mile high vaca

An altitude of 9, 600 ft. brought less oxygen and more Barretts last week as we vacationed in Breckenridge, Colorado. It was our first Barrett family vacay together and we were pumped! All the best Barretts would be there: Grandma, Papa, Aunt Roxi, Uncle Randy, Robby, LaVon, Tye, and ourselves, of course. It would be the first time I vacationed with my new fam as well as their first time to experience the joys and excitement of having their very own daughter-in-law on a family trip. I was so excited for them.

We stayed in a family friend's cabin. Now when I say "cabin", I don't mean your usual little cabin in the woods. The only thing this house and a traditional cabin have in common are that they are made of wood, have a front door and are surrounded by pine trees. This thing was amazing! It was one of two houses: a big house and a little house. Now the "little" house slept 22 people, so that just shows you how BIG the big house really is! It was beautiful. Pictures, let alone words don't do it justice. The family was so gracious in opening their doors to us. We are still so thankful. Although the house was big enough to explore for a week on its own, we did venture out. 5 days in Colorado and here is what we did:

ATV Rides: Our first full day we went on an ATV (or 4 wheeler) ride!  The whole group, including Grandma and Papa, rode 25 miles on a dirt trail through the mountains. We geared up with helmets, goggles and bandanas per Stan the Man's advice. Stan was our awesome, all-knowing guide. He took care of us and gave us useful Colorado commentary throughout the trip. Plus, he had a pony-tail which made him extra "mountainy." After a great lunch in the valley overlooking a lake, we rode above the timberline and  ate more dirt than a Kindergarden class at recess. It was so dirty, but so much fun! We rode to the top of a mountain, where the temperature dropped and patches of snow remained, for a breath-taking view of the Rockies. It was beautiful! By the end of the ride we  had 1 overheated ATV, 2 loads of dirty laundry and 18 brown lungs, but it was well worth it! We were ready to go another 25 more miles if Stan would've let us!

Mountain Towns: We explored lots of little towns by walking around and shopping in Breckenridge, Frisco, Vail and Keystone. I am quickly learning the Barretts are fast shoppers and great gift-givers! I am proud to say I am adjusting just fine after getting a few little "treats." Treats are what Robby and LaVon call the little gifts or souvenirs they buy for us along the way. One afternoon we hit up a craft fair in Breckenridge while Tate and Randy played golf. Everyone was happy, well except Papa...he got drug to the craft fair, but could be found in his usual spot...sitting on a bench holding our shopping bags.

Rafting: My favorite part of the trip! We went white water rafting on the Colorado River. It was scary awesome! We did a 3peat, which means we rode the same set of class 3-4 rapids three times to ensure we spent our time riding hardcore stuff instead of merely floating down the river. We would raft over the set of 3 rapids, get out, haul our raft back to the beginning and do it all over again. Our group consisted of Tye, Uncle Randy, Tate, Robby and myself. You could have up to 10 people, but rafting didn't sound enticing to everyone. Including poor Robby. I pretty much talked him into going on this trip even though he clearly didn't want to. Out of the five groups rafting, only 2 people fell out. Any guesses? Yep. Robby and me. This is a good time to mention the water was about 45 degrees. When you fell in, you automatically lost your breath, like you got the wind knocked out of you. I was mentally ok, I knew I would be alright, but physically I could hear myself panting for air. Now this is also a good time to mention we had a guide, God bless Joe. He was the biggest of all the guides (which we were thankful for).

After the first run he asked, "Do you want me to up the intensity?" Tye, Randy and I joined together in a "Yea!" Tate was silent. Robby said, "Now wait a minute!" After a group vote, Joe upped the intensity. On our second run we went over a hole. Basically, it means the water is moving downstream and back upstream in one location. It can flip your raft if you aren't careful. We hit the edge of the hole and Robby and I were instantly in the water. It seemed like the raft folded in half, others disagree, but they didn't fall out, so they don't have a say. As soon as I went into the water Joe had me by my straps of the PFD pulling me on top of him and into the raft. I could hear him yelling to roe forward as I laid frozen trying to catch my breath. Poor Robby...the nicest man in the world...that I pressured into coming on this trip...against his will...was floating over the rapids in shock. As we finally got to him Joe, our hero, pulled him into the raft. We finished the run with 6 and did the last run with 5. Robby decided to sit that one out. It was one of the most exciting things I've done and I will definitely be doing it again! However, next time I won't talk my father-in-law into it. Thanks Robby, for being a team player!

Games: Tate jokes that my friends and people from Allen in general have an obsession with playing games. We either are playing a game, making up a game or turning a something into a game. I guess my Nicholson/Allen vibes rubbed off on the Barrett clan last week, because we played lots of games! Pool, Foozeball, Books and Runs and our new favorite: Catchphrase. Tate and I taught the fam how to play this one. Although they couldn't quite remember the name, often referred to it as Outbreak or Guestures, they caught on really quickly and everyone had a blast! Every round ended in laughs. Grandma cracked up when the buzzer went off on someone else and Papa accompanied every one word clue with a random hand motion. More Outbreak is to be had by the Barretts in the future.

Everything about the trip was so enjoyable. The excursions, the shopping, the golfing, the food, the games and most of all the time hanging out as a family. It was great to slow down and spend time together during our first summer as the Barretts. Can't wait to do it again!