: That Pete is a handsome guy, isn't he?



Above: Ooooh! Look at that sweet, chubby Dan! One of my friends called him "A huggable little friend" when he was born. What a great description for this little guy of mine!



Above: Self-soothing, holding Mama, and heading to the quarry on the tram!



Above: It's a hot day, but we're in good spirits!





Above: Selfie time!





Above: Just hanging out with all the bones in the wall.



Above: That's a lot of bones in the wall!



Above: They've really spruced this place up since I visited as a child.



Above: Dan made friends with a sweet little baby girl from Germany. People from all over the world come to see these dinosaur bones. It was fun for the boys to hear all of the different accents.



Above: I definitely planned ahead. You can't go to Dinosaur Land without getting dinosaur gummy snacks to enjoy as a snack on the road trip. We crossed the border and the boys were excited to drive through Dinosaur, Colorado...though with only a population of 339 on the 2010 census, it wasn't all that exciting, you know. Ha ha. Mostly just fun to say you had been to a place called Dinosaur. We also drove through a super charming ski town called Steamboat Springs. We got to Steamboat Springs around 3 p.m. or so on Friday afternoon. Someday, I would like to visit Steamboat Springs on its own. It was really pretty. Gorgeous scenery and some quaint little shops. We took a little break to get some snacks at a gas station, check out a river by the gas station, and take a potty break, and then we continued on our way to Denver! We got there by bedtime on Friday night and definitely enjoyed the opportunity to stretch our legs and rest in bed.