Colorado Trip - Part 3

When I asked Kate back in March what she wanted to do while in Colorado, she said "Go for a hike in the mountains!"  Saturday was the day for that.

After our morning walk, yummy breakfast, and more visiting, we drove up into the mountains to Golden Gate Canyon State Park for our adventure in the mountains.

We had done our research beforehand and picked out what we thought would be a good hike for us.  In hindsight, I think I should have talked to the rangers at the Visitor's Center the morning of and gotten their opinion.  Ours worked, but I think we could have found a better one if we had just asked.  Oops.

The first sign that this trail might be tricky was that the beginning of it was covered in snow.  Earlier in the week Denver and the surrounding area was dumped on with snow.  All of the snow in the city was gone, but the shaded forest higher up had 2-5 inches still on the ground in several places.

Although we both had warm jackets, Kate was wearing capri leggings, cotton socks, and her regular school gym shoes (which I learned earlier in the day are way too small for Kate!).  Oops again.  I asked several times if she wanted to turn around instead of doing the whole 2.5 mile loop, but she insisted on going forward.

Then we discovered some tracks in the snow and watched them crisscross the trail for 1/8 mile or so.  I'm glad we didn't meet whoever made these tracks!

Finally the snow cleared off, but then we were into the toughest part of the elevation climb.  Kate hasn't had a lot of experience with this kind of hike yet and the middle third of the trek was pretty tough for her.  We stopped frequently to refuel, but she wasn't interested in the fuel with a lot of calories, she wanted her cucumber.

But we made it!  There were no pretty views at the top, except for this really cool dead tree :)

The way back down was a little more pleasant, except for the steep sections still covered in slippery slush, and the need for many potty breaks.

Poor Kate's shoes and socks were soaking, so she took them off and just slipped her shoes off at our next stop.  We drove to Panoramic View Point to see our closest glimpse of the real mountains that we would see.

Unfortunately, we didn't stay long because Kate was ready to be done.  She had cold, wet feet and was pretty wiped from the hike.  But at least she posed for a few pictures.

And then took one of her own.

We took the scenic drive back to Denver and only had to stop once to take a break from the twisy, turny roads.  But even those kinds of breaks are fun with Kate, especially if she's barefoot.

Our evening back with Adam and family was low-key, but enjoyable.  Kate and I don't need much.  Some food, good conversation, a baby, and a dog ... what more could you want?

Kate was able to spend some more time bonding with her youngest cousin while us grown-ups chatted some more.

We did our best to memorize this guy's face and emerging personality.

And then we headed down the street for some delicious local ice cream to round out our visit.
 

(Surprisingly, this was the only picture I got of Jess and/or Adam.  Either the trip was not about seeing them, or I was having too much fun talking with them to think to take any pictures of them.  I think the latter is going to be my story.)

One more post to come!

Colorado Trip - Part 2

Friday was our first tourist day.  After our morning walk to Adam and Jess' for breakfast and socializing, Kate and I ventured across town to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, which just happens to have reciprocal membership with the Madison Children's Museum ... we LOVE our membership :)

When we chose this activity, I didn't really know what to expect from Kate.  She's been to plenty of museums, but never without her siblings who, let's be honest, can't handle as much as she can.

Oh. My. Goodness.  Kate was in heaven.  We arrived at about 9:30 and I had to force Kate to leave at 4:00, with only a 30 minute lunch break in the middle of the day.  We could have spent a few days at this one museum.

We started the day by posing with the large T. Rex skeleton, but moved quickly on to the more in-depth exhibits.  Gems and anything with animals were high on Kate's list of things to see, but we managed to squeeze in a few others as well.

These next two photos describe how Kate absorbed each and every scene with such detail and awe.

At some point we stopped for lunch and I checked in with Kate about how she wanted to spend the rest of her day.  She was thrilled to stay at this museum, provided that we could pick out souvenirs for the kids in our family (stuffed animals for the girls ... seriously!?... and a NASA space set for Ethan).

We also headed up to the observation deck to see the, once again, beautifully clear view of Denver and the mountains.

