South Main - Buena Vista

The kids and I picked up Joel in Buena Vista after he biked there from Sunshine Ranch. After he got there we checked out South Main, a new housing and business development just off of main street. We played in the water for a bit before lunch. The kids love watching Joel throw huge rocks into the water. Ethan actually has a pretty good arm on him already. Unfortunately I didn't think to bring my camera so here are a few pictures from my phone.

The style of the new development is really nice. The homes are all a different design and seem to be quality construction.

It's hard to tell from pictures but this development looks really modern compared to downtown main street.

Denver Zoo

The kids had fun waking up in the hotel this morning. After breakfast and Ethan's morning nap we got ready to go to the Denver zoo. Both beds had 4 huge fluffy pillows on them. I put them all on one bed and had fun throwing Ethan into them.

Ethan would just roll around the pillows, it was so cute.

The moment after I threw Ethan into the pillows...

Evie was on the other bed playing Rapunzel, pretending her blanket was her long hair.

Ethan after being tosseled a few dozen times

Joel trying to get a few last minute e-mails done before we go

And arriving to our first trip to the Denver zoo. The kids had a great time!

Ethan, chilling with Mr. polar bear

Taking a snack break; Joel trying to sneak a bite of Evie's corn dog while she was being playful.

Ethan happily shoved his in Joel's mouth

Ethan sizing up this crazy million year old looking turtle

Evie and Daddy looking at the crocodile. Ethan moving fast, as usual.

We just happened to catch this lady feeding the seals. A minute sooner or later and we would have missed it. She did it so quickly.

Okapi, a relative to the giraffe. They have stripes like a zebra. They live deep in the rainforest's...but somehow they survive in the Denver zoo...

Joel's favorite animal, the warthog.

Ethan hanging with the elephants...actually just a cardboard cutout of one displaying the new Asian elephant area to be built next year.

Evie was on the look out for all the animals in the movie Madagascar. She would see the Lions and say 'there's Alex', etc. Here she is happy to have found 'Gloria', the hippo.

And... a tired mommy as we leave the zoo. We're off to the car and a 2 1/2 hour drive back to Sunshine Ranch.

A cold morning and drive to Denver

We woke up to a blistery cold morning. My phone said it was 27 degrees - which is what it felt like. The kids woke up early and cold this morning and crawled into bed with me. Early meaning Evie at 4:45 and Ethan at 5:15...ouch. They snuggled up and quickly fell back asleep. Once the sun came up we got ourselves ready for our drive to Denver, which is about 2 1/2 hours. It's an exciting day...we get to pick up daddy from the airport. He has been in Las Vegas at the Interbike trade show the past few days. (He said it was 100 degrees there).

Evie saw the snow from the breakfast table and asked if she could go outside. I told her it was going to be cold but of course she could go out.

They loved eating the snow even though it was cold.

The frozen bird bath was perfect for her Princess Jasmine doll to ice skate on.

We started our drive to Denver...it was snowing pretty good by the time we arrived in Conifer. It was a good potty break stop and a chance to grab a juice for me - Jamba Juice is one of my favorite treats.

This is the car we pulled up next to in the parking lot. It makes me cold just looking at it.

The kids shared a doughnut...I'm not sure why I gave them a ball of sugar before continuing our drive but they did great in the car. They were watching the movie 'A bugs life' and were pretty entertained. Every so often Evie would say ' wow, look at all that snow'

Say cheese...Ethan is busy licking chocolate from his hands.

We arrived in Denver and went straight to the Aquarium. We were going to check into our hotel first but it was too early.

Ethan is sizing up a Moray Eel.

Evie found a rainbow reflection on the ground and had fun rolling around in it. The next time I looked at her she was off playing with out her glittery shoes - they were hanging out in the rainbow.

Evie got to touch the stingray. She was pretty proud of herself.

After we left the Aquarium we checked into the hotel, grabbed lunch and a nap. In the evening we mostly played in the hotel room. It was raining and chilly outside. We picked up Joel around 8:30pm. Ethan took a late nap so he was able to hang on until we got back to the hotel to sleep... Evie was asleep by the time we left the airport.