Long story short, we decided to take an overnighter Memorial Day weekend. We headed to Colorado Springs and experienced many things for the first time!
We were very fortunate that the family had to take a potty break at such a great city park. We ended up spending an hour there even in the wind. I was super excited to see a real merry-go-round. Kaelah loved it & I almost died laughing when I accidentally made Danny's legs swing out. Good thing he didn't let go to the bar!
I thought this was a nice set-up with the hills behind the park.
Danny's birth mother joined the Air Force this week so I insisted we visit the Air Force Academy. There isn't much to the visitor's center, but the children were very impressed with this super fortress. Danny exclaimed, "It's bigger than Daddy!" Kaelah replied, "And Uncle Trent!" OMG.
You can tell Michelle was very comfortable feeding the giraffes at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. To say her hands were covered in giraffe tongue/slobber would be an understatement. Those animals are so beautiful!
I'm not including a picture, but I must mention the best activity of the trip may have been swimming at the hotel pool. It was a joy watching those children having so much pure fun with their daddy.
We need a drum roll for the next one. For almost 3 years we have been offering Kaelah a pony ride. Danny & Michelle rode last summer when we were camping and to my surprise, Kaelah said yes this time! I am so freaking proud of her! So happy, indeed, that I cut the pony's head off in the photo b/c I'm so focused on that smile. She talked to the woman leading the horse too. She gleefully told me she said her name and age. This is a huge deal for this child!
The happiness didn't last much longer. Right after I took this picture the kids started fighting like cats & dogs again. I failed to mention we took this trip in hopes of getting a break from the fighting for a spell, or, in naive hope, to push a reset button. Not so, only child. Not so. Dan says went they are around 14 Kaelah & Danny will like each other again. And he's serious. I'm so not ok with that. I am going bonkers, in fact. The one that really got me is when Danny figured out he could pull both of his sisters' hair at once. Roar!
In an attempt for me to give time to my children in moments of need, we bought a "snuggle chair" at IKEA. I named it that, but it's the perfect size. I've told the children that if they need me or want me to read them a book they should ask for the snuggle chair and I will try my best to give them 5 minutes. I've only been taken up on the offer a couple times so far, but I'm still glad we bought the chair. This was Kaelah & Danny's first time at the on-site child care and they loved it. Kaelah even made a friend named Michelle and was delighted. Meanwhile, her sister Michelle loved going shopping with her mom & dad all to herself. She picked out chairs for all 4 of us (including the giraffe she got from the zoo).
In a last ditch attempt to do something right before we headed all the way home, we took all 3 of them to the Denver Temple for the first time. They got in a fight there too.
On the actual Memorial Day we finally had the G. family over to our house (and fed the missionaries too). They have done so many nice things since moving here last year it was about time. Kaelah loved K.'s Ariel birthday party last fall and I loved the Halloween party they threw for the adults. There are other things I've missed out on, but one thing is clear: we are lucky to have them in our ward.
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