Then we just kept going.  I learned plenty and Kate and I managed to have great conversations about just about everything we were seeing.  She's a fun museum buddy right now.

We probably shouldn't have saved our last exhibit for the end, but I bet if we had found it earlier in the day, we would have spent too much time there.  The interactive health exhibit was very well done, with the ability to obtain personal information about your heart, your height/arm span, your stride, and plenty of other topics which we didn't have time to even look through.

Our very last activity of the day was an experiment in which we tested different cleaning products to see which one was most effective at killing bacteria.  Lab coats, goggles, and gloves were required :)

Bleach was the best killer in our test, in case anyone is wondering.

Then it was time to go.  I'm sure we would have stayed longer if we could have, but we were scheduled to babysit baby Nash so his parents could go out to eat just the two of them.

Mama and Papa Bear were a little nervous about leaving Baby Bear, but they were also confident in our ability to take care of the little guy.

It's been awhile since I've had an infant take a nap on my shoulder, but I enjoyed the experience almost as much as Nash.  Babies can be very fun and sweet, but it's also nice to hand them back to mom and dad when the day is through so that I can get a good night's sleep :)

Kate spent some of the nap part of the evening sketching and writing, and playing with Tanqy.

Then once Nash woke up, he was all smiles and such a joy.

Watching Kate spend time with Nash reminded me SO much of when Ethan was an infant, both with Kate's interactions at the time with her little brother, but also with how Anna used to interact with Ethan when he was an infant.

 I think these two enjoyed their first experiences with one another :)

Then Adam and Jess came home, and our adventure was officially half over.

Colorado Trip - Part 1

This past weekend Kate and I made a trip to Denver, CO, to visit my brother, Adam, his wife, Jess, and their new baby boy, Nash.  I don't exactly remember when the first idea for this trip popped into my head, but it sounded like a good one from the beginning.  Sure enough, it turned out to be a great experience, even though I hadn't taken a trip like this since I was pregnant with Kate!

The details of traveling this distance with sweet Kate stressed me out a little in the weeks prior to our departure, but they really shouldn't have.  She's a great traveler and I learned that she is at the perfect age to turn an experience like this one into a pleasant adventure.

Early on Thursday morning, we drove to a local park and ride where we caught a bus to O'Hare airport in Chicago.  From the beginning, Kate's excitement was priceless and contagious.

The bus made a few stops before dropping us off at the terminal.  The first leg of our journey was a foretaste of how we would spent this time together ... taking pictures, playing ipad games, reading, drawing, etc.

Experiencing the excitement of airports again with a first-time-flier was so, so, so much fun.  Security, waiting at the gate, watching people ... all these things are so much more interesting if you're doing them the first time.

Kate brought along a notebook and a sketchbook as part of her traveling activities.  She wrote in her "diary" almost every day and drew a handful of sketches, both for herself and for her brother :)

Kate got the window seat, of course, and couldn't keep her eyes off of the view.  She even correctly identified the Mississippi River as we passed over it!  Thank goodness for the clear skies that day :)

As we approached Denver, we had our first views of the Rocky Mountains.  Kate took a handful of pictures, including this one, of the sight.

Adam picked us up at the airport and drove us to our airbnb.  (Adam and Jess have a small house, and a new baby.  I figured it was worth the expense to have a good night's rest :)  The house we found was a 100+ year old gem in a great, historic neighborhood which was located less than a mile from Adam and Jess' place.

Kate and I had a little room with two twin beds, and a bathroom virtually to ourselves.

Kate especially enjoyed all of the lizards decorating the rest of the home.

Every morning and most evenings, we walked the dozen or so blocks from our house to Adam and Jess', enjoying the fresh air, exercise, and sights along the way.

Thursday evening we joined Adam and company at their house to get reacquainted with Tanqy, the bulldog.

We were also able to finally meet this sweet boy.

More to come!

Spring Break - Part 3

The rest of our spring break was spent at home.  We needed that.  Actually, Kate needed that.  Anna, too, to an extent, but Kate probably needed the open space and free play time more than anyone.  She's like that.

