Travis & Stephanie Evans Family: Pagosa Springs

Writing about Africa is so overwhelming to me that I don't even know how to start.

SO.

I'm will tackle that another day. And continue on with life after the trip.

The day after I got home, we left for Pagosa Springs, CO to spend a week with the Evans. It's an 8 hour drive, but took us more like 12 hours with stops in Gallup and Farmington. I didn't think it would be that bad... and it wasn't.. until... the last 2 hours. Then I considered jumping out of the moving car just to be done.

The Shaheens were literally moving into their house the day we drove through. I felt bad stopping, but was so excited to see their fancy house!

It was A-MAZING. Especially after just being in Africa, I just walked around feeling like I was in a palace. And really, it is. Every detail... the light fixtures, the doorknobs, the closets.. are custom made and gorgeous. So much white.

We stopped in Farmington for our favorite, Mikasa sushi. Then got me a frozen hot chocolate in Aztec for the homestretch. That's about when we saw these double rainbows, all the way across! A good omen!

I hate when pictures don't do a scene justice, but Colorado really is breathtaking.

I think we got in around 8 or 9pm. Wayne is so nice to organize a family vacation for all of us once a year. We stayed at the Wyndham, all in combined units, near each other.

9am church shined bright and early and I was giving our family major props for being on time. We stayed for the whole 3 hours and I'm so glad we did because it was Pioneer Day and this ward did some really cute activities!

So creative. They went on a "trek" around the building with their little wagon and pioneer clothes. They sang pioneer songs around a fake campfire and churned butter to eat on crackers, along with some "buffalo chip" no bake cookies. Ha! Gross, but they loved it. We're giving the Pagosa Springs Primary 5 stars!

That's about where Sunday peaked for me because by the time we got home I was exhausted and just wanted a nap. Not. possible.

Not when there are 17 little children pounding the floors, running everywhere, screaming and playing. Even with earplugs, it was impossible. I don't know if I've ever felt crankier. Every nerve was being rubbed the wrong way and my head was pounding. I was beyond caring who I offended with my grumpiness and poor Trav got the brunt of it. I finally stomped into the car and drove to the other side of the parking lot and it was like I had transported to another state. Peace and quiet!! Even though I didn't sleep, just the quiet was enough to soothe my nerves somewhat. Thankfully, that was the worst of it. I basically just went to bed by 10pm every night and managed to be OK during the day.

On Monday, I went grocery shopping, got a pedicure and we went on a little hike to this waterfall.

Collin clearly has had one too many pictures taken. (Or 500)

Travis's new love... Spike ball.

This was our view from our balcony. We were right on the edge of a lake, so the kids spent the majority of their time "fishing". Neil brought actual fishing equipment. The rest just jimmy rigged some sticks and string and felt like big shots helping Neil. The grossest part were all the geese, cuz geese poop. Like a lot. Nasty creatures. I steered clear of the lake.

I went for a run one day and almost had a seizure for lack of air. Guess I'm just not used to high altitudes anymore! No more of this being healthy on vacation business for me! I spotted the hot air balloon we'd be riding on the next day though!

On Tuesday, we spent the whole day at the river. Karen bought some inflatable rafts at Wal-mart and we basically stayed in one general area, taking turns on the rafts. The water was COLD, but the city has diverted some of the natural hot springs water to various parts of the river. This is one of them. So it pools up next to the river and provides some warmth after you freeze your knickers off in the regular water!

The kids had a ball and played non-stop. They'd go down the river without any rafts and thought it was the time of their lives.

Lunch time!

Us sisters-in-law went down together, laughing and screaming and falling over.

A little storm blew in and scared everyone away, but I had been laying in a small pool of hot water under the bridge so I just stayed put. I think Travis was amused, but waiting for me to finally be done so we could head back like everyone else. I just couldn't budge. I can't explain it, but that water was heaven. A cool breeze blowing on top and cozy water underneath. So, he finally joined me. And the kids did too, alternately playing around nearby. It was super peaceful being almost the only ones there and I do believe that was my favorite hour of the whole trip! I'm just good at looking homeless, I guess.

