How in the world is it already September?! My baby boys started kindergarten on August 22, and I was a weeping mess. It was a good thing I had sunglasses on. More on that in a later blog post….

Before school started, we went on a few more adventures:

Golden, CO

We left Claire and Peggy home to relax, and ventured to Golden, CO for the day. We had no idea what to expect (other than this is the location of Coors Brewing Co). Turns out, all Colorado towns have something awesome to offer. We took a walk down by the river, and stumbled upon a rubber ducky race and people tubing down the Clear Creek.  The boys loved getting their feet wet and were upset to find out we hadn’t brought any tubes. Next summer, boys 😉 A stop at an ice cream shop in downtown Golden completed our day.

More photos here.

Estes Park

This weekend was incredible. We stayed at the YMCA of the Rockies and would recommend it to anyone. We stopped in town first, and of course had to purchase some Saltwater Taffy. Jack’s love for candy is perhaps even greater than my own, so he was in absolute euphoria. After chasing some birds (ahem, Eli), playing in the water, and eating lunch, we were on our way to another Colorado adventure.

The YMCA is enormous. We parked Claire and Peggy in the lobby of our lodge because our room wasn’t available yet, and the boys, Adam and me went to explore the grounds. We “hiked,” went to the gameroom and played pool and table tennis, visited the craft room, and then got ready for our dinner hayride. The hayride was so special–the boys loved seeing the grounds, the mountain views, and the singing cowboy at dinner. What made the night so special for Adam and me was meeting a family whose daughter also rocked an extra chromosome. After debating over we should tell them about Claire or not, I finally said something–and am so glad I did. Miss E is 9 years old and a total character. Her personality and charisma shined that night, and it gave me so much hope for Claire’s upcoming years.

More photos here.

 

Wedding in MN

Adam, Claire and I took off for Fargo and left Peggy in charge of the 3 boys. At the last minute, Peggy’s hero, Uncle Paul, flew in to help and I know they had an awesome time!

Our dear friend Erin married her long time boyfriend at Toad Mountain. Toad Mountain was the site of many of our high school and college get-togethers. So many memories were made there, and it was pretty amazing to see her marriage ceremony take place next to the lake and end with a rendition of K-Ci & JoJo’s “All my Life.” 

Aquarium, Zoo, and Denver Museum of Nature & Science

There has been countless hours spent at the Museum of Nature & Science. Now that school is in session, Eli and I (or Peggy) will spend just an hour or two at the various exhibits. He absolutely loves looking at all the animals.

The weekend before school started, we visited the Aquarium for the first time. It was beautiful. Sharks, fish, MERMAIDS!? What more could kids want?

We were spoiled by the Omaha Zoo. But… The Denver zoo is also amazing. Eli also frequents the zoo with Grandma and loves the elephants.

More pictures here. And here. And here.

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School starts!

Fort Collins/Red Rocks  

Labor Day weekend was busy. Saturday we went to Fort Collins–we had heard about this small farm/petting zoo and knew we needed to check it out before our year ended. As we drive into town and head towards The Farm at Lee Martinez Park, we kept seeing an insane amount of bikers, all with costumes on. We knew Fort Collins was a little “hippie,” but we didn’t realize how much so! Or so we thought. The first thing the cashier said to us as we entered the farm was, “You guys are brave for coming here on Tour de Fat!” Adam and I had no clue what she meant, so we just smiled and said, “Yep!”

The boys absolutely loved the farm. We had a blast watching the chickens, goats, and horses. There was a water pump that fed a stream, a barn we could explore… It was a perfect morning.

As we loaded the car, I Googled Tour de Fat. Google didn’t turn up much, other than some more people on bikes wearing costumes. Well… Tour de Fat cannot be explained with pictures or words. It must be seen in person. It was incredible. The entire downtown was FILLED with people on bikes. Kids on scooters to grandparents in their 80’s… Lawn games and red solo cups…. Lots of questionable (to kids) costumes… And pure excitement and energy in the air. I still don’t really know what it was, but I think it’s a fundraiser for something. It was memorable.

Sunday morning we hit the road again to see the infamous Red Rocks Amphitheatre. They were setting up for a concert while we were there, and I’m hoping Adam and I can make it to an actual concert in the spring. The surroundings are breathtaking. The amphitheatre was filled with fitness enthusiasts running up and down the stairs, yogis, and tourists. Sam and Eli decided to join the yogis.

More photos here.

Guanella Pass

Mountains. Streams. Waterfalls. Mountain goats. Fall colors. This was an absolutely incredible day–hiking with the boys is getting more and more fun, and as we enter fall, the Colorado landscape is becoming spectacular. The Guanella Pass starts in Grant, CO and ends in Georgetown, CO. I’ll let the pictures do the talking. More here.

Georgetown is a small, touristy town and we drove around a bit looking at the various sites. Then we stumbled upon the playground of all playgrounds. The playground all cities need to have. Foster’s Place Playground.

We are truly making the most of our time in Colorado.  Up next is a weekend trip to Breckenridge. In the middle of our adventures, the boys are loving soccer, school, making pancakes with Daddy, cheering on the Bison, walks to the Town Center, and enjoying Voodoo Doughnuts every now and then 🙂