Evergreen, CO 2011

The day after Kaylynn's birthday, we borrowed my mom's car and hit the road. We were driving to Colorado to meet our friends Kyle, Jessi, and their son Carter in Evergreen, CO. Kyle's dad has a place there, so it seemed the perfect "in-between" spot. We drove from Frankston to Amarillo on Day 1, then Day 2, we were on the road at 6am to make it there by lunch. The kids were rockstars in the car!

Some things to note:
1. On the first day, upon arriving in Amarillo, the kids were so wired from being in the car that they were crawling around like crazy in the hotel room. Kaylynn would chase Ben, then they would stop and she would scream, "Hello, friend!" and then TACKLE him. Ben just laughed and laughed, rolled over, and then crawling chase continued. This went on for like 45 minutes. Insane!
2. Speed limit on interstates in CO is 75mph!
3. When we left to head home, we pulled out of the driveway at 5:57am, Mountain Time. We arrived back home in Frankston around 11pm that night. Had it not been for the 2hr traffic jam in OKC, we would have made it by 9. I think going the Kansas/OK way is the better choice. Just sayin'.

Now get ready for 20+ pictures. :)

Welcome to New Mexico! This was Ben's first time to visit another state! I think it was both of their first times to drive across a state line. So being the mother, I decided that we needed to stop the car and bundle the kids up in 20 degree weather (at like 8am) to take this photo. Thank goodness for camera timers (and cars to prop them up on...really need to invest in a tripod.)

In the beginning, it was all going well. Carter wouldn't walk, Ben couldn't, but since Kaylynn was walking, Brian and I could take turns with Ben. Notice how he doesn't hold on.

It was all downhill after this. Kaylynn decided that walking in the snow was not fun. She saw that Carter was being carried and figured she should be as well.

Cool man, CTP!

The Frink Family, and a faceless Kaylynn, it looks like.

The Podd Family

Group photo - The Frink kids were not feeling the photos today.

1-2-3- SWING!!

Sweet Ben in his "Buddy Lee" hat.

A little help, please! Turns out that hikes through the snow with toddlers aren't the smartest things to do. Especially when one of those toddlers is a 25lb NONwalker.

Apparently, it is legal for canines to drive in Evergreen. Who knew?!

Night view of Denver from the Podd's house in Evergreen.

The last picture of Kaylynn smiling. :)

Ben had the best deal of all, someone to carry him everywhere.

Love this picture! She was still happy and enjoyed pulling the sled.

Where is Carter's face???

And, we're off! Frinks take the lead...

But we were soon surpassed by the Podds.

Even though Jessi and Carter "technically" won, I consider Kaylynn and I to be the real winners, as we didn't have to climb as far back up the hill!

That was not fun. Not at all.

Ready to sled with Dad!

Going down is a lot more fun than going up.

You take a picture of me, I take a picture of you (taking a picture.)

Poor buddy. Those are some chilly cheeks.

The snow sprayed me. :(

Hayley with two very cold, very unhappy kiddos.

Daytime view of Denver

Cream of Wheat - Breakfast of Champions