We eased into vacation-mode by spending four nights in Flagstaff. Silas enjoyed playtime and a little picnic with his friend Brynn:
He also got to go hiking with my friend and co-worker Molly. Silas felt very special to have some "Molly-time" all on his own! She took him "climbing":
We also spent some time time exploring NAU (my alma mater) with the bikes/stroller. We had so much fun cruising around North Campus, we went back the next day to play around on South Campus too:
Next, we packed up and headed to beautiful Telluride, Colorado. We rented a cute little condo right on Main Street. It was a perfect way to be "part of the action" even when we were taking it easy in our cozy condo.
On another little bike/stroller ride, we discovered this pretty little waterfall:
Besides the amazing scenery, Telluride is nestled within a magnificent high mountain box canyon, a major highlight was attending the Telluride Jazz Festival! We went on "New Orleans Day", which kicked off with a Mardi Gras-type parade down Main Street. The Festival itself was super fun, with lots of awesome live music. I think we most enjoyed seeing Soul Rebels and The Funky Meters play.
We met-up with my friend Julie and her family.
Silas enjoyed playing soccer in the rain with Julie's kids (it sprinkled on and off during the day...but then rained pretty good at night!). Lola was a champ for her first festival experience and I think she enjoyed "dancing" with me in the wrap!
After Telluride, we drove down the "Million Dollar Highway" to a little house we rented in Durango, Colorado. Before the trip, Silas was most excited to ride the train. He could hardly stand the thought of waiting until the end of our trip to do it! The house we rented was 7 blocks from downtown Durango, so on our first night in town, we rode bikes/strollered downtown and stumbled across the Train Museum 15 minutes before closing time. Silas was super psyched to get to "drive" a real locomotive:
He liked it so much, in fact, he requested to go back the next day (which we did). And then he asked to go back again!! The actual train trip was pretty neat too! We rode the historic narrow gauge steam engine train from Durango to Silverton (and then back again). I thought the trip was a little long (3.5 hours each way)...but apparently I was the only one! Matt and Silas (and I guess Lola) really enjoyed it. The scenery was stunning!
The sunglasses were not only "cool"...they also helped keep the coal specks/soot out of our eyes! It was the only bummer about riding in the open air gondola. And probably wouldn't have mattered much at all, except I felt bad for Lola (since she didn't have any!). But she nursed and slept most of the trip, so it was pretty easy to keep her covered up!
You may see this family photo again come Christmas time...
We also enjoyed swimming at Trimble Hot Springs (where I got this sweet picture of Silas and Lola):
I have to say, Silas really is an amazing big brother. He adores his sister and spends quite a bit of time "playing" with her...and she clearly adores him!
This photo totally captures the mutual adoration...he fell asleep while still holding Lola's pacey in her mouth!
And, finally, I think the icing on the cake, for this trip, was Durango's BMX track!!
Silas and Matt both had a BLAST riding around (and around and around). This video cracks me up because Matt was filming while riding his bike (and consequently had no brakes!)
The first thing Silas did when we got home, was put on his train engineer costume and play "train". But the second thing was to get on his bike and be a "famous BMX racer"...and give autographs to his friends and family!
Man, we sure do feel lucky to have the time and resources to go on such a special family adventure! The timing turned out to be kind of interesting - as Matt is currently looking for a new job and I'm back to work on Monday after 12 wonderful weeks of maternity leave. Guess we'll keep you posted on what the next Gidley Family Adventure will be...
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