Department of Motor Vehicles Adventure

OK, so it wasn't really an "adventure" per se, but really more a necessary errand I was dreading, that turned out to be a pretty fun outing with my boys! We have lived here three months now, our Washington State license tabs expired at the end of March (right after the move), and we had not yet renewed our tabs/title/registration here. It was way past time. Especially since I got pulled over once already for expired tabs this month, and did not want it to happen again. The boys already think I am a major criminal for the one pull-over (yes they were in the car, and yes Ben was very worried I was going to jail), I can't imagine what a second would do to my rep. So, despite the fact that I came down with a stomach flu after running my 10.5 miles on Saturday and was sick in bed with a fever yesterday, the boys and I headed to the Colorado Department of Motor Vehicles today to get the new green rocky mountain plates.

We got there at 12:23pm and had 135 numbers to go before our turn, so we headed out for ice cream at the Baskin-Robbins since the boys had coupons for a free scoop from the summer reading program at our library. When we got back, there were still 60+ numbers to go, so we sat down and got creative. We played I Spy; we made up stories two ways, each saying one word and also each making up a small part then passing it along; we played the baby-shower-style memory game where I covered things that I had pulled out of the diaper bag, uncovered them for 10 seconds, covered them back up and had the boys tell me what they could remember (they were really good!); we found things in the room starting with every letter of the alphabet; we had chap stick rolling contests; and we played "hide the penny" hiding it under things from the diaper bag and you had three tries to guess where it was. It was so much fun! The time flew by...seriously. There were no tears and no fighting. It was a bloomin' miracle.

Even Luke stayed close playing with my cell phone (I may never get it to work again, but he was happy at least) and eating fruit snacks. When we got out, it was 2:14pm. But instead of a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day, it was really fun. It was one of those surprise special times, I mean I know we are going to have fun exploring the zoo, playing at the park, reading together on the couch or visiting the museum, but this was unexpected. My boys are pretty fantastic (brag, brag ;)), but times like these make me feel extra grateful for the fabulous boys I have. Who knew the DMV was such a great place to take your kids?

Denver Museum of Nature and Science Museum Adventure

Yesterday's adventure included 11 children, nature, science and free admission. I think the most "adventurous" part of the adventure was the free part. When things are free, they can get a bit hairy. Along with two families we know from church, the boys and I packed a lunch, drove to Denver and hit the Denver Museum of Nature and Science on Free Admission Day. It was CRAZY BUSY. But a very cool museum. They had two mummies, one rich and one poor, and they did a comparison of the mummification based on wealth (soooo interesting...to me...not the boys, they just liked the fact that there were mummies. Dead bodies 3000 years old? YES, so cool!). We also loved the space, gem and mineral, and dino exhibits. And that was about all we could take of the crowds, but it is definitely one we would want to go to again, on a not-free day; there were so many exhibits to see and so much we missed because we didn't want to stand in the 10-minute line for the elevator (strollers, what a nuisance!). $20 is worth losing the crowd.

Ben's favorite...a whole exhibit of rocks, crystals and minerals.

Ben looking at the poor mummy. Literally, not as in "so sad to be a mummy" but "not enough money for resin so the bandages on my head have all degraded and now you can see my scary dead face." Zach docking a space shuttle in a simulated zero gravity situation, look at the concentration on his face...the "object staying in motion until acted on by an opposing force" thing makes this way harder than it looks! Darn Newton and his laws!
Some days I would truly love to send Josh to space. And at the museum, he got in on the fantasy. Now on those "Josh the Ever-Stubborn" days I can close my eyes and picture this. Zach having his head eaten by the dino bones that were tromping around the museum all day.
Josh loved the sharp teeth on this T-Rex head. "Look at my sharp teeth too, Mommy!"
Ben and the horn of a Triceratops, I had to pull him and Josh away from this touch and feel demo. Flesh-tearing teeth, horns for gouging enemies, rocks that were once in a dinosaur's belly, petrified dino poop...fascinating.
Josh petted this claw for 10 minutes.
Boys and bones of prehistoric life, what a day!This is the whole group of kids, minus one of the littlest ones, by a Mammoth head, look at those tusks, they are twice as long as the skull!

