Breckenridge Trip

In early June we went on a Jorgensen family trip to Breckenridge, CO. We had such a wonderful time. The weather was lovely (if a touch too cool at nights), and we went just before the fires started, so we didn’t have any problem there. Kerry rented a lovely, large home for all of us to stay in. Our family has grown quite a bit this past year. We had three babies arrive since our last family trip, bringing us from 13 to 16 family members, so we certainly needed something spacious. We arrived on Sunday, and then on Monday we visited the Country Boy Mine.   Bridget was NOT a fan of the helmet. Or the mine tour, for that matter. Kerry was kind enough to take Bridget out so that Aaron and I could enjoy the mine. Panning for gold. If you thought this activity was for children, you would be wrong. The adults were at it far longer than any of the kids. The kids loved this donkey that was wandering around. He consumed all of the snacks that were meant for the babies. That evening we had a joint birthday party for the kids, as has become the tradition on these vacations.   This girl is the girliest girl. She is so in love with makeup and jewelry. Nail polish is her particular favorite.   On Tuesday we went hiking. Connie, Abby, and I took the kids on a short, easy, and beautiful hike. The men, Julie, and Megan took the babies on a hike that was far more difficult and much longer. Aaron assures me that it was also gorgeous, but I’m sure glad that I took the easy hike after seeing how tired they were when they came home! A beaver pond that we passed on the way to the lake. Our destination. It was a beautiful lake and a wonderful spot to have a picnic lunch.   Averi made it a goal to collect one of al the different types of wildflowers we passed. She had quite the bouquet when we were done. And check out that tangled hair and dirt moustache! View on the way back looking toward Lake Dillion. This part of the hike was very strange. Apparently some sort of borer beetle had killed thousands of trees in this area. It looked like a scene from a post-apocalyptic movie. Wednesday the girls went shopping in Breckenridge and had some delicious dessert at Clint’s while the menfolk watched the children. Later the boys went to see a movie while the women took over. Thursday we drove into Denver to go to Water World. It was so much fun. I would definitely recommend it to anyone in the area. We had a blast, and there were a lot of slides that Katie and Paul could go on. There was one slide that we went on at the beginning where Katie and I both overestimated her swimming abilities, which resulted in a lifeguard rescue. Fortunately, she didn’t seem scarred at all and just kept on with the business of watersliding.   Averi was so exhausted that she fell asleep while we were at the water park—with a granola bar in her mouth. (Picture swiped from my sister-in-law’s blog.) After we went to the water park we had a chance to visit with our friends, the Gundersons. We had a very nice dinner with them and our kids (who are very close to the same age) were able to play together. Friday we rented bikes and rode around Lake Dillon. This was meant to be a nice, 4-6 mile bike around the lake. Instead, it turned into a grueling, million (okay, 20) mile trek across the Rocky Mountains. I had not ridden a bike in several years, and I also damaged my tailbone when I had Bridget. This coupled with having Katie on a tandem behind me made the ride ridiculously long and hard. I wanted to throttle whoever suggested we ride around the entire lake. Of course, now that I look back on it, it seems like much of it was quite nice (like childbirth—you forget the worst parts), but I was so so so exhausted by the end (also like childbirth). Saturday we walked into town for another visit to Clint’s. Later that evening we threw a surprise Father’s Day party for the dads. It was a super hero themed party, because our dads are our heroes!   I have to say, I’m rather pleased with how it turned out. Doesn’t it look great! The prizes were super hero themed: x-ray vision drops (pistachios), hero vitamin pellets (jelly beans), hero juice (fancy sodas), etc. We ordered pizzas from town and had gourmet cupcakes. Each dad got a superhero costume. Megan grossly overestimated the size of Matt’s head, so he wore his mask like a bra. Kerry “Brainiac” Jorgensen   Aaron a.k.a. “The Bionic Father.” (The kids helped pick out that name.) We played minute-to-win-it games after the kids went to bed. Bouncing ping pong balls into cups. This was the one all the men were fascinated with. You had to roll a marble down a yardstick and balance it in the hole at the end. They spent all evening trying to perfect that one. Catching balls with lint rollers. Megan shooting cups with rubber bands. She made the best faces. Apparently I grew up without any brothers, because everyone was making fun of me for how I shoot rubberbands. Not a skill I honed as a child. Catching ping pong balls with a bucket on your head. Overall we had a fantastic trip. It went very smoothly, with few hiccups. The area was gorgeous, and the company was wonderful! Definitely the highlight of our summer. We love you guys!