CO Day 1: We Made It Out Alive

We just returned from a seventeen-day vacation in Colorado, my beloved mountain state. It was glorious.

We began the trip by staying in a cabin in Garfield, CO. Liam is a Garfield comic lover, so he was thrilled to find this sign.
He also thinks his mom rocks.
Oh, yes, she does.

I believe it was our first day when we took a hike that was supposed to be beautiful and easy.

Beautiful...yes. Easy...not so much. Let's just say that we had to carry Jack, Garrett and Winston at various times. And we had to give the boys pep talks, such as, "You can do this. Yes, you can. And our family will remain intact. Oh, yes, it will."
Yes, I was smiling at that point.

But that was before a storm started chasing us down the mountain, which led Garrett to cry. "We might die! I don't wanna die," he whaled.

I decided I better carry him on my back or else he might curl up under a boulder. Shortly after picking him up, I tripped on a rock and cut my leg open. Then, his whaling became, "My mommy's gonna die! I don't want her to die!"

I had to tell him to get a grip and start walking. And then I began yelling for Rick. "Thanks for leaving me to die! I don't need any help! I've got it under control!"

I don't know where Garrett gets his theatrics. But let it be known that I did not cry a single tear.

Rick high-tailed it back to us, and we all made it back to the car without death.

I've never been so happy to see my car in all my life.

But yes, that hike was beautiful.