Denver Trip - Aug 2009

We had a wonderful time in Denver last week!  Although the kids and Christopher ended up sick for most of the week, which meant very little sleep for anyone.  Mikael and Che were so kind to make us feel like we were at a home away from home and took care of all the sickos!  Thanks so much to both of them!!

We arrived okay, but the airline lost Cooper's carseat and my breast pump.  They gave us a loner carseat and then delivered our other one later in the evening so it all worked out okay.

Sunday was our 6 year wedding anniversary.  We went to our favorite restaurant, Hops.  All of the Hops restaurants are closing!!  There are only two left and we really hope neither of them close!  In honor of our anniversary, here are some of the wedding pictures I actually have on my computer (mostly un-edited because I still haven't gotten around to creating wedding albums or printing pictures!):

Make a Smilebox photobook

My class was really good, very helpful for my job.  It was a really long drive across town though!  One day it took an hour and a half!  It was also a bit complicated to fit in pumping in the car and eating my lunch within 1 hour.

It was wonderful to see family and friends.  My dad came over 4 or 5 days out of the week.  He helped Chris and Mikael take the kids to the museum and just hung out for several afternoons.  By the end of the week Charlotte was giving him hugs and kisses and Cooper started to pull on his beard.  They were also calling him Bampa.  So wonderful to see them bonding with him!

We also visited Christopher's grandma and the kids LOVED running all around.  I think everyone at her elderly home really enjoyed having the little ones around that day.

The other big visit was with Charlotte's between family, Michelle and Tiffany and their daughters.  It was really great to finally meet them.  I think a lot of closure took place and I look forward to spending more time with them as a sort of extended family.

Che and I planned a girls night out (GNO) on Friday and went out to Lodos in Highlands Ranch.  I had never been to that Lodos, but it was a  ton of fun!  An old college friend showed up, and then by best friend Raeann came out.  Of course I was so happy Mikael's sister, Nicole joined us for the fun night too!  Besides my foot being stomped on my super spiky stiletto, I had a fantastic time!

As the three toddlers, Charlotte, Cooper and Maile, get older there seems to be less and less of an age gap between all of them.  Maile is the oldest by 6 months, Charlotte is next, and Cooper is the youngest.  Here are some great pictures of them all playing together.

Teamwork will get giant Cooper into the dolly sized high chair

Cooper was obsessed with carrying this chair around

We lined them up to eat.  They proceeded to pass food and drink cups down the line.

Maile stole the sippy cups

All of them loved to play in the tent

The outdoor slide was a big hit

Charlotte tried to shovel as much sand out of the sandbox that she could

This is Katie's (the dog) ramp that Cooper loves to climb up.  Anything dangerous attracts this little boy.

Attempting to close the table umbrella.

And when he couldn't get enough leverage - pole dancing!

Hanging on for dear life (not really, he just was being goofy with the edge of the table):

And since what one of them does, the other must try:

We attempted family pictures.  We now have toddlers, so needless to say a picture with all four of us never happened.  We did manage to get several super cute pictures though!!  My sincerest thanks to Che for not only managing her own toddler while photographing our family, but also for somehow making my family appear anything but sick, tired, and cranky!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Another tidbit we learned during this travel period?  The kids are adjusting to plane rides rather well!!  The don't fuss all that much, do okay sitting on our lap, and are even willing to fall asleep.  However, both are getting a bit big to sit in our laps, especially Cooper (who loves to kick the seat of the person in front of us).  Also, the $6 charge on Frontier for DirecTV is money well spent for toddlers who love Handy Manny.  Charlotte even dances at the right times, despite refusing to use her earphones to actually hear the music!

And sorry for the limited pictures...I got lazy with the camera.