The Rapids {Colorado Part 3}

Saturday afternoon, we'd made plans to meet up with some old friends. Tim and Steph were some of our best friends back when they lived in Kansas. They started the small group that we were a part of for 5 years where we met our closest friends. Tim was a groomsman and Steph was a bridesmaid in our wedding! They sadly (for us) moved to Colorado 4 1/2 years ago, and we haven't done a great job about keeping in touch. I randomly saw a facebook post Steph made while we were planning our CO trip and thought it would be great to see if they'd have time to hang out.

They had us over to their house for grilled chicken and fixings. We got to catch up with their four kids and meet the sweet little 3-year-old boy that they foster. Sutton and this little boy became great friends and chased each other all around the house. It was so fun for us to see that because Sutton doesn't normally play WITH other kids, just because of the age he's at. Unfortunately, I can't post any photos of their little guy since he isn't officially theirs.

After dinner, they treated us to a Colorado Rapids game. The Rapids are a soccer team, and their whole family is huge soccer fans. Adam and I both played, so we jumped at the opportunity to go to a game.

Adam and Sutton checked out the field when we first got there...

Keep in mind that their 4 kids were BABIES back when they lived here. I couldn't get over how old and big they were when we first saw them!

The team warming up...Steph has written a few articles about the team, so she's interviewed some of the players and knows them. How cool! She and the kids would yell out a player's name and they'd look over and wave at us. :)

Sutton had so much fun. I worried about how he'd do since the game technically started at his (Kansas time zone) bed time. But he loved it. He clapped when everyone else clapped. Held his hands in the air when other people did, and laughed and laughed. He had a great time playing with all the kids and they all thought he was so cute. Tim even bought him a little Eagle mascot that we named Tim. When I took this photo, Adam was coming up behind me with food. We'll pretend he was cheering on the team. :)

We got popcorn and soda and Dippin Dots and Japanese candy (Tim's parents are missionaries in Japan who are on furlough and came with us...they're all well-versed in Japanese delicacies...such as snow pea chips. Yum.). After the game was over, we took a few photos, said our goodbyes, and took an overly tired boy back to Michael and Sara's.

Buds. 

Miss you, friend! 

 The old gang. Plus our new, tired addition.

We had such a great time hanging out with them and introducing them to Sutton. I hope it isn't 4 1/2 years before we see you all again!

In the car ride home, the three of us took turns yawning and every time someone did, Sutton would say "Mommy sleepy," "Daddy sleep," or "Baby sleepy." But then when we got to the house, he was wide awake and wanted to watch Diego. You know, at 11 o'clock at night. :) Crazy kid.

Exploring Golden {Colorado Part 2}

Michael and Sara live in a little town just outside of Denver. We were able to drive to the mountains in no time at all. Friday morning, we drove over to the Red Rocks Amphitheater to see the awesome concert venue. Of course, I forgot my camera. After that, we went on a short hike on Mt. Falcon to the ruins of an old mansion before heading back to their house for Sutton's nap.

We started the nap in his pack n play upstairs where it was darker, but they just have a swamp cooler, not an a/c, so he woke up sweaty shortly thereafter. I transferred him downstairs to a bed on the floor, and he took the rest of his nap there. Dark and blurry, but he was so sweet sleeping on a real bed!

That evening, we headed to an amazing indoor water park nearby where Sutton had the time of his life splashing around and going down slides with Adam. Then we made pizzas on the grill before going to bed. I forgot my camera and barely took any photos on my phone that day. :(

The next day, we went to a little park by Michael and Sara's house to let Sutton play.

I love this photo of Michael and Sutton with the sunglasses and Sutton looking up at him.

Sutton was showing off his muscles...

We decided to move on to a park that was closer to the mountains so I could get some mountains in my photos. We stopped at another little park that had this little stream that Sutton had fun walking in.

Sutton loves tunnels, so he went under this tunnel with Uncle Michael.

More muscles...

I didn't take many scenic photos, and the ones I did were mostly out of the car window while we were driving. I was sitting up front, trying not to get car sick.

We got to Golden, Colorado, and found this mountain creek that lots of people were playing in on a hot day. We stuck our feet in and it was FREEZING. Like, hurt-my-feet freezing. I couldn't believe that people were fully submerging themselves. There was a little rock slab that was like a slide right in front of us that people kept tubing down. We even saw a couple paddle-boarders.

It was lunch time by that point, so we stopped at Old Capitol Grill in downtown Golden and had lunch. Sutton and Daddy colored.

Well, I tried...

Golden was a really cool little town with lots of little shops and restaurants. I would've loved to spend more time there if it hadn't been nap time. Maybe next time. :) Sutton posed for me by some chickens.

During naptime, Sara and I went to get coffee at this nearby coffee shop that was great. Then we spent a little girl time at Target and both found some clothes! Always a good thing. :)

Two more parts to our Colorado trip, coming soon...

Road Trip {Colorado Part 1}

Thursday afternoon, we packed up and headed to Colorado to visit my brother Michael and his wife Sara. We'd taught Sutton to say Colorado, and we told him who we were going to visit that morning. So the rest of the day and on the road, we heard "Colorado," "Michael," and "Sara" about a million times. :)

We left after Sutton's nap, and I'd researched several ways to keep kids busy in the car. I packed books and toys and even wrapped up some cheap toys to add excitement. We used a little bit of everything, but mostly Diego and the car DVD player we borrowed from Adam's sister won out.

We made our first stop for dinner after we'd been driving 2.5 hours or so. We pulled over at a rest stop to make sandwiches for dinner, and found that Sutton had peed through his shorts. So he got to eat dinner and run around pants-less. :)

We got back in the car and drove for awhile when we spotted a must-stop adventure opportunity. A big airplane! I don't remember what town this was in, but Sutton loved it.

We have a strange child...

Probably my favorite:

When it was time to go, Sutton refused to move from this spot:

He got in trouble and then the fun was over.

More photos to come...