Greatest Vacation Ever (aka G.V.E)

When we left for Denver/Vail, I had a full agenda of activities planned out for the fam, but I learned one thing on our trip-agendas mean nothing to a 6 month old. :) The night before we left, MB and I began to pack for our trip. I knew that traveling would never be the same when I saw that MB had packed our largest suitcase full of Parker's clothes, toys, diapers, wipes, etc. Not only did we have a huge bag for him, but we also had to think about how to get the car seat on the plane. This is all new to us and this would be Parker's first flight and his first vacation. I couldn't think of a better spot to take him than Vail, CO. We were heading out there for our friends' (Tarah & Tristan) wedding, and we decided it would be a good opportunity to explore for a few extra days as well. The flight to Denver was text book-we checked our bags, made it through security and got to board the plane early (gotta love the early boarding for families with young children). Parker took a bottle on the way up and slept on the way down and didn't make a peep the whole flight. Mb and I walked off the plane with a little extra swagger, considering our 6 month old was such a well-behaved young lad. :) But I reminded Mary Beth that we still needed to drive two hours through the mountains and take a flight home before we get too proud. The drive went well and we arrived in Vail (elevation ~9000 ft.)on Friday afternoon. We had a plenty of time to take the free Gondola ride to the top of the mountain and get some potential "Christmas Card Pics." We ran into a nice family from Overland Park, KS and they were kind enough to take some good shots for us. (see below)

Great Family PicParker telling the Paparazzi, "No more pictures...please!"

Mom & Parker on the Gondola

Dad with Parker (looking happy) in the Baby Bjorn-Parker's main mode of transportation in Colorado

That night we went to bed early after strolling around downtown Vail for a bit. We woke up early on Saturday, had a nice continental breakfast and headed out the door. We made one of our best choices of the trip by renting a jogging stroller from one of the shops. It allowed Parker to take some naps while MB & I explored and it also gave our shoulders and backs a much needed break-the little booger is heavier than he looks. :) I thought we might be able to hike up some smoother trails with the stroller, but after a few hundred feet on Berry Picker Trail, we turned around. Parker was sleeping and the terrain just wasn't that stroller friendly. We checked out the Art Show, ate some lunch and walked around a little before going back to get dressed up for the wedding. The wedding was in the Betty Ford Alpine Garden; a sweet spot for a wedding, and the weather was perfect. The wedding & reception were both in walking distance of our hotel which made it really nice with Parker. He started acting a little fussy and couldn't seem to calm down before the wedding, so I sent MB ahead and tried to calm Parker down. I thought it would be better for me to miss the wedding if it came down to it. But he was able to pull it together and we arrived with plenty of time to spare. The reception was awesome, great food, great people, but it was late and an hour behind MO time. Parker was struggling to get to sleep with all the noise, so MB and I took turns walking the stroller around a side room and eventually outside. Little man finally went to sleep at about 9pm Co time. We were probably the first to leave the reception, but that's what happens with a 6 month old. :) The next day we had a great brunch, but Parker was showing more signs of altitude sickness and he just wouldn't take a nap. We tried about everything we could and spent the majority of the day in the hotel. It was a really tough day for Parker and for me (MB is a little more understanding). :) I was just frustrated that we couldn't calm him down and that we were sitting in Vail and couldn't leave our hotel room. Finally, MB dropped me off by the side of the road, so I could run back to the hotel. It was nice and peaceful running by the river, but when I got back, Parker was loosing it. At this point we started getting pretty worried because he had never acted like this before. We had planned to go to Breckenridge for a few days, but decided that we needed to get Parker out of the elevation. We eventually decided to drive about 2-3 hours to Boulder, where the elevation is closer to 5000 ft. Little did we know when we left that this would be a car ride for the ages. :) More details to come in the next post on how our time in CO became known as the GVE......