Trip to Steamboat

Last week I took the kids to Colorado to visit with my family. Traveling with the two kids alone was very difficult, especially because I had issues with making my connecting flights. I was supposed to fly from Providence to D.C. to Denver to Steamboat. On our way to D.C. there was some weather problems so we were unable to land in D.C. and we were rerouted to Richmond VA. Once we got there I had to figure out a way to get us to Denver. The airline was offering to fly me to Philly and put me up in a hotel for the night and then fly me to Denver the next day. The biggest problem with that (besides having the two kids with me) was that I wouldn't be able to have my luggage or the kid's car seats. Finally after a lot of begging and some crying from Ashton they were able to get me on a flight to Charlotte and then on to Denver. So I called my sister and she said that she would come pick me up in Denver and drive me up to Steamboat. Of course I still didn't have my luggage or carseats so she had to get two car seats for the kids. She totally saved the day. So we arrived in Steamboat at 2am. The kids then woke up at 5am. It was a very rough trip but we all made it in one piece. Once we got to Steamboat we had a great time. Here are some pictures of our trip:

Here are a few pictures of the kids playing with Grandpa Rlowe. The kids got plenty of sleep throughout our travels so they were ready to go the first morning in Steamboat.



My Mom rented a bike carrier for the kids so We decided to take them on a bike ride to the park. I pulled them behind my bike and the whole ride I could hear Cate talking to Ashton and telling him about the things that she could see. We rode the bikes to a park and got out to play for a while. Of course it was very sunny and I forgot Ashton's hat so we ended up wrapping a towel around his head. He looked silly but it did the trick.





Eric's parents were able to come up to visit for a night. Cate was so happy that they were there. She had them playing all sorts of games with her and reading books. It was so great that they were able to come up for a visit. The first day we all played at the house and then had dinner together. The next day we played at the house in the morning and then after Ashton's nap we went to a park to play and then went out to lunch. We all had a wonderful time.


The next day while my Mom was at work, my Dad and I took the kids to "Art on the Mountain". We walked around with the kids and checked out all of the art. Then I took Cate into a bouncy house. She is too afraid to go in on her own and the operator let me go in with her. Cate had so much fun jumping with me and then we went down the slide a few times. It was a lot of fun to jump with her and hear her laughing.


We went to watch the ski jumping competition. Here is Cate and Grammy watching all of the jumpers.

Ashton slept through the whole thing

Here I am with my sister Steph and my brother Quentin

After the ski jumping we took the kids to the park to play.


Grammy and Cate playing at the park

We took the kids back to the barn and Cate got to ride Merlin with Aunt Steph. Cate was very good at saying "giddy up" and "whoa" to Merlin to get him to go and stop.

Little Cowboy Ashton

After riding Merlin Cate helped feed the horses some carrots

Grandpa Rlowe and Ashton watching Cate ride Merlin

We went to the Steamboat parade for the 4th of July. Here is Cate with her flag ready for the parade to start.

Front row seat with Aunt Steph for the parade

Grammy and Ashton at the parade

Grandpa Rlowe took the kids for a ride in his tractor. When Cate came back she told me that she drove the tractor and that she is a really good driver

My Grandma Myriel (where Cate got her middle name) co-wrote a children's song book and my Mom and Cate sat down to sing the songs together. Then when Cate went to bed she brought it with her and fell asleep hugging the book.


After all of that fun it was time to travel home on the airplane again. In Steamboat my flight was delayed 1.5 hours so I was going to miss my flight in Denver so I had to get on the phone to get a new itinerary. Luckily I was able to change my flight and fly through Philly and then on to Providence and it only got in about 2 hours later than my original flight. Once I arrived in Denver I landed at one end of the B concourse (which is one of the longest concourses in the country) and my connecting flight was leaving from the opposite end of the concourse. On my way off of the plane someone ran over my foot and cut my toe. So I was bleeding and running with all of my stuff and the two kids across the terminal to try to catch my connecting flight. Once we made it to the gate they had almost boarded the whole plane. We made it just in time. Luckily in Philly we had enough time to get some food and make our connecting flight to Providence. It was quite the adventure. I am very proud of myself for flying alone with the two kids and not losing my sanity. I don't think that I will be traveling alone with them again for a while.