We haven't been to Colorado to visit my sister and her family in quite awhile so we booked a trip and made it out there. Because we flew into Denver, our first stop was to see one of my best friends from college, Julie. We spent the night at her gorgeous and spacious home (that she shares with a roommate) in Aurora. She lives in a new community so we explored some model homes on her street (it always baffles me what you can get for $350-400K) and then let Shaye and Julie's dogs run around the park at the nearby school. Julie made a fabulous dinner for all of us and we had a great time catching up. Unfortunately I didn't remember to take a single picture of our time there, probably because we were busy having so much fun!
On Sunday morning, we met up with Kara and Olivia at the Outlets halfway between Denver and Colorado Springs, and shopped around for awhile. It was great to see how excited Olivia was to see us, especially Shaye. After lunch, Julie headed home to get ready for her first day of the year, teaching high school Chemistry that next day. Kara transported us in her brand new sparkling minivan to her house for the girls to take naps. I still really love her house because it is so spacious, nicely updated, has a great layout, and a huge backyard. It was nice to visit with Matt when he got home from his company's picnic and we enjoyed a fun evening checking out Olivia's toys and playing around.
We have been to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo but this time it was much more fun to feed the giraffes and wander around, looking at all the (non-sleeping animals).
Personally, I was fascinated by the wallabys jumping all around an area, without a cage. One came right up to me, sniffed around, let me pet him, and then hopped back to his own area. The other highlight was seeing Olivia have the confidence to walk on her own around the park quite a bit. Once she gets going, it is fun to see her explore.
On Tuesday we went to an indoor play area called Focus on the Family. The girls had a lot of fun getting their energy out, climbing and jumping.
After naptime, we went to the America the Beautiful Park. Shaye had a blast playing at the park and in the big water fountain area.
That night, as in the previous two, Kara and Matt made some delicious dinners for us that we really enjoyed. It's super fun to be able to taste the products from their garden, especially the tomatoes!
Because Kara won't be flying home this year for Shaye's birthday next month, she took her out for a special Auntie/Niece morning at Build-A-Bear where she was able to create her very own bear. Shaye made Birthday Bear with Kara's help and had so much fun.
Ryan and I stayed at home with Olivia, and had our own special time, playing with all her toys and reading many books.
We headed out to lunch (our very first time at Ruby Tuesday's) and then the long journey to Denver and the flight home. Thanks, Kara and Matt, for taking care of us for four days. We already can't wait to see you on Thanksgiving!
