Colorado Adventure

Last month we hopped a plane to Colorado Springs for a family trip.  It was Desmond's first flight of memory (we flew to San Diego when he was 6 months old, but he certainly doesn't remember it) and probably our last flight as a family of three.

Desmond checking out our plane

We had so many awesome adventures that I hardly know where to begin.  But let's start here:

Donna's House
My aunt Donna and uncle Jim bought a house in Canon City, about an hour and a half from Colorado Springs.  It was our home base.  On the first day Desmond and Joe went out to explore and were greeted by a bull snake.  Not knowing what it was, they headed back inside, but only after snapping a picture of it as evidence.  Only later did they find out it's harmless.

Can you see the snake?

This place was full of creepy crawlies.  (Patrice, if you're reading, please skip to the next section...)  We saw a scorpion and a big toad, and after we left Donna spotted a tarantula.  It definitely made for some good exploring.

The Cement Mixer
Uncle Jim could not have planned this better.  It just happened that Jim needed some cement poured in his new garage, so he had scheduled a cement truck to come on Day 2.  This may have been the unexpected highlight of the trip for Desmond -- haha!

Seriously, the only thing that could have topped this would have been Jim laying track and having a train come through the yard.  Maybe work on that for next time, Jim??

Watching with Dad and a handful of rocks, of course.

The Vineyard
Donna and Jim's house came with a vineyard, which we had to check out.  There are about six different types of grapes, which they will harvest this August and sell to The Winery at Holy Cross Abbey.  The grapes brought in by the locals are bottled into a special blend, and the label on the back will list Donna and Jim's names.  Can't wait to get one of these for Christmas!

Grapes growing in the vineyard.

Over in the corner of the vineyard some birds' eggs had hatched.

Baby birds.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
We also took a trip to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs while we were there.  Desmond loved the giraffe exhibit, and so did I.  It was so interactive -- you could buy lettuce and crackers and feed them out of your hand.

Up close and personal with the giraffes.

If you ask Desmond about this, he will instantly say, "Giraffes lick arm!" and laugh.

The Frutchey Wedding
One of the reasons for this trip was to go to a wedding for Joe's friend from UP, Eric Frutchey.  It was a really beautiful ceremony and reception, and Joe got to catch up with some of his buddies from college.

Frutchey wedding.

Donna watched Desmond for us so we could enjoy the wedding.  They had a blast together.  The fun started when he woke up from his nap and announced: "Dezen...sit...on...couch...watch...TV."  We don't watch much (read: any) TV at our house, so this was a real treat for him.  He also got to sit and eat waffles while watching TV -- bonus!

A different waffle-eating instance, but still enjoyable as you can see!

 
The Wildfires
Unless you live under a rock, you've probably heard about the wildfires raging in Colorado and other parts of the Southwest.  We got to see them up close and personal.  The day we drove into Colorado Springs for the wedding was the day the Waldo Canyon fire started.  We weren't far out of Canon City when we started seeing smoke.

Our first glimpse of the smoke.

Here are some assorted pics of the wildfires.

Getting closer to Colorado Springs.

Smoke at sunset.

View of the fire from the airport on June 26, the day we flew home, and the day the winds took a turn for the worst and the firefighters had to retreat and let homes burn.

View of a wildfire from the plane.  We think this one was near Salt Lake City, Utah.

A Visit with Matthew and Jean
One the last day of our trip we packed up the car and drove 3+ hours to see Joe's brother, Matthew, who is living in Winter Park, Colo., and working with his aunt, Jean Vasicek, who runs Winter Park Honey.  We had a great, albeit too short, visit.

Jean, Joe & Matthew.

Home Again, Home Again
We were all loving Colorado, but before Joe's assimilation was complete, we figured it was time to head home. 

Hum Dueling Banjos theme here

Oh, that and we had return tickets for the day before Desmond's birthday, aka the day he stops being free on a flight.  Note to all moms: A large child, a large pregnant belly, and a very tall husband are three reasons not to push the limit on the lap infant rule.  Yikes!