You know what this is a picture of? The mentality of someone with a whole week of staycation ahead of them! More literally, this is a picture of me eating breakfast, drinking a big cup of hot fully-caffeinated coffee, and reading a book at Doug's Day Diner (just a quick mile walk from my house). And that was just the beginning.
I took the whole week off work. I kept Kale home with me. (Mostly because his daycare tuition would only be 50% of its normal amount, but also because Kale is still relatively easy to keep home in comparison to his brother. That said, I sent Sage to school.) So KK and I had 5 days all to ourselves, with the occasional lunch visit from Matt.
Monday was a catch-up day for me. I scrubbed the kitchen floors, vacuumed, did several loads of laundry, and an assortment of others things to get the house back in working order. I know, I know... cleaning wasn't the point of my vacation time. But a clean house leads to a clear mind. Which allows me to enjoy myself that much more. When the house is clean I can relax and breathe easy. So Tuesday was really the first day of luxury. Kale and I started with a walk to breakfast at Doug's. It was a comfortable walk there, but hot tamales on the way back. Over 90 degrees! We stopped at the grocery store on our return walk, and picked up some produce for dinner that night. We planned to try out some of Matt's new birthday presents.
Matt received a patio umbrella, and some new grilling tools (like the veggie basket below).
My first dish in the grill basket was a fiesta salad. I kerneled some corn, and added chopped zucchini, red pepper, and green pepper. A little smoked paprika and olive oil later... we had a tasty roasted side dish.
I also made a giant bowl of macaroni salad. For the life of me, I can never remember to cut the recipe in half. I always make way too much, then throw half of it away, then feel guilty.
Then on Wednesday, Matt also took the day off work, and we took the boys to the Denver Zoo. I haven't been to the zoo since Sage was Kale's age (almost exactly). About two years ago. Sage got a lot more out of it this time around. There is really very little point in dragging a 10-month old to the zoo...unless he has a bigger brother.
We opened the experience with a live show. We got to see a lot of creatures up close, doing small tricks. But the birds flying overhead from perch to perch were our favorite. Huge wingspans. And one of them flew so low, Matt had to duck to avoid getting hit!
Above is Kale. In a good mood like usual. And below is a picture of Sage at the same age, and in the same outfit, at the zoo. Boy does he look different. (And daddy does too! Matt has updated the hairdo and the sunglasses since then. Plus he grew a beard. All positive changes in my opinion.)
So back to 2015....
We rode the train.
And next door was the carousel.
Then we began what appeared to be the largest section of the zoo - the primates. By far, the most amazing of the monkeys were the orangutan and the gorilla. Amazing creatures.
The gorilla picked his nose and ate it. That was fun to watch.
Kale above.
Now blast from the past below!!
Sage in May 2013.
Speaking of the past, it was very important on this most recent zoo adventure that we embark on an important zoo tradition...
The Dip N' Dots!
Obviously, as a second-time-mom, I've chilled out quite a bit. I was horrified when Sage first had the frozen sugar balls, at the suggestion of his Grandpa Gary. But things are different now. I actually encouraged Kale to eat as much as he wanted. Hey..it was hot outside!
Then KK was full of beans!
Can you see his little tooth? Just one so far.
But another not too far behind...
Sage also requested a giant bag of popcorn. And since lunch time had pretty much come and gone... we bought it for him.
After checking out the rhinos, tapirs (which could be my new favorite animal), and the elephants, we stopped at one of those iconic penny machines. Man, I used to do those all the time as a kid!
After a good solid five hours at the zoo, we watched a sea lion demonstration, let Sage pick out one item from the gift shop, then headed home. Sage crashed immediately.
And then it was Thursday.
I started my day off with a Bloody Mary and some painting.
God bless staycations.
But Thursday quickly turned sour.
A) My painting turned out to be rather bad. Just sorta ugly. I'm super rusty in the art department, and it showed. Boo!
B) I had to go grocery shopping, because I didn't do that on Monday. And we were low on everything.
So I made sure Friday was more eventful...
Kale and I packed up the Ergo and headed out for an hour long nature walk. We went to Riverbend Ponds and hiked a huge loop around a lake.
But this wasn't your standard lake. It was an entire ecosystem. We walked through 7-foot cattails, next to a river, and through an evergreen forest.
The cattails were so high we couldn't see where the path was going. It was kind of like being in a corn maze.
Afterwards, Kale and I went to Party City to get some decorations for Sage's birthday party (3 years old!!!) that was planned for Saturday morning at 10:30am. Nothing like waiting until last minute! I spent Friday afternoon making goody bags, chopping watermelon, and cooking mac n cheese, all in preparation for the shindig the next day.
Sage is in to so much stuff these days, it was tough to decide. But we went with a Micky theme.
We served lunch. And I was pretty impressed with the spread when it was all assembled so nicely. Jimmy John's provided the sandwiches. I made all the sides.
We decided on a small intimate party, and invited Sage's best friends from his school. Everyone calls these kids the "four muskateers." A tight knit toddler gang. In particular, Sage and Hunter are very close. His mom and I like to refer to it as a bromance. Matt has witnessed them running, jumping, and consequently hugging in mid-air.
And they all talk about each other non-stop. (Whenever Sage has a story to tell (real or imaginary) somehow Avery, Juna, and Hunter are always involved.)
We got the bounce house out. This is party #2 for the house. I foresee many more....
Juna (striped dress) brought her very sweet older brother with her.
And Avery (pink cup) brought her older sister.
I'm not sure how...but at some point one of the kids asked to take their shirt off. And then it became the cool thing to do. Several others joined in.
Goody bag time!
(Actually, it was a goody bucket.)
Guess who is good at the kazoo?!?!
The stamps were also quite the hit....
As Juna has so kindly demonstrated. :)
And after all that....
We woke up on Sunday morning, it was overcast, and just below 70 degrees, so I talked everyone into a hike. At Lory State Park.
I have no idea why it took us 7 years to get out here.
The scenery was stunning.
We did the Well Gulch trail, and we loved it. We hiked along a babbling brook, and some amazing rock formations. In fact, most of the path was natural rock, smooth from years of foot traffic.
We hiked more than two miles, and Sage got tired towards the end. Apparently, the Ergo works for big babies too!
Then when Sage got antsy and wanted to walk, I tried Kale out on my back. He's the kind of kid who like to look out and see where he is going. So I think he enjoyed being on my back more.
We hiked up in elevation, until we had this awesome view of the park and city below.
And on Monday, life resumed as normal.
Except that I graduated big boy Kale from his car seat to the child seat of the grocery cart. He's 10 months old now. 10 months!!
Later in the week, one night after work, we got another one of Matt's birthday gifts up and running. A new hammock chair! The hammock itself was purchased many years ago when we were still in college. The stand was the new addition.
The patio is really becoming quite the oasis!
And I will leave you with a rather common image in our house....
A slumber party.