Thunderstruck

One of the coolest things about living here is the afternoon/evening summer thunderstorms. The wind starts to pick up, the sky gets dark and menacing, and then the thunder rumbles and the lightning begins; like our own little nightly fireworks show. The other night Adam and I turned off all the lights, and for about two hours we just watched the lightening strike every 20-60 seconds outside, followed by the rumblings of thunder. When the lightening strikes close though, it isn't just a rumble that follows, it is a crash that makes the windows rattle. There have been a couple of times we both jumped in our seats, and then ran to check on the kids. Don't worry...they always sleep right through it (makes you wonder what would happen if the fire alarms go off).

Manitou Cliff Dwellings Adventure

Today we found ourselves with a couple extra hours...well, we really didn't have a couple extra hours, since we were supposed to be at a birthday party that for some reason got stuck in my head as being tomorrow, so we completely missed it, bad mommy! However, when I was in the blissful moments of thinking we had some extra time, we decided to hit the Manitou (pronounced Man-it-oooo) Cliff Dwellings. These cliff dwellings were home to some of the Anasazi Indians from 1100 to 1300. The boys' favorite parts were watching the Native American dancers, who were VERY cool, and leaping and exploring these rocky homes (boys and rocks, I tell you!). My favorite part was just standing in them and realizing that I was standing where a group of pre-Columbian Americans had laughed and cried, told stories, toiled for their livelihood, birthed babies, cooked meals, defended their families, farmed, fell in love, lost love, lived and died. Real people had actually built these amazing homes in the cliff face close to 1000 years ago, it wasn't just some staged exhibit! Ahhh, I am such a history geek! But I loved it!

This one is for you, Mom!! Does anyone else think there is too much Kokopelli out there?!
Watching the dancers; they were amazing!
The boys got to do a Native American friendship dance at the end. Mostly just stomping in a circle, but they really liked it.

Father's Day

We all had a great Fathers' Day with our personal hero, Adam. It started with a little sleep-in, followed by "Grandma Pancakes" in bed; we were going to have regular pancakes but as I was pulling the box of Bisquick out of the pantry I noticed we had about 2 tablespoons of syrup left...oops. Fortunately, Nicolle's delicious danish pancakes are best eaten with powdered sugar! After quickly getting ready for church, we dashed to the chapel and made it in time to get a pew, which I know was Adam's greatest Fathers' Day wish! After church we came home and I began Adam's dinner, yes, it was only 2:15, but he had requested my incredibly labor-intensive "citrus salad," which is sooooo good but takes sooooo long. We also had artichokes, and steaks on the barbie with sauteed onions and mushrooms. So good. While I cooked (and peeled and pieced) Adam and the boys played some catch in the backyard and had a wee little squirt gun fight. It was a great day.

My life has been influenced by three great dads. My father, Stan, my father-in-law, Dan, and my dear husband, Adam. They have each brought so much to our family. They motivate, encourage, sustain, educate, enliven, love, bless and nourish our lives. My boys are so fortunate to have three such amazing men as mentors and role models. We love you three great men!

Royal Gorge Adventure

Saturday's adventure was a family trip to Royal Gorge Bridge, the home of the world's highest suspension bridge, spanning the Royal Gorge, our own little Grand Canyon, dug out over the millenia by the Arkansas River. It is about an hour-and-a-half drive to this breath-taking, palm-sweating, awe-inspiring wonder. We were definitely impressed and I was definitely freaked out. It is no secret that I have a nominal fear of heights that slightly hinders my ability, and desire for that matter, to participate in anything that is more than 20 feet up in the air. So why did I want to take my family to this bridge? The answer is: I don't know. It was more than a little terrifying, but also very lovely and convinced me (as I am convinced every time I swallow my fear and just go for it) that I can't let my fears keep me from experiencing great things because I am really glad we did this yesterday. Mother Nature is incredibly inspiring and amazingly beautiful; our lives are just a blink in this geological force, yet we are so fortunate to be a part of this great history and to have the gift of this short time on earth we are given!

Royal Gorge Bridge--the Arkansas river is too far down and I couldn't get both the bridge and the river in the picture from this side of the bridge.

This is the story of the gorge and the bridge and the rail road battle over who would get the rights to build across it.

The boys and I by the Colorado State Flag, all 50 state flags were hung alphabetically along the giant cables holding up the bridge. As we crossed I kept saying "Just gotta make it to Washington." And yes, the picture is accurately depicting how fiercely I am holding onto my children. I was actually clenching Zach and Josh with a vice-like, sweaty grip (Adam had Ben's hand and Luke in the backpack). They kept letting go of my hand to wipe my sweat off of their palms.

