Stephens' Stories: Denver trip 2015

On August 10th, Austin and I flew to Denver for 3 nights to visit friends and Austin's birth state/city. Campbell was not invited on this trip :) We left him behind in Houston in the care of DiDi, MiMi and Daddy (in the evenings/overnight). Austin was super excited about flying on an airplane but was more excited about watching a movie on the airplane. He thinks movies are the best and is slightly obsessed these days. So I packed the kindle with 2 movies downloaded on it - Planes and Monsters Inc. Once we were allowed to turn on approved electronic devices, I turned on Monsters Inc for Austin with his headphones and he was set. Then I realized I forgot to bring a book for myself. Ha! I am so used to wrangling a child that I never think to bring a book for me. Needless to say, Austin did great on the flight (much better behaved than Campbell :)

We rented a car and drove straight to the Roons house in Arvada. My friend Rachel has 3 boys - Brody at 4.5 years, Garrett at 2.5 years and Tyler at 8 months. She graciously let us stay with them - we took over Tyler's room and he moved in with his parents. The other 2 boys share a room. I have known Rachel since my freshman year in college in the dorm. David and I spent alot of time with Rachel and her husband, Adam, while living in Denver. In our pre-child days, we would meet to eat marginal Mexican food after Saturday night church almost every weekend. We also spent a couple of weekends in the mountains together skiing. Those were the days....jk :). When arrived on Monday at their house, we spent the rest of the evening outside just playing in their cul-de-sac. We thought about swimming but it was a little chilly - about 75 degrees. It felt so good! So we walked/rode bikes/rode scooters/ rode in stroller to the pizza place in their neighborhood and ate outside, of course. After dinner we let the boys play at the park. Then stopped for ice cream on the way home. It was so nice out!

On Tuesday, Austin and I drove to Georgetown to ride on the Georgetown Loop Railroad. Rachel and the boys almost came but it was a 50% chance of rain and she wasn't sure about keeping 2 boys and an infant dry in an uncovered train in the mountains. It ended up being gorgeous with no rain in sight. Oh well! Austin and I had a little date driving to the mountains, riding the strain, and then eating lunch in Idaho Springs at Two Brothers Deli. We rode this train last year when visiting with MiMi and Campbell too. We headed back to the Roons' house afterwards and Austin took a short, much-needed nap. That evening we headed to Veronica and Ryan's new house nearby. They have 2 kids - a 3 year old girl named Ellyse and a 1 year old boy named Mack. Christina and her 1 year old daughter, Aria, also came. The Roon family came too. It was a full house and crazy to think that just 4 years ago, we were all kid-less. We caught up on life and chased kids around at the same time. So fun!

On Wednesday morning, Austin and I met my friend Pippa and her 2 oldest girls at the Denver zoo. Pippa's oldest girls are Hannah (5, almost 6) and Ashley, 2. She has a baby, Stella, who is 7 months that stayed home with her husband Matt who was working from home that day. I met Pippa through another friend (and recruiter who helped me find a job when leaving EY), Michelle. But it is such a small world - Pippa was also a Tri Delt at UT but was 3 years ahead of me. I didn't really know her then but became good friends with her in Denver. She used to live very near Wash Park and now lives in Broomfield. Hannah was super sweet and mature during our zoo and Chipotle trip. Austin liked following Hannah around and Ashley followed them around - hilarious! I loved catching up and chatting with Pippa and hope she will come to Houston and/or Austin soon! After the zoo and lunch, Austin and I drove over to our old neighborhood. I drove Austin by the house he lived in when he was a baby. I miss it! :) :( We drove by Wash park and then to Bonnie Brae ice cream. We met Christy, Hayden and Maddie there. They are so grown up....not sure if Austin remembers that he played soccer with them last year when we stayed at their house for 2 nights. We enjoyed chatting and eating the best ice cream in Denver, or anywhere, in my opinion. After ice cream, we drove back to Arvada and the Roons house. Austin had a 45 minute nap in the car. That evening, we attempted to go swimming at the Roons neighborhood pool. Apparently the life guards spotted lightning, twice. We never saw it. We think they just wanted to go home. The boys got to swim for 30 minutes or so in the chilly Colorado pool water....chilly for us, at least.

On Thursday morning, Rachel and the 4 boys and I drove to Denver to Wash Park. We took lots of old bread to feed the ducks. At one point we had 32 ducks swarming around us. Campbell would have loved it - Quack Quack. The boys played on the playground too. Such a fun morning at my favorite park! When we got back we quickly ate lunch, I showered and we packed our bags. It was time to head to the airport and then to Houston. Boo! On the bright side, we were going home to see Daddy and Campbell. During the plane ride home, Austin watched Monsters Inc AGAIN. That kid.....

I hope to make the Denver/Colorado trip an annual August adventure. Rachel says we are welcome back anytime and Pippa invited us to her family's house in Breckenridge. Yes, please! I will definitely take my Colorado native with me. Daddy and Campbell may be invited next time.....we'll see. :)