Peterson Family Summer 2010

We were able to get together with my entire family in Colorado this summer. It was a blast!!! Being with cousins for four days straight was heaven for Jake and Sydney. Colorado is BEAUTIFUL!!!

We started out the first day getting family pictures out of the way. Here's a peek at my family.

entire Peterson family

all the grandkids with grandma and grandpa

My brother Travis' family

My brother Garrick's family

My brother Butch's family

Us!!

We then went for a hike near my brother's house in Monument, CO. We climbed some big rocks. It was a steep climb to the top where we ended at a beautiful little lake. The kids found little gold rocks in a little runoff at one point. Of course Mike had them all thinking we were panning for gold and everyone started collecting. Obviously it wasn't gold:) Sydney loved finding wild raspberries along the way to eat. We had lots of good laughs attempting to climb steep rocks.

The next day we went into the mountains of Evergreen, Colorado where we rented a house on 40 acres. The kids were able to run free playing night games, having water balloon fights, and exploring. The added bonus was there were tennis courts, shuffle board, and more outside. Inside there was an indoor pool. There was plenty to do to keep things fun.

playing at the house

shuffle board tournaments

The cousins kept busy collecting wild flowers in the mountains.

We took a day and went to Golden, CO tubing down the river there.

After we were done on the tubes, some of the kids wanted to try swimming down the rapids. Other than some knees hitting rocks, they did great. Sydney loved it. Here is some video of her going down the rapids.

We took a drive up Mount Evans one day. Wow! What a steep climb on a narrow road!! The temperature that day was probably in the 80s. By the time we drove the steep climb to the top it was in the upper 40s or lower 50s. Yes - even still snow up there. By the time we reached the top, the elevation was 14,130 feet. It was even hard to breath up there. Wow! What a beautiful view from the top, though. It was a really neat experience. It is the highest paved road in North America.

a view of some wildlife

Views from the top. Cold!!

After Colorado, we we drove with my parents and sister up to Idaho so we could go see more family. We spent a day at Grandma and Grandpa Peterson's house.

Grandpa took Jake and Sydney for a ride in his old pickup truck "Freddy". He took them to an open field and let them drive all by themselves. Doesn't get much better than that!!

Visiting the cemetery to learn about their great Grandma and Grandpa Peterson.