Our Trip to Denver

This year, Mike & I took Andrew to Denver, Colorado to meet our friends Katie & Jesse and their two kids Siven and Adelane. We haven't seen Siven since he was 11 months old, and it was our first time meeting 5 month old Addie. It was so wonderful to see them, and Andrew had a great time! It would have been a little better if only Andrew would have slept a little for us, but the days were fun despite his exhaustion!

Day One:

Andrew's first plane ride since he was 4 months old! We thought he would be so excited, since he loves to point out every airplane that flys by in the sky. Who knew the highlight of the airport was going to be the moving walkway? Andrew did wonderfully on the plane, though he did not take a nap until we landed! We made it off the plane and to baggage claim until he finally woke up, which gave him about a 45 minute nap. This was my first experience of the high altitude. I couldn't figure out why I was winded until Katie reminded us of the thinner air! I thought it was just because I haven't carried a sleeping baby for that long in quite some time! We got to Katie & Jesse's, and were able to get settled into our room & spend some time outside talking before Jesse got home from work with Siven and Addie! It was my first time holding the sweet baby girl & I didn't want to let go! Andrew didn't seem to mind as he was quite entertained meeting his new friend, Siven, and getting to play with all Siven's toys which he was so nicely sharing!

Ooohh...the moving walkway!

Katie & Addie ............................Andrew on Siven's Trike

Day Two:

Andrew got up at 4:30 (I think) and was up for the day...it may have been 5:30...I can't quite remember. I was needing a little caffine, so Mike and I walked to a coffee shop and down to a little park in town so Andrew could play on the playground. We got back to Katie & Jesse's, had some lunch & put the kids down for a nap. When everyone was awake, Katie, Siven, Addie, Mike, Andrew & I walked to the Denver Zoo. Jesse got off work early & met us there. Since it was 4:00 on a Friday afternoon when we got there, there were hardly any people & we were able to let Andrew walk by himself most of the time we were there. We got to see some very exciting things, since it was a beautiful day & most the animals were awake. We got to see two lion cubs playing, a tiger pacing by the glass, the giraffes running around, some wierd animal trying to jump the little ditch thing to eat some leaves and got to hear a cheetah voice his opinion. At the inside monkey exhibit, Andrew got scared when one of the little ones kept jumping at him through the glass. So funny! It was way more activity than we got to see at the overly crowded Brookfield zoo when it was so hot all the animals were sleeping!


I think those are zebras......... Big bear, little bear!................ The Cheetah voicing his opinion!

Tiger Walking! ..........................We think he wanted Siven! .........Cubs Playing!

"This way Guys!"

Day Three:

Saturday night, Katie was able to score some amazing tickets to the Avalanche game (hockey). The seats were 7 rows back from the ice. How cool! We took the beginning part of the day & drove the kids up into the mountains. We stopped in a little mountain town (the name escapes me) and did some shopping, and had a fabulous lunch at the rudest German restaurant! "He hasn't carried apple juice in 10 years!). I think Jesse made him mad when he ordered his brat without sourkraut & then I ordered the all American Chicken sandwich (which they jokingly refered to as a chili cheese dog!). We continued up the mountains and got to see some fabulous views. At the top of where we went (again, the name escapes me) we were going to get out and do some hiking, but the temperature had dropped from 80 some degrees in Denver to 52 degrees & windy. We decided to leave the kids in the car, but I was still able to get some great pictures. At some point while we were there, Siven decided to call Andrew "Connor". Katie kept trying to get him to stop, telling him that calling someone by another name is rude. But, when Siven kept saying "bye-bye Connor" to which Andrew would bust out laughing - it was hard to tell him to stop! Anyway, we continued on our journey to the town of Conifur where Jesse's parents live. They very graciously agreed to watch all three kids for us so we could have a night out at the hockey game! We got Andrew & Siven set up with dinner and snuck out of the house. We got to the hockey game & it was amazing! This was the first pro hockey game I had ever been to, and it was so exciting. Jesse explained to me the whole blue line thing, which I started to understand by the time the game was over. It still kind of looks like there are always people everywhere. We didn't get to see any fights, but it was still exciting!

