Durango--Day 2 (train museum)

In Durango we stayed in a nice 2-bedroom suite in a Residence Inn.  It fit all of us (!) and it had a pool and free breakfast.  We've stayed in enough hotels to know the best routine for us: Marcus goes down for breakfast with some kids and I stay to watch the littlest ones.  He brings food back to the room for those littles, and I go down with the late-risers.  It works well!

My shift was with Bunny and Posa

 After breakfast we loaded in the van and went to the rental lodge that the rest of my family was staying at.  This BEAUTIFUL house was just down the road from the wedding site!  All the other families could fit in this one house:

Babies love grandpa

 After hanging out with cousins (siblings!) we drove back into Durango to the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad museum.

all the scenery looked like this

At the depot

The D&S Narrow Gauge is a famous railroad that runs through gorgeous scenery from Durango to Silverton, and back again.  It was started in the 1880s and has an interesting history that includes it being registered as a National Historic Landmark.   We would've considered taking a trip, but it is an all-day event and we didn't have that kind of time.

photo from the internet

another photo from the internet
(Now that I see these, maybe I'm glad that we didn't take a ride
on this train...look at those cliffs!  Yikes!!)

The museum was wonderful and Sedric especially enjoyed it.  :o)  He is our train guy!

Cousin Katie loves little kids.

This display was just AMAZING!!!  The detail was spectacular.
The description states that this is a first-hand account of what this
little mining town looked like (now a ghost town).

This shows a tiny part of a very large miniature display.
Notice the drive-in movie theatre.  :o)

My older kids loved seeing the K cousins
(only happens once a year at most!).

 After the museum we walked downtown Durango to go get a bite to eat.  We ran into Joe and Steph!  

We decided on Steamworks because it could fit everyone...
and it had beer of course.  Apparently, beer is a "thing"
in Colorado.  ;o)

Posa and Hazy  (so cute!!!)

Stay tuned for the 2nd part of Day 2 of our trip...the wedding rehearsal!

Durango--Day 1 (travel and bridal shower)

Well here I am, finally posting about our big trip to Colorado/New Mexico!  Even though it is 3 months overdue, I don't feel so bad since one of my sisters just posted her pics just the other day as well. :o)

My little brother Joe was getting married to his FABULOUS girlfriend Stephanie in Durango, Colorado, and the 8 of us made the journey to be a part of the celebration.

First we flew on 9/24 to Albuquerque, NM, via Phoenix, AZ.  I was surprised to learn that Albuquerque would get us closer to Durango than would flying to Denver.  And I was very excited to see a new state!

flying over the Grand Canyon, I think

 We had a short and pleasant layover in Phoenix.  The flights were both very smooth, and the kids were awesome.  We needed 7 seats which meant 3, 3, and 1.  I was the "1" with Celeste on my lap.  :o)  We had a carseat for Sedric which is *key* for traveling with a toddler/preschooler.

in Phoenix

We introduced "tiny trains" to our Thomas-
obsessed son, and they kept him busy
just as planned.

Once we landed in Albuquerque we immediately got our rental VAN (a very nice new Ford Transit) and drove the 4-5 hours to Durango.  The scenery was beautiful:

Once in Durango we found our hotel and then Marcus took us girls to Stephanie's bridal shower, thrown by her best friend Electra.  It was such a treat to be part of the shower; I'm so glad they had it right before the wedding!

Celeste met her cousin Violet for the first
time.  :o)

The kids had fun with grandma, and with
the party games.

Katie and Bunny are only 6 months apart!  It was so nice
seeing my goddaughter!  :o)

So that was Day 1.  It was a very long day, and not very exciting (that is a good thing when traveling with 6 kids!) but even on that first day we experienced beautiful landscapes, well-behaved children, and fun with relatives.  Can't beat that!  

Bunny's 13th Birthday Party

Bunny's birthday party is always a fun time!!!

She asks for the same menu each year: "dini" which is a nickname for spaghetti and meatballs.  The weather is always great (early September) and we usually have her party on a ND game day (perfect since she loves football).  I like to plan a treasure hunt for the guests, which keeps them active and entertained.  ;o)

Marcus frying up the meatballs in advance.

We set up the TV in the living room for the game watch.

Normally the TV is on the other side of this wall, in the TV
room...but we have a small pass-through for cables, and all we
have to do is move the TV to the other side and plug it in.

The kids ate their dini outside.

Bunny had to open her gifts in front of the TV.

Guests could still watch the game.  ;o)

The start of the Treasure Hunt!

The kids had to look in the auxiliary garden (it was a jungle!).

I like making them run all over the property.

Final stop: tea garden

Decadent Creation Macarons for all!

Inside for more Decadent Creations treats.

It wasn't all play...Bunny had to go to work putting the neighbors'
chickens to bed.

Another Really Fun Bunny birthday party!!!

September overview

September 2015 was a great month.  We really didn't have a lot going on until the end of the month (when we took a trip to Colorado/New Mexico...more on that later).  

The first 2/3 of the month seemed to be low-key.  We celebrated Bunny's 13th birthday early in the month, with a ND game watch.  Most of September was spent getting some serious schooling done, but we did find a few ways to sneak in small adventures:

A trip to the South Store Cafe for Bunny.

My good friend Fanny became a US citizen, and threw herself
an Italian/American party!  (the food was great!)

Bunny's birthday party

Oath consults (too early for James, but Bunny may get some work)

Hillsboro High School football game

playing around during one of Bunny's horse lessons

normal

homeschool

We found out we will have another new cousin!

cousin Emmett's birthday party

And then...a lot of logistical planning for our trip.  Different locations, different temperatures, vastly different activities.  My little brother was getting married!!!  So we had casual and more formal events to pack for (myself plus 6 kids...all coordinating of course...and giving Marcus some advice as well).  Then the plan was to drive through New Mexico which meant 2 more different hotels, and more types of outfits (hiking, sightseeing, etc.).  Whew!  So by mid-month I started the packing process.  It helped to take photos of outfits, like this one:

one of a few dozen outfit photos that I took to keep us
organized...it worked really well!!!

The month was great--we enjoyed every minute.  Stay tuned for more September posts!