Wow, we had such a fun memorial weekend! This was Luke's first break since starting his new job in January and we wanted to take advantage of the long weekend this year, so we went up to the mountains for a few days. Not as good as going to the beach, but we really did have a great time.
On Friday afternoon we drove the hour and a half to Silverthorne, CO. Once we got checked into our hotel we hit up the outlets there and we were all able to get a little something and all for great deals!
After shopping and dinner at Qdoba, we went to the hotel pool. As usual we were the only ones swimming, so we just swam in the hot pool instead since it was pleasantly warm.
That night at the hotel was a little rough with Blake- Luke and I took turns rocking him all night, but that was the worst part of the trip. I have no idea how Jacob slept through all of Blake's fussing, but thank goodness he did. Saturday morning we packed up and then drove along the Dillon reservoir on our way out of town and it was just breathtaking.
My pictures didn't even do it justice, it really was beautiful set in the middle of the mountains with the morning haze and strong breeze.
Then we drove to Beaver Creek and let the kids get out and go to the park and then walked around the little lake. All the parks were so nice out there!
Our main reason for heading up this weekend was so we could go to the Blues, Brews, and BBQ Festival up in Beaver Creek. After driving around awhile trying to find it, we realized we had to park at the entrance of the Beaver Creek resort and take a bus in. Jacob was excited to ride the bus and the whole resort is huge and really nice.
The bus dropped us off at the plaza and mixed in with the nice shops were all the barbeque stands from different places around Colorado, and a live band playing in the middle. We were starving by then so I grabbed a simple hot dog with chips for Jacob, and Luke and I had pulled pork sandwiches and Luke also tried out a couple ribs later.
We walked around a bit, and Jacob kept wanting to look at this bear and hold its hands.
They also had a kid section where the kids could do games and crafts. Jacob stuck with this bean bag game and had a good time. I thought it was a fun little festival- not exactly what Luke had in mind when he thought of a barbeque festival (he was hoping for a little more competition to be going on and in a more casual setting) but it was still fun to try out.
Afterwards, we headed to Vail and got checked in at our hotel- I mean, resort! It was so nice, I felt so lucky! And no, we're not crazy rich- we got the hotel off a livingsocial deal for over half off, it was a great deal! My pictures didn't even do it justice, the place was really big and in such a beautiful setting.
While it was still sunny we decided to hit the pool right away. Both the boys had a great time swimming and not only was the water heated, but the pool was also set right along river so you had an amazing view too, it was really neat!
After swimming, we rested up at the room and Blake took a much needed nap. While waiting for him to wake him, Jacob and I checked out the rest of the hotel and walked around.
We checked out the fire pits outside, and walked along the river, and Jacob had fun throwing rocks in and watching a guy go fishing. It was such a beautiful day.
For dinner that night we finally decided to try out a pizza place and Luke and I ate the whole pan ourselves while Jacob ate a burger from McDonald's. That night we stayed up and watched
Beauty and the Beast on TV and Blake did much better sleeping this night, thank goodness.
The next morning we found the local church and went for the first hour, then came back to check out of the hotel. I wished we had more time to stay and enjoy the nice gym and spa but maybe someday we'll get another deal and come back! There was another really nice park down the street so we let the boys play before our drive home.
On Memorial Day, we mostly enjoyed the day at home. The boys played a little golf in the backyard and Luke smoked us some ribs.
For dinner we had the ribs, watermelon, corn on the cob, rolls, salad, and chips and guacamole.
And for dessert we made a strawberry rhubarb pie! And with a flag imprinted on top you can't get any more American than that ;)
And these cute boys still fit in their flag shirts from last year and it's fun to find an excuse to dress them the same :)
Definetely a weekend to remember! I had such a great time getting away for a few days and had so much fun hanging out with my boys!
And since Blake's birthday is also the first day of summer I figured what better way to celebrate than to have a backyard pool party with a few friends! I only had 4 friends/10 kids come over, but it was a lot of fun! And the weather was warm but not extremely hot so it was a great day for us all to be outside.
I had three kiddie pools set out with tons of water toys that kept the kids entertained pretty much the entire time. I missed getting a picture when they had about 5 of them in the big pool, but they all loved playing in the water. After awhile they also ran through the sprinkler too.
Blake slept through the first half of his party since he really needed to nap, but that actually worked out good for me since he was a little clingy during the party. We had lots of yummy snacks for everyone too.
Then to go along with the little pool theme, I had all the kids go fishing for their goodie bags, which all the kids seemed to get pretty excited about.
Here's Jacob getting his goodie bag. Poor kid saw me getting all the toys and candy beforehand and he had to be so patient to wait until the party to be able to get his treats and play with all the toys, and he did great! He was so excited for this party and he had such a fun time.
Then came time for cupcakes. Jacob and Blake both eyed it while we sang to Blake and then he dug right in and ate the entire thing!
Our friends also brought Blake some great gifts! He has already loved playing with all his new toys, so thank you again to those friends!
Then the kids had to swim one more time! By the end, Jacob and his best bud Levi were having pool wars and splashing water back and forth, haha. Blake finally got in the pool at the end too.
We had such a fun party! I was glad everything went well and that we all had a good time! After we spent an hour or so cleaning up and just having leftovers for dinner, we had the family party. We only had a couple presents since he really has all that he needs, and let's face it, he won't know the difference! But we did get him a couple new shirts, some puzzles, sunglasses and Jacob picked out a cute little Elmo piano from a yardsale that he was very excited to give to Blake! And Blake loves it! 
And we spoiled him by letting him eat a second cupcake before bed. You could tell he had a lot of sugar because he was really hyper that night!
And like most nights, before they go to bed, these boys love to play together in Jacob's room. Too cute. 
It was a really fun birthday and though he'll never remember it I still think it was a fun way to celebrate the day! If you missed my previous post below- check out the slideshow I made of Blake's first year and a little more about what he's doing now. Happy birthday Blake!
