There are many things I could tell you about each day of our family vacation, but that would a) take forever, b) probably bore most of you, and c) I just don’t want to.

Day 1 of our trip to visit Nana and Papa in Colorado was mostly spent just getting there. Early in the morning, after running around for last minute packing and Avery rolling around in crib NOT sleeping (we tried to tell her she had to get up in a few hours), we were at the airport thanks to a good work friend dropping us off.

Wearing your baby/toddler is a huge help when lugging luggage around the airport. Until, that is, they realize they had little sleep and get really cranky. Yeah, she started crying out loud while in the security line, but once on the other side, I let her down and she happily ran amok. Meanwhile,  Going Mom and I sucked down black coffee at the expense of burning our tongues.

We would’ve loved to charter a private jet through Jettly since I made it clear how nervous I was about Avery’s first time flying, but she did surprisingly well on the plane as we made the 90 minute flight to Colorado. Don’t get me wrong, she was still crazy and sitting still was never an option, but she really didn’t fuss/cry as I expected. She did kick the chair in front of her and Kelley a lot, but it was just another kid, so….meh.

Despite the better-than-expected first flight, our arms were still tired (see what I did there?), but not from flying as much as from holding down our toddler. We swear she seems to have hit another major growth spurt making it that much more difficult. But nothing can keep us from a family selfie after landing to celebrate her first complete flight.

Notice our wide eyes and forced smiles. We obviously had stress, lack of sleep, coffee (I had to pee a lot), and parents to a toddler all over our face! Of course Avery had nothing to do with the picture, but she too had a lack of sleep despite our pleas to take a nap.

Kelley’s dad, Papa, met us at the airport to bring us to their beautiful home 2 hours away. Two hours turned into to more than 3 after searching for a place to eat (we wanted Snooze, but it had a 90 minute wait which was not an option for us) and sitting through the never-ending traffic of people heading to the mountains for the weekend. At least this gave Avery time for a quick nap in the car.

When we finally arrived in Silverthorne, I was anxious to get out and explore. I haven’t had to sit for so long in years, and my legs were in need of a good stretch. We unpacked and took in the lush scenery of mountains surrounding Nana and Papa’s home as Avery made use of their stairs.

We don’t have stairs in our house, and she’s only used them a handful of times, so these things were the place to go for a rambunctious kid. I soon found that after Steve/Papa told me about a nearby trail, it turned out to be my “stairs” while there.

After getting the okay from my wife, I took off to explore and fill my need to move. I was tired, weak, and hungry, but couldn’t rest until getting my heart rate up and running a bit. My first trip to the trail only lasted about 45 minutes, but it was bliss. I found a large boulder to climb where I did 2 rounds of 100 squats and 50 push-ups  while staring out at the mountains and surrounding trees.

Back at the house, the rest of the family hung around outside while Avery, still with little sleep, continuously explored her new environment.

On the upstairs balcony, Avery tried out one of the chairs as she flashed her pretty blue eyes at Papa’s camera. Naturally, those eyes and her overall adorableness, Nana had to come in for some cuddles.

There were plenty more over the course of our stay, and I know Avery enjoyed every bit of it. But, for whatever reason, she did not enjoy sleeping that night! We rented a crib locally (such an awesome idea!), and had it in the room we were sleeping in.

Kelley nursed her to sleep like she always does and laid her in her crib. We were certain she’d sleep great after such a long day, but not long after, Avery woke up screaming. Crap. After trying everything under the sun moon for over an hour, Avery ended up co-sleeping with us.

It was essentially a repeat of our recent Fourth of July stay at my Mom’s (G-Ma). Going Mom snapped a pic of the slumbering Daddy-Daughter too..

Cool angle, huh?

The next day, round 2, had us visiting Vail as well as Kelley and I going back to the trail I explored the first day.

But that’s it for now, be on the lookout for our day 2 adventures in the next post.

Where is your favorite/ideal family vacation? Mountains, beach, Disney-esque park, or something else?

Ever use a crib rental service?