Aaron and my family have been big fans of the Denver Broncos for years. I am one of the millions of girl football fans in America that love Peyton Manning. Aaron and I are also big Houston Texans fans. So when the NFL schedule came out for the season with the Texans playing at Mile High Stadium with Peyton leading the Broncos, we couldn't pass up a chance to go to the game.
We also love any excuse to get out to Colorado to see my parents and the mountains.
My sister and her gang made the weekend even better by driving up to see us and let all the cousins play together for a few days.
As an added bonus, we also got to spend an evening with Aaron's parents, Grandma Dolly and Uncle Vic. It was a great evening of our two families sharing lots of laughs. (but I was a slacker and didn't get a single picture of it...)
On top of all that, the weekend was just days before Kate's second birthday, so we got to join in on the party and celebrate with her. (in this pic, Ethan is kind enough to open her presents for her...)
And if all of that wasn't reason enough to escape to Colorado for a few days, the aspen trees were at their peak fall colors and we got to hike out in them...because they really are so much better in person, out of the car, walking beneath the glowing yellows, reds and oranges.
It ended up being a wonderful weekend of family, outdoors and football.
The older kids are getting to such a fun age that they play so well together. (they were pretending to be T Rex's in this picture)
And Kels isn't far behind of getting to join in on the fun.
Anni has such a great imagination and shares her ideas with Kate and Ethan.
E loves playing with her because sticks and leaves become dinosaur armor or herbivore food when she is around.
Kate and E are cute together, loving all the same things because they are so close in age. And what one does...
...the other has to do as well... (they are dirt skiing down the hill in these pics)
A few more pictures of our time with Aunt Cari's crew:
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Sunday was the big football day for us. We warmed up for the game with some tailgating,
including tasty foods,
and running games, to get some two year old energy out.
Ethan got his chance to play against the big boys,
and then we headed in to watch the big game!
We had a blast getting to see our favorite teams play live and be a part of the excitement in the stadium.
The kids did fantastic being entertained in their seats for the entire game.
Ethan was so entranced by all the sideline entertainment, it took him a full quarter just to soak in what was going on.
And baby Kels was the true champ of the day, being able to sit in my lap the whole time, even taking a nap during the game (the earplugs we gave her helped a bit).
We all had a great time that day...and best of all - the Texans won!! :)
