Evergreen, Colorado

From the moment we stepped wearily out of the mini-van we were treated like royalty. What a wonderful feeling to unfold legs and arms, unbuckle the kids and tumble into Kev's sister's house. Nate rushed by both Aunt Andrea and Aunt Gail to hug Uncle Loren, and declare, "I like you so much." We each had our own bed, the showers were wonderfully hot and the food was amazing. Shrimp with freah bread when we arrived, homemade gourmet pizza the next night (and let me tell you this is pizza that torments your taste-buds even in memory it is so fantastically tantalizing, and after years of team meeting pizza we are pretty good judges!) and mexican lasgna with stuffed mushrooms on the third evening. Kev and I celebrated our anniversary in style (14 years), surrounded by family, eating good food and laughing into the wee hours of the night. Our kids got to hang out with their older cousins (who they hadn't ever remembered meeting before), learn how to play poker, and veg in front of a big screen TV while they played with Gail's new dog. All in all a welcome respite from life in a tent. Kev's brother is set to get married this August, so knowing we would see each other again soon, we hugged one last time and headed off for Kansas.