Disbelief

The grass was mown on Monday afternoon...this is Thursday afternoon, what the?!

Bizarre But Funny

Last week while registering Landon for school online I was double checking the information they have for us and did a triple take when I saw that they have my middle name listed as Annabelle! What the?! I have no idea how this is even possible, and to make things even more confusing it wouldn't let me change my own info!

I was able to remedy the situation the next day when I went in to work, but they were equally baffled as to how that middle name came to be.

**Have you ever had something like this happen?**

Comment Window Tidbit: The first 3 hours of work went pretty fast today, but the last 3 did not. I'm sure this is because school hasn't started yet, but it's not making me very excited to go back tomorrow.

Denver Trip Day 4--Tuesday

Randy, Landon and Annie Kate were busy working on the puzzle again when I came upstairs on Tuesday morning (I tend to take my time getting ready before I surface).

We thought we were going to have to take 2 cars to the city, but we decided one of the kids could cram in the way we used to when we were growing up (remember clanging around the back of a station wagon?). Whitney wanted to be the one and ended up sitting on her knees packed between Randy and Sally Jane, it was way more fun driving all together.

We passed Denver's Friendliest Laundromat on the way to the Botanic Gardens, I found this funny.

We also passed a Cannabis Care Center...what the?! How did I not know Marijuana is legal in Denver?! Weird.

While searching for free activities to do in Denver I was thrilled to find out that July 19th was a free day at the Botanic Gardens! I enjoy going to places like this, but don't ever want to pay $40+ to get all of us in.

We started out feeling optimistic as we checked the map and headed out with the hordes of people who were also taking advantage of the free day.

I love flowers!

I love this shot!

These are cute.

Landon was excited to add another jumping shot to his collection.

I seem to be drawn to this color of Daylilies.

It soon became apparent that it was way too hot to be outside. Surprisingly I was in good form and not feeling oppressed, but the kids withered quickly. We saw some interesting sun hats, but this one was the biggest and best! I don't know that I could get away with a look like this, but I need something.

Kristi took her girls to find a restroom, so we found some shade to rest in while we waited.

I love this picture of Whitney.

 

Kristi called me from the main building to say her girls needed to regroup and get something to eat, so we decided to do the same. The food at the restaurant there looked good so I ordered a roast beef panini that ended up being so heavy on the blue cheese I thought I was going to be sick.

This is my favorite picture of the day.

After lunch we decided to check out the children's garden and then to leave because it was just too stinking hot to function. I'm telling you the clouds here are works of art!

The children's garden is on the roof of the parking structure and is more of a desert theme (i.e., no shade trees) so it was NOT fun. We shuffled around in the crowd and then tried to find Caroline and Whitney (they were seeking shade in a cave). It was oppressively hot...like buzzards circling hot.

Randy found a few feet of shade and huddled there like a desperate animal on the savannah.

We finally decided to leave, but then the little girls needed to use the bathroom. The building with the bathroom was tiny, so we had to step outside to wait for them and felt like we were going to die (no drama here). Seriously, it was ridiculous. There were huge groups of people with strollers and kids and everyone was red-faced and sweating. It seemed like there should be water misters, people handing out water bottles and ambulances standing by.

This is our heat stroke self-portrait.

We passed this interesting marquis on the way out of town.

Randy and I immediately fled to the cool comfort of the guest suite for a nap to help get our core temperatures down and to regroup. Of course I ended up with a headache. Randy recovered nicely and joined Landon for some basketball later.

Hours later I went with Kristi and Annie Kate to pick up some pizza for dinner. The rain had rolled in by then and cooled everything down. The rain here seems bigger than the rain we're used to in Utah, it seems to be a big, determined rain. It came down like it couldn't land fast enough and there were huge puddles everywhere.

But 20 minutes later it was clear again.

The pizza, salad and watermelon were so good!

The adults got to hang out and talk while we ate dinner.

There was more jumping to be done.

And some talking on the swings.

Later Kristi made an absolutely fabulous dessert! She toasted coconut and then pressed it onto the outside of a ball of vanilla ice cream, then put it into a waffle cone bowl and drizzled homemade chocolate sauce and homemade caramel sauce on it...oh baby!

It was fantastic!

Everyone lounged and ate their desserts together.

It was really a day of extremes with the weather. We were only gone for 4 hours, but felt like we'd been through the ringer. Either we're super wussy or just not acclimated. Kristi said she felt dehydrated for the first month of living here, so maybe that's part of it. Good times.

**Did you know marijuana was legal here?

Do you have a high tolerance for heat?

What's the most overheated you've ever been?

Have you had this dessert before?**

Comment Window Tidbit: Being on vacation is such a time-warp experience, but I guess it really should be because these days shouldn't feel like normal days at all.

Denver Trip Day 3--Monday

This is the scene I found when I surfaced on the morning of day 3, so funny. Kristi had gone to the store that morning and found all the pool toys on clearance already (school here starts August 1st) so she bought a bunch. The kids were ecstatic about it and didn't mind hyperventilating in order to blow the all up.

Randy got to spend some time perusing one of the books in the sitting room/library. I'm so glad he is getting this week to do a whole lot of nothing, because I'm already starting to feel panicked about school starting in 5 weeks!

Kristi is a wonder and has provided all kinds of good meals and fun snacks, my kids think they're staying in some magical wonderland...and they are!

As soon as we hit the pool we had to enlist Sally Jane's help to reach the sun shade things. I felt a moment of panic that I was going head-on (literally) with the sun here, I needed all the interference I could get.

I realized that Kristi and I hadn't taken any self-portraits yet...what the?! Don't ask me why I thought it was a good idea to do so while makeup-less at the pool, it was a momentary lapse of reason.

Oh how I love lounging with a good book!

Since Kristi knows absolutely everyone she had to be social with the other people there and then had some business to conduct on her phone. I wonder what my life will be like when I get an iphone?

I really think this picture speaks for itself.

I love this photo, it's like a summer still-life with a sense of humor.

Randy and the kids spent a lot of time in the water so they enjoyed warming up in the sun.

Of course I needed to get a crazy jumping shot of the Great Landini.

I love Kristi's cute beach towels. 

Kristi had to leave early to take dinner to a lady she visit teaches, so we stayed awhile longer with the kids. She was also getting Annie Kate's room ready for Jeff's brother who was flying in for a business trip and was staying the night...the guest suite was already booked.

When we returned to the house we found the missionaries there for dinner too. Kristi had gotten some fantastic shredded BBQ pork from Costco and made tasty Cole Slaw to go with it. She hadn't actually known the missionaries would be coming over for dinner until about an hour before, so it's a good thing she was already prepared to feed so many people...she's a wonder!

After dinner the missionaries shared a spiritual thought about specifically praying for someone we can share the gospel with.

After the dishes were done, I set out to go for a walk. Landon snapped this photo as I was leaving and I think it's funny that I often wear this In/Out burger t-shirt while walking; I totally get the irony of it. I didn't take my camera on my walk, but I saw a lot of ginormous houses with enviable backyards, grasshoppers, spiders, several rabbits, a bunch of mountain bikers, people walking their dogs and I received about 5 mosquito bites. I returned home to find everyone sitting around the fire pit having s'mores and listening to Jeff's brother Scott tell stories.

**When does school start for you guys?

Have you bought any pool toys on clearance?

Do you love to read by the pool?

Do you tend to favor a certain t-shirt?**

Comment Window Tidbit: Tomorrow is already the last day of our trip...wahhh!