Rocky Mountain Adventure Part Three

Yesterday, we went to Rocky Mountain National Park. We packed up a picnic, and enjoyed lunch with an amazing view.

We may have overbought for the picnic, we had: grapes, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries (This sort of berry overload is what happens when you leave Tyler alone with his daddy in the produce section, while you take Ashley to the restroom. The boy loves berries!!!), peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches (one without jelly), a turkey sandwich, summer sausage, 4 kinds of cheese, turkey, Ritz crackers, Club crackers, Chicken in a Biscuit, Cheetos, kettle chips, Pringles, chocolate chip cookies, and mint Milanos. Perhaps, too much for four people! After lunch, we explored the park.

We drove the entire Trail Ridge Road, which took us up above the tree line. It even snowed on us, while we were up there.

The kids didn't want to stay out for very long while we were up in the Alpine Tundra, but when we came back down where it was a little warmer, they really enjoyed exploring.

Both Tyler and Ashley loved leaning over and feeling the cold mountain water.

Tyler's favorite activity was throwing rocks and sticks into the stream. He even insisted that daddy help him carry this giant rock to the stream, so he could toss it in.

We did see plenty of wildlife...a ton of chipmunks.

Some elk

And we saw some moose and deer, but I didn't get any pictures. A great day!

Rocky Mountain Adventure Part Two

Most of our day today was spent exploring the area right around our condo and the Village.

The kids played for a bit on a playground here that had a big wooden train.

Brent taught them how to play chess on the giant chess board.

We spent quite a bit of time in the Winter Parcade.

Ashley's favorite thing in the arcade was this horse.

She loved to try to reach over and put the token in herself, while on the horse, which was not exactly easy.  We are lucky to be here while the Colorado Freeride Festival is going on. So, today we got to sit on the deck at our condo building...

...and watch the "Intergalactic Pond Crossing Competition," which basically involved people on bikes crossing a pond on an incredibly narrow "bridge," made of boards and foam floating pieces.

You can barely make it out in this picture, but there is a bike on a narrow bridge in that pond. Most of the bikes fell off into the water, making for some amusement, but a decent number did make it across. The kids did get to try their own hand at some bike riding. (Thankfully, not across any ponds.)

We definitely need to get the kids bikes soon, particularly Tyler. He really enjoyed it. We also rode the Cabriolet lift, which the kids loved, but I didn't get any pictures, and Ashley played a bit at another playground that they have. (Tyler had to go back to the arcade.)

It is funny. It felt like a really relaxing day, but when I put it all down, I guess we really did a lot!

Rocky Mountain Adventure

For a few months, Brent has been talking about planning a surprise vacation for the family. At the beginning of July, he booked it. I had a few clues, but didn't really know where we were going. We left on Friday evening and flew to Denver. The kids did great on the plane. We stayed at the Renaissance, which was really nice. When we walked in, Ashley said, "I love this hotel! It's beautiful!" It had glass elevators that looked out over the lobby, which were a big hit with the kids. The next morning we ate breakfast at the hotel, then Brent went to get the rental car. I was pretty impressed with myself, because while he was getting the car, I packed up our suitcases and managed to get 4 suitcases, 2 backpacks and 2 three-year-olds down to the lobby.

Tyler and Ashley have definitely become good travelers, when they can each wear a backpack and wheel a suitcase around. I'm seeing a number of vacations in our future. After checking out of the hotel, we went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, and then loaded up in the car and headed into the mountains. By late afternoon, we had checked into our condo in Winter Park. After getting settled, we headed out to explore the village.

We enjoyed dinner on the patio at the Cheeky Monk. It always feels like vacation when we sit on a patio, since we get to do it so rarely in Oklahoma. They had some big games and blocks set up at different places throughout the village, which the kids enjoyed.

I'll post again later with more of our adventures.

Museum of Osteology and Pioneer Pies

So on Thursday, Tyler requested that we go someplace we have never been. Well, we recently got a coupon book as part of a prize in the library's summer reading game. So, perusing it, I came across a coupon for the Museum of Osteology, and off we went.

The museum was not that impressive, but the kids enjoyed it. It did have hundreds of bones, everything from the giraffe right here, to a T-Rex skull to little birds and rodents. After the museum, we headed to Pioneer Pies, and enjoyed a yummy lunch, including a piece of Peanut butter chocolate cream pie.

All in all a successful day.

Wondertorium

Wednesday was another "day"-cation, and we drove up to Stillwater, to the Wondertorium. We had been here before, but it has been a while. As expected, the kids loved it. They first had to do a little fishing in the "boat."

They went down this slide about 20 times.

Notice that Tyler is looking out with his binoculars.  Ashley's favorite, of course, was the doctor's area.

She loved the real stethoscope, and they both, of course, loved the "crunches."

With the doctor's area they also had a nursery, so we had to swaddle and sling some of the babies, in addition to listening to their heartbeats, weighing them and giving them shots.

They both, of course, kept good records of all of this (like any good doctor would).

They also spent quite some time building walls, towers and forts with the gigantic blocks.

They also loved the water table.

And the General Store was also a big hit.

They could put eggs in these little holes in the General Store and collect them from the "nests" on the other side.

This kept their attention for quite some time. There were also some dress up clothes, so they both had turns being the big bad wolf.

Another successful trip!

We Have Bunting

Not exactly sure why, but I have always loved patriotic bunting, so when we bought our house, I thought our front porch would be perfect for some bunting around the 4th of July. It's our third summer in this house, but we finally have bunting!

Yes, I made Brent stand precariously on our 6' ladder to put it up.

Actually, he was a willing participant, as was Tyler.

The kids also enjoyed waving some smaller flags that we purchased.

And running around the front yard, and generally acting crazy. In general, they obeyed our "no using the flags like swords to fight each other" rule. Brent joked that I was taking progress shots, so that I could post a blog that ended with him in the ER because he fell from the ladder.

Luckily, no such incident occurred. And when we finished, Tyler let Brent know that his work was worth it by telling him, "These are really great decorations, daddy!"

Myriad Gardens

Today was a play date at the Myriad Gardens.

We met up with Aunt Karla, Athena, Danielle, Peyton and Parker. The kids loved playing in the fountain.

And we had fun at the children's garden, too.

It's such a cool place!

Another fun summer day!