Quality time with Grandma and Grandpa

The best part about my parents both being teachers is that they get extended periods of time off where they can come see us. This past month we got to have them here for two whole weeks. We managed to pack a lot of fun into that amount of time, but it still didn't feel like enough. I'm trying to convince them to come out for the whole summer next year. I think that plan sounds more relaxing for me than it does for them. But we are happy to take what we can get and happier still that they left with promises to come back for Thanksgiving in November... when we will be a family of 5!!!

Here are a few highlights from their trip.

We were lucky enough to have my mom here over her birthday so we headed up to Boulder for the occasion. We spent the afternoon downtown, checking out the sights with the family and eating at The Cheesecake Factory, one of my mom's faves, and then sent Yo and the boys home so that my parents and I could head over to CU's campus where we not only got a nostalgic tour from my dad who spent his freshman year of college there, but also got to see a really fun production of Shakespeare's The Merry Wive's of Windsor.

My family is no stranger to Shakespearean Festivals. We spent many a summery night in outdoor venues watching Elizabethan classics as a family thanks to my father the English teacher. So it was a really fun and fitting way to spend some quality time with the folks.

I forgot to mention some other "exciting" news that coincided with my parents arrival. We bought a minivan. With baby #3 on the way, we knew it was inevitable, but decided to push up the timeline a little bit so we wouldn't have to deal with the logistics of transporting 6 people to and fro in our 5 passenger vehicles. I have to admit that when we signed the dotted lines on our loan paperwork it was a little hard to feel enthusiastic about incurring that much debt for a minivan of all things, but I am excited to have the extra space and such a family friendly vehicle. And what that beast lacks in pick-up (I miss my zippy Accord) it makes up in lots of bells and whistles. Not the least of which is the snazzy built-in entertainment system. And with 8 seats that can be adjusted in lots of configurations, we are excited to put this car to use.... which is good because I will be driving it for the next 10-15 years I'm sure.

We definitely having been putting it to use so far. The day after we went to Boulder, we headed back that direction to Estes Park to attend a Scandinavian Midsummer's Festival. Months earlier I came across info for the festival when I was looking to see whether there were any 17th of May celebrations we could take the kids to in Colorado. There weren't. And the Estes Park festival was the only Scandinavian festival that I came across so I was determined to get Yo and the kids up there for a little culture and thought it was all the better that my parents would be in town to join us.

I'm glad we went, but this may not turn into a yearly tradition for us. Estes Park was swimming with people, but the Festival itself was not the big draw. In fact, it was pretty underwhelming. There were food tents, but they were serving your generic festival fare and not the least bit Scandinavian. There were craft tents, some of which sold some Scandinavian goods, but Yo and I figured we would rather get the authentic versions the next time that we were in Norway. And there was a stage with some enthusiastic, but rather geriatric performers decked out in their traditional costumes (bunader) dancing stiffly on a stage. Apparently this was the main attraction.

Unless, of course, you are into Viking reenactments.

Clearly Ari was gripped by the slow paced, choreographed sword fight happening 20 feet in front of his face. Me too, Ari. Me too.

So I wouldn't give the festival rave reviews, but I'm glad we got a chance to get up into the mountains with my folks. The drive up was beautiful. And I'm anxious to make a return trip to Estes Park sometime this Fall. In the off season.

Our next excursion was one that we've been looking forward to since moving to Colorado. My kids are both into dinosaurs...big time...and it is so fun to live someplace where so many dinosaur fossils have been discovered. We've been slowly making our way from one dinosaur exhibit to the next. When my parents were here we finally made it to the Dinosaur Walk, a 5-mile stretch of road where you can see exposed dinosaur bones and even distinct dinosaur footprints in the rock bed. We opted to take a bus tour since it was our first time there. Our tour guide was full of really interesting information and totally enhanced the experience. I thought I knew a bit about dinosaurs before, but she added really interesting insights into paleontologists latest discoveries and theories that turn some of what I thought I knew about dinosaurs on its head. Okay, I won't get more into the nerd talk, but these things are exciting especially if you have dinosaur-loving kids like I do.

Ari insisted on having his own seat on the bus. He thinks he's such a big man, but the binky totally gives him away. ;)

Kai getting to feel a real dinosaur bone

The Hoytster humoring his daughter by posing for this pic. (Thanks, Dad!)

Yes, Ari is this much of a ham all the time. Part of the reason why I love to take pictures of him. That and he doesn't run away every time I pull the camera out.... like someone else I know (ahem, Kai).

One of the kids favorite parts of the day was getting to scale the rocks.

One of my least favorite parts of the day was having to scale the rocks to rescue Ari who was better at going up than down. And once I hauled my pregnant belly up there, I had no way to help Ari down myself without passing him off to one of my parents. But somehow every time I flagged my mom to get my dad's attention to help me, he thought I wanted an awkward picture taken of me climbing with belly and an almost 2-year-old in tow. Thanks again, Dad.

Ok, I'm gonna nerd out on you again (consider yourself forewarned). See the bulges in the rocks on the below? Those were created from the weight of large Brontosaurs walking on the ridge above.

Pretty mind-blowing, eh? And the next picture is of lots of Theropod footprints some of which belonged to baby dinosaurs some 70 million years ago.

My parents are nicer than me and indulged Kai's request to sift through a $10 bag of sand to find his very own fossil keepsakes. Aren't grandparents the best? And, of course, Ari had to get in on the action.

Kai was pretty pleased with his bag full of loot

Wonder why Ari looks so dazed and confused in this pic?

