Some Fun in Denver

While in Denver for two weeks we actually got out to see and do quite a few things. Well, free or inexpensive things that are suitable to do with 3 kids. After all, why would I ever want to go to a nice restaurant and actually eat at a leisurely pace? Or do some gnarly hiking? Or antique shopping? Or be out after 8:30pm? Or, or, or? Traveling with kids is sure different than travelling as a couple, but we still had fun.

These are some pics taken on the fly with the ipod. It’s just too darn hard to haul around three kids AND a heavy camera that needs toying with while the babes are on the loose.

We toured the Hammond Candy Company.

  

I thought Rob would get a kick out of this.

We went to the talked up Mile High Marketplace but it was just junk and more junk.

Rob went to the Tattered Cover bookstore.

We went to the Museum of Science and Nature three times. Our Discovery Gateway passes got us in for free and it was totally fun.

They had a T.Rex Encounter which I thought was pretty fun. The Animatronic dinosaurs were huge and followed you with their eyes and heads. Their roars were quite loud and scared Madeleine and Caroline just didn’t know what to think. This was taken in front of a green screen.

 

Here Nate is looking at the sun and its solar flares.

 

The kids loved Space Odyssey’s AstroTot area. Madeleine especially loved to dress up and pretend they were crashing into an alien planet.

 

 

We also went to the huge play area in the mall. This gave them a chance to play with kids and me a chance to sit back and be stared at because I actually have three children. The whole time in Colorado I never once saw a family with more than two kids. So I got some stares and a “Way to go!”.

 

 

The kids got to sit in the new Tesla and got free posters of the car. I wouldn’t have minded taking it out for a test drive. Too bad it doesn’t fit 3 carseats.

 

While in Denver we were also able to go out to dinner with two of Rob’s cousins and their families. We haven’t seen them for years and our kids have never met. It’s nice letting our kids meet more cousins. They love cousins!

We also met up with an old friend, Brian Gardner, and his family. He and Rob were in the band FOUND nine years ago. It was fun to catch up with all the craziness that has happened since then. We ate at the (in)famous Casa Bonita and watched the silly dive show, which the kids loved. We were so happy we got to meet up.

We had a few day trips while in Colorado including downtown, Georgetown, Golden, and Boulder. We’ll blog those when we get a chance.

Can We All Just Ease Up A Little?

I’ve been thinking lately about how much effort we women put into looking good. I mean, think about it. First, there is the time we spend. Like, HOURS and HOURS of every week. Second, the money we spend. It’s a multi-kazillion dollar industry. Lastly, the mental effort we spend. We think, critique, agonize, patronize, stress, judge, compare, and get depressed.

Here’s a quick run-down of SOME of the things we torture ourselves with (and yes, I’m guilty of more than a few of these).

• Shave, wax, laser hair removal
• Tanning, both real and fake
• Makeup including eyelash torture devices and spiderleg falsies
• Hair cut and color
• Spanx
• Padded bra
• Teeth straitening and whitening
• Botox and more drastic plastic surgery
• Fake nails
• Deprivation diets or eating disorders
• Up-to-the-minute fashion trends, even when they’re unflattering and expensive
• Flat-Iron or curling iron
• Masks, scrubs, Micro-dermabrasion, chemical peels, etc
• Goo, goo, and more goo from the “beauty” aisles. Not one aisle, but many

That’s insane. Seriously INSANE. Why do we do this to ourselves?? On tv, all you here is “If I look good on the outside, then I feel good on the inside.” Well THAT’S NOT TRUE and we all know it.

My goal here isn’t to knock basic hygiene, making ourselves presentable and even beautiful, or indulging in some simple pleasures. My problem is that I think we all try a little too hard. 

So. Here’s a goal. Let’s all just freaking ease up on ourselves. Let’s do the things we really care about and love. Some people LOVE to get a mani-pedi. That’s great! Some people naturally tan easily. Super! But let’s stop trying so hard to go against the beautiful, natural bodies Heavenly Father created for us. If we go too far against our natural selves it’s frustrating, depressing, time-consuming, and

JUST NOT WORTH IT.

Provo River Falls

Man! These falls are so fun!! We spent a couple of hours here on our way to Mirror Lake. Next time we might just spend more time at the falls and forget the lake. Totally wicked fun.

 

Nate’s blurry in this picture, but I love his facial expression.

 

Check out the abs on my boy!! We’re gonna be in trouble with him someday.

Can you tell he had a blast??

 

Madeleine liked the falls, but she also liked the puddles

 

And the branches.

 

 

Next we moved on to Mirror Lake. While the girls finished their nap in the car I snuck out and took this.
I believe it’s a horse feeder thingy. Feel free to correct me or give me the real word for it.

 

The kids played in the field and picked me wildflowers. So sweet.

        

 

 

We had fun here a couple of years ago but this time it was just crowded, dirty, and buggy.

 

Caroline eating a graham cracker.

 

“Fishing” with trash she found.

 

More “fishing” with trash.

 

Good times, family. Good times.

Nate, Me, and the Rockies

I’ve wanted to attend a major league baseball game for a very long time. I’m not really into watching sports on TV but I really enjoy attending games. I was so blessed to be able to go to a game with my son Nate while visiting Denver. We saw the Rockies play the Padres and really enjoyed the game. The Padres got ahead early but there were a few good opportunities to catch up late in the game that made it really exciting. Nate and I cheered for the Rockies like locals and had a great time!

We had some super dogs for dinner (not so good). Nate’s dropped his after a few bites and eventually dropped part of mine that I gave up after seeing his sad face. Ha. Good thing we had a bag of skittles……

 

We sat at the far end of the stadium in center field. This area of the stadium is called the Rock Pile. The tickets for this area are only 4 dollars each! What a steal for a great time!

I’m never going to forget that night. Never.

Under a Parasol

Here are some fun pictures of our niece, Emma.

Geez, I wish it was socially acceptable for a 30 year old woman to relax just like this (maybe minus the pacifier...). She looks soooo relaxed and I could use some of that... ;)

And here is Jordin, cute as ever.

Colorado Blvd

Denver is different than I was expecting. Quite different, actually. I was thinking it'd be similar to SLC but it certainly is not. Here's what I've noticed so far.

It's bigger than I thought it would be.

It's very dirty.

The drivers are very pleasant.

The whole metro area is on a grid, but downtown is on a grid diagonal from everywhere else. We got totally lost our first night when we didn't realize this.

King Sooper's is a weird name for a grocery store chain.

Lots and lots of Ross stores.

Lots and lots of liquor stores.

The traffic lights are loooong.

LOTS of churches. I've seen tons of different churches in Missouri and Pennsylvania, but I wasn't expecting it in Denver. On one church's sign it read "Progressive Christians in a Traditional Setting."

I've driven up and down Colorado Blvd a few times and think it's interesting. I bet it was a silky, shiny new boulevard back in the day. Today it's run down. On my drive today I thought I'd snap some pictures with the ipod while stopped at traffic lights.

I edited them on the ipod's Camera+ app using a retro feel, since most of the buildings were built a few decades ago.