We partied with Chuck E!

Expanding on the advertising thing, after repeatedly seeing the commercial that convinced KK there was only one place on Earth "where a kid can be a kid," she requested to have her playgroup birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese's. Then she said, "They have air conditioning, and you won't have to clean up!" Well, that sealed the deal. (Okay, maybe those were my ideas - but either way, I was convinced that this was a brilliant idea!) It was a fun party, in a place where even a grown up can be a kid!

The "Princess Rainbow" cake
Thanks for the fun party, Chuck E! We'll see you soon!

Silly Rabbit, Trix are for...Birthdays!

One of the bonuses of watching Noggin every morning while mommy and daddy get ready for work is you get all kinds of ideas. For example, Trix Swirls and Cocoa Puffs are a great and healthy way to start the day! And you really should have your birthday party "Where a kid can be a kid!" As far as I'm concerned, the money that these companies spend on their commercials is worth it, because KK fell for all of it...and convinced us grown-ups that these were good ideas, too!

Grandpa Kevin invited KK to his house for a birthday breakfast...


...and fulfilled her gift request for the yummiest breakfast food of all time:

Trix Swirls or Cocoa Puffs may become a birthday tradition, but they will not become a staple breakfast food in this house. It will, however, give KK a little something extra to look forward to every August! : )

How do you know someone is a REALLY big girl?

She has her very own, brand new, super shiny library card. And she couldn't be more proud! In addition to a pile of books, KK picked out two movies to borrow to break in her new card: Toy Story 2 and A Bug's Life. They are already overdue. I have a feeling that the trip to the library to return them is not going to go very well. Sometimes being a big girl isn't all it's cracked up to be, is it? It's a good thing our town has a well stocked library so we can continue to practice the concept of borrowing! ; )

Summer Staycation: Part II

After three nights in Glenwood, we headed north to spend the next four nights in Steamboat Springs. We took a largely untraveled (and partially unpaved) road along the Colorado River. There was one "town" along the way and this was the sign for the gas station. We never actually saw the gas station though. Strange. Wonder how old the sign is?!?!? In Steamboat there was more swimming in hot springs...
And some golfing...
Hey wait! I think we forgot someone?!? Daddy had a meeting one morning, so KK and I went to Gondola Square, where they had lots of activities for kids. After jumping in the "Funny Farm" KK and I took a ride on the Gondola and just had lots of fun hiking and playing around on the top of the mountain.
(This one is for you, Grandma Bobbie!)
It turned out that Uncle Ray and Aunt Joyce were also visiting friends in Steamboat. We met their lovely friends and joined them for dinner, the rodeo, and a bike ride the following morning.
KK turned out to be our little star as she participated in her very first rodeo event: The Under 5 Ram Scramble! "Rambo" was the ram they were trying to catch the ribbon from and he was a pretty fast little fella. You can barely see him in the video - he wasn't very interested in being caught. (I can't say I blame him!) Oh! And KK is the one in the purple jacket and khaki pants, starting the event on her hands and knees in the mud!



We celebrated on a few different evenings with ice cream. Yummy!
Finally, as we headed for home on our little girl's 4th birthday, we enjoyed a beautiful wildflower hike together near Rabbit Ears pass. What a beautiful day, and a special week for all of us.

Summer Staycation: Part I

Last week we went to the mountains for a summer "staycation" and enjoyed all that our beautiful state has to offer. Other than hotel reservations, we had no schedule, no agenda, and no specific plans. We had one of the best weeks ever! We spent the first three nights/four days in Glenwood Springs at the Hotel Colorado, right across the street from Glenwood Hot Springs. All three of us turned into fish!

We went on a long bike ride through Glenwood Canyon, stopping to do a little exploring, raft and train watching, and flower picking.
We spent the last day at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park. It was a small amusement park, but had so many fun things to do! Highly recommended if you're ever in Glenwood!
KK loved the "Giddy Up" ride, and after Mommy's fourth ride she had to turn it over to Daddy. He lasted through one. Sluicing for gemstones...
...and then she found a much easier way in the gift shop!
Lunch with a view of Glenwood and the canyon.
We really wanted to stay in Glenwood longer and take a side trip to Aspen and the Maroon Bells, but there just wasn't enough time to do everything. We weren't too sad, though, because we were only half done with our vacation. There was more fun yet to come!

To be continued...