He was probably still trying to wrap his brain around what he had just seen...

I only wish that I knew what he was thinking in this pic.

There was a bit more to explore at the attraction that we didn't get around to because my kids were tired and I was hungry. So we will definitely have to make a return trip sometime soon. I don't think the kids will complain. They pretty much loved everything about the excursion... especially getting some quality time with their awesome grandparents.

Georgetown

Last weekend we took the kids up into the mountains to an old mining town. Yo had found a deal on tickets for a train ride up there so we decided to make a day of it. I'm so glad that we did. The weather was beautiful. The air was so fresh and crisp. The kids loved being out in nature. And I was reminded of why so many people fall in love with Colorado and can't imagine living anywhere else. I'm hoping we can back a lot more excursions like this one before the weather gets cold. Because I'm going to need a wealth of love for this state to get me through February (and March, and April).

The boys getting excited about the train on their ride up:

Kai checking out the amazing scenery:

 Here comes the train!

A cute one of Pappa and Ari:

The picture on the right makes me laugh...

The water below this bridge was rushing by so swiftly and all I could is picture one of my kids (ok, just this one) falling in and being swept away. And me wondering how I would dive in after him pregnant and all. #momworries

Both kids loved just getting to be outside, climbing around, finding sticks and rocks, watching bugs. They were in heaven.

My sweet Kai seems so big recently. But I take solace in the fact that he still has cheeks for days and that I get to squeeze them and kiss them anytime I want.

Yo looking extra "Colorado" for the occasion:

Oh how I love my Ari:

A passer-by offered to take a picture of the four of us. I couldn't refuse. We have so few pics of the whole family. That is one thing I have to Colorado credit for.... the people here are generally so nice and considerate. It takes me back to my Mid-Western roots. (And is refreshing after living in California for so long.)

Kai has been a bundle of anxiety recently about things that never used to phase him. He was so excited about the train until we got closer and then he kept asking about whether it was going to be safe, how fast it was going to go, how high it was going to climb, if there was ice on the tracks. And then when we got to the train station and he saw water rushing below and the skinny bridge above with no safety rails to boot, we all but had to drag him on board. Afterward he thanked us for making him get on the train and said that now he knows it isn't scary. (Maybe this means that he'll forgive us for the Pirates of the Caribbean ride....some day.)

Yo splurged and got us fancy parlor seats. Ok, it wasn't fancy, but we got to ride inside an enclosed car with tables. And they served us a beverage and some snacks. We were highfalutin with the best of them. (Never mind the fact that we let our true colors show by sneaking extra snacks and stashing them away in our diaper bag for later.)

The boys living the good life. I'm a little obsessed with these two faces.

Here's a picture I took out the train window that gives you a better idea of just how quickly that water was a-rushing. I could give myself a panic attack just thinking about it. (In the end Yo and I talked it out and agreed that he simply would have to be the one to jump in after Ari. And that he would undoubtedly die in the process. It was a tough decision, but I we felt better once it had been made.)

Ari's front seat view. We wisely chose a table not located in front of a wide open window.

As luck would have it, it wasn't just any ol' day up in Georgetown--we happened to book our train ride during their "Mining Days" (festival?). I'm not sure what exactly to call it. All I know is that there were some seriously authentic mountain people up there and the kids got to eat free hot dogs, pan for gold, and pet some donkeys. It was good times.

The guy who taught us how to pan for gold was pretty intense. And obviously took his task seriously. Yo managed to pay attention and refrain from laughing (out loud). I was proud of him on both accounts. Turns out our teacher is one of very few professional gold miners who makes this is full-time job. I think he could have talked about his passion for panning all night long, so I tried to make a graceful exit by thanking him for his time and wishing him luck with his mining venture. He replied, "I don't need luck because I have know how."

Serious. Business.

Pappa and the kids putting their skills to the test. For all of Yo's mocking of the other dude later, he looks like he's pretty serious in this picture, doesn't he? ;)

Kai and Pappa were still going strong with their gold panning long after Ari had lost interest.

So I left them to their work, while I followed Ari around the mountain snapping pictures of his cute mug and trying to keep him away from the hazards that come with mining towns.... open mining shafts and donkey poop. Mostly not in that order.

When he started high jacking a mule, I decided it was time for us to mozy on back to the train station. 

It took a while...

We had a few minutes at the station to snap a couple more photos before we took a short train ride to finish the loop. Yo and I enjoyed a quiet ride home. Both boys slept the whole time. Turns out all that fresh air is not only good for the soul, but tiring too.

Preschool "graduation"

When you move in the middle of the school year, and you have a preschooler with high social needs, you're basically ready to enroll him in any licensed institution that is welling to take him off your hands 3 days a week. Which is basically how Kai ended up in a pre-k class this past January.

While I was a little worried at the time, putting him in this class has been one of the best decisions I've made since moving to Parker. Kai has made some amazing strides this year thanks to his awesome teachers and type A personality. So we are happily keeping him in the same program with the same teachers next year... while the rest of his peers go off to kindergarten.

Which means he is going to be ready to rock kindergarten by the time he finally goes. But it also means that it felt a little funny to attend his preschool graduation while we know that he will be attending the exact same ceremony next year. Ah well!  He looked cute in his hat and got a scrolled up piece of paper and we cheered just as loud as the next parents and ate twice as much celebratory chocolate cake. Overall it was a successful event and we couldn't be prouder of our pre-pre-kindergartner.