Colorado Springs Staycation

The day after Wyatts preschool celebration we got up ate breakfast and then headed out to Colorado Springs for a staycation. We wanted to do something fun together as a family before Brandon and Wyatt got their tonsils out. So we thought it would be fun to go to Colorado Springs and hit the zoo and go hiking at Garden of the Gods. So that is exactly what we did. We got to the zoo around 10 or so and went straight to the giraffes to feed them.

At the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs the Giraffes area is super cool because they come right up to you. It is pretty crazy how close they are and how big they are. 

Emmett wasn't so sure about them at first. 

Then Daddy brought the lettuce over that he bought so we could feed them. 

Ethan and Wyatt tried once to feed them. After that they didn't care to do it anymore haha

Ya Emmett was pretty sure how he felt about them once they were up close and eating lettuce out of Daddy's hands. He did not like it one bit. haha

Poor little buddy was traumatized! haha 

I kind of figured he would do this. I mean the kid is scared of flies! haha 

After getting rid of all the lettuce Brandon bought we headed off to see some different animals. Oh and just to emphasize how terrified Emmett was about the giraffes. We went to the area where they keep the baby giraffes and there was a statue of a giraffe inside and when Emmett saw it he started crying! haha 

 

Pretty cool seeing the lion up close. Sadly they were not being active but, at least they were close. 

Emmett was finally happy again seeing other animals that were not within touching distance. haha 

Ethan and Wyatt wanted to feed the rhino this time. So that is exactly what they did.

Pretty cool that they can feed the rhinos and elephants too. This time we just fed the giraffes and the rhino. I think Ethan and Wyatt thought it was pretty cool. I stayed with Emmett while Daddy went with them to feed the rhino.

Emmett really liked this fake baby elephant. haha He would say, "aww.. cute!"

Then Ethan used it as a jungle gym.

Lunch Break!

After taking a break and eating our lunch we headed out to see some more animals.

It was pretty hot and this zoo is literally on a mountain. So you hike all the way up and then come back down. So by the time we had seen almost everything the kids were super tired and done. We had the gorillas and monkeys left and the kids didn't care to go back up a little to see them. I wanted to get our moneys worth since we payed a lot to go to the zoo and we hadnt been there for all that long so I decided we should go up and see the last monkeys. Ethan and Wyatt really started to complain when I made the final decision. haha They will understand when they are older and have to pay for things like this.

After the zoo we made our way to an ice cream shop for some yummy ice cream to cool us down on the inside. All three of the boys fell asleep on the way to the ice cream shop. Emmett fell asleep in under 5 minutes of being in the car. haha

We let them sleep in the car for just a little bit and then woke them up to get them some ice cream. 

After that we made our way to the hotel to get checked in before going to grab some dinner. 

We were staying at a Best Western that we had gotten gift cards for with our discover credit card. However, when we got there they told Brandon that we could not use the gift cards because supposedly he had paid for the stay already when he booked it. What is frustrating is that he had called that Best Western before booking it to make sure that he could use it and they told him to just bring the gift cards with him when we came. Well the guy lied and then the guy that we talked to wouldn't even cancel the room and book us a new room with our gift cards. So we had to pay for our stay instead of getting it for free like we had planned. Needless to say Brandon was pretty frustrated. It made our trip over 100 bucks more expensive than we had intended. I think he has sworn off Best Westerns from now on. He now only wants to use Marriott! So too bad Best Western you just lost a customer. 

After checking in and searching for somewhere to eat without finding anything that sounded that appealing we decided to go try out a Puerto Rico restaurant. Brandon was excited because they had fried plantains. That was about all that looked appetizing. I was a little skeptical once we walked in. We were the only ones in there at it was 5 on a Friday night. I kind of wanted to just get an appetizer and then go get our main meal somewhere else. Brandon decided to just order us food there. It was way more expensive than we had thought it would be for a Puerto Rica Restaurant. But I guess they have to afford living too.  It was ok food. I was worried we were going to have the runs after we ate it though. haha So maybe it was more authentic than we anticipated! haha

The next morning we got up and had a below average breakfast at the hotel and then headed out to go hiking at "Garden of the Gods". It was pretty hot that morning and we were glad that we got out when we did and didn't start our hiking later in the day when it was really hot. The hike was a pretty easy hike and the rock formations were really pretty. We started off on a smaller trail just to see how the kids would do and then we had to walk our way to the main trail head because we had to park at the sound end parking lot since the north end was full.

We saw a green rattlesnake on our hike and the boys thought that was pretty cool. It must have seen us standing there because it started rattling and moving towards us. So we decided it was best to keep going on our walk.

Ethan was the first one to complain. He was so grumpy and complained that his legs were super tired and nothing was going to change his mind. So for most of the hike he was making faces like the one above.

When we got to the most scenic part of the hike a guy there was nice enough to offer to take our picture for us. The picture turned out super cute!! I have such a cute family!!

Wyatt was loving the hike. Especially when we got to these rocks that he could climb around on.

Ethan got a little more lively by this point too.

Then we made our trek back to the car. Emmett was super tired and didn't want to walk anymore. He kept saying that he couldn't walk because of his owies on his knees. He had tried to get a drink of Ethan's gaterade and instead of sharing Ethan kept trying to keep it away from Emmett and then tripped him (on purpose mind you). It scratched up his knees and from that point on Emmett was incapable of walking. haha I laugh now but it was not very funny when it happened it was very tiring carrying him. He didn't like it when I carried him on my shoulders because my loose hairs would hit his knees and I guess it hurt him. So for a lot of the time I held him in my arms like he was sitting in a chair. That was hard because not only did it make my arms really tired but I was super sweaty and my hands kept slipping apart and I had to keep re gripping them together.

Brandon, Ethan and Wyatt were pretty far ahead the last stretch before making it to the car.

I wanted to get a picture of us in front of this sign but by the time we were leaving it was a lot busier and we were going the wrong way. So it didn't happen. At least I have a picture of the sign. haha 

Before we got back on the highway to head home we stopped for some lunch. The boys wanted McDonalds like always and Brandon and I got some brisket from a BBQ place called Rudy's. It was yummy brisket but their barbecue sauce was nothing like Nordy's sauces. Their potato salad was yummy though. Brandon also got some corn on the cobb because it looked yummy. Sadly, it was not poppy at all which Brandon can't stand and I have grown to not like any corn on the cobb if it is mushy. Emmett didn't care though and was super excited when we pulled out the corn. So we gave him both and he ate them up. So we chowed down on our food and then made the 2 1/2 hour drive back home. We thought for sure the boys would have slept the whole way back home but we were wrong. They stayed up the whole time and then were super grumpy that evening. We were glad to have them in bed that night. haha After all is said and done it was a successful trip. Lots of walking around and the kids were pretty tired from all of it but I think we all had fun.