We just got back from a reunion in Colorado Springs. This was my first time visiting that city and we had a lot of fun. We had lots of activities planned and only 3 days to do them all.

We arrived at the Cheyenne Mountain resort on Tuesday evening after driving all day. We were all exhausted and we just wanted to go to sleep. However, someone mentioned there was a swimming pool and the kids got a second wind and would not let us rest until they had a chance to swim. After they were satisfied we were able to go to bed.

The next day the reunion started. We all met together in one of the resorts ballrooms for a meet and greet and to do a couple of activities that were designed to help us get to know each other better. The kids had the most fun getting to know their cousins again.

After that we ate a little lunch and went out to enjoy the city and its activities.

We choose to go up Pikes Peak on a cog railroad. It was a slow rid up, but lots of fun. We saw several different kinds of animals, rock formations, and when we got to the top we were surprised to see that it was snowing. We were up around 14,000 feet so I guess seeing a little snow is not that unusual. The way back down was a little faster, but not very exciting because we had already seen all the sights.

If your not familiar with a cog railroad, it is a special kind of train and track that uses cogs in the middle of the track so the train can pull itself up much steeper inclines then would be possible with a normal train. I think I remember the guide saying there are only 4 cog railroads in the US.

Next, it was dinner time. We got a little lost on the way to the restaurant so we were one of the last people to arrive. It was nice to see that more people had arrived and came to the dinner. The reunion attendance was growing nicely.

The second day started out by having some family pictures taken. This is the first time in about 10 years that all my siblings and parents have all been in the same place. After the pictures the boys all went golfing and the girls took the kids to the swimming pool. I got a great sunburn because I did not put on any sunblock. Also, we were so bad that we had 5 other golf teams backed up behind us. They were not very happy and they had one of the managers tell us we had to hurry up. The manager then followed us around to make sure we did not slow down. I am amazed sometimes that people will spend hours watching golf on the TV, but when they go out and play it, they want to be done quickly. I enjoy taking my time and talking to those I am with.

After golfing we had lunch and went to see the Garden of the Gods. This is an area where there are some interesting rock formations. We saw lots of people climbing and rappelling from the rocks. Jennifer and Jaren had fun hiking around and exploring the new places.

After looking at the Garden of the Gods we went to dinner. The Reunion organizers had chosen for us to go to the Flying W ranch for dinner. This place has a lot of old history that you can look at while waiting for dinner.  When they call for dinner everyone gathers in a huge room and we went through lines like in a cafeteria. The ranch did its best to make the atmosphere and food as authentic as possible, but they made some exceptions for some of the food. For example, Cowboys did not have the luxary of spice cake when they were out on the range. Over all the dinner was good, the entertainment was fun and the kids had a blast dancing in the isles.

The third and last day of the reunion was the 4th of July. The majority of the day was free, but in the evening we were having a family Olympics and a last day gathering where we got to talk one last time and say our goodbyes. The resort was also going to be putting on a fireworks display that night so we needed to make sure we were back in time for that.

Others decided to go river rafting.

We decided to go to a couple of local attractions. The first stop was the miners Ghost Town Museum where we walked around and saw some old style buildings, carriages, and other things. We also got to try our hand at panning for gold. My wife found a couple pieces, but all I found was fools gold.

Next, we went to the North Pole amusement park. My wife is a Christmas junkie, so anytime you can enjoy a little Christmas in July she is all for it. The whole theme of the park is for children, all the rides are also geared for little people. Needless to say the kids had a blast, I tried to stay out of the sun so my sunburn did not get worse, I did remember sunblock this time.

After spending about 5 or 6  hours at the park we returned to the resort for the family Olympics. The kids and adults all got to enjoy a little competition. They had 3-legged, potato sack, hopping and wheelbarrow races. Everyone that competed got a ribbon and an award, so no one felt left out.

After the Olympics we split off for dinner. As you can see Madelynn really had a lot of fun with the mashed potatoes.

Then we had the last gathering. We shared some patriotic messages with each other and said how nice it was to see each other again. We even committed to not let 15 years pass before we had another reunion. All in all is was a great experiance and I had a lot of fun.