Colorado here we come!

FUn!Fun! fUn! We need to get out of town and just relax. No more doctors appointments, blood draws, tests, or work. If we don't leave far away then daddy usually has to work. Our first plan was to go to Dinosaur land but it is closed for renovations so why not go to Denver?!

Day 1 - We decided we really wanted to go to the US Mint so we drove down town to see if we could get standby tickets. We got some so all we had to do was stick around and hope that 20 people didn't show up to use their tickets. So we went to 16th street and played tourist. Can you spot the boys in the buffalo herd?




The Mint was so cool! There is pretty tight security there. No cameras, no cell phones, no purses. We luckily could take the boys in though they weren't considered a dangerous threat. It was so neat seeing how all the coins are made. We should all use the new dollars though. It will help our economy. They only cost 26 cents to make and the treasury sells them for 1 dollar. So that should fix everything, Right?!


Seeing all that money be made we needed to go see some yummy candy be made at Hammond's candy factory. We made the last tour of the day and boy were we glad we did. They make everything by hand starting in copper pots, then getting mixed and pulled, rolled and stretched into suckers, candy canes and other delicious candies. The boys got to eat some of the candy being made fresh off the line (not everyone does) they were still warm. Everyone chose a rather large lollipop and we chose one for Grif too since he slept in my arms the whole time. As we were paying he started stirring and sat up to a fabulous dream, only it was real life. He was in a store full of candy everything. He sat up and said "I want one!" with his big huge eyes open wide with amazement. What a day.





Every time we left the hotel Jaron asked if we could go back home. All he wanted to do was swim. When he woke up it was the first thing he wanted to to do. He was a happy little fish.

We also met up with Lex's cousin Jeff and his kids at a place called Dave and Buster's. It was so fun to meet them since Lex and Jax went to the family reunion and talk about lots of family. It was good to finally put faces to a few names. The kids were moderately good at dinner and then had the time of their lives playing games after. We all had a really great time playing and laughing. Jaxon left saying, "this is the best night of my life, in Denver!" They were exhausted boys when we got back.

Day 2 - we spent and the Museum of Science and Nature. We probably could have spent another day there and not been bored at all. There was so much to see and do. The boys probably loved the Space and Dinosaurs the best. But I really like the Mummies and the kids room.


















Day 3 - The Red Rock Amphitheater, swimming, Build a Bear and the Rockies game. We
(Lex and I) really wanted to see the Red Rock Stage where U2 recorded their album back in the 80's. It is such a beautiful place. It would be amazing to see a concert there. Even the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang there on a recent tour. It was fun hiking around and the boys loved climbing in all the rock crevices.

The boys decided instead of quiet time they should go swimming. Why not? We were on vacation. While I was sitting by the pool I got the crazy idea to go to Build a Bear. We were only going to get one special vacation bear but that didn't work out so well. So we came home with Benjamin the Panda Bear, Speedy the Tiger and Benny the Buffalo. Grif's Buffalo was almost as big as he is. Three happy boys and two exhausted parents headed to the Rockies game. We had the most amazing seats in that enormous stadium. We ended up sitting on the 3rd row on the first base line. The boys got their mitts signed by Ryan Spillborghs. The Rockies won and we happily trudged back to our car exhausted and ready for a good night sleep before we drove home.

Day 4 - Drive home and swim in the pool oh and go back to the candy factory to get more candy. Hammond's was having their annual garage sale to get rid of over stocked candy and we could not pass that up. We all left happy again. Lex with a bag of black licorice, mom with a candy ribbon and a case of Candy canes for Christmas gifts (surprise!), the boys with more candy. Grif decided that he really needed a big pink sucker after we had paid. He smiled real cute and they gave it to him just for being adorable. Oh to be young and cute again. One happy family on their way home.

Happy 3rd Birthday Grifin! To Infinity and Beyond.....

TOATHINYANEYON!!! Translation - To Infinity and Beyond! Grifin could not wait for his birthday and Uncle David surprised us with a birthday card fitting for our 3 yearold Space Ranger.
















All the Space Rangers had a great time defeating Zurg's evil plan to get rid of birthday parties. I think I will have to find another time we can play pin the parts on Mr. Potato Head. It was a hit.

Jaxon helped me make the pinata. It took us longer than we thought it would but it worked out to be a pretty great meteor. Happy Birthday our handsome, lively three year old. You make us smile.

This is the Place

Lucky kids getting to pet a new baby colt. This was the middle of June but it looks like we are dressed for winter. It was about 50 degrees but it didn't stop us from having a great day. Grandma joined us for a little while before she had to go to the University for her classes. The kids love the pony rides. This year they were barely long enough to even get a picture. Grif was brave enough to go. He was a little hesitant but he did it!





The kids loved petting all of the baby animals. Some of the babies were as big as Grif already. Hayden and Jaxon were so gentle with the babies and interested in all the different animals. Jaron loved it too but he didn't stick around in one place for very long.




BRRRRR!!! Icecream on a cold day? They wouldn't have left without it. We had so much fun riding the big train and even the little one too. There were tepee's and hogans, log cabins and panning for gold. It was a tad bit cold to stay in the stream too long but they all found a piece of gold and got to trade it in at the bank for some candy.






Fun is sometimes hardwork! What a great time we had with grandma and cousins.

Lions, Tigers and a big yellow bus!

Hooray for zoo day! The big yellow bus. Jaron has been waiting all year for his field trip to the zoo. The highlight of the trip is riding the big yellow bus. Grif and I went too but we got to ride on the other bus so Jar could be a big kid with his big friends. We didn't even see them because Jaron was on the loose. It's a good thing he had two big friends to keep up with him.

The baby elephant was one of their favorites. With good reason she is pretty cute. She looks pretty small next to her mom but she already ways more than our entire family put together.

Grif was riot hobbling all over the zoo in his cast. He didn't care much about the animals but he did point out every garbage can and rock to us. It was quite entertaining.