COLORADO FUN CONTINUED - BOWLING NIGHT

One night, a group of us planned to go to our favorite restaurant as kids, Casa Bonita, but with the traffic on a Monday night in the Denver area (driving from Longmont) and already having had such a long day, I just didn't have it in me to drive an hour to get there!  


So plan two, we decided to try Gateway near the foothills in Boulder, which is a fun park with mini-golf and go-carts, but by the time we arrived there was a very windy rain storm that was just not going to give up, boo!  :-(  


Well, we were about to call it a night, due to the rain when the guy who works at Gateway said, "how about going bowling??"  Well... yes, bowling!  I haven't thought about, or gone bowling in a loooong time!  So we headed back to Longmont and hit the Centennial Lanes!  We had a fun time and it was great for all the kids big and small!  

Katie Grace Hua Hua decided to stretch out before bowling ;-)  

Look how cute she is in those bowling shoes!!!!  We couldn't believe they had bowling shoes that small!!

We found the lightest ball possible for her - 6 lbs 

Here Matthew set up Joshua and Hua Hua with their own lane next to ours.  They tried to bowl for awhile free-style, but it was always going into the gutter, and then Matthew had a great idea to get the assistance roller for kids.  Well, that made them really happy!  

Christina's turn......

She got a spare on her first bowl and was really good throughout the night! 

Joshua posed for the pic and ready for his bowl!

Happy with his work on the lanes

My little sister, Polly, ready for her turn!  Isn't she just the cutest??   If I told you her age you would never believe it.  Nobody does or ever will.  She is just natural and lovely inside and out, too. 

Polly showing us her skilzz.....

Polly's son Aaron I am pretty sure won this evening.  He rocked this game out!!  

Matthew's turn....

Feelin' pretty good about his game

Back at the table for a quick rest and a smile for mom who takes way too many pictures!  

Ok, it's my turn.  Let's just say,  I learned something this week.  If you are in your (ahem cough cough) 40s and you do not continue to play basket ball and bowl at least a couple times a year, you really lose your touch!  I am going to get out there more often and play because I used to be a good bowler and make great shots at the hoop, and this week I could see my extreme lack of skill in both!  UGH!!!  But we did have A LOT OF FUN! 

MORE OF COLORADO - ESTES PARK - YMCA OF THE ROCKIES

So every time we travel home to Colorado to visit my family, we always do a couple days in the mountains.   Estes Park is one of our favorites!  


I believe I failed to mention earlier that Jacob did not go with us on this trip, sadly.  I know he was disappointed about that but he stayed behind to work as many hours as he could.  


Thanks to my sister, Marcie and Uncle Lance, we stayed at the YMCA of the Rockies where they treated us to the fun and rooms!  It was such a wonderful experience!  We are so grateful!  Not the whole family came up, but many of us did.  


Estes Park is just about an hour drive up into the mountains.  It is a gem of a town nestled into the valley and has become quite trendy so there are some beautiful homes and lovely "cabin resorts", but still earthy enough for even a backpacker to find a place to stay.  

View of beautiful f Estes Park, Colorado (photo courtesy google images) 

  

The Stanley Hotel where the movie The Shining took place!!  Spooky!!  (photo courtesy google images) 

YMCA of the Rockies, where we stayed!   (photo courtesy of google images)

  

Our family name, Luthjohn, on the welcome sign!! 

The view from our back patio where we had nice rocking chairs!  There is a playground right across the path and a swimming pool too.  Down to the right, many more activities for families.  My kids and I shared a room with my sister, Polly, and her son, Aaron.

Another pretty view

My sister, Polly, with Katie Grace Hua Hua.  Look at all the pretty wildflowers too!  

Our room.  Simple cabin type rooms with no TV!  Matthew (13) said, "where is the TV??"  I said,  go sit on the back patio and look at that view!  That's your TV."  Then Joshua (6) said, "yeah, there is no bigger screen or sharper picture than that!"
Hehe!  Cute!  

