Colorado Mini Trip

Over a long MLK weekend, the kids and I took a mini vacation.  Will and Laney went to visit their grandparents in Indianapolis while I took Eliana with me on a trip to visit my sister Abby and her family in Denver, CO. We drove to Indianapolis on a Thursday evening, and flew out Friday morning. Eliana was going to miss one day of school on Friday, however, they received so much snow back in Columbus that her school had a snow day anyway! So it turns out she didn't miss a thing.  We got a little less snow in Indy that day, but our flight was still delayed about 2 hours due to the snow.  Once in Colorado though, the weather was wonderful! Sunny and warmer, we really picked the right place for a our winter vacation.

Eliana did a great job on the plane.  She has actually flown twice as a lap child (both of those trips involved visiting my sister Abby as well!) but this was the first time she had flown since she was 14 months old.  She was very well behaved and spent most of the flight coloring in her new activity book or playing on the iPad.  She was really amazed on our flight back to Indy because we flew later in the evening after dark, so she liked to look out of the window and see all the cities lit up below.  She marveled at how small everything looked - whole cities were just the size of her finger!

Once in Colorado, we got to meet my new niece Naomi for the first time. She was just a tiny baby, only 3 weeks old! Naomi was an excellent sleeper in the morning so Eliana got to have lots of cuddle time with her new cousin. Due to the time change, Eliana and I were up earlier than the rest of my sister's family.  So when Naomi would wake up at 5 or 6 in the morning, Abby would bring her down to us to cuddle and then she would go back to sleep.  I didn't mind (too much) getting up early because at least I got an uninterrupted night of sleep! My mom was getting up with Laney back in Indiana and Abby was getting up with Naomi.  All I had to worry about was Eliana who is my best sleeper at night.  So I was pretty much in heaven!

While baby cuddles were fun, we also really enjoyed seeing my Goddaughter and one of Eliana's favorite cousins, Hannah.  We celebrated her 2nd birthday while we were visiting.  Eliana and Hannah make a great pair, and play well together.  Until they both start acting like the oldest child and get stubborn about having their way.  Luckily those moments were few. 

Eliana and Hannah together at last! Dressed like twins in their matching purple coats.

Morning snuggles with sweet baby Naomi

What a special Mommy/Eliana trip we got to take.

The girls playing inside Hannah's playhouse. Eliana was pretending to be a teacher and Hannah was the student.

Eliana was really good with Naomi and always put her back to sleep in the mornings.

 During our trip, we visited Red Rock Amphitheater, which is a giant concert and event venue built right into a natural amphitheater in the rocks.  Tons of people made the short hike to this beautiful sight and were just climbing up and down the many many stair in the theater. Hannah was like the Energizer bunny and just kept climbing and climbing the stairs!

These were the rocks behind the stage.  My amazing sister, just over 3 weeks out from having a baby, hiked along with us while wearing Naomi in her carrier.

We left the amphitheater and continued hiking around Red Rocks Park.  Eliana named this rock formation "Turtle Rock"

 We had some hungry, tired girls on our hands after this exciting day. 

Our last morning in Colorado, Hannah opened her birthday presents and spent some time playing with Ana.  She is such a sweet little girl, and we had a great time. 

Eliana and I had an excellent trip!  (Will and Laney enjoyed their vacation to Grandma's house as well).  I can't wait to do it again with the whole family sometime this summer.