Okay, I am finally posting about our trip to Denver. We had a blast and really enjoyed our time there. J's sister lives just South of Denver and we've been wanting to visit for quite a while. Last time we went down was about six years ago just before our 1st anniversary. As we were planning for this trip, I started thinking about getting a portable DVD player. I worried a lot about P getting bored and unruly. So after some research, we ended up buying a Duel Screen DVD player. It has two screens that you can attach to the headrests. The kids can watch one movie on both screens or watch two separate movies. It was the BEST investment ever! With E being in a rear-facing car seat, we placed the screen where he could see and had him watch Baby Einsteins and stuff. P got to watch a plethora of Pixar movies and stuff. It was great and kept them happy ..... for the most part. ;-)
A week before we were planning to leave, J got Hand Foot and Mouth Disease. It was A.W.E.F.U.L. and I'll post about that later. He was still a little miserable with the sores in his mouth but he wasn't contagious any longer. That morning, much to my pouting and pushing, we decided to go to Denver. Luckily, we had J's sisters blessing to come. Though, I must say she was worried about catching it the entire time. J had his own special cup. I'm happy to report that neither she nor her family came down with it after we left.
Because we didn't know if we'd be going or not, we didn't start packing until the morning of. Because of that, and sleeping in a little, we got a fairly late start. It also didn't help that I forgot to print out the map to get there! :-) I knew I could get us to her town but from the Interstate exit I would have been lost. A lot had changed since the last time we were there.
Anyway, now for some pictures.
P got very excited when we got to drive through "The Holes" in Green River, WY
A closer view. He was pretty impressed. Whenever we would stop for gas or potty stops, P would ask if we were going back to the holes. Not yet! We need to get to Colorado first! :-)
Once we finally got there, around 9:30 PM. We were pooped and just went to bed.
The next day we decided to go to the Denver Aquarium. It is in the heart of Denver and was pretty close in proximity to the Denver Broncos Stadium.
Here is a picture of part of the Denver Skyline. This was taken from the parking lot near the Aquarium. If you look closely above the trees on the right, that is a roller coaster! I was amazed there was a Six Flags amusement park right in the middle of the city!
Look who greeted us at the Aquarium!!! SPONGEBOB! I couldn't help but take a picture. We love Spongebob in our house!
This silly thing was right near the entrance of the Aquarium. It would be a tad more believable if my hand weren't on my shoulder! ;-)
A fabulous (wink) picture of my men before we entered. Do you see the HUGE shark jaw to the right of J?
Unfortunately, most of the pictures inside the Aquarium didn't turn out. I wasn't sure if flash photography was allowed or not. I didn't want to scare the fish. I did take several videos and will try and post them later. Here is a HUGE sting ray swimming above our heads in the fish tanks. It was really awesome. There were humongous turtles, fish, eels, sting rays and sharks. They also had snakes (EWWWW!) and tigers. It was pretty cool. They had a section where we could touch some starfish and crabs. At the end of the exhibit, we were able to feed the sting rays (the removed the poisonous barbs) and touch them. It was really neat and I even got brave enough to touch them!
After the Aquarium, we went back to the house, hung out, and had a BBQ. My brother-in-law makes awesome, moist hamburger patties. So good!
The second day we went to the Denver Zoo. J and I had been there once before but I knew that P would love it!
Here is P and his cousin in the parking garage of the zoo. They were ready to go and stay in a group! It was so cute!
Here is E saying Was Up to his peeps! Let's get this party started!
Once mommy (I) went potty, we were ready to roll. That HUGE Dr. Pepper they got for me at the beginning of the drive got to me. Anyway, we found some lizards near the lion and hyena exhibit. Both the lions and the hyenas were napping. Sad day for P. He loves lions.
Here is P and his cousin taking a turn in the wagon. They had to share with the other three girls.
Awesome elephants. I've always loved them.
E hanging out enjoying the ride. It was very warm and very sunny. Thank heavens for the blessing of sunscreen! Neither boy or the parents got scorched.
P checking out the elephants.
Mountain goats. I'm amazed at how they really cater to the animals and make their habitats fairly authentic.
Cute penguin. There were a bunch.
P measuring up to the Emperor Penguin. I had no idea they were that big!
Sleepy black bear. :-)
This grizzly bear was taking a dip and shaking water everywhere.
This is when he got done with his dip. What a creature. J got a great picture.
Freaky monkey that jumped at the glass, bore it's teeth, and scared the crap out of P and his cousins.
Measuring up to an elephant. The zoo is in the process of creating a HUGE elephant exhibit. It will surely be awesome.
Cute grin on E. Too bad P's eyes were closed.
My favorite, the giraffe. They are such amazing animals.
This was at the end of the zoo experience as we were getting ready to get back in the cars. I'm amazed that E didn't sleep the entire time. He just rode along and watched. The second the car started and we backed out of our parking space, he zonked out.
The next day was Sunday so we just took it easy. We hung out with the family. Later in the afternoon, we went and met my friend, Brandy, and her husband, Matt, at a park in Parker, CO. We grew up in the same ward together and I love her a bunch. I was so excited that we were able to get together and visit. We only got to spend an hour but I'm happy we did!
I love this woman! She is going to be having her miracle baby in a few weeks and I couldn't be more happy for her! :-)
They took a family photo for us. Gotta love P's "smile."
On Monday, Memorial Day, we got up early and headed home. About 30 minutes North of Denver, I got pulled over for speeding. :-( Luckily, they only gave me a warning and we were on our way. We made a few pit stops along the way and the boys did pretty well. E finally ended up having a meltdown near Cokeville, WY. We managed to keep him somewhat happy until we got to Soda where J's parents live. We stopped there and gave the kids a break. We lucked out on getting a BBQ'd steak. :-) YUM!
E was so stinkin' happy to be out of his car seat that he actually started crawling for the first time. He had been a bum-scooter before that but hadn't crawled. It was a momentous occasion. After a couple hours, we packed up for the final hour of our journey home. We had a wonderful time and were glad to get home. J and I suffered some "jet lag" of sorts once we got home but it was totally worth it!
