Touring Colorado

We did it! We traveled through Colorado to introduce Julia to various family members. We had planned on doing this trip since she was born, but I was slightly nervous about how this little one would travel. I am very happy to report that she was a delightful traveler throughout the entire trip. The picture to the left is a perfect description of our little Julia on the road. She slept most of the time in the car, and was happy and smiley when visiting family. This, of course, made for a very happy mommy as well.

We left American Fork on Friday morning and drove the 6 hours to Durango. There, we had a nice, relaxing visit with Mom, Daddio, Rudi, and Emmy. Of course we stopped at our favorite place to eat - Serious Texas BBQ to eat the deluxe tacos. Um, we ate there two days in row. But don't worry, we worked off a few of those calories as we ran on the Animas River trail. It was literally a "stroll down memory lane" for Jonny as he reminisced about Cross Country days past. Anyway, it was so fun to see Julia in the welcoming arms of her grandparents and aunties.

She was sad to leave the fam in Durango, but happy to make the 3-hour drive to the small town of Salida to meet Great Grandpa Gene and Jenny. You should have seen Grandpa and Julia chatting back and forth! It was hilarious and so sweet to see her interact with her funny Grandpa.

After just one day and night in Salida, we drove for about 4 hours to Castle Rock where the Barrett family welcomed us with open arms. We loved spending a few days with Kiera, Bill, Sam, and Mackenzie in their lovely home. The kids loved their new cousin and couldn't seem to get enough of her. Mac was so cute, always mimicking what we do with Julia with her dolls (see the picture with her pony in her shirt, like Julia in the moby - ha!) With the Barrett fam we enjoyed Kiera's great cooking, hiking to the actual "Castle Rock," browsing around the outlets, playing at the nearby park, taking lots of pictures, etc! After hugging them goodbye, we successfully made the 8-hour trip home. Phew! Thanks to all for your hospitality and love. We hope to see you again as soon as possible!

Jonny jokes that Julia is "on tour." The Colorado destinations were her first stops, and she is soon to make appearances in Indiana and Maryland. She was an angel in the car - we'll see how she likes flying . . .