Downtown Estes

Tuesday in Estes was supposed to be even colder - and more importantly, incredibly windy [the closed down several ski hills across the state, including Vail, because of the wind that day]. Because of the weather, we decided to start our day in downtown Estes while we waited to see how the weather shook out. 

Unfortunately downtown Estes did not have the same plan. We arrived around 10am to find very few stores open. Apparently Tuesday in the off season is when most stores are closed for the day - or are only open in the afternoon. Because of this, we just spent more time in the stores that were open. Mike and I told the kids we would get them a shirt and one souvenir each, so to choose wisely. 

It did not take Dec long to decide he wanted a geode. Not just any geode - one that we picked from the ore cart in the store and they cracked open for you. Since we had been downtown for less than an hour, we questioned him multiple times - but he stayed committed. And still, to this day loves his geode!

We also found a glass-blowing shop and the kids could have stayed there all day watching the owner color and shape the glass. They were fascinated - and a bit disappointed that we said the pieces were too expensive to buy. Expensive, but beautiful!

Late morning, the weather seemed less windy and warmer downtown, so based on a tip from a local, we headed up into the park to walk around Sprague Lake. It was not as far up the mountain as we had gone yesterday and was less than a mile hike. We barely got out of the car before we abandoned that plan! It was so cold and windy that we knew it would ruin any fun on the hike. 

Dec wasn't feeling particularly well on the drive back down (wind was rocking the car), so Mike pulled off at the Bierstadt Lake trailhead to take a break. This area was a bit more out of the wind so we wondered the trail and checked out several groups of mountain deer (no sheep or moose ... to Mike's continued disappointment!). After that break, we returned to town for lunch at Penelope's [apparently a famous tourist destination for burgers. 5 out of 5 Vs would not recommend. It was fine. It was shockingly expensive for the level of "fine" it was.]

After lunch, we made Fiona's day and did an Old Time Family Photo - which is now hanging in the upstairs hallway. It was pretty fun getting into costume and we all laughed quite a bit as we tried to narrow it down to the one photo we bought. The rest of the family also learned something I've known for a long time - I cannot smile with my mouth closed. Not "I don't like to" - I truly cannot. The kids get the biggest kick out of asking me to try.

We continued our downtown wandering and eventually ended up at a winery. Mike and I got a tasting package, the kids got to taste several flavors of cider, and we all enjoyed some snacks. We didn't buy any wine, but brought a couple bottles of cider back to the rental house with us to enjoy. We also tested out the two rival taffy shops in town - and bought a ridiculous amount of taffy at each. We didn't want to play favorites and, turns out, all Vs love salt water taffy!

We headed home late afternoon with a t-shirt (Dec), two sweatshirts (the girls), a geode, and a tie dye visor (Quinn - as if you couldn't guess that!) in tow. Fiona hadn't yet found the perfect souvenir, but we promised her we'd go back downtown before we left. 

Snowy Hike

On our first full day in Estes Park, we were out the door by mid-morning and off to hike in Rocky Mountain National Park. Quite fortuitously (as we didn’t discover the information until we had already booked the trip), there is a national program where 4th graders get free family entry to all national parks. So, Miss Quinn scored us a free park pass that we enjoyed throughout the trip. And we have already decided there will be another national parks spring break during the year Dec is in 4th grade!

We decided to tackle the trail to Loch Vale - and had to access the Glacier Gorge trailhead at the Beaver Meadows park entrance across town. As we drove through downtown Estes to get there, we decided it looked super cute and we would need to make time to explore it later in the trip. Our rental car had a sunroof and the kids loved popping out the top (when we were stopped) to take pictures of the mountains. 

It was clear ground at the park entrance, but by the time we got up to the trail, there was a lot of snow! The switchbacks up the mountain were a little rough on the Vs prone to carsickness, but we made it. There was a lot of licorice snacking as a coping mechanism. [Does it help? Does it just distract? Didn't matter. No one puked!]

I will not lie – the weather forecast was chilly for the week. And ooof, when we got up into the mountains, it was really not warm! We were glad we had brought the snow gear! As we unloaded at the trailhead, the seasoned hiker next to us strongly encouraged boots. Fiona really didn’t want to wear hers, but eventually caved. And was glad she did! The entire trail was snow pack. We were grateful for the boot treads – and since several of us got our feet stuck in the snow, we were glad for the waterproof footwear as well! 

[For real stuck. If you went off the packed trail, it was so deep. Mike had to pull me out at one point because my leg was so stuck that I couldn't pull it out myself ...]

