Copper Mountain

Catch up time!

Date: End of June

Caution: LOTS of pictures.

During the summer we did a stay-cation and stayed in Colorado and visited Copper Mountain.  Grandma and Grandpa D and Aunt Sara were able to come out with us too.  

We brought Costco's All American Fudge Cake with us in the car, but unfortunately it did not far out too well. It was a little lopsided and melty, but it still tasted great!

The kids all had fun doing the summer activities.  The adults had fun participating too. Last year when we came to Copper Mountain, I was pregnant with Matthew and couldn't participate in many of the activities. So this year I was excited to participate in the activities too.

Tyler and Rachel loved the trampoline bungie jumping.  Tyler was able to do double back flips.  I tried a back flip and it is a lot harder than it looks! I couldn't do the flips.  You really are fighting the harness and it's center of gravity.

We also enjoyed the zip line.

 Go carts were a huge hit!  It was nice because since Rachel couldn't drive her own cart, so her driver got to go with her for free.  Tyler was just tall enough to drive himself.  He had lots of fun driving and was a good little driver. There were a couple races where he led the pack.

We also tried the rock climbing wall.  Rachel got about 6 feet off the ground before she got scared.  Tyler made rock climbing look super easy.  He climbed the wall to the top in no time at all. Sara, Jeff and I tried it too and all made it to the top.

The kids enjoyed the sand bar by the lake. Tyler built a sand bridge to a nearby rock.

Grandpa, Sara, Tyler and Rachel on the rock.

The most memorable day was the day we rented went to Frisco Bay and rented the pontoon boat. We scheduled it early enough hoping we wouldn't encounter any afternoon thunderstorms.  It was a little cloudy that day, but were hopping the weather would hold off.  

Jeff was our trusty captain of the ship. He let Tyler steer for a little while.

I think Grandma and Grandpa Dunbabin were a little worried.

It was funny because Tyler was a little nervous being on the boat, but soon got into it.  He was the lookout scout trying to make sure we were safe and would update us on the weather. His bag of Cheetos kept him going.

We packed a picnic lunch to enjoy on the boat.  Jeff found a spot on the bay that was pretty calm and we were able to eat without too many issues. Rachel got cold in the wind so we wrapped her up in trash bags.

 Soon the wind picked up even more and it started raining.  Jeff did his best trying to find a calm area without much wind and away from the pockets of rain.  Sara and Mom provided the music (singing to songs on Sara's phone).

The boys did a good job trying to keep us safe and dry despite the ever-changing weather. You can see some of the clouds in the above picture.

After we returned our boat we stayed in Frisco and spend the afternoon.  We bought a carton of icecream, some fudge, and took some plastic spoons and dug in.

We explored some restored historical buildings in the center of Frisco. 

We had fun dressing up in some of the old time clothes they provided.

We took a couple hikes in the mountains. The first one was when Grandpa, Jeff, Sara, Tyler, and Rachel wanted to explore the mountain by our Condo.  They left the comfort of the condo and huffed and puffed up the mountain in the high altitude.  On their hike they found snow and ski ramps!  They also found some yellow matts and used them as makeshift sleds....brave souls daring to sled in avalanche country. They loved sledding down the mountain!  Grandpa truly enjoyed hiking! It is one of his favorite things to do and especially enjoyed making memories of hiking with his grandkids.

Our second hike we took was a mountain path that started out wide and easy, but soon we encountered occasional snow on the path. Soon the snow became more frequent and harder to dodge. Our shoes were getting wet and soggy from the snow and things were a little slippery. Sara went back with Grandma to the car and wait.  The kids wanted to keep going, so we continued on. The snow was soon covering most of the path. After a while Rachel got tired of walking in all the snow, so I headed back to the car with Rachel.  Unfortunately, she did not want to walk anymore, so I carried her most of the way back.  The boys continued on the snowy path (I didn't expect so much snow at the end of June).  The path brought them to a clearing with a great mountain view and old log cabins. They explored and brought us back pictures.

Our Copper Mountain Vacation was a large amount of fun for all of us little people.