We loaded up both our car, and my parents as we would be heading up to Estes Park for the weekend to celebrate my parent's 50th anniversary with the rest of the family. I drove my dad, and Pam had my mom and the girls in her car. My dad quickly instructed me that there would be no talking as we drove to Loveland to stop for lunch. He decided to pray the rosary on the way. I asked him to throw in a few for me, and off we were to observe total silence as we passed through Denver and headed further north.
We finally reached Loveland and ate lunch at a place called Runza's. It's a place my parents and sister, Katie's family like to eat at. If you never had a runza it is basically ground beef wraped in a roll and cooked. To me, they are an acquired taste that my taste buds have yet to acquire... so Pam and I opted for a chicken salad. The salad was about what you would expect for a fast food joint. On a scale of one-to-five forks. I gave it a 2.3 for lack of taste. If I was a runza lover, they may have earned extra fork. My brother Jeff and sister in-law along with their crew met us for lunch. Needless to say, we were all excited to see each other.
I got a personal invitation to eat with my nephew Teag. He is five years old and will start first grade in the fall. He picked out our very own table and told me many tales of his adventures in kindergarten. With the meal coming to a close, Teag declared me his best friend. So, I now have that going for me!
AK and Little D did a sprint to give Aunt Susan and Uncle Jeffy a hug. AK was excited that Uncle Jeffy was wearing the shirt she brought him last year. Both AK and Uncle Jeffy have a tendency to over do the ketchup thing!
With our bellies full we all loaded up and headed for the last leg to Estes. The ride was beautiful and my dad was much more talkative since he finished the rosary. He told me several stories of when he was a kid and what his parents were like. We enjoyed the ride and the stories and soon found ourselves pulling into Estes with the rest of the family.
We arrived at the kids park and had a great time going down the giant slide and the bumper boats. All the kids were in hog heaven as they had race-after-race to see who would win. The overall winners time and time again were both Little D and cousin Garrett. The kids also loved the bumper boats and soaking each other. Pam and AK probably lost out on the big water fight as they were drenched after getting off their trusty vessel!
We soon headed to the hotel and check in so the kids could go get in the pool and enjoy some time together. Uncle Jeffy, Pam, Susan and myself took it as an opportunity to sit at the pool to drink a refreshing ice cold beverage!
After the pool we showered up and headed to dinner. Uncle Tom had made reservations and we all headed to Mama Rosa's for dinner. I was able to sit next to my nephew Garrett. He has just finished the fire academy and has landed a position as a volunteer fireman. Garrett just had his first day of work, and he told me all about it. I'm really proud of Garrett, he has worked hard to achieve his goal and reach his dream at such a young age!
Before the food came my dad was really hurting from his kidney stone. He didn't last much longer and I had to take him back to the hotel. He was able to get some pain medicine and relax after awhile. Hopefully his pain won't come back and he can enjoy his trip!
Everyone was exhausted from the travel and the fun. We soon found ourselves back in our own rooms and snoozing for the next day of adventure!
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