Mountain Weekend

Last weekend we got out of the city for fresh mountain air and beautiful views. The weekend in Fraser/Winter Park was just what we needed. It was far enough away to be separate from home but close enough that it was so easy to get to. We loved spending time just the four of us and making some great memories.

 We hiked the Discovery Trail across from Winter Park Resort--definitely recommend! It was the perfect length for Rhett and absolutely beautiful. Tessa loved the birds and flowers. We took a small arm off the main trail and ended up at a stunning secluded pond. We had to take a picture to remember being in such a beautiful spot together!

 We ate lunch and explored Cooper Creek Square. There was a bounce house and giant connect four, so Rhett was happy. Also, Tessa's face in this picture kills me! She's just the right size for the bottom hole.

 Reading books on the porch of our Airbnb. It was a hike to the top, but we had amazing views of the entire valley.

 High Country Stampede Rodeo! It was lots of fun--Tessa loved the horses, and we all loved the trick riders and the barrel racers.

 We found a park with an awesome playground that told the history of the area.

Andre and Rhett rode the alpine slide. Rhett was scared but he ended up loving it. Next time he gets to go by himself--he can't wait!

south dakota!

Our Spring Break trip this year was the stuff that makes my history-loving heart happy. When I learned Mount Rushmore is only six hours from Denver (it just feels so much further away), I knew we had to get on that. Well, the trip finally happened! We went for a long weekend, and while not everything was open for busy summer season and the kids got a little tired of the car, we had a ton of fun and enjoyed seeing the sights without all the crowds.

Mount Rushmore! All my elementary school dreams came true. I actually got chills when we came around a turn in the road and saw the side of Abe Lincoln's face in the distance. Rhett was talking about seeing the "faces on the mountain" for weeks before our trip. We ate ice cream from Thomas Jefferson's original recipe and Rhett got his first Junior Ranger badge, so everybody won!

 Reptile Gardens was a big surprise. It had great reviews but we were still a little skeptical. It ended up being awesome. There were tons of lizards, snakes, birds, alligators, and bugs, plus giant tortises, prairie dogs, and a bald eagle.

 Psalm Sunday in Rapid City. Tessa killed me in her Easter dress.

We visited Custer State Park and drove the Wildlife Loop, where we saw tons of deer and an entire herd of buffalo just chilling next to the road. The picture above isn't zoomed in! 

We drove the Needles Highway through amazing rock formations and tight tunnels and ended at Sylvan Lake. The entire thing was frozen, and the hike around it was amazing! We ended up on the ice, where Rhett was in awe that we were actually standing on the lake. 

Rhett's second favorite part of the trip was Dinosaur Park, which is just a park on the hill with huge dinosaur sculptures. The simplest things are the biggest hits with kids. 

Another favorite part of the trip was hotel breakfast. Rhett made a nest in his bed of pillows every night.

I couldn't find an Airbnb that I liked, so we ended up scoring a great deal at an extended stay hotel with two bedrooms and a living area and kitchenette. It was awesome--all the perks of a hotel with the comfort of an apartment.

All in all, it was a great trip! Thanks for the memories, presidential faces!

thanksgiving 2017

The kids and I trekked across the country for Thanksgiving this year, and it was totally worth the hour Tessa spent screaming on the flight out. We had every member of the Treasure clan except Andre and my parents. Craziness, but so fun. Rhett was in heaven with all the cousins to play with, Tessa loved seeing so many new faces, and I just loved the family time. I only wish Andre could have come with us (darn work) and we could have stayed longer!

My phone died the night before we came back (which made for a stressful morning at 4am with a dead phone and a cranky baby), so I lost most of my pictures and was only able to salvage a few. So here are the limited highlights:

 Chess club! Rhett loved visiting his cousins at the elementary school and was amazed that their school has a library inside of it. Chess club was a hoot, especially watching Rachel "teach" it to Rhett--apparently they tied.

 Capitol cousins! We trekked downtown and braved parallel parking to visit the Air and Space Museum. Rhett was scared of the big planes, but then he held hands and loved it. His favorite thing was the "Death Star"--that's what you get when you hang out with older, Star Wars-loving cousins.

 A trip to Good Stuff for a toasted marshmallow shake, obviously. Still the best after all these years.

Tessa's first Turkey Trot! Rhett and I ended up taking a leisurely walk for the kids' fun run, but he was the fastest four year old, so it was still a hit.

Thanksgiving kids table. So much fun to have all the cousins together!

We have so much to be thankful for this year, and this trip was just the icing on the cake!

missouri road trip

Finally getting around to blogging about our trip to Missouri a few weeks ago.

We had been planning this trip for a year, ever since Rhett and I got to visit my parents on their mission last Thanksgiving and Andre didn't get to come. We were a little nervous about the 9-hour drive, but the kids did awesome and it really wasn't bad. (Now we're brainstorming all the other road trips we can take).

We had the best time visiting missionary Nana and Poppy. We weren't even 30 minutes down the road on our way back when Rhett said "I miss Nana and Poppy when I'm not at their house", and he's talked about this trip about every day since we've been home. Definitely a win!

 Union Station! Rhett still talks about this place from the last time we went. The Halloween trains were extra fun and festive. 

 Fritz's, of course. Nothing like juicy hamburgers delivered by train!

 We visited the College Basketball Experience, which is one of the few things in town my parents hadn't done. Definitely recommend! We were basically the only people there and had free reign of the place--Rhett loved the giant basketball in the kids area. 

 Poppy and Rhett as ESPN announcers

 Our favorite game--hit the targets as the light up and the clock counts down. The best was when Rhett, Andre, and I teamed up and did it together. 

 Tessa Kaiser, card shark (note the Uno cards in the bumbo)

 A very windy visit to Adam-ondi-Ahman. Beautiful and so peaceful.

 The country store in Far West with Brother Joseph

 Far West Temple site

 We had to pick up a few groceries and Rhett insisted on helping, so here he is, lugging the basket all by himself. 

 A few visits to the Independence visitors center, of course. Sharon and Toby are the VIPs of that place.

 Just the cutest senior missionaries at Liberty Jail.

A park with giant animals to play on and cute kids? Great day!

And somehow I didn't get any pictures of the amazing BBQ we ate, but trust us that it was a highlight. Thanks for a great trip, Missionary Mom and Dad! 

Moab!

We had a Kaiser family trip to Moab on the calendar long before we even started looking for a house, so we moved in, dumped our boxes, and then headed out of town. We had a great weekend with lots of family time and nature time and Rhett turned into a mini rock climber. 

Rhett was obsessed with baby Maura and thought everything she did was hilarious. He loved to read her books and teach her about trains. 

 Turns out Moab and all its adventurous activities isn't the best place for an 8-month pregnant lady, but we still had fun. The moms and babies went to the dinosaur park one morning and walked on the trail with 100+ dinosaur models. Rhett was in heaven.

The non-pregnant crowd went on a harder hike that Andre said we pretty awesome.

Rhett wanted to climb allll the rocks, so we decided to capitalize on the burst of bravery and let him. A few of the climbs made me a little nervous, but he did awesome and was so proud of himself. 

Other highlights were finding the perfect shade of greige to paint our house (inspiration comes from strange places!), Andre winning at the hockey video game of his childhood, consuming more jelly beans than should be allowed, Rhett getting a free dinosaur bone from the rock store, and lots of fun time relaxing with family.