Meet The Early's: Breckenridge Summer Vacation 2024

If you had asked me two months ago, I would have said I wasn't looking forward to this vacation. I couldn't imagine a trip without Autumn—my shotgun rider, our planner, our memory maker. However, as time passed, I realized that Autumn left us an amazing blueprint for a family vacation, and we all knew it by heart. It's like she was with us the entire trip. No, she was with us. In the end, while emotional at times, we all had a blast, and it was exactly what we needed. I will say though, Baylor failed miserably as a shotgun rider, he was asleep or had his AirPods in the entire ride. He never laughed at my jokes, acted impressed when I pointed something out, or even tried to have a conversation. He is really going to have to up his conversation game if he wants seat 1B again. Briley brought her best friend Malia, and it's safe to say they had a great time together. Malia was a trooper and was the only kid who didn't complain.

We decided to leave a day early and visit my Uncle Shawn and Aunt Kelly in Colorado Springs. We left at 6 a.m. and pulled into Colorado Springs at 1:30 p.m, great timing if I do say so myself. I had spent two summers there and visited often, and I wanted the kids to see the city because it's such a neat place. Shawn and Veronica were kind enough to let us stay with them. They live close to The Broadmoor Resort, and I wanted the kids to see it. The kids all rode bikes down while the adults drove. Our kids were a bit jealous of my little cousins, Harry and Savannah, who get to ride bikes to The Broadmoor, while they are stuck with Price Chopper. We got some tasty treats, walked the grounds, and then headed back for dinner. Back at the house, the kids played video games, played basketball, rode bikes, and jumped on the trampoline. It was fun to watch them bond, as they really didn't know each other before that day. Savannah even helped Finley nail her first back flip on the trampoline. Kelly, Robert, and Makenzey brought over some delicious lasagna, and we spent the evening catching up and reminiscing.

The next morning, Briley, Malia, and I all went for long, hilly runs. I ran on my own, of course, because who wants Dad slowing them down? Shawn made us a delicious Blackstone breakfast (I need to invest in one of those), and then Baylor and I went to Costco to get some goods for the trip. When we got back, Shawn let me know that my car was leaking oil. I had just gotten the oil changed, and they didn't mention a leak, but I wanted to get it checked before heading into the mountains. He gave me a place to go, but on my way, I saw an oil change place that was closer, so I pulled in as it looked like they had open bays. They got my car right in and determined it was just a cockeyed cap. They fixed it, added more oil, and didn't even charge me.

While I was there, feeling a little glum about Autumn not being with us, a cheerful lady walked in and started talking to me and another guy. I thought, this lady would make a good hospice worker. The other guy asked her what she did, and she said she was a hospice nurse. I about fell out of my chair. I wanted to share our wonderful experience with hospice but didn't want to make the other guy uncomfortable. Just then, he got a call and left the room. I shared with her our experience and Autumn's story. Her name was Rebecca, and she asked me how I was coping, how the kids were coping, and about our faith. She told me that in her experience, one's faith is the primary factor in how they handle the death of a loved one. Those with faith are typically much better off in the long run. I shared Autumn's faith journey and my own since she was diagnosed and passed. We talked about the kids, she gave me some tips and advice, we exchanged numbers, and then asked if we could pray together. My car was ready in 30 minutes, but I was there for an hour talking to her. I believe God puts people like Rebecca in your life when you need them most, even if it's at a random repair shop in Colorado Springs on a Saturday afternoon. I call these moments my Autumn moments because I know she has a hand in them.

That afternoon, we watched Savannah battle it out against some literal giants in a basketball game, and then we hit the road for the two-hour drive to Breckenridge. It was a beautiful drive, and the kids were so excited to explore Breck and our house when we arrived. We unloaded the car, ordered pizza, hit the hot tub, and played some games. The kids were all tired, so it was an early night. I got up early on Sunday morning and decided to let the kiddos sleep in while I went to church. It was a great service as there was a man being confirmed. When I got back, we had breakfast and then walked down to Breckenridge to explore the town, do some shopping, and eat more food. It's such a neat, Victorian downtown area. When we were in high school, Autumn came with us on a spring break ski trip our junior year, and I remembered walking those streets with her in the evenings. She was so in love with this cute little town and had always wanted to go back. The kiddos were just as enamored with it. Baylor and Billy went mountain biking while the rest of us did some shopping and took a small hike to see one of the troll sculptures on our way back to the house. Then it was back home to eat some more, sit in the hot tub some more, and play more games..I am not sure if Atticus won a game of old maid all week.

