First Family Vacation

The definition of vacation is "leisure time away from work devoted to rest or pleasure". I would say we were away from work for Justin and did enjoy our time but it wasn't a time away for me from work since Haisley is my full-time job. We still had to get up when Haisley gets up (around 7) and take care of her in a place where we didn't have all of the gear necessary in a childless-proof home. Needless to say, we were on "vacation" but with a twist - a baby on board! Gary and Lisa were gracious enough to invite us to stay with them in Colorado so we decided to give it a go!

The home we stayed at was great. We had the whole downstairs to ourselves so Haisley had her own room which was nice. Usually when we travel, she sleeps in our room in her pack 'n' play while we quietly get into bed ourselves and try not to breathe so she won't wake up all night. Having her own room was great so we could take a few breaths through the night!

We took a leisurely approach to our vacation and did more of a sight-seeing than the active vacation I think it would have been if Haisley weren't with us. We picked the towns we wanted to visit and traveled to them each day. We stayed in Gypsum, a small town outside of Eagle/Vail which was centrally located to a lot of great towns.

Overall, it was a good vacation. I don't know how many more family vacations we will have when she's this young. Just a lot to take on!

Day 1: Glenwood Springs

There were streams from a river everywhere we went. Every once in awhile we would see people rafting or fly fishing. We didn't get to do either since Haisley isn't old enough. Maybe next time!

We went up the mountain in a gondola!

Lisa and I went on the roller coaster that was at the top of the mountain. It was really cool. She had no idea what type of dare-devil I am on roller coasters so she was in for a treat since I was the one that handled the speed. I went full-throttle 99.9% of the time! As you can tell, I was loving it!

Group picture of us at the top of the mountain with Gary and Lisa.

Hanging Lake

Day 2: Aspen

One thing I noticed in every town we visited was the absence of car noise. As you can see in this picture there are a lot of bicyclists. The loudest thing I heard was a FedEx delivery truck. It was just so quiet! Not like the city-life we're used to.

This bear was made out of wood and was very life-like. Haisley didn't seem to mind!

See! She wasn't intimidated!



This is what we saw a lot of - ski lifts. It was so hard to not dream of snow and being in our snow outfits and riding to the top of the mountain and skiing down. It was kinda bittersweet. Now I want to go skiing soon. Justin and I have never been skiing together before so it's something we need to add to the list!



Day 3: Vail

The weather was great everyday and the flowers were breathtaking. It felt like Spring!



Check out the flowers!

This was on the golf course where we stayed.

This is the view from our balcony.

Day 3: Golfing at Cotton Ranch

Our first 18 hole golf outing

She loved helping me drive the golf cart.

Every couple of holes, Haisley and I would go to the green and help daddy put his ball in the hole. She caught on perfectly. Her arm is half-way down the hole! Hilarious!

Priceless!

Day 4: Drive to Denver and Beaver Creek

Some of the trees were starting to turn for Fall. Just beautiful!

This ice skating rink was in the middle of the town's square. Once again, I was envisioning skating in the winter.

This was a restaurant we ate lunch at in Beaver Creek before we headed to the airport. The view was beautiful.

This was when we landed at DFW after a very long and stressful travel day. It wasn't easy taking a baby on vacation but we survived!

Haisley struggled taking naps while on-the-go the whole vacation but gave up on the shuttle to our car when we arrived in Dallas. We were so ready to get home!