The rec center was a short drive up the road, so we'd go for a little bit each day. One evening they had s'mores going. There was miniature golf, frisbee golf, a playground and any yard game you can think of. Inside they had air hockey, fooze-ball, ping pong, video games, puzzles and board games. A pretty good diversion from all that fishing. ;)

For Travis's birthday I had booked us a hot air balloon ride for this trip. We went up on Wednesday. They set up right next to the Wyndham rec center where we were staying, so that was convenient. They had their own photographers that posed us and ran the show. I had brought my own camera, but didn't really use it because they were there. Big mistake! After it was all over they give you a number and tell you to go to their studio to order the pictures. I figured it would be pricey, but oh my heck!!! They wanted $25 PER PICTURE or $150 for a disc! Are you kidding me?! The whole ride cost that much money per person! And they weren't even great pictures at all. I was really disappointed in the quality. But it was my only choice if I wanted any pictures of this experience! Bug. You live and learn. Plus I got harassed and made to feel cheap when I didn't buy the whole disc. It was all so annoying.

OK! Vent over. Besides that, it was a fun experience. There was a big group of us, so he took a few of us up first, then the second group got in. I'll admit that as we started ascending, my stomach got butterflies looking down. It's such a weird feeling to go that high and just be standing there. Once we were in the sky though, it didn't feel as bad if you just looked straight out and not down.

Those mountains though. It was a pretty view.

Our hotel was right on the edge of that lake in the middle.

Yes, I totally bought the cheesiest picture in the lot. What else would you expect from me?

When we got back from that, a game of sand volleyball was underway!

We were pros and spiking it all over the place.

Orrrrr we cheered when we finally got a good volley going. ;)

Time for another hike! This time, we drove quite a ways.. about an hour, to Piedra Falls.

Most of the drive was on a dirt road.

Old Dirtay finally has a friend.

Olive's face says it all. This water was ice cold. And I mean ICE. The kind of water you don't get used to... it just makes you numb. I stuck a toe in and said, uh uh! Stephanie doesn't like cold water!!!!

Well. Not everyone shared my sentiments.

Neil jumped in and Collin followed suit.

Then, Reddin, Trevor and Travis had climb to the big cliff and show off.

This was before I made a very stupid decision.

Megan decided it would be fun to jump in. But it would be MORE fun if we ALL did. I don't know how she got everyone on board so quickly, but pretty soon I was the only one still shaking her head.

I can't believe I'm 33 and still succumbing to peer pressure. Pffff!!!

I was SHAKING, you guys. Literally, my limbs were shaking. I was the biggest scaredy cat of all and took several minutes to finally make the plunge. NO part of me wanted to jump. I hate free falls and I hate cliff jumping. BAH!

So hurray. I'm in the cool kids group. *sarcasm heavy* ;)

Then my 7 year old goes and makes it look like no big thang.

My 3 little ducks all in a row.

That night, the older girls babysat for us so us adults could go out to eat. We waited over an hour for OK food, but got done too late to get ice cream. Pout. At least the company was good. Especially this cute guy. I luv him.

Thursday was another river day but I didn't take a single picture. Kind of liberating.

Everyone was raving about the Malt Shoppe, so we finally got some lunch there on Friday.

Again, with the waiting! We ordered 3 hot dogs and 2 hamburgers and waited an hour!!!!!

Pagosa. Get your restaurant game together.

That evening, the boys went golfing so I hung with the kids at the rec center. Friday was a pretty laid back day.

Most evenings, after the kids were in bed, we'd convene in Wayne and Paula's living room with our ice cream and snacks and visit or play games. Us girls always have to get in at least one game of Mexican Train. Reddin's GoPro footage of the river and cliff jumping also provided lots of entertainment. Saturday came SO FAST. I couldn't even comprehend that a whole week had passed. The weather had been nice....warm, but nothing compared to Mesa. I wasn't ready to go home! Our week with the Evans' is always very relaxing and enjoyable. I'm so lucky to have married into such a great family!