Mini Vaca

Since Mike's deployment this last time, I determined that I needed a mini vacation when he came back.  While he was working before and after his deployment, he was a bachelor for a few weeks each time and was able to just enjoy a little quiet time.  A year after he came home, I finally got my quiet time and I have determined that I have to make this something we do every few years.  I was lucky enough to go on vacation with my Mom and sister.  While it wasn't far from home, we were able to enjoy each other and bond. 

So, we went to Colorado Springs, BUT before we couldn't even leave my car battery died.  Yup, I was all packed and got in to head over to get Mom and Randi and.....nothing.  Luckily, my Dad was home, (Mike was at school) and he came over and we got a new battery.  LOVE MY DAD!!! Finally an hour and a half after we had originally planned on leaving we were headed out, but now everyone needed to eat.  It took us awhile to get there, but it was worth the wait.

Our first evening there, we went to the Flying W Ranch for dinner.  We had a blast!! LOVED the food and enjoyed the music.  We had fun shopping and looking around.  We found some cute shirts for the kiddos. That night we were able to just relax.

The next day was a LONG day.  While we had made reservations, our horseback riding that was scheduled for the morning did not happen because they could not find our reservation, so we had to rebook for that afternoon.  We ended up heading in Manitou Springs and roaming the stores for the morning and into the afternoon.  The only downfall to this was that Randi and I were in jeans the WHOLE time and it was freakin hot!!! I will NEVER forget our horseback riding experience.  My horse was named Cancho. Our ride was through the Garden of the Gods. Beautiful area.  There are alot of rocks here and we were lucky enough to walk through here.  There were alot of stairs for the horses to take. Now, while the other horses took the stairs, dear Cancho decided to take leaps of faith.  Four steps, turned into one giant step.  I was lucky to stay in my saddle.  My butt bones hurt.  Overall, we had a GREAT time and we look forward to doing it again.  That night, swimming pool!!!

The last day we took the train at The Royal Gorge, we were able to sit and relax and talk.  We had a great time and enjoyed some awesome pot roast nachos. The scenery was beautiful. 

On the way home, we stopped at the Castle Rock Outlets, let me tell you this place was AMAZING!! This was the first time we had been there and we will definitely go back!!!

I just want to say we had amazing time.  This is really what we needed.  Lots of laughter, talking and jokes.  And just in case they read this....Gggggrrrrrrr!