Nederland, Colorado

A few years ago, my older sister, Emily and her husband, Shane, moved out to Boulder, Colorado to pursue their PhDs at University of Colorado, Boulder. Last year, my younger sister -Sarah-'s boyfriend, Ryan, transferred out there for his job, and Sarah followed a few months later. I had always planned on visiting, and when Emily got pregnant with Natalie, we had even more motivation to go. Then we found out we were expecting and I was so upset I wouldn't be able to meet my niece for a while.However, the more we thought about it, the more we realized that there wasn't anything holding us back from traveling. Yes, we'd have an infant with us this time, but it was totally worth it. Plus, since I'd already be on maternity leave, I didn't have to worry about taking time off work!I tend to be a go-with-the-flow type, but something about traveling with a six week old put my stress levels on overdrive. I didn't know how I was going to handle the flight out there, so my mom graciously drove down from Rochester to Charlottesville to fly with all of us. Just having her there put my mind at ease. If Finn decided to have a fit mid-flight, I would have David and Mom to help me. Plus, the extra hands helped a bunch. We had diaper bags, my breast pump, a carseat and stroller, plus all of our stuff to worry about. Mom was a life saver!Of course, Finn made me feel foolish for ever worrying because he slept the ENTIRE flight! He didn't even wake up to eat - and I wasn't going to wake the beast.When we arrived in Denver, we took a short drive through Boulder and into a tiny old mining town called Nederland where we AirBnB-ed a house. David was in heaven. He immediately assembled his fly rod and headed to the stream nearby to catch some fish. Throughout the week we did several hikes, and Finn did amazing in his Baby Bjorn. David was also able to set up a guided fishing trip and spent two mornings fly fishing in the Rocky Mountains.It was also July 4th weekend so we enjoyed fireworks and the cutest parade I've ever seen. We played countless games of euchre, drank way too much craft beer, and enjoyed each other's company. On the last day, David, Finn, Mom and I went to Estes Park to shop a bit and enjoy the views.I can't wait to take Finn on more family vacations in the future. He and Natalie will grow up together, and the thought of that melts my heart. Now it's time for Emily and Sarah to come visit Charlottesville, right guys?!