My moms side of the family came together for a long weekend, starting in Denver. I met my mom, sister, sweetest nephew and brother-in-law at their gate, something I haven't been able to do in YEARS! I grabbed the baby immediately. We came in at the perfect time and just barely avoided an epic downpour that left the sky looking incredible.
We drove to my aunt's house and I went straight for the fresh peaches on the counter. I didn't keep track of how many of these delightful fruits I consumed over the course of the weekend but there were multiple per day. We toured my aunt's backyard, which consisted of two large and bustling bee hives and lots of bee-friendly plants. We headed up to Keystone and drove past Idaho Springs on the way. My aunt was kind enough to tell us a story of a boy who went jogging one day near the track (in downtown!) and was attacked and killed by a mountain lion (downtown!). I thought of this story while I was hiking along a couple days later...
The first full day was started early, as it was two hours later in Maine than it was in Colorado. Everyone else was still asleep so I went out for a run to rid myself of a new-found elevation headache. Mission accomplished as I walk/ran my way through the unfamiliar elevation. When I got back to the condo an hour later, a beautiful baby boy was awake and ready to be played with. We took a picture together with his "Cool like Auntie" onside I had gotten for him months ago.
The first order of business on this trip was to head to the Alpine Slide and Breckenridge to walk around. We had done these things as kids but never as adults. But do we ever grow up? Seemingly not. We arrived at the slide, paid the crazy ticket price and rode the ski lift up to the top of the 2500 foot slide. It. Was. Amazing.
Afterwards, we went to the bustling town of Breckenridge to walk around and meet up with more family members. Fudge and freshly made mini donuts were found and devoured by all. Eventually babies got cranky so we headed home.
So honesty time: I've been home for weeks and don't remember everything we did but I do know hiking the Flat Irons, home-grilled steak, baby time, more hikes, a picnic by the lake and the Dale Chihuly exhibit at the Denver Botanical Gardens. Oh, and onion rings. It was a great weekend and I can't to see my adorable baby nephew again in nine days.