Big fun vacation day.

The vacation is going really well, everyone is in a great mood and making the best of our time. Yesterday we didn't get much done, it was in fact the coldest July 30th in recorded history in Denver, and up here in Breckenridge. There was fresh snow on Mt. Baldy and the Continental Divide that the 10 Mile Range. It also rained mixed with thunder and lightning. Despite that picture we still had a great time poking around downtown Breckenridge. The girls found sweatshirts and T-Shirts they wanted to get, and Tracy and I did some window shopping. The sun was actually out when we were downtown. We had to reschedule our horseback ride to today. We just had a good family time together all day. In the evening Emily and I went in the hot tub, and after dinner the whole family did a mile long walk to a park and the girls played on the playground. Despite it being 25 degrees lower than the average for this time of year everyone was happy with the day.

This morning we woke up to sun, mixed with clouds. We wanted to make the best of the weather, so we made breakfast and headed up to the Breckenridge ski resort area. During the summer they have all sorts of outdoor activities. They have a maze, trampoline, mini golf, etc...but what we were there to do is something called "Alpine Slides" It is basically like a Tobogin (sp?) on wheels on a track. You ride the chair lift up and ride down on a slide. You have a break in case you want to slow down. Emily and I each rode our own slides , and Haley and Tracy rode together. This also marked Haley's first chair lift ride. We all had a lot of fun, it's really exciting to do. Then almost out of no where a rain storm rolled in and we were worried that we may have to cancel our horseback ride. We decided to just "go for it" and it was a really great call. No one else was as daring as us, and when we showed up to the stables, we were the only people who showed up for the ride, and I have to admit I was worried it was going to pour, it was lightly drizzling. Well the opposite happened, about 50 yards up the trail the sun popped out, and we were off on a 1.5 hour trail ride up into the Rocky Mountains. Emily led the way on her horse named "Biscuit", I was on "Captain" and Haley and Tracy took up the rear on "Rudy". I was nervous at first, Emily was really on her own on the horse, but she did REALLY well. These were trail horses who were trained not to run, and to follow the trail. There are usually 15 maybe 20 people on one of these rides, and it was just our family and the guide, on a perfectly sunny afternoon ride. If you have ever skied at Breckenridge we essentially rode up Peak 9. We didn't ride up the ski slopes themselves but off on trails in the trees, it was exceptionally beautiful with green grass, quakeing Aspen trees, and tons of wild flowers along rushing mountain creeks. The ride lasted about an hour and a half as promised and we headed into town for another round of shopping and an early dinner so we could get Haley to bed early. I don't feel sore yet, but Emily and I are going into the hot tub again a little later on.

Tomorrow we pack up and head down to Boulder. We have decided that we want to come back to Breckenridge next summer, but that time we want to do a full week up here.

I was interested in what was going on a year ago, so I looked at some posts I did in the blog one year back. Last year today, Emily had a 100 degree fever and was too sick to be admitted for high dose methotrexate treatments, and then on August 4th was hospitalized for treatment. It's a point I keep making in the blog, but I am blown away by the stuff we are doing this these days when last year we were just struggling to get through each day. I think it was harder to go through than I could ever have really explained in the blog. I also wanted to keep the blog positive so I could stay positive back in those days. Today just seeing the smiles on Emily and Haley's faces during the horseback ride was enough to keep me going for a while.