Our Colorado travels continued and brought us to the home of Jill and Paul. Jill is a dear friend from childhood. Our moms were friends, then our parents became friends, then we grew up together spending New Year’s Eves and summer lake days together to keep up the relationships. Then all of us kids went to college, got married, had families. Our parents still get together a couple times a year like we used to, but Jill and I haven’t seen each other since her wedding almost 20 years ago! So obviously, this was a much anticipated stop to reconnect. But I had no idea the blessing the Lord had in store in introducing our kids and watching them become fast friends in a matter of hours and then the beauty of reconnecting with Jill and finding all we have in common and ways we could encourage each other. Doug and I found rest and relaxation here with the boys so entertained with new friends and lots of activity outdoors with them that we didn’t have to orchestrate. It was just what we needed at this point in the trip.
But I’m getting ahead of myself! Let me walk you through our fun couple days with these amazing people.
The first night we arrived we had big hugs and awkward hellos for the kids. But our boys were quickly invited to jump on the trampoline with Robert, Sam and Lily and the barriers broke down and by dinner our boys were comfortable and ready to stay here for days on end.
After dinner the boys got right to business with greeting and riding the horse (and pony!). Robert, Jill’s oldest, oversaw the horse activities and did a beautiful job sharing and leading. Lily was the pony aficionado.
At first Jansen wasn’t interested in riding (it was still pretty hot), so sweet Sam offered to play Connect Four inside with him.
Eventually though his curiosity pushed him outdoors to take a turn on Mounty. Robert was so good to him explaining things and leading him.
All the boys loved being on the horse. This is such a new discovery for us. I’ve always loved horses, but I had no idea my boys would be such big fans of these amazing animals and caring for them and riding them. I’m curious to look into working this into life at home (but I’ll table that for now and just enjoy these experiences!).
It was tough to end all that fun and it took awhile to get everyone settled to bed. But when we finally did, we all slept hard. And it’s a good thing because Saturday was full of more fun with these friends!
The day started with horseback riding. Paul’s mom was staying with them and has horses boarded nearby so she brought over one of hers so that we could have an extra horse to enjoy. I mean, really, doesn’t this place just sound like heaven on earth?! The boys had a lot of fun getting to ride alongside their friends, take turns, keep practicing walking, trotting and even cantering!
Penn and Lily bonded over grooming and spoiling Honey, the pony. I got to overhear their sweet conversation during this time. What a delight to watch a friendship come to fruition.
We went on a family walk down the road. Dreamy. The boys doubled up on the horses to maximize horse time (and limit walking!). The pony was a good sport and carried Penn both ways. He really likes the pony!
We had a quick lunch and then went a half mile down the road to Frantz Lake. This lake is fed by natural springs and it is so refreshing because of it! Nice to be in cool waters. We miss our New Hampshire refreshing lakes! The kids played on kayaks, swam and jumped off the dock.
The kids had a blast riding in the bed of the pickup truck on the way back from the lake.
In the afternoon the kids jumped on the trampoline and did more horseback riding into the evening.
We shared dinner together and then had some family game time with Guesstures (needed to take a break from all the rowdy trampoline jumping!). I love family games, this was super fun to see the kids participate.
We made our best attempt to get the kids to bed on time and to help out, Jill brought her violin out and then Robert grabbed his tin whistle and they tantalized us with tunes. It was calming, special and the perfect wind down.
The next morning we all went to church together. Again, I just loved worshipping alongside other believers across the country, hearing from the same Word we open on the East coast is the same inspired Word on the West coast. The sermon was fantastic and spoke to both Doug and I and it made me so thankful for the big family of God, the community of the local church.
After church Jill and Paul showed us around their adorable downtown Salida. It’s so alive! An art festival was going on, there were rafters and kayakers and tubers on the river, lots of people were out enjoying the shops and restaurants. We got to watch the kayakers a bit. Apparently, this, the Arkansas River, is the most rafted river in the world!
We also let the kids enjoy the playground a bit while the dads got some coffees. These kids are pretty happy playing together no matter the activity.
We returned home for lunch and of course, had to take the opportunity for some more horseback riding. Koen particularly took advantage. He is so interested in horsemanship and this ranch life. It’s so cool to see a new interest. He’s also very confident in the saddle (actually all the boys do quite well). Here’s a video of Koen riding. So much fun to see him loving this. Here’s a video of him cantering.
After the heat on the horse, we figured we should get in one more dip in the lake. The kids were happy with the idea.
When we got back the kids played inside to stay cool. Over the weekend they made up this hilarious dress-up/guessing/charade game. I love the imagination and that these kids could just be kids together. Here are the silly kids!
Then it was time for goodbye. AGAIN. I saw this coming about 18 hours into our visit. This was going to be very hard on Penn. He really bonded with Sam and Lily. He makes friends so easily and treasures relationship and sharing life with others. Parting ways is so difficult for him. And it isn’t every day you meet such kindred spirits that you can feel so comfortable with and really be yourself. We gave lots of hugs, Penn cried, Jill and I both got teary-eyed and we promised to keep in touch. Lord willing He has plans for us to reunite again soon. This connection is special enough to definitely make the effort!
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