so much fun in the 'boat!

There were so many fun things to do in Steamboat. Here is just a snapshot of some of the other things we did...

 Grayson did the bungee slingshot

 amazing clouds!!

the flowers were gorgeous... maybe because they get a fair amount of rain and no 100 degree weather?!?

 hung out at the pool and hot tub

 spotted several bald eagles

 Grayson climbed to the top of the rock wall

we watched mountain bikers come down the slopes -- great view from our deck!

 we watched dogs jump in the Yampa and chase tennis balls

 Jerry's favorite bumper sticker

 Carter got to "spin a Steamboat shirt"

we were so blessed with a wonderful, relaxing, beautiful vacation!

we're ready to go back... NOW!! :)

tubing the yampa

Last year, the river was running so high and so fast, that kids were not even allowed to tube down the Yampa. We started seeing adults tubing the last two days or so of our trip there. This year was a different story. There was almost not enough water to tube, but the river was open. We were excited to give it a try!

 this is looking down at the Yampa from a bridge -- it literally runs through downtown Steamboat...

the ski mountain is directly behind it, shops and restaurants are to the left, and the rodeo and alpine slide are to the right

 one night after dinner we headed down to the Yampa... the boys loved throwing rocks in and it was just gorgeous outside

 then we decided to tube the Yampa!!

these pics are taken by Gramps as he looked down at us from one of the bridges

 here comes Grayson

our group of tubers :)

 what a small world... Mom ran into one of our good family friends that lived in Wichita back in the '80s... in the Yampa!! oh my!! so fun to see our friend, Gail! :)

(and love the surprised expression on Mom's face!)

 peace out from the Yampa River!

steamboat's alpine slide {the howler}

By far, the boys' favorite activity in Steamboat Springs is the Alpine Slide. They absolutely love it! And, we would say that we agree. It is pretty stinkin' fun! :)

riding up the lift to the top!

sitting in the chairlift, we could look to our left and see the entire Steamboat mountain... so pretty

it took quite a bit of convincing, but we finally got Gramps to do the Alpine Slide :)

Nana, Carter, and Jerry on their sleds at the top

Grayson and Gramps waiting at the top

 Grayson waiting his turn to zoom down... see the chipmunk ahead of him on the slide?

 alpine slide (almost) roadkill!!

Nana coming down the slide

 Grayson's goal is to come down so fast that he hits the tires at the end!

 Jerry and Carter flying down!

and then Gramps! :)

rafting down the colorado river

 We had a blast rafting down the Colorado River, and even encountered some Class III rapids! Woo-hoo! We left out of Kremmling, CO which is about an hour from Steamboat.

 getting ready to get on the river

 Jerry jumped off the infamous 40 foot cliff... we later found out it is named "Jump Rock" -- so creative :)

 it was a gorgeous day... not much wind, lots of sun, temps in the 60-70s, and a small rainshower towards the end!

 Dad was so excited that we saw not one, but TWO Amtrak trains go by while we were rafting!

 our super-sweet guide, Beth, let Grayson sit in the "driver's seat" and paddle us down the river for awhile

the boys with Beth

 a crazy pose!!

Carter was sound asleep and even SNORING on our way back to our car after the raft trip! It wore him out!

the steamboat gondola

We had such fun memories of riding the gondola up to the top of the mountain at Steamboat from last year, that we knew we just HAD to do it again! :)

 loading up!

 pics from inside the gondola -- Carter calls it the "little metal box"

 we hiked around the top of the mountain before lunch...

 then enjoyed our meal on the rooftop deck above where the gondola drops you off... amazing views!

then we headed back down!