Denver, CO: Day 3

It was a nice day for shopping in Colorado.

I had been hoping to find some good walking shoes for Brea while we were visiting Denver so we decided to visit the Colorado Mills Mall. That is, Jessie and I decided to go with Brea while the boys (a.k.a. Craig and Jason) went to tour the Coors Factory in Golden, CO.

We stopped in the food court for a quick lunch before separating ways and that's where Brea saw the "Carousel", it was beautiful and of course, our little girl wanted a ride. It turned out to be a private one since no other child was around at the time.

Brea chose the horsie with the flame red mane.

A carousel ride

Auntie Jessie was SO WONDERFUL and was great at helping to watch Brea when I was checking for shoe sizes at Striderite. Brea would come up to me, put on the shoes and then run off like the wind to "test them out". Auntie Jessie was great at corralling her back each time. The highlight of our shopping must of been when a well meaning shopper in the store approached Jessie and told her how wonderful it was to see the two of us raising a child together. They are pretty open-minded in Denver ;o)

After dinner at the Wynkoop we walked down the street to the Tattered Cover Book Store. I had been looking forward to visiting this Denver institution and was not disappointed. It was lovely and I even had the chance to find a great book there.

Denver, CO: Day 2

Day 2 in Denver was off to a bit of a slow start, thanks to Brea staying up and not wanting to sleep in a different bed and in a strange room but it all worked out well. Jason had managed to get off half-day to meet us for lunch. So after picking Jessie up from their home, we made our way to Denver's oldest still-operating bar - "My Brother's Bar". This is Jason's favourite bar and he was happy to have us experience it, I was happy that it was kid-friendly! Brea got a balloon and crayon's for colouring. To top it off, they had the the most scrumptious burgers ever!

Then it was just a hop and skip over to Denver's Children's Museum. What a wonderful place for kids! Brea LOVED it, I loved it too though I was a bit big for many of the exhibits. It was just such a joy to see our little girl having so much fun.

Brea asking to go into the hole in the tree.

Mommy is a bit too bumpy to crawl in small spaces but Auntie Jessie was quick to jump in.
Apparently, Brea had a lot of fun in the caves and kept saying "hi!" and "bye!" to all the other kids dressed as woodland creatures.

Doing some art.

Brea found a little boy to fish with, what fun!

After the rollicking fun at the museum we had a wee break for a tired girl to have her nap and met up at Whole Foods for a snack before going to dinner. The reason we needed a snack was that we were headed to the famed Casa Bonita restaurant. It is a magical place but the food is not so tasty. The restaurant is over 52,000 sq. ft. in size, can seat 1,100 people at a time and features a 30 ft. waterfall at the centre of restaurant with cliff divers. Brea loved the gorilla show and kept asking for "more". I enjoyed the strolling mariachi band and exploring all the hidden rooms. Unfortunately, the magic show wasn't showing the day we went but I did get to string up the flag at our table for service and the sopapillas were extra yummy. Jessie was vibrating with excitement and doing a robot dance before we were even parked. She was THAT excited to be going there.

The Percevaults posing.

The Giardinos posing.

Wordless Wednesday - Mesmirized by Mascots

She really loves watching videos on the computer.

Denver, CO: Day 1

This Spring Break, instead of heading to the sun we decided it would be grand to make our way to Denver, CO - the Mile-high City, to visit some great American friends. We met Jason and Jessie during our honeymoon cruise in the Caribbean and managed to stay in touch with them.

A deuce of lovely newlyweds

They came to Canada a few years ago and we had a fabulous time showing them Vancouver. This spring break we decided to go visit them in their neck of the woods.

It was a very exciting day for Brea as it was her first time on an airplane. We tried to prepare her as best as we could. We lucked out in getting a free seat for Brea so she had some room to stretch out between us on the plane. I had packed some favourite toys along with some great loonie store finds. Aside from the take-off and the descent, she was a really good girl. As you can see, she was in great spirits at the end of the ride.

She thought the table tray was the best seat in the house.

After a quick stop at our hotel to freshen up, we were ready to make our way to Casa Guiardino. Jessie and Jason had invited us for a yummy home-cooked meal as a welcome to America. We had pasta with the most delicious sauce, meatballs and simmered pork. Brea was excited too, she had heard there might be a puppy for her to meet. While we were at the airport, she saw several doggies in kennels getting ready to board their flight and was very upset to not have a visit with them.

As you can see by the pictures, Jessie and Jason have a super fun and colourful home.

The kitchen and table where we had the most scrumptious meal ever!

Jessie getting Cleo to pose for a quick picture

The lovely Cleopatra

Jessie is one of the most talented crafty lady ever and their home was filled with many of her unique touches. They are also avid game-players and we really wished we had more time to spend with them to play boardgames, mah-jong, video games, etc. As it was, we only had time to sample a few things... I had to try my hand at "Dunk the Duck" and even scored a high score of 300! Brea really enjoyed the fun sounds the game made.

So ended our first day in Denver... the adventure continues in my next post.

Splish, splash!

Since it's been spring break, we took advantage and went to the pool for some fun in the water. I couldn't locate my pregnancy swimsuit so Craig had the pleasure of splashing with Brea. I would say Daddy and Brea had a great time.

Climbing onto the frog

Pouring water

A visit to Crescent Beach

Since Grauntie Gloria and Gruncle Jim moved to Crescent Beach, we haven't had a chance to visit as often but when we did go out that way a few weeks ago, we had a walk by the beach and Brea got to play in the sand. As you can see, she loved it.

A great shot of the sea (and some good lookin' people in front of it).

Playing in the sand with Grauntie G.

Fun with rocks.

A restful seat for Brea.

A very special milestone in sports

Tonight after dinner, Craig went downstairs to check to see if the hockey game was going to be broadcasted on TV. Brea stayed with me in the kitchen for a while, then asked where Daddy went.

"Daddy's downstairs watching hockey."
"Hockey" she said. Then she headed for the stairs. I think the quick moving puck fascinates her and she IS Canadian after all. She's been saying hockey for a few months now.
"Okay Brea, go downstairs and watch hockey with Daddy."
"Hockey, hockey, hockey..." I could hear her chanting down the stairs.

Apparently, hockey was not on TV tonight and Craig had to disappoint our little girl.
"Honey, there's no hockey tonight."
Brea looked at her Daddy and in a moment that I'm sure melted his heart, said, "ba-ke-ball"?

I swear there was a tear in his eye when he recounted what happened to me. I don't think there is a prouder Daddy anywhere tonight.