One perk to living in Colorado is that Daniel gets a Fall Break every October. Our first year here, we decided to spend that week in Hurricane with the Strattons. That meant road trip!
The drive through the mountains to Utah was beautiful. We got to see some beautiful Fall foliage in the form of golden Aspen trees.
And, of course, the mountains themselves are beautiful!
This being my first time driving through there, I took a ton of photos.
Ah, so pretty!
We stopped in Fruita, a little town near the Colorado/Utah border, where we ate the picnic lunch we packed.
And then it was on into Utah.
With more pretty Fall colors!
The kids were great roadtrippers, and Carter decided to wear one of his snacks as a hat.
And Aubrey enjoyed some fun static electricity.
And when we got to Hurricane, the cousins had an awesome time together! I really wish I had taken more photos while we were there.
And then, all too quickly, it was time to drive home again. Aubrey was less enthusiastic on this drive than she was on the way there.
And on the way home, I got this amazing shot! Colorado really is a beautiful place.
Part of adjusting to life in Colorado was finding our new stomping grounds. One of the first places we needed to find was a good park, and we were lucky enough to find a great one in our neighborhood. The kids particularly love that there are swings.
We also checked out the local library, where the kids enjoyed playing with new toys and having WAY more books to choose from than they did in Massachusetts.
I guess it all inspired Carter to read more!
We also put Aubrey in preschool at Little Bears, which we love! Unfortunately, I didn't think to take first day pictures before we left, so I tried getting some when we got there. Bad idea, considering Aubrey was itching to get inside and the camera on my phone was a total piece of crap. Oh well.
I did manage to get a shot of her after preschool, so that's something, right?
Anyway, we also experienced our first of many hailstorms. Aubrey was pretty impressed.
And we brought some old traditions to our new home, like Daddy Playground.
We also invented new games.
We took a lot of hikes (as I've already written about).
And we enjoyed finally being closer to family. Aubrey and I even got to go with Nana, Aunt Karen, and Emma to see the new Frozen Broadway show in Denver!
It's great that any time the Strattons come to visit Nana and Papa, we get to see them too! And it's great to see Nana and Papa so often as well, of course! We miss Massachusetts, but that aspect of moving has been pretty nice!
It was summer when we moved to Colorado, so we were determined to take advantage of the good weather and do some exploring. I knew wildlife was going to be more abundant here than where we had lived in Massachusetts, but I wasn't prepared to have a family of deer living in our neighborhood! I spooted these beauties on my way home once, just a stone's throw from our house. Look at the cute fawn!
One of the first places we decided to explore was Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs. Here's the view from the Visitor's Center.
And here it is up-close.
Aubrey enjoyed doing her own exploring.
She also tried some rock climbing, such as it was.
Daddy helped Aubrey scale this big rock. It's even higher than it looks!
Pretty!
Carter wasn't walking yet, so he got to ride in the stroller. I had to take him out for some pictures though.
Carter and Mommy!
And this is one of my all-time favorite Carter photos. *swoon*
I love the cool formations of the rocks! Every part of the place was photo-worthy.
With all the walking and climbing she did, Aubrey got pretty tired on the drive home.
We also explored Pike's Peak by taking the train to the top of the mountain with Nana and Papa. Pretty view, eh?
We even got a rare full-family shot at the summit!
Anyway, some of our exploring involved staying closer to home. Here we are exploring our own neighborhood pool!
And not too far from our neighborhood are several cool hiking spots. We explored Gateway Mesa Open Space, which was a nice, easy hike for Aubrey with some cool things to see.
We also hiked the more challenging Castlewood Canyon, where we did a two-mile up-and-down loop that Aubrey rocked! She did the whole thing without being carried once. She's awesome.
There's a beautiful stream going through the canyon. Aubrey had to touch the water, of course.
Pretty!
And, of course, we hiked Castle Rock. Here's the view from the parking lot.
And the view on the way up.
And here is what it looks like at the top.
Once again, Aubrey enjoyed climbing around on the rocks. She's my little monkey!
And here's Daddy with Carter on his back!
There's something awesome about this picture of Aubrey staring into space while sitting in the dirt.
Such a pretty view of Castle Rock from Castle Rock. :)
We've hiked Castle Rock a few times now, and it remains one of Aubrey's favorite hikes. She always wants to do it again!
