We had the wonderful opportunity to head out west to Denver for 6 days. John was traveling there for work and the whole family was able to tag along. John's work covered all of his expenses so we just had to cover the airline tickets and food, our car rental, and any other miscellaneous costs for myself and the 2 kids. We found an unbelievable deal for mine and Hannah's tickets on Spirit airlines. Flying direct from Detroit into Denver was less than $100 for one round-trip ticket! Holy cow!! Spirit allows you to check your car seats free so we were able to bring those along. Thankfully we made out really well in that department.
Lauren and Sean live in the Denver area and graciously opened up their home to our family. Even with Lauren's crazy night schedule and training at a new Vet clinic and needing to sleep during the day, Sean working, and their 2 doggies, they still accommodated us. What wonderful friends we have, we cannot begin to thank them enough!
John stayed with us Sat and Sunday nights, then we dropped him off at the airport Monday morning to begin his work adventure. He spent the next two days and nights touring communities in and around the Denver area and studying how they came about to be so successful. John can bring back this information and use it to (hopefully) make some improvements to the state of MI and the cities and towns he represents with his work. I know he had a great time and was exposed to a lot of information. He even said that this trip helped to "open his eyes to the possibility of leaving Lansing and even the state of Michigan"!! I was completely shocked to hear this from him! Baby steps people, we will get there!
Both kids did wonderful flying! This was Hannah's fourth, maybe fifth plane trip so she was great. Noah had his first experience and we were so happy with him. He nursed in the airport then I put him in the baby carrier before we boarded to get him to sleep. He slept for a few hours during the flight, then woke up. I changed him, nursed him, he played for a little and back to sleep he went until we got to the rental car place. I don't think he cried a peep on the plane, but he was certainly a force to be reckoned with once we got in our rental.
Kids slept great while we were there. Hannah slept on the air mattress in one room and Noah slept in a pack and play in the other room with us. The kids were pretty good with the 2 hour time change as well. The first day, Hannah took an earlier nap, but she was great about telling us when she was tired. I didn't notice much with Noah and was hoping it wouldn't be too hard on him.
I stayed solo for Mon and Tues nights with the Newsoms. On Monday, Lauren was able to sleep a few hours during the day and then we headed to the Butterfly gardens near her house. We didn't realize they closed so early, but we still snuck a little bit of time in there. The butterfly room was amazing! Both Lauren and I didn't realize how many butterflies were there and that they were flying around everywhere, but it was really neat! Hannah was a little hesitant with the butterflies, but she did okay with them. Noah slept the entire time we walked around the place so that was absolutely wonderful.
On Tuesday we spent part of the morning/afternoon in Boulder walking around with Lauren. Boulder has a really neat downtown with a huge walk-able area, so we took both strollers and got outside. It wasn't warm, but it wasn't terribly cold either. It was a much needed weather change from the frigid temperatures we had been used to back home in Michigan. We ate a delicious lunch there, then headed back so Lauren could get some sleep before her night at work. While Lauren worked, Hannah, Noah, and I hung out with Sean and watched some of the Olympics. The kids were pretty good for me. We made it work! I did end up having a rough sleep as both kiddos made their way into my bed for one big snuggle fest. I can't complain too much because I still got a few more hours of sleep even if we were all cramped together!
The view from the bedroom I slept in at Lauren and Sean's house! STUNNING! (and this was a terribly cloudy day according to them. They say its clear for miles on most days.)
Late Wednesday afternoon I drove us downtown and checked into the hotel where we would spend the last 2 nights with John. We stayed in the Hyatt, right in the middle of downtown, a great location and a great view! That night Hannah and I enjoyed room service and snuggled up on the bed watching some kids' shows. John finished up his work and joined us back in the room.
On Thursday John was doing some work with Colorado's Municipal League, so the kids and I were on our own during the day. It was absolutely beautiful outside, so we took advantage and walked around 16th Street. It was a car-less section, probably 10+ blocks of shops, food, and garden areas (nothing too spectacular yet). We walked and enjoyed the sunshine (and a little Chic-fil-A!). Hannah had a pink balloon doggy made for her, which she adored!
After naps in the hotel, John met back up with us and we did some more walking around. Denver is such a small/big city. It didn't feel overwhelming, it was the perfect size. We walked around downtown and eventually made our way to the Spartan's sports bar in Denver. We met up with Lauren and Sean to enjoy the game together. Noah made it through his first bar experience as well as his first Spartan game that he was awake for.
When we left dinner, Lauren and Sean told us about this amazing area near downtown so we walked to check it out. It was so neat! Lights were strung across the street for quite a few blocks, it was beautiful! Hannah loved it, Noah was sleeping in the carrier, and it was certainly a sight to see.
On Friday after we checked out of the hotel, John and I drove to check out Golden. We drove the 25 mins from downtown and were in the "mountains" as I kept calling it. But really they are just the foothills, I haven't even seen a real mountain close up yet! Either way, it was really unbelievable. Nature is simply beautiful to me. I hope someday to explore some more and really experience a true mountain.
Here are some shots of the area we explored near Golden and downtown Golden (where Coors Brewery is located).
(you can see downtown Denver over John's left shoulder off in the distance)
We parked in Golden and did some more walking around. It was a sunny day, we barely had to wear our jackets and it felt wonderful!! We walked along the river, played in a little park, and enjoyed the quaint downtown for some lunch and Valentine's day ice cream at the local parlor.
the only family picture we took on our trip!
After Golden, we drove the 20 mins to Lauren and Sean's to put Hannah down for a quick nap. Our flight was leaving at 7pm and we knew we were in for a long rest of the night if she didn't nap. Lauren's parents were in visiting for the weekend so we were able to quick say hello to them.
Our flight home was uneventful. Hannah wouldn't sleep on the plane (which we expected) but she did good. Thank goodness for phones and games to play on them. Noah was pretty good. He had a rough start as he knew it was bedtime but couldn't quite give in to fall asleep. But he eventually did and it was an easy trip. We arrived in Detroit a little early and made the drive back to Lansing. Both kids were sleeping in their beds by 2am and we joined shortly after.
Overall, it was a great trip! We were so lucky to be able to travel with John and even more lucky to stay with such wonderful friends, Lauren and Sean for some of the time. Next time, we are getting in some skiing for sure!