1,053 feet up, all suspension cables, and the bridge deck is wooden plank boards. When cars would drive over the whole thing would shake. I just loved that!

Ahhhh, the best state in the country, Washington...we are across, now if only we didn't have to get back across to the car!

The view of the bridge and river from the other side so you can see it all. If you look really carefully, you may be able to see river rafts down there!

There were some fun things for the kids on the other side: a Rocky Mountain Wildlife park with bison, elk and mountain goats; a petting zoo (here Josh is having a deep conversation with a goat); burro rides (the boys rode Rocky the pony and Raspberry the burro, both of whom stopped to relieve themselves along the route); and for the more daring, deeper of pocket, and 48" tall folk--a ride on the sky coaster, for a mere $25 a pop you too can be flung out 1,300 feet above the gorge. Thank goodness Adam is frugal or he would have done it.
This is how we returned to the other side, on a fully-packed red gondola swinging in the breeze over the gorge (look closely, it's there!). Surprisingly, it was easier to get across this way than the walk over the bridge. No sweaty palms this time!
Safe at last, back where we started.
Close to the entrance were a carousel, which the kids were anxious to ride from the minute we got there, and a small train taking us on a tour of...wait for it...some bushes and scrub grass.

You can see what Luke's favorite part of the day was. Look at that grin! Pure bliss.

Helen Hunt Falls Adventure

Today's adventure was a beautiful hike along the Helen Hunt Falls trail that takes you from the bottom of the falls to the top. All together there were 2 adults with 10 kids (9 of them boys) and four different families represented, my four, our neighbors, the Simonds four (of seven), and two other neighborhood kids from two different families. We had a great time and it was such a lovely hike: uphill for about 3/4 of a mile and then back down. At the top some of the boys wanted to climb higher up the boulders, so my neighbor, Valerie (the other adult) stayed down with the younger kids and I climbed up with the older kids. It was a little scary, but the view from the top was incredible. Verdict: do it again!

This is the bottom of the hike...the rest is uphill from here!

This is the end of the trail, however, with boys there is no end if there are still rocks to climb, Josh is making his way up higher, but this is as far as he was comfortable going.

Here the boys are starting to climb to where we couldn't see them well, at this point I decided to follow them up, while Valerie stayed behind with the little guys.

Ben heading up the rocks, about halfway to the top of the mountain where I took the view picture below.

The view from the top, at the point of that valley is Colorado Springs, and then beyond is the Great Plains.Josh was happy to play by the stream instead of climb up the rocks.

Getting ready to eat our picnic lunch just below the top of the trail.

I was proud of these guys: a long uphill hike for short legs, and not one complaint!

This is the crazy gaggle of kids we had with us, a fun group and a good day!

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Adventure

Today was our Zoo trip, and I have to say, we have a great kid-friendly zoo here. Minus a bit of sassiness and grumbling from the three-year-old in the group, we packed our lunch, loaded up the jogging stroller and headed to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo to meet our cousins, the Ropers, for a day of giraffes, bears and snow leopards. The zoo itself is located up on a mountain above the lovliest part of Colorado Springs called The Broadmoor. I now know where I want to live when I am a bazillionaire. But I digress...the final verdict of our zoo here in The Springs: definitely visit again. Now to the pictures:

Feeding the birds the seed sticks, Josh was so happy ONE bird decided to come down from the rafters for a bite to eat.

This bird is NOT on my shoulder, but this nice lady let Zach feed the bird that had decided to perch on her...glad it wasn't me, I don't like the scritchy scratchy birdie nails!We really ARE that close to those grizzly bears...they were having a great time splashing in their little pool.

Petting the Bearded Dragon...yes, mom, see the hand sanitizer?

Luke LOVED the bears, they were his favorite animal of the day, the birds in the Budgie Buddies room came in a close second.

All the kids: the three boys, the boys' cousins, Sheridan and Quentin, minus 2 babies, outside the Tiger exhibit (we never did find the tigers in there!).

This one is for Aunt Sara...feeding the GI-raffes their special giraffe crackers.

I had to put this one in, check out the lower middle...Josh: "Mommy those kats (Meerkats) are hugging!"

Ben's ever favorite, the alligators.