Day at the Museum

Sunday, the kids and I drove up to Denver to meet Mike and Kate and their little ones at the museum, an outing we had been trying to nail down for weeks. The museum was a convenient place to get together because it's roughly halfway between us. My kids had a ball with their cousins--of course, Nikko is just a wee one, but still... How lovely it was to meet him for the first time!

We started out by visiting at the park behind the museum for a bit. Mike and Kate were finishing up a picnic lunch, so we went ahead and joined them in having a snack.




Space Odyssey was the first stop (after the bathroom). Amazingly, some of the shuttle controllers were open for play. That rarely happens when we go in there.




We continued on to see the Snakes & Lizards exhibit (again!), which was way cool. Much less crowded than last time. Unfortunately, no photography is allowed inside, so I have no pictures. Next stop was the dinosaur exhibit.





Everybody else made their way to Expedition Health after the dinos, but Everest and I took a short detour for a snack and a break. He was getting pretty frustrated and tired. Julie and Tessa were practically attached to each other, he couldn't play with Nikko or Kate, and his mother and uncle were trying to keep an eye on everybody. Taking a 15-minute break was really good for him though. He calmed down a lot, and the snack helped, as well as the individual attention I could give him.




Everest took that picture of me. He was very intentional about including the deer. :o) We joined everybody else at Expedition Health after that. Such a fun exhibit! There are lots of things to do, try out, and learn there. Very neat.







Nikko went between states of being underwhelmed (sleeping) and curiously interested in who was presently kissing or hugging him. :o)





After the museum, we got dinner at Toyko Joe's. Mike and Kate had never been there, and I think they liked it. It can get a little pricey, but the food is definitely worth it. We were all pretty exhausted at the point, but it was nice to slow down and have something yummy.







We made it home in record time--barely over an hour. Heath had cleaned the entire house while we were gone, did all the laundry, and even did some spring cleaning of the outside closet and patio areas. Sometimes you just have to do that. I was everso grateful to come home to a bleachy-smelling house. (Yes, I love the smell of bleach because it means things are CLEAN.)

I spent the rest of the evening folding all the laundry and doing some writing/editing. It was a good way to end the crazy busy weekend.

Christmas Eve with the Fam

Saturday on Christmas Eve, we went over to my parents house to spend the day with the family. Mike, Kate, and Tessa came down for Christmas, and of course, we wanted to spend as much time as possible with them.




In the afternoon, Tessa went down for a nap, and the kids shoveled the back deck to get some energy out. They had a great time but got chilled to the bone!




That evening, my mom had planned a big birthday dinner at her store for Everest and Tessa since they both have birthdays in December. We decorated the place, and mom made both Thai and American dishes. All delicious!








The kids took turns opening presents right there in the store.





Once everything was eaten or boxed and presents unwrapped and put away, Heath took the kids home to bed, and I headed back to my parents' house to hang out with everybody. We were originally going to play games, but we pretty much just watched Tessa being incredibly cute. I headed back home around 10:45 and stayed up long enough to wrap presents, fill stockings, make some pie dough, and boil eggs for deviled eggs. Sleep sure came quick that night!

Visiting the Awesome People, pt. 3

Sunday, the kids and I slept in while Mike, Kate, and Tessa went to church. It was semi-unintentional. I did tell Kate that if we didn't get up to just go to church without us. After being up so late, I really didn't want to skimp on sleep before having to make the almost 3-hour drive home.

When they returned from church, Kate made her /famous/ blueberry pancakes. The kids have been talking about eating her pancakes for weeks! Their patience was rewarded. We rested a bit afterwards while Tessa was put down for her nap.





The kids got a little antsy as kids are wont to do, so my dad and I took them on a mini-adventure. We went to Starbucks (for my lifeline), then around the corner to Sunflower Market. They always have neat stuff there. It was really fun to look around and shop a bit.





After shopping, we sat outside of Starbucks with our store-bought snacks and smoothies and hung out for awhile. Not long after we got back, Tessa was up from her nap. She really took to Julie! Those two were like peas in a pod.



My parents wanted to take us out to dinner for Mike's and my birthdays. Mike recommended a place called in*gre*di*ent, which is like an upscale Panera Bread, but still without waiters. It was an unique place--one I wouldn't mind visiting again! Their food was phenomenal.






And of course, no visit up to their town is complete without a stop at Walrus for ice cream! Always a fun time. :o)





Julie rode back with Mike, Kate, and Tessa so she could be with her buddy. My parents rode with me and Everest. We had packed up earlier and were just about ready to go when we got back to the house.



It was nearing 8:00 by time we actually pulled out of the parking lot and headed for the interstate. We listened to Adventures on Odyessy episodes from my iPod despite Mike's great efforts to get an ebook downloaded to my iPod. (Apparently Blue Like Jazz is pretty boring to an 8 and 4 year old.)

Everest was asleep within 40 minutes, and Julie drifted in and out of consciousness. We finally pulled in at home around 10:30. Heath greeted us with a clean house and help getting everything unloaded. The kids went to bed right away. I stayed up a little longer to unpack some things and chat with Heath for awhile.

All in all, it was a great trip to visit Mike's family. The kids were pretty good, all things considered, and we were able to relax and have fun too. Perfect!

Parting Shot: