That morning we hung out at my cousin's house and then headed to Pikes Peak to ride the Cog Train! We had been telling Ella about this train for a few weeks leading up to the trip. My mom even showed her some pictures of it online. Well, when Ella saw that the train was red, that was all she talked about! And finally the moment arrived when she got to ride the "red train" up Pikes Peak!
Waiting for the train with cousin Jennifer and Joel! This is what we call the "Ella face". It's her posed face for pictures. Jennifer and Joel do the "Ella face" very well.
Ella seeing the train for the first time as it pulled up to the depot.
Ella and Cousin Shelby!
Grandma & Grandad waiting for the train to take off.
Our music minister at church told us to make sure we eat some sugar on the way up the mountain because that will help combat altitude sickness. Ella was all about that as she ate her m&ms.
Grandma & Ella!
On the way up the mountain! This is about at 11,000 ft. Check out that view!
More views going up the mountain! It was breathtaking.
Mama & Ella chillin'. It took 1.5 hours to get up the mountain.
Me, Jennifer & Joel.
Silly cousin Shelby & Jerry! Ella loves the sillyness.
This is the "red train"!
So we went up the mountain on a VERY windy day! When we got to the top the wind chill was 11 degrees and the wind gusts were 64 MPH! 64! I had never felt wind like that. It was crazy!
When you get to the top of the mountain, you have two choices...you can either walk around outside and take lots of pretty pictures or you can go into the gift shop building and buy stuff and get something to eat and drink.
On this particular day, there wasn't much choice. We went straight for the building for fear of being blown off the top of the mountain.
BUT there is this really great sign outside that says Pikes Peak, 14,110 ft. It's the sign to take a picture in front of. So we braved the winds to get that picture and it was one of the funniest moments of my life! People were literally being blown away feet at a time. And if you were standing on ice, forget about it.
We wanted to take a girls' picture with me, my mom and my two cousins Jennifer and Shelby. So Joel agreed to be the one to go with us to take the pictures. It was SO funny to watch him. It was literally freezing and his hands got so cold he could only take a few pictures because his fingers were so frozen he couldn't push the button anymore. And he was standing on ice and kept being blown away. It looked like he was on a moving platform because his feet weren't moving but his body was! Oh, it was a sight! Thank you Joel for braving the crazy wind for our cute pictures!
Me and Mom at 14,000 ft!
Napping on the way down the mountain.
The Fam!
It was such a fun weekend and we were very sad to have to say goodbye to Jerry, Shelby, Jennifer & Joel!
It wouldn't be a completed CO post without all the food pictures of Ella in the car. We ate lots of unhealthy food, but it wouldn't be a road trip without it.
Ella was so sweet the entire trip! She kept us well entertained!!
11 comments:
What a fun trip! Thanks for coming to see us!!
Jackson would be so happy to spend 3 hours on a train! So relieved that Pablo got to go too. Great pics, friend!
I love your matching gray sweaters! Tobey would have loved that red train too! And yes a road trip is not a road trip without junk food and greasy fried stuff. It looks like Ella enjoyed it like a true road tripster.
I LOVE the picture of you and Ella when she is napping. Beautiful shot!
Also - I've been to the Royal Gorge -- it is neat to know your grandfather helped build it.
Blessings!
Mindy
Okay I've been meaning to tell you this for a while but you have the most beautiful "I'm gazing lovingly at my child" face in EVERY single picture where you are looking at Ella! And I noticed it on Kristin's blog the other day when you were holding Sam. You're already so pretty and then it just seems like motherhood makes you a billion times prettier!
I have loved reading about your trip to Colorado! My brother moved out there and now that Caroline is getting bigger, we can't wait to take her out there! It looked beautiful and so much fun! :)
Love the shot of you and Ella napping in the window. So beautiful!
So glad you got to enjoy "our town". I love living in Colorado Springs. Those mountain views are ones I get to look at everyday...such a blessing! The funny thing is that while you guys were here, I was in Dallas, TX! Hope you had a great time!
What a fun time! We love Colorado. When we went to Pikes Peak we drove up the mountain. It had rained the night before so the road was pretty muddy...I was so scared that we were going to slide off the mountain. I was so glad to finally reach the top! Great pictures!
The picture of you and Ella while she's napping is so sweet. I think you should enlarge it, and frame it. Maybe in black and white?
How fun is that!!!! I can't decide if my favorite picture is the one of you and Ella looking out the window or you and Ella with her napping! They are both precious! :) So much fun!
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