...........The beautiful colors!.......................... "Bye Bye Connor!"

...........Cute Boys!...............................


.............Views from the top!........................

Day Four:

Getting to wake up in the mountains has got to be one of the most breathtaking things I have ever experienced. I don't think my pictures can truely capture what it looks like to have the sun reflect off the mountains to make them look like they are absolutely glowing! Dottie (Jesse's mom) cooked us an amazing breakfast, and we hit the road shortly after to head home. On the way back, we stopped at red rocks, which is a concert hall that has been formed out of natural rocks. The acoustics are amazing! There were a lot of stairs to get to the top & Jesse convinced me it would be worth it in the end to make it all the way up to get to see the views...he was right! It was such a clear day, you could see downtown Denver & the Denver airport, which I'm guessing were at least 30 miles away (correct me if I'm wrong, Katie!). Andrew got to ride in Siven & Addie's backpack on the way up & Mike was lucky enough to carry him. He loved being outside though, and it was totally relaxing. We got home & cleaned up quick before Katie & Jesse's friends came over with their son who is about 1 month younger than Andrew. We had a bunch of finger foods & got to watch the Broncos win! The Rockies won their game too, which forced a 1 game tie breaker on Monday!

..............Waking up in the mountains!.........................

Andrew in the backpack! ....................Views from the top of Red Rocks!.........


Red Rocks........................... Family Pic............................ How do I get that ride?!

Day Five:

Katie & Jesse had to go to work, leaving Mike & I on our own for the day. We took our time getting going in the morning, and went to the Denver Aquarium in the afternoon after Andrew got up from his nap. We got to take the bus into downtown Denver & walked the 16th street mall, which was very cool. It is a road that is only open to pedestrians and shuttle busses, so you can take your time walking the strip with all kinds of shops and restaruants. A couple parks later (which were so beautiful and peaceful) and we were at the aquarium. Once again, not a lot of people are there at 4:00 on a Monday afternoon, so we really got to take our time looking at all the tanks! Andrew didn't quite know what to think! I had to show him that there was glass between him and the fish, because they were really freaking him out. Their tropical display featured a live tiger which was moving around a little bit. It also had a fake orangatang, which Andrew was entranced with! We got to see some otters which were doing backflips off the glass for about 5 minutes! When we got to the end - a huge tank with sharks & fish - there was a 13 month old baby girl who had no fear going up to the glass. Andrew saw this & immediately followed suit, and ooohed and ahhed over the sharks swimming by. Our day at the aquarium was over & it was dinner time so Mike & I ate at a little restaurant outside. We ended up having to run for the bus to get back & got there in time to see it pulling away. We called Katie before we tried to get on another bus...good thing! Apparently, if you need to go East, you can't just get on the Westbound bus & wait for it to loop around! We would have been half way back to Conifur if we had gotten on that bus! A half hour later, we were able to catch the right bus home. We got to Katie & Jesse's, put Andrew down, and watched the Rockies win their tie-breaker game. We did get to sit outside for a little bit and talk some more. What a great day to end our trip! We forgot our camera this day, so believe it or not NO PICTURES!!

Day Six:

Home we come! Katie dropped us off at the airport & Andrew was finally excited to see the planes! The little guy was so exhausted, he fell asleep before we were even fully in the air & didn't wake up until after we landed in Chicago. We had dinner with mom, Laurie & Liam, did some laundry & went to bed. We were all tired! After 6 days of that much excitement, who wouldn't be!

Boys in the bath! ................................. "Da!" (plane...da is everything!)

Thank you again, to Katie & Jesse for opening your house to us and letting us stay with you. We loved spending time with you and your family & can't wait to make the trip again! Good luck in the next couple weeks getting everything put together for Siven's 3rd birthday & Addie's baptism!