Stephens' Stories: The Barretts!

The Barrett family came to visit last weekend. They arrived on Thursday night around 9pm after driving 16 hours from Houston all in one day - impressive! On Friday we all went to work/school and they did some Denver things like visit their old stomping grounds near Indian Village/Red Rocks. On Friday evening, we went to The Jones' house (Christy, Corrie, Hayden and Maddie) for dinner. Christy is David & Ellen's first cousin and she has 2 daughters that are 7 and 9 (I think). We had not seen them since January, which is so sad since they live about 15 minutes from our house. I made key lime bars for dessert but forgot them at home (genius) so we had to make a quick stop to grab some BlueBell. Austin had a fun time playing on the floor with his cousins. He even tried to go up 2 stairs for the first time but couldn't quite do it. Christy and Corrie made a yummy meal of grilled chicken and veggies, salad, and cheese-stuffed jalapenos. Here are a couple of pictures from cousin playtime.

Really checking Summer out

Flirting with Maddie

Headed for the stairs!

On Saturday morning, I went for a run while the rest of the house slept. David had a 7am tee time, so I got back from running just before he left. The Barretts headed to the Cherry Creek Farmers' market while I stayed home with Austin during his morning nap. After that, we all headed to the pool to meet David after golf. The kids had fun swimming (no pictures, unfortunately). That afternoon, everyone rested while I went to the grocery store. While visiting Red Rocks on Friday, Ellen and Davy discovered that one of their favorite bands, The Avett Brothers, was playing on Saturday night. They asked if we would keep Ben and Summer while they went to the concert. We attempted to be cool aunt/uncle and took the kids to pizza and then ice cream. Good thing they are very well-behaved because 3 kids could be a handful. We made it out alive (jk, it was really easy actually and it was a noisy, kid-friendly pizza stop). We enjoyed ice cream at Bonnie Brae (my favorite). I lucked out because Ben decided he didn't want all of his, so I was able to help him out. We headed home and while I was putting Austin to sleep, David suckered Ben and Summer into helping him water the plants and grass. Actually, this was a fun activity for them. Nice! The kids went to bed, and so did we.

On Sunday morning, we headed to Wash Park before it got too hot. Ellen, the 3 dogs (I forgot to mention that they brought their 2 dogs, 1 golden retriever & 1 lab-mix), Austin and I walked to the park while Davy, David and the kids drove to the playground. Austin took a brief nap in the stroller. We introduced Austin to ducks on the lake but he didn't seem too interested in them. The Barretts even rented a paddle boat for an hour. We later headed to Park Burger for lunch. It was there that Austin decided to let out the loudest, playful/happy scream I have ever heard. It lasted about 10 seconds and everyone in the restaurant turned to stare. Luckily, it was a kid-friendly, noisy place. We only go to those places these days. That afternoon, Austin napped while I showered and got ready for a BBQ/celebration at the Hayslips' house. The party was to celebrate Brandon's 1-year being Cancer Free! He was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer in the fall of 2010 and had 6 months of chemo. Last July, he received the wonderful news that the cancer was gone and this July marked 1-year of remission! Definitely cause for a party! While we were at the BBQ, the Barretts visited their friends in Golden. On Monday morning, we headed to work/school. Davy (and Ellen) were so kind to cook a wonderful dinner for Monday night...bacon-wrapped chicken, veggies, salad, cheese-stuffed peppers. Yummy! It was such a treat to have a fresh-cooked meal ready for me after work. Usually I am munching on leftovers while I try to "cook" something for Austin to eat. David even cleaned the dishes! On Tuesday morning, we said our goodbyes and they got on the road again. They are brave - headed to Wyoming, Montana, Washington, British Columbia. They won't return to Houston until August 1. Crazy! Fun! Here are some pictures from the weekend (sorry they are out of order again).