Early Monday morning, we took off for Rocky Mountain National Park. A few months back, we contacted our best friends from college and let them know we'd be in Colorado for a bit. They live near Denver and arranged for us to stay in a cabin with them near the park. Aaron and Julie flew down to make it a VEM Reunion (Varneys, Edwards, Millers). They did a lot of work to make it happen--getting bedding for everyone, planning and shopping for meals, and bringing up clothes so we wouldn't be Edwards Popsicles. It was so completely natural to all be together again, and especially fun to see our kids interact.
At the very first stop in the park, Zac took off with his "cousins". He got soaked right away, not realizing that his "cousins" are used to cold weather and feet, and also dressed for crossing streams.
Owen's first time on a hike.
The best views we got on the trip came from the top of this outcropping.
Roni had baby Anderson less than 2 weeks after Owen was born. I'm holding two bald babies.
We held all three of these kids as babies when they first born. Trey first, then Mackadie, then of course Z-man.
Zachary was desperately excited about the snow. He tried to start a snowball fight with the meager amounts on the ground.
Views from the drive to our next stop.
We found a beautiful place to eat lunch, and learned that Roni hasn't changed a bit. She went all out in college for any gathering or event and found ways to make it special, and she did the same with our meals together on this trip.
Finally it was time to really hike! We did a four miler or so to a bridge. It was chilly but the kids were good sports and we loved chatting away together.
Hilarious expressions from both of us.
I love seeing all the kids in carriers. Aaron and Julie had Caroline in a carrier, too.
Anika and Kate:
On the way back, a moose and her baby were on the trail. It took some time for them to clear out.
We saw Kate asleep in the car about a dozen times over the two weeks.
After dinner, Brady was rubbing Zachary's hair and felt a bump. Next thing you know, it was tick removal time in the kitchen. Everyone was gathered around discussing diseases you could get from ticks while Zac bravely waited for the little monster to get extracted.
When he stood up, he said, "I'm going black! Someone help me!" Aaron caught him and got him situated on the floor to get blood back in his head. He was understandably scared when we put them to bed, so when Trey claimed to find another tick on him, he freaked out and so did all the kids sleeping in the attic. We figured it was a case of overactive imaginations but after finding 8 MORE TICKS in the cabin during the next two days, we decided it was probably legit.
After talking our kids off the cliff and finally settling them in for the night, we enjoyed more conversation and played our traditional game of Password while sipping cocoa. We've tried playing this game with other friends but our little group plays this game so well and it felt like no time had passed since being around the campfire playing this last time around. A perfect tradition.
We did have a major hiccup (you know, besides the ticks) when the water stopped working to the cabin. It meant no showers, limited drinking water, and trips to the outhouse on this carpeted throne.
In the morning, Brady and Aaron did a trail run. I did the same when they got back and couldn't believe how poorly I ran at 7,500 foot elevation. Whew! The day was very cold at RMNP and our first stop was the highlight the trip for our kids. Snow, snow, snow! I heard a couple of the other kids say, "Why is Zachary so excited about the snow?" Hehe. Zachary believes the best place to live in the whole universe is somewhere that it snows a lot.
Drop kicking snowballs.
We are standing in front of a lake that Zachary almost ran straight into. Ay-yay-yay. Coleman let me know that this isn't Hollywood and he probably wouldn't have dropped straight to the bottom of a lake full of ice if the ice cracked, but in my head that is absolutely what almost happened.
The kids wasted no time building a snowman.
Cold little plumber gal.
The girls throwing snowballs.
Best picture of the day.
I love the snowman so much.
The kids dove, slid, jumped and "surfed" down the hill dozens of times.
The men of VEM:
Our next stop for a hike was way too cold and windy, so we headed back to the cabin. We explored around the cabin's lower elevations and learned that May is too early for real hiking in RMNP. It was beautiful, though!
We bonded over BYU basketball, camping, and road trips back in 2002/2003, over Zac's baby blessing in 2008, in Kauai 2010, and now in the mountains of CO for 2016. V and E got together for Alaska and Olympic National Park between those adventures. What's next, VEM?
Aaron finished off the night with a slideshow of the pictures from the few days together.
We pulled out for the airport the next morning, enjoying one more peek at Estes Park and wildlife.
We once considered Colorado in our top three places to relocate. It is beautiful and outdoorsy and rugged. It's also cold. I'm afraid the Pacific Northwest edged out CO after our stay, but it is somewhere I'm sure we could love living (especially Zac).