Hiking the snowy trails was a lot of fun – and definitely what we had all imagined when we dreamed about hiking the Rockies. However, snow pack is NO joke. That combined with the increasing altitude and we didn’t quite make it as far as intended. However, we made it to Alberta Falls … sort of. Since the snow hadn’t started to melt yet, it was more of an Alberta Trickle. Apparently Alberta Falls freezes during the winter months ...

A bit of a disappointment, that was quickly remedied when we followed the advice of a few hikers on the descent. They told us to head up just a bit higher for a great view. And they did not lie. 

Mike and I would spend the next several days commenting on how much we love the mountains. We tried (and failed) to capture the beauty in a photo. They are just so majestic and wonderful! If the Vs ever decide to leave the lakes (highly unlikely), you’ll find us in the mountains! [Especially once the kids’ legs get a bit more stamina and they can handle the altitude better – because Mike is determined to summit something!]

After a car lunch in the trailhead parking lot, we went up the mountain a little farther to Bear Lake. It’s one of the most popular mountain lakes – and our lake snob selves were not terribly impressed. However, the views were amazing. So we decided to hike the loop around it anyway. The lake itself was still frozen, but we chose to off-road it (I know you all are surprised). Occasionally the trail was blocked, so we’d have to portage around using the frozen lake. Thankfully I was the only one whose foot went through at the edge and had a wet boot!

On the far side of the lake, there was an amazing icicle formation. Even though the kids have outgrown Frozen, they all thought it looked like Elsa’s castle. We spend some time climbing and sliding on the icicles before finishing the lake trail. At this point, the kids were done hiking for the day. So we headed back to the house to test out the outdoor hot tub. It was quite refreshing – until we had to get out. That sprint from the hot tub to the front door was exhilarating! 

We finished the night with breakfast for dinner, games in the rental house game room (shuffleboard and mini bowling), and showers!

Mountain Bound

Welcome to April! We followed up the hockey jamboree weekend and the play performance weekend with a short school week and a trip to the airport for Spring Break. Back in January, we had started talking about going on a trip ... just as the omnicron variant was spiking. The kids mentioned Colorado several times and kept saying they wanted to go climb mountains. 

Eventually, I proposed Estes Park to Mike as our destination. It was an easy drive from Denver and was right in the foothills of Rocky Mountain National Park. Early April was also off-season in Estes, so we found several rental houses for a steal. Then we did math and realized how few years we have until Fiona is off to college. With that, the Vs were headed to CO!

With careful planning, we managed to get everything - including hats, gloves, boots, and snowpants - into 5 carry-on suitcases and 5 "personal items." We were flying Southwest, which doesn't assign seats, and I was relieved to get a good line position when I checked us in. While we had prepped everyone for the possibility that we wouldn't set together, no one was particularly fond of that scenario. 

The other benefit of flying Southwest was that we got to fly out of the smaller MSP terminal. We breezed through security and the kids even got to piggy-back on my TSA pre-check status. They thought they were pretty hot stuff. We grabbed some lunch for the flight and wandered around the terminal, checking out the people and the planes. 

Boarding went smoothly and we were able to snag five seats, back-to-back. The girls and I sat together and Mike and Dec sat right behind us. They were very excited to discover that they could stream movies on their iPads and everyone ended up watching Encanto. It was a pretty easy flight, other than a few bumps going into Denver that Fiona did not appreciate (she was the one most worried about being separated on the plane). Then the fun started.

The prep work paid off and we had great attitudes during the long process of navigating through the Denver airport, finding and riding the shuttle bus, and then waiting in line to get our rental car. We were all very happy to load into the car and point toward the mountains. First up, a pit stop of ice cream in Boulder with my friend Kristin. We were definitely in need some food at that point.

Then it was off to Estes. And you have not heard five people oooh and aaaah so much. It is official. Five out of five Vannestes love the mountains. Driving into Estes and seeing the Rocky Mountains was spectacular and hearing the kids' excitement from the backseat was just the best. 

Quinn, Dec, and I battled a bit of carsickness (a common theme throughout the trip. Switchbacks are not our friend), but we powered through. It just meant we took several breaks at scenic outlooks and admired the mountains!