Two of the days of the week the sun came out.  That's right, two.  Only two.

On one of those days, I took the kids to Olbrich Gardens to see some of the first spring flowers, but more importantly to get some fresh air and exercise.  It worked well.  Kate and Ethan ran ahead of us, in and out of different paths, and Kate even braved the last leg over to the Thai Pavilion while Ethan and Anna took a rest.  Anna needed that rest because she chose to use her walker (!).  Way to go, Anna!  She was tuckered out by the end, but she powered her way through a 45 minute excursion along outdoor pavement.

The other sunny day we took the kids to a park in McFarland.  Actually, Kate and I rode our bikes and met Matt, Anna, and Ethan.  While there, Kate rested and watched others for awhile before she explored (the 6+ mile bike ride there tired her out a bit); Ethan played in the sand; and Anna took another walk around the playground on a sidewalk.  The fresh air and exercise was good for all of us.  Matt drove the kids home, but I got to bike home *alone*.

One of our indoor excitements from spring break was being able to rodent-sit a class pet gerbil named Ralph.  Kate's first grader teacher from last year has been allowing Kate and a friend to come and visit Ralph most days after school.  Somewhere along the way, we worked it out that Kate could take care of Ralph over spring break.

Kate was in heaven, but all of the kids enjoyed having another pet for a week.  Ralph was returned to his rightful classroom this afternoon, and we have no plans to get a rodent of our own any time soon :)

The last bit of excitement was "getting out the Legos" for spring break.  We actually pulled them all out the weekend before spring break and, thankfully, put them all back away on Sunday evening.  I just can't handle the "lego mess" for too long.

I promised the girls that I would take pictures of their creations before we took them apart and put them away.  True to my word, here are the photos.

Anna's house/jail:

Kate discovered how to make "dresses" for the women.

 
Kate's science exploration craft:

On the left is Kate's "dragon", an alligator with wings that flap ... on the right is Kate's buggy attachment for one of the horses:

I can't tell you too much about the rest of them, but I'm sure that Kate could, and probably would.

Kate was in a bad mood this morning about going back to school whereas Anna has been positively cheerful all day.  As I told them this morning, though, they only have two months left of school and a lot of fun stuff happens in those two months.

Either way, hooray for spring break!

Spring Break - Part 2

Thursday and Friday we spent some time in the Dells at Mt. Olympus.  Five years ago, Mt. Olympus was the waterpark where it all started for our family; we took the girls (then ages 4 and 2) on a "mystery trip" and tried out the waterpark.  Then we returned the next year with baby Ethan in tow, and my mom along to help out.

Since then we have been able to score good deals at the Kalahari, but nothing was popping up for this year's spring break, so we decided to try out Mt. Olympus again.  Although the kids had a good time and we made some fun family memories, Matt and I think we will try to hold out for good deals at the Kalahari in the future.  Spring Break at Mt. Olympus was very busy and felt a bit cramped for space.

Silly us failed to capture any moments with a camera, so here are a few key memories we want to remember.

The lazy river was anything but "lazy".
Kate and Ethan have hit the ages where sibling bickering can be very frustrating.  ("No, I want the top bunk!"  "No, I want to be the first one in the room!")
Waiting and waiting and waiting for tubes to go down the waterslides got old fast.
Bumper cars ... not the best for our crew right now :)
Biplane ride, balloon ride, teacups, and drop tower were all ridden more than once by the kids.
Staying in the "village" instead of Hotel Rome made for some very cold dashes to the van while wearing swimsuits.

Here are the brighter moments.

All of our kids wanted to and were able to do the tall waterslides, even the tallest!, multiple times with us.
The space was small enough that we could keep an eye on all of the kids without being right next to them.
Breakfast at Cracker Barrel worked well again, and Anna ate about a third of a pancake!
Any tears shed did not dampen people's moods for long.
The room was quiet from about 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. ... not bad for us.
We all returned home glad to be home, but thankful that we spent some time away as a family.

One more post is coming about the rest of our spring break time, and then school starts up again for an action packed couple of months.