Monday, September 15, 2008

so you want to be a cowboy baby

This past week we went to visit family in Utah. My sister Candice was blessing her baby and my other sister McCall just had a baby, it was time for a visit. While we were there my other sister Cami told me that her good friend Judd would take Henry on a horse ride. Background story.........Henry loves animals and his favorite is horses. He loves to pretend he is a horse and any chance he gets he will ride, pet, and feed anything that resembles a horse (ie burro, mule, donkey). However, he has never been on a real horse. He has seen many and even fed them but never ridden them so...........When I decided to visit I asked Cami if Judd would take Henry. Cami's friend is a cowboy in every sense and cami is a cowgirl in every sense and they ride all the time and said that it would be no problem. Henry and his cousin Jack borrowed hats from my mom and did the cowboy thing all morning. Henry was quite in his element. Jetta would not get on the horse. She was content to waring a cowboy hat and playing with dirt all morning. Since we have gotten home he carried his grey horse around calling him Silver (the name of the horse he rode) and telling me this is the horse he rode. Thank you Cami and Judd!!!!!!








feed the birds 2 dollars an apple




While we were in Utah we visited Dave's family. Lois took us to Tracy Aviary to see the birds. Henry and Jetta loved it. We were there for a couple of hours and saw all kinds of birds. Henry fed the birds and practiced standing like a flamingo. Jetta played in the puddles and got dirty. In all a very successful outing!

QT'S in the park

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Our Labor Day Marathon!!

Dave's sister Crissa, who lives here in Denver, told us about the annual Colorado Springs labor day hot air balloon launch. I think it is the 1st or 2nd largest hot air balloon launch in the nation. We decided this was an opportunity not to be missed. I did some research on the internet to find out what else there was to do in Colorado Springs so that we could make a day of it. We got up at 4:30 am so that we could pick up Crissa at 5:30 so that we could be to Colorado Springs in time for the 7:00 am launch. It was so worth it!!! The sun rise on the way down was so beautiful and the balloons were amazing. The kids loved seeing them being blown up and then taking off. My favorite part was the "splash and dash". There is a lake just south of the park where the balloons were launching and if the wind was right it would take the balloons right over the lake, the pilots would set the balloon basket right down in the lake and then take right off. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen!!! We had such a fun and full Labor day. I think it was one of the best Labor days ever!




Buckskin Joe's (yes, that is really the name of the town)

After the balloon launch we drove to Canon City and just outside of the city there is a western town called Buckskin Joe's. It is a town created by historic western buildings brought to this town to recreate the original town Buckskin Joe's. You can go into the buildings and see time period things typical of the west. They have live gunfights and horse drawn wagon rides, and a mine you go in. Many many movies have been filmed there with many famous stars including John Wane. We had so much fun there! It was a little cheesy but mostly fun and there were some really cool things to see. The kids loved it especially Henry!





Riding the train to view Royal Gorge and the highest suspension bridge that crosses it.


The Highest, The longest, The biggest

After Buckskin Joe's and the train we went across the bridge that goes over Royal Gorge. To our surprise we found that not only could you go over the bridge but they had a mini Disney Land set up at the gorge. We rode a vertical train that takes you to the bottom of the gorge and back up, a huge swing that swings you out over the gorge (we opted out of that one), a petting zoo, burro rides, a western town, herds of animals to see (the white buffalo, so cool), live music, a mary-go-round, lots of food, 1 of 3 water clocks in the world, the highest suspension bridge in the world, the longest single span tram (it is the picture of the little red tram car in the middle of gorge), and after we drove to the biggest rocking chair in the world! :-) It was a full time of fun!!! and many world records achieved by our family :-) Ha Ha, the chair was our greatest achievement.








Garden of the Gods

This was our last stop for the day. Garden of the Gods, located in Colorado Springs. This is something I have been wanting to do for a long time. It was so beautiful and amazing the way that the rocks just jet out of the ground. The kids just loved it, Henry even did a little rock climbing. See if you can spot the lion in the pictures of the rocks. It is pretty obvious but still cool to find.




Loopy Tired Children


By the end of the day the kids had had it. They were still so good and oh so funny!!!! It was a long day for them! 4:30 am to 8:00 pm. Exhausting!!!!