Our rental house was on the other side of Estes, so we drove through town - pointing out the Stanley Hotel (and promising the kids that we'd watch Dumb and Dumber together someday when it is less inappropriate. And no, we will not be watching The Shining as a family. Fiona, Dec, and I are not horror movie material!) and remarking that Lake Estes seemed quite unremarkable when you are from the land of 10,000 [actual] lakes. [Fun fact: we learned on this trip that Vs are lake snobs. And the mountain lakes that we saw did not measure up!]

We arrived at our house and were delighted with it. It was small, but a perfect size for a home base. We had an outdoor hot tub and a river running through the backyard. We unloaded, ordered pizza, and got settled in. After dinner, the kids and I explored the river while Mike ran into town to get groceries. Then we took a short walk around the neighborhood and called it a day. 

A New Era

We are taking a short hiatus from the blog catch up quest (is it insurmountable? we choose not to think about it too hard!) to deliver some timely (relatively speaking) content. 

Two weeks ago, we wrapped up the 2021-22 school year and ended a golden era in the Vanneste household. Fiona is now a middle schooler! Take a minute to let that sink in. My tiny baby who was born yesterday will be in middle school this fall. And with that transition, we cease to be a one school family. Next year, there were be two wildly different schedules. Like Fiona's bus will pick up about 90 minutes before Q and D's bus ... and she will be home from school before 3pm. How will that work? That's a problem for September!

The next time the three of them will be in the same school will be when Dec starts high school and Fiona is a senior. We will not take a minute to let that sink in. In fact, that topic will be dead to us! A senior. I can't even!

Back to this school year ... we ended on a high note. The kids were all very ready for summer break but all three had great years. 

Fiona had the best 5th grade teacher who pushed her and kept building the math confidence that was lost in the Great Distance Learning Adventure. It was so awesome to have her proudly produce math tests from her bag, anxious to show us her success! Reading continues to be her passion and we just got a letter that she will be in both Accelerated Reading and Accelerated Language Arts in sixth grade. She's super excited.

Quinn had the same teacher that F had in 4th grade ... and quite honestly all Vs and Mrs. M hope she goes for the three-peat when Mr. D hits 4th grade. She is awesome. So awesome that she inspired Quinn to be an avid reader (in school) this year. Let's repeat: Quinn Willingly Read 10 Books On Her Own Time. Now granted, it was a bit of a competition (and we know that motivates a girl!), her bestie was all in, and there was a party as a reward at the end. But still. Quinn did it. Happily. She had a great year and cannot wait for 5th grade. 

Declan lived his very best life in 2nd grade. All is buddies were in his class. He had Mr. P (same amazing teacher as Q had in 2nd) who is the best. Mr. P both embraced D's silly side and saw everything he is capable of (he's smart. just ask him. also, he's not humble ... ). When we went to D's spring conference, he showed us the worksheet that Dec and his buddy AB were working on together and it was easily 4th grade level math. The boys didn't fully comprehend it on the first pass, but Mr. P was helping them through it because he knew they could get it. He also opened the "secret" library for Dec and he has ripped his way through the entire Harry Potter series (book 7 was finished today). 

The school year ended with a "clap out" for the graduating 5th graders and Q and D were excited to celebrate their sister's transition. We are thankful for an awesome year for all and the return [mostly] of a normal school year!

Beat the [Grand]Parents

One more post to close out March's activities ... then it's just April, May, and half of June to catch up on. Blergh!

Anyhoo ...

We did a little grandparent switcheroo on the Saturday of Fiona's Lady Pirates play. Gpa V came down for the matinee and then headed back north. Shortly after he left, Gma and Gpa J and Auntie arrived for the evening performance. Since we had a bit of time to kill, we decided to play the board game Beat the Parents. The teams were divided into Auntie + 3 mini Vs [kids team] vs Mike, me, Gma, and Gpa [parents team]. You guys, chaos ensued!

Highlights were the sock fight between Dec and Gma. He picked her as his opponent and underestimated her sock fighting skills! The game was neck and neck throughout and game down to a final challenge to determine the winner. The challenge: fastest person to roll across the floor. The kids picked Quinn as their representative. Then Quinn picked Gpa as her opponent. 

They were supposed to roll simultaneously, but our living room isn't big enough (#furniture) so Mike timed them instead. Q went first and was fast. Grandpa was nervous! But anyone who knows Gpa knows he was not going to go quietly into the night. Despite having vertigo and having his feet clip the wall, he squeaked out the win! 

The kids were not happy to have lost (mostly because the "no fighting" wager they had made was probably less than achievable). But we all had a really fun time and it was a great way to fill the time before dinner and performance number 3.