Surprisingly, when it came time to get back into the van the next day and drive another 6 hours, the kids were fairly cooperative.  They settled in for the drive and we didn’t even have to make that many stops… granted when you’ve got two cars and four kids, rarely will everyone have to use the bathroom at the same time. Ha ha!

I didn’t take nearly enough photos overall in Durango, but it was so nice to see family and friends and to actually hang out with everyone at one time.  We stayed in a hotel the first two nights, but it was right downtown so we were able to walk around with the kids a bit since they do NOT like being cooped up for too long.

I definitely wish at times that we all lived closer, especially so that our kiddos had the opportunity to get to know my side of the family a bit better.  It was fun watching the cousins run around in the yard that I remember having water balloon fights in when we were kids.  I’ve always loved all the flowers that my stepmom has taken such good care of and no matter how long we’ve been gone, it always feels like home when we go back and visit my Dad and bonus Mom.

It’s funny and yet strange how much a place can change over time.  I think that’s a post for a different day, but while some things stayed very much the same (like good ‘ole Steamworks) other things are not the same.  We were lucky to have missed some stormy weather the previous weekend, and were instead greeted with really warm temperatures instead.  We still managed to get out and walk around, though, and I think Aubrey enjoyed having a real-life baby doll to push around and care for. :-p

Before we knew it, it was time to drive back up to the Springs…