Colorado Recap

A great benefit of making one trip to see both sides of the family was the short flight from Kansas to Denver as opposed to a nearly 5 hour flight from NY to CO. And since we had spent a few days in Kansas, the two hour time difference between Colorado and NY was a smooth transition over the course of the trip. Now that I really think about it, a grandparents rainbow tour in the summer is really a good idea. We might just have to make a tradition of it! I know that would make the grandparents happy.

Now, on to the recap of our time in Colorado with my side of the family.

Tuesday
We arrived in Denver late afternoon and Kip did well on the flight. He was thrilled to see Nini (that's what he has started calling Mandy) at the airport. He was also happy to see Marmee too! FaceTime has really helped with his recognition of relatives and a shorter warm-up time when he sees new people.

Unfortunately, baggage claim took a long time and we got stuck in a hail storm and rush hour traffic but Kip was a trooper after a long day of travel. Plus he was rewarded with an awesome truck from Marmee and Poppa as soon as we got to their house!!! Man oh man, this kid is spoiled.

He was thrilled to see Willow too but she was a bit scared around him and nipped him on the forehead. She is a sweet dog but anxious around the small child that is overly excited and wanted to get in her face. Anyways, Kip was not traumatized by her so he still loves woof woofs.

Wednesday
Denver was just as hot as Kansas but because there is next to no humidity it was much more tolerable to be outside because of the cool shade. Kip loved playing in the backyard and we took him up to the park down the block and the library.

Mandy and I played at this park all the time as kids (the equipment is different now) and the library was so nostalgic. But everything was so much smaller than I remember!!!

In the afternoon we spent a lot of time outside playing in the water table and even ran through the sprinklers!

 
Thursday
When we woke up on the morning of the 4th of July, Auntie Jessy was here!!!

We took Kip to Washington Park (another park we loved as kids) and walked by our old elementary school. The park had a covered sand area which Kip loved!

Then Jessy treated us to ice cream at Bonnie Brae. Another childhood memory.

Mandy took some 4th of July pictures of us. Thanks Mandy!

There was another hail storm that night but we hadn't planned on going to see fireworks anyways and Kip was sound asleep so we watched The Green Book.

Friday
On Friday everyone loaded up for a picnic and exploring another great park. Mandy and I used to take the kids we babysat to this park and it was new and improved as well but the best features that we remembered were still there. A train that ran around the park and a petting zoo. Kip had an absolute blast.

 

We left Saturday morning to head back to Brooklyn but we really loved all of our family time in Colorado and making memories with Kip in the home that I grew up in was really special. It was especially great to have Mandy and Jessy come to Colorado at the same time so it was like a little reunion. Next time we need to remember to take pictures as a full family!!!