Colorado (part 5)

or The Finale!

We loved our time in Colorado.  We loved being around family we don't get to see often enough and we loved seeing places we've never seen before. 

We said good-bye to Colorado in grand style though, with a parade. 

No, the parade wasn't for us, it was for Eaton Days. Eaton is a small town near my sister's house.

 They had old cars,

and even older cars. 

 And like every good parade, they had horses, 

firetrucks, 

a pageant queen, 

and a super-sized tooth!  

Yeah, what else can I say, it's an enormous tooth walking down the street.  There were at least two dentists and one orthodontist in the parade.  They were the ones driving the nice, new and very expensive looking cars.  It's probably some poor dental assistant in the long pants, long shirt and costume, pretending to be happy about walking in public this way.

 The kids got to say hi to Smokey the Bear.  Good to know he's still around.  He doesn't look like he's aged a bit since I was a kid. 

 Earlier in the week we went to the Poudre Public Library in Fort Collins. 

 

 It had a great kid area, which Taylor loved.  I had to drag them away because we needed to start our drive to Cheyenne.

We also went to the Windsor Public Library.  So we were able to go to four different libraries in two different states during our trip.  

Logan loved the Windsor library because it had Star Wars Legos on display.  (If he looks red and sweaty, it's because he is.  We just came in from playing at a park). 

Before we knew it though, we were on our way back to the Denver airport.  On the way, we passed fields bigger than I've ever seen before, dotted with gigantic rolls of yellow hay.   It was beautiful.  

In Oregon our fields aren't quite so endless looking.  They are usually stopped by hills or rivers or trees.  This was like standing on the seashore and looking out on an endless sea, except that this was a hay field instead.  

The Denver Airport from a distance.

As we approached the airport the kids became excited for the flight and super excited to see their dad again.  We couldn't wait to be back with him again.  It was a happy reunion in the Portland airport.  The kids grabbed onto James' legs and hugged with all their might.  I had to fight my way through, just to reach over and squeeze his shoulder.  Lovely.  

We remember fondly our time in Colorado though.  The kids have been writing about it in their journals and I've been blogging about it.  It won't soon be forgotten!

Thank you Elizabeth for letting us invade your home.  We had a wonderful time.  Can't wait to see you all again.