Tiny Tots & Wildlife Experience

Haden's first preschool field trip for the year was to the Junior Symphony Guild's concert. Since it was held at the Wildlife Experience Museum, we toured it afterward. Even though Haden's class is full of boys, he hasn't really bonded well with any of them. So, I invited some friends to come with us! It was a lot of fun. This is the third time I have been to the concert. I enjoy it every time. Lila did make this time a little more difficult, though! Everyone sits on the floor and the orchestra is in a circle around us.

This is the second year they have brought the opera singer. He does a fabulous job! He wanders through the crowd of students while he is singing and manages not to step on anything or anyone!

They always bring a kid to perform too. In the past they have had very young piano players perform long pieces from memory and the orchestra accompanies them. This little girl is 5 and has only been playing the violin for a year. Her memorized piece was several minutes long. I was very impressed with both her talent and her lack of stage fright.

The kids loved the museum. Haden insisted that we really need to go back. The animals weren't real, but would still move. The kids loved the alligator/crocodile. He would open his mouth really wide and make some loud noise and the kids would jump back every time. We had to admire it for a long time! I absolutely love Haden's teacher. It has been interesting to notice the difference between having a girl and a boy teacher. Instead of coming home singing cute songs like last year, Haden sang Queen's "We Will Rock You" all the way home from school yesterday. It's a fun change!

We got to watch them feed the fish.

The avalanche machine was Haden's very most favorite part. The styrofoam "snowballs" have to be carried up to the top of the machine. When there are enough, they all come down flattening everything in their path. Haden is awesome at playing with anyone. He quickly befriended this little boy and they played together for a long time.

I think Lila's favorite part was the fossil dig. There was a sandbox full of tiny pieces of rubber. You were supposed to use a paintbrush to brush away the dirt and expose the fossil. Or just use the paintbrush as a utensil to throw the little rubber pieces. I bet the janitors hate that thing!

It was a fun day. Haden insisted that he couldn't walk any farther and dramatically collapsed. Not to be left out, Lila had to go sit down beside him.

It was a fun day! Both kids took long naps that afternoon.

Breckenridge

I love it when Clint has a conference in Breckenridge! It is one of my very favorite touristy towns. I love all the brightly colored Victorian houses and the scenery is absolutely breathtaking. This year's conference was this past week. We left Tuesday night. Both older kids were pretty excited to miss school! After we checked into the condo, I took Lila grocery shopping and Clint took the big kids to find the pool. Regan is very proud of herself for being brave enough to go all the way under the water long enough to have her picture taken!

Apparently they found the sauna, too!

They got back before me and wanted a hot bubble bath. Since I neglected to pack bubble bath, Clint just dumped shampoo in. Shampoo plus jets equals serious bubbles! The kids LOVED it!

The kids had to keep running back and forth between bathrooms to see who had the most bubbles!

The next day we headed down the mountain and into town. I love browsing through all the little shops. That is, when I don't have three kids and one huge stroller with me. So, we skipped all the fun boutiques and went straight to Peek A Boo Toys. On our last trip here, I discovered that the back part of the store was a toy room. The kids loved it, and since it was off season, we were the only ones there.

Regan did not like this horse nearly as much as she likes her own. She still rides her horse daily, even though both feet can touch the floor. She is offended when I mention that she might be outgrowing it.

Poor little Lila was already worn out!

Next we stopped at a playground in the center of town. The kids had fun playing on the toys carved out of big boulders.

I don't know what this thing is supposed to be, but Haden kept hiding under it and Lila loved finding him!We found a beautiful garden along the river that runs through the center of town. The kids posed for a few pictures and then we headed back up the mountain because it was getting too cold!

Regan insisted that I include this picture of her in my blog. She does look beautiful!

That night the kids insisted on going swimming in the new swimming pool they found while exploring with Clint while I made dinner. I was not expecting an outside pool! It looked miserable! It had started to rain and the temperature was dropping quickly. I was very surprised the pool was pleasant! Lila is a little fish. She loves being in the water. Haden preferred to be in hot tub where he could touch. He still is traumatized. He had a death grip on me whenever we were in the big pool.What a beautiful view!

It was freezing when we got out of the pool! Luckily there was a fireplace to warm us up!

The next morning we walked to Ready Paint Fire so the kids could paint their own pottery. We did this last time we were in Breckenridge 3 years ago and the kids have been asking when we could go back. Regan selected a "Chinese bowl" that she is planning on eating rice in?? Haden decided on a cup that was as big as his head.

They both did an exceptional job painting and were rather irate when the clerk said that he was going to have to mail them to us because he wasn't going to have them done before we left. I was a little annoyed with the steep shipping fee, but the kids had already started painting and I couldn't very well leave their masterpieces behind. Now they get to look forward to a package in the mail!

This was the only way Lila would stay out of trouble. She isn't yet sure how to get off chairs so she actually stayed put!

Next we were going to tour the firefighter museum. Haden was so excited! Until we got there and discovered it was closed. At least he got to peek through the windows at the firetrucks.

And then we found this cool train! Haden inspected it thoroughly!

After a break at the condo for lunch and Lila's nap, we went to the elementary school. They have a great playground! It was the perfect place to burn a lot of energy for all three kids!

That night we took Clint for a walk and showed him all of our favorite places. We had more posing in the garden.

Lila really doesn't like to be held down at all.

Have I mentioned how beautiful Breckenridge is?

Haden didn't want to be in the picture with the everyone else. His legs were "so tired!".

Lila got more comments than anyone else, mostly from the hotel staff. One guy said she looked like Pebbles off of Flintstones! Her hair just won't do anything else!

The last day we did a little more shopping in the morning. I intentionally didn't take the stroller so we could go into whatever store we wanted. I think every store clerk was grateful when we left! Lila was ridiculously loud and refused to be held. Haden and Regan liked to play hide and seek with her in the clothes racks. Then we had lunch at a "fancy" restaurant. You should have seen the look Regan gave the waiter when he tried to replace the glass goblets with kid cups!

Lila picked the perfect time to take her nap. She slept the entire way through lunch. It was actually peaceful!

We finished up with a round of miniature golf. My kids seriously need more experience playing! Their technique is horrible! And they get frustrated quickly and resort to cheating!

Haden was cheering after he dropped his ball 2 inches from the hole and putted it in.

Then we met Clint and headed home. It was a wonderful week and we all had a lot of fun. But I did need to go on a bike ride all by myself when I got home so I couldn't hear anyone say, "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!"

Vail Pass 2011

Saturday of Labor Day weekend our ward once again hosted the 14 mile bike ride down Vail Pass and into Frisco. We loaded up the bikes and left the house super early because Clint and a buddy wanted to ride up the pass first. I think they are crazy. I forgot to get a picture of them before they took off, though. Then I took the kids shopping for our lunch and snacks before heading up to the trail head. I had the bikes all unloaded and almost assembled (which is no easy task) when Clint showed up, 20 minutes faster than last year.

It is always a beautiful ride. Regan and her friend Kate insisted on riding so they could see each other. It was convenient having friends to play musical seats with. Haden and Lila fell sound asleep in the trailer. I loved seeing his arm around her! Like a protective older brother.

The kids had fun eating a picnic and playing with all their friends at the park.

How did these two girls get so big?

This was from our first trip down Vail Pass in 2007. Where has the time gone?

It was a beautiful day, just perfect for a bike ride in the mountains!