Monday was a bit of a downer as it rained most of the day. We road the free gondola up to the resort to do all the mountain activities, but most everything was closed because of the storms. We went back to town, did some exploring, and then I took Baylor up to the Wellington Park pump track to do some mountain biking. This was a really cool area, and we ended up going back with the other kids every day for the remainder of the trip. The night ended again with dinner, hot tub, and games.

On Tuesday, we were able to get up to the resort for a full day of mountain coasters, alpine slides, zip lines, climbing walls, ropes courses, and putt-putt. The kids loved the mountain coaster and the alpine slide. My favorite was the alpine slide. Baylor then took his mountain bike to the top, while I took the girls to go rock climbing, and Atticus went to the kids' zone with Jeff and Julie to do the zip line. The weather was beautiful, and everyone had a great time. We decided to eat dinner down in town that night at Erics Downstairs. It’s a neat family friend bar and grill with an arcade. It had something for everyone. We returned home and did the nightly hot tub and games.

On Wednesday, we got down to real adventure business. Amity, Billy, Briley, Baylor, Finley, and I went on a hike to Mohawk Lake. This is a beautiful hike our friends told us about, and while challenging, it was gorgeous. I was so proud of the kiddos for toughing it out and actually enjoying the sights along the way. We saw two mountain goats up close and personal, some amazing waterfalls, and the icing on the cake: Mohawk Lake. It feels like you're never going to get there, but when you do, it's so worth it. You come over this crest, and the lake lays before you at eye level. It was so cool. Billy wanted to do some fishing, so we all tried to find cover from the wind and eat our lunch. Billy wasn't having any luck; it was cold and windy, so we began a much quicker trek back down the mountain. While we were gone, Jeff and Atticus enjoyed some fishing. We got back home, took a little rest, and then I took the younger three kids back up to the Wellington Park mountain bike track, followed by the same old evening routine.

Thursday was July 4th, and I had talked Amity, Billy, Briley, Malia, and Baylor into doing the Go Breck Independence Day 10K, a nice, easy 10K around the town of Breckenridge…we thought. The only problem was that it wasn't actually a nice, easy run around Breck. It was a quarter-mile run around a block, and then a three-mile, 900-foot trail climb, followed by an equally challenging downhill trail run. Needless to say, it kicked our rear ends, but we all rocked it and had some good laughs afterward. Briley and Malia both got second and third in their age group. We then headed home for a quick change of clothes and went to the really cute July 4th parade. We met up with my Aunt Kelly and her husband Robert, who were in town, and watched the parade with them. The kids spent the entire parade waiting in line at the crepe stand. Baylor said they weren't worth it, but the girls disagreed. We then grabbed some lunch at Breckenridge Brewery, took a little siesta, made another trip up to the mountain biking course, and then, well, you know.

Friday was our last day, and Amity, Billy, Briley, Malia, and I decided to go out with a bang and hike our first 14'er, Quandary Peak, which is only about 15 minutes outside Breck. That morning, I think we were all thinking the same thing: "Please, someone say let's not do this." After the Mohawk Lake hike and the 10K race, our legs were tired, but deep down, this was an accomplishment we all wanted to check off our list. So, grudgingly, we all headed out the door and up that darn mountain. We knew it was going to be a challenge, but it challenged us more than we thought it would. The last half mile was daunting, but we kept our heads down and put one foot in front of another—unless we saw a mountain goat. Then we would stop and snap pictures, especially of the baby ones. Before we knew it, we were at the top, taking in some pretty incredible views. In the words of Mike Sparks, "God sure paints a pretty picture." The hike down was equally challenging, with a few taking some humorous spills. As spectacular as the view from the top was, the best view of the day just might have been the parking lot. While we were off acting like mountaineers, Asa, Kelsey and Seger kindly took Baylor, Finley, and Atticus on a scenic hike close to the house. We learned that Atticus isn't much into hiking, but he was happier once he found a stick to hike with. When we got back, I took the girls to get their reward coffee and Quandary Peak t-shirts. I then took them all up to the mountain biking course (they were addicted). That evening, everyone else was out for drinks, the kids were hungry, so instead interrupting their happy hour to ask when dinner was going to be served, we called an audible and went out for some really good Italian food. It was good to have a night with just us so we could rehash our favorites from the week. We then returned to the house to pack up and do our nightly routine one last time.

None of us were ready to leave, which is the sign of a good vacation. This was the last vacation Autumn had a hand in planing, and I know she was with us the entire time (maybe not on Quandary Peak; that wasn't her kind of hike, she was not a fan of heights) and was smiling her ear-to-ear smile. In the words of Gary Allan, "Life ain't always beautiful, but it's a beautiful ride."