Summer Trip...heading home!

Out of Vegas and back on the road for the last time...

 We had fun checking off license plates on our trip. We ended up with 44 states! We even managed to get Rhode Island, but couldn't get Hawaii or Alaska...

Besides Coop being sick, it was nice to be away for our family trip. I sure wish we could do more of it, but so thankful for the time we had together. I feel like time is going so fast, I'm trying to grab on to every moment with these guys I can!

Summer Trip...Day 6

None of us wanted to leave Colorado...we were sad our trip was coming to an end already. It is such a beautiful part of the country and I miss living there! We were up early and on the road for a 10 hour drive day.

 We arrived in Las Vegas and headed straight to Gold & Silver Pawn. We are big fans of the show Pawn Stars so the kids were excited to see it in person.

 and Coop couldn't leave without a Chum t-shirt!

We checked in to our hotel and walked part of the strip looking for dinner. It was 109 ° outside and pretty crowded! Zoe was excited to see Paris though.

 We ended up at Cheeseburger Las Vegas next to Planet Holllywood.

  Coop still didn't have much of an appetite, so we ended up giving most of his dinner to one of the many homeless people on the Strip.

 We walked to M&M World, although we all agreed that the one in NYC is much better.

 Then down to New York, New York.

 I wanted to take the chocolate Statue of Liberty at the Hershey store home with me!

 I had never been to the Cosmopolitan Hotel before, but the glass beads were beautiful.

 We made it to the Bellagio for the water show as the sun was going down.

We got back to our room and were ready for showers and a bed. We had a great view of the Linq...it changed colors every couple of minutes.

Vegas has changed a lot since I had been here over 10 years ago. It was fun to make a quick stop, and the kids thought it was "interesting." Zoe decided it wasn't her kind of city, but it was definitely an experience!

Summer Trip...Day 5

We were up early and back at Vail Mountain today. It was time to attempt the Berry Picker hike, which was 4 miles up the mountain to the top of the gondola.

 The beginning of this hike is incredibly difficult. It is straight up, and with the high altitude, it felt like our lungs were on fire! After a while, we hiked with switchbacks, making it a little more bearable.

 This is the most beautiful hike ever! Every view was incredible, both in and out of the trees.

 We did have to stop along the way to catch our breath and rest our legs. Well, the kids didn't really have to stop, but they were kind to me, and to Joe who was a bit behind us!

 I was so impressed that Coop was able to do this hike after being so sick!

 They jogged a bit of it too...I don't know how they do it.

 Getting closer to the top!

 WE did it!! Up at the top, standing on a big pile of snow!

 Vail puts up a fun adventure park during the summer at the top of the mountain. The kids and I did the zipline run. It was so much fun!!

 Then Zoe and Cooper got harnessed up for the ropes course.

 They spent over an hour working the course. It was really challenging, but lots of fun! It was really cold and windy at the top of the mountain though. We were freezing!

 This was the hardest part of the course!

 Since we hiked up, we were able to ride the gondola down the mountain for free. More beautiful views...

 Although exhausted, I wanted to spend some time walking around Vail Village. Joe and I used to spend time here when we lived in Colorado, and I just love it!

 Zoe even found a delicious passion fruit macaron, and Joe got some homemade ice cream from Joe's...

 This was the creek we rafted down yesterday.

 We ate some dinner back in our room. While Joe rested, the kids and I walked to a local ice cream shop for one more treat.

 

Then we played some bocci ball at our resort and sat by the fire before hitting the jacuzzi one more time.

 Another great day...just wish we didn't have to leave so soon!