I do love it here. I seriously can’t believe this is our last full day up here in beautiful Pagosa Springs. All day I kept trying to convince Rick to take next week off, too, so we could just stay a little while longer.
The kids got up nice and early and went fishing with Rick, Papa and Ron… they rode the ATVs out there and both Rick and Ron let the kids do the “driving” – seriously the highlight of the entire week! Their goal today was to catch dinner, so they were all ready. Noah headed out there a little later when he woke up to help out with the fishing. Alas, it was not meant to be and they came back empty-handed. They caught a couple of fish, but nothing grill-worthy so they were thrown back.
While they were all fishing, I was enjoying the quiet morning with my cup of coffee and English muffin. I got to sit and visit a little bit with Lynne and my mom before Lynne went off to her art class today. I was waiting for Papa to come back so we could hike up to La Rosa, the lot adjacent to Ron’s property that Papa is a partial owner in. That is where I want him to build a house for us… so we could spend our summers here, too.
When everyone got back, however, Papa busied himself helping Ron put together a basketball hoop for Noah, and Rick took a nice, long nap. The kids and I played cards and chilled out for awhile and I made lunch (grilled cheese for Riley, of course!). By then, the golfers were all ready to go so the La Rosa trip had to wait for when they got back. Rick and I took the kids into town… I wanted to see if I could find Violet another pair of those super cute $7 jeans Mama Lali got her. We got lucky and there was one pair left in her size! We snatched it up right away.
Next, we headed to the Malt Shoppe for our last shake of the week. Before going in there, Violet and I spent time at this cute store called Hodge Podge. The store specialized in miniatures, particularly doll houses… and we loved looking at all the cool things we could get to accessorize the doll house that Violet got from Grandma Jane. Violet and I decided to make the doll house our summer project – and we would restore it to its former beauty! To start us on our project, we picked up a cute bedroom set for one of the rooms in the house. I can’t wait to get back and get to work with Violet! I think it will be a great little activity for us.
After that shop, it was time for shakes! Violet got chocolate and I got strawberry. It was the perfect, tasty way to say goodbye to Pagosa. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the meadow below the house, flying kites and playing baseball with each other (Playing baseball is waaaaaay more fun than watching baseball). We all took turns playing pitcher, catcher, outfielder, and hitter. It was such a great family bonding time and really made vacation even that much better… that we were making memories like these together with the kids. I didn’t want to think about it too much cause it got me a little teary.
We headed back to the house just as a storm started brewing over the mountains. The golfers were still out doing their thing, so we came into the house and watched the Pixar Short Films collection as the wind picked up and rain began to fall. We looked out the window just in time to see a gorgeous rainbow that stretched from the hills to the left right down into the valley in a little grove of trees. Violet was sure she saw something black at the bottom of the rainbow… a pot of gold, perhaps? One may never know. As quickly as the rainbow appeared, it began to fade.
The golfers returned with dinner (pizza!) and we all sat around and played cards together. First we played 31, then it was a game of Apples to Apples (junior edition)… even Riley played it, which was hysterical. He just picked random cards to throw into the pile… and hysterically enough, it worked for him a couple of times! Then the kids took a break to play some Nintendo while the grownups played Oh Hell… and then the kids returned for a final game of 31. Riley declared that he was planning on staying up all night. We told him he could, only if he got his jammies on first. Then at one point, he was in the kitchen with a cold bottle of water and he was splashing the cold water in his eyes “to help me stay awake!” He did… for a bit longer. But as the final game of 31 wore on, Riley told Mama Lali he just wanted to close his eyes for a second and rest them before his next turn. Rick was carrying him up to bed within a minute. He was so cute and sweet and tuckered out. Violet planned on staying up all night and sleeping on the front porch under the stars… but when we went outside to take a quick look at the stars before getting our gear out there, I knew she was a little scared. And within a minute she decided it was just too cold to be out there all night (she didn’t have to mention the darkness and the fear of random wild animals that I know was actually motivating her to be inside).
Right now, she is sleeping by Riley’s side. I finished packing up all our clothes and Rick packed up all our gear. I can’t believe we have to leave tomorrow morning. I really, really don’t want to. It’s funny – usually by a week into vacation I am ready to go home. But not this time. Too much fun… too much potential… too many memories still to be made. Someday. Someday we will have a place here, too. Rick and I have a new five year plan.
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