Vacation - Volume 1

We headed out on Friday the 1st fully prepared for a long day of a yelling Pickle and an energetic Ranger. I wedged myself between their car seats and settled in for the long haul to Colorado. As expected Pickle yelled a lot and slept little . . . about 1.5 hours total while her brother took a good 2 hour nap. We pulled into Cuchara right around 7pm just in time for dinner with the whole clan.













Now's a good time to explain a little about our annual trip to Cuchara and why this year is a little different. JP's family has been going to Cuchara every year for over 3o years. This is a very special place for him and he has promised that his son will not miss a summer. Harold & Betsy (JP's Dad & his wife) have continued the tradition of his parents by renting a cabin and inviting family to join them. Typically it's just Harold, Betsy, and our little family; but this year many Christensens came for a reunion and to celebrate Great-Grandad's 90th birthday. At dinner the first two nights we had 24!

Staying at our cabin was Grandad, Betsy, JP, me, Ranger, Pickle, JP's sister, her husband, and their 3 kids. We had three boys (9, 7, and 4) and two girls (17 months and 8 months).













That's our beautiful niece . . . very photogenic! Days in Cuchara are filled with eating, visiting, hiking, and reading - no TV or Wii. Ranger could not wait to play in the dirt/ mud and there was some deconstruction of the retaining wall.














JP's cousin, her husband, and their 4 kids were also there this year. They have twin 10-year-old boys and two girls ages 8 and 4. On Saturday night we had everyone over to our cabin for chili and soup and the kids were kept at bay by ice cream! That's Harold's cousin Kay in the picture with the kids.