Granby

So. We spent last week in Granby. Did you miss us? ;) 

Anyhow, here's a quick run down...

Monday: Took the younger two to Options while Noah and I finished up the packing and loading. We then picked up boys and drove down to Longmont to pick up Nathan from work, eat at Proto's and continue on our way...glad that Nathan was driving the rest of the way to Granby. (We had to go the "long" way around (south to Denver then west and north again over Berthoud Pass) since the road to Estes Park is out due to the flooding. Granby is just on the other (west) side of Rocky Mountain National Park.) We arrived at the WorldMark resort where Nathan's parents had reserved a couple units for us all and settled in. :)

Tuesday: We finished up a Scrabble game that the boys had begun the night before then headed up to Grand Lake for lunch. After that we headed into the park to hike to Cascade Falls (about 7 miles round trip). The weather cooperated beautifully and we thoroughly enjoyed the beginning fall colors. Here we at the falls:

That night, we had dinner at the unit and spent some time in the rec room where the boys enjoyed playing/learning pool and foosball.

Wednesday: Spent the morning at the unit and doing lunch then split up...John & Nancy went for a walk around Grand Lake while Nathan & I took the boys to the rec room to play more pool and foosball (they really liked the rec room, lol) before hitting the pool and hot tub for awhile.

After getting boys bathed and warmed up (it was windy) and becoming a group of seven again, we did a late dinner then played some pinochle, cribbage and such.

Thursday: Up earlier (I used the resort's fitness room) to do brunch before heading to Monarch Lake to hike the 3.9 mile loop. Here are the boys with their grandparents at the start of the hike:

The boys enjoyed skipping a few stones, too. ;) We then headed back to the unit to clean up and snack before Nathan and I got to go out to dinner on our own. Btw, if you're over that way, we HIGHLY recommend the Tabernash Tavern...which you'd miss if you didn't know to go there. Our meals were fabulous and dessert was just plain awesome:

(Banana Fosters Creme Brulee)

Meanwhile, boys played games and ate dinner with their grandparents. Played some more pinochle once we got back, enjoyed more of the ice cream we'd made (yes, we packed the ice cream maker, lol) and then crashed for the night.

Friday: The morning started out with a lovely fire alarm malfunction...which went on and on even after the fire department arrived. (Something about condensation and a faulty system and apologies from the management.) Given the rain/snow falling most of the day, we spent it indoors playing games (mostly the boys and their grandparents while Nathan worked on some personal projects and I worked on school planning for next month). After the board and card games, we hit the rec room again for some physical activity...where Micah and I thoroughly enjoyed our time at foosball. We named all our players. ;) It helps if you yell their names while you play. Honest. ;)

We went back to the unit for dinner and more games and more ice cream and some preliminary packing. 

Saturday: We enjoyed the returned sunshine as we packed up everything and loaded the vehicles. (John & Nancy had rented a car in Denver.) We managed to get on the road at our proposed time and were so enjoying the scenery and the drive back over Berthoud Pass...

Stay tuned for the conclusion of the story... ;)