Just a really cool wasp on my car 

Colorado is overrun with prairie dogs.  They are cute little critters who make holes in the ground everywhere.  There are bazillions.  The funny thing is, Coloradans are known for there love of nature and love of protesting.  I grew up in Boulder, a super "granola" town as I like to call it, lovingly.  :-)  So, the prairie dogs have  now been completely protected and it is impossible to walk through any natural area without them scurrying around!!  lol!

Uncle Lance bonding with Hua Hua at lunch in town!  They had a great time together and he taught her their secret "fist bump."  Uncle Lance is the best!  

Cousin Tyler (22) is in graduate school at CU studying music, a talented musician/bassist and just an awesome kid, Joshua and Aunty Marcie (my sister and Tyler's mom) were enjoying working on coloring and activities.  

Everyone went out to play basketball and we all joined in!  Lance took time to teach Joshua and Hua Hua for quite awhile and they had a lot of fun!

Even Mimi, My MOM went out and played!!  So did my dad but I was out on the other court at the same time, so I didn't get a pic of him.  My dad loves to play basketball, tennis, and bike ride.

Just another view.  OH HOW I WISH my camera could capture how beautiful this actually looked.  You see, the sun was shining on the high peaks in the background and they were magnificent.  This picture doesn't show it at all... :(

Swim time for Matthew, cousin Aaron, Hua Hua and Joshua.


 

Late that evening, my sister and I took the boys down to the game room and they played until they were tired.

Matthew playing pool with his cousin

Cousin Aaron taking a shot

The next morning we went to the craft building and decided to paint creations!  

Sometimes you forget how therapeutic crafts can be.  Matthew getting started and choosing his colors.

Christina with her cousin, Alyssa, by her side working diligently

Hua Hua with her smock on and loving her colors!  

My sister, Marcie, completed her doll.  Isn't it wonderful?  She has always  been one of the most artistic of the girls.  

I painted a pretty cross with flowers on it to hang in Hua Hua's room to match her room colors.  

Joshua took so much time and put so much detail into this snake.  He painted each ring and kept the pattern going.   He was so proud of his work and so was I!  

Matthew (13) was the last one left wanting to get his little traveling gnome just right!  I loved how the kids got into these crafts!  

This is totally random, but a trip to Colorado, especially Estes Park, is not complete without getting a cute pair of moccasins for someone!  Katie Grace Hua Hua loved these cute little pink, fringed moccasins!  I got each child a little momento from the shops in town.  Joshua picked out a little box of fools gold, Matthew got a pocket knife, Christina some earrings, and Hua Hua these beauties.  

MORE COLORADO FUN - THE KIDS HAD THE BEST TIME CRAWDAD FISHING!

My sister, Kristy, has a creek near her house where we took the kids out crawdad fishing.  

They had the best time fishing and catching lots of those little creatures!  

First of all, it was so hot in Colorado!  Almost as hot as Central Florida, although not quite.  The temperatures were up to 100 degrees F daily!  No humidity though in Colorado.  We went down to the creek where it was slightly cooler under the trees.  

Matthew jumped in right away with the net and started searching for little creatures.  

Cute little cousin, Levi, was right at home and was showing us exactly the best spots to look!  

Sweet Cousin Aaron was in next cooling his feet in the water.  

Katie Grace Hua Hua got a hold of a fishing stick, put her piece of hot dog on it, and was  ready to fish for crawdads!  She was wanted to catch some quick!  

First she started off the side... 

Well, she wasn't the least bit apprehensive, and was ready to get in the water that was full of those crawdads!  

We have to admit, she had a little bit of a cousin crush on cute cousin, Christian.  ;-) 

Poor Joshua couldn't take it any longer, he was waiting for a pole, as they were all taking turns and her wanted a turn!!!  

Someone got him a pole right away and he was smiling immediately!  

The crawdad catches started happening and in the net they would go and transferred into the bucket.   

Look at that beauty!  

Looks like the cousins have found the best spot.  

Cousin Vanessa, was the only one who was not afraid to pick up the crawdads by hand!  Go girl!  No one was snapped by any claws by the way.  :-) 

At the end of the fishing spree, a grand total of 51 crawdads were caught!  The kids poured them out on the concrete and counted every last one.  Then the let them all go back into the creek!