Rainy Day Fun

We have had quite a few rainy days this past week and it can get pretty difficult to entertain a rambunctious one-year-old all day long in our tiny little loft. So, Ollie and I paid a visit to the Denver Children's Museum. It was awesome, they have a whole room dedicated to toddlers and Oliver had a great time climbing and sliding and exploring. Of course, as it was rainy, a lot of other mom's had the same idea so the place was pretty crowded. I think we may try it again on a sunny day just for fun.

Sam and Oliver like to create their own kind of fun, who needs a roller coaster when you've got a dad and a cake pan!

I pledge allegiance to...

This week the talking heads are saying that Colorado is a key state in the upcoming election. Seeing as we live in the liberal hot-spot of Colorado's most populated county, Sam's school got a surprise visit from Barack Obama this week. He is a pretty nice guy, we even invited him over for milk and cookies, but when he saw that we drove a Hyundai with no "Save the Earth" bumper stickers he figured we must be conservatives and politely declined. So, maybe we didn't actually meet him, but his visit did inspire us to register to vote!!

Colorado: Observations of an Outsider

I have officially lived in the state of Colorado for over three weeks and now feel qualified to make rash and biased generalizations about the people who live here. Before I begin I must say that I have found the people of Colorado to be extremely kind and outgoing. That said, I must admit that they are a bit funny.

BMW who?

If you want to make a statement in Colorado you don't drive a Mercedes or a BMW. Oh no. It is all about the Subaru wagon. And what exactly does the Subaru wagon say about a person? Simply said, it means that you are the epitome of outdoorsy. It isn't just a car, it is an all encompassing statement about who you are; the type of person who buys all their clothes at REI and wears temperature controlled clothing inside the mall just in case the temperature differs from store to store. You recycle everything and have a large collection of reusable grocery bags. You are a climber, a hiker, a kayaker, a skier and an avid participant in whatever other sport that Thule makes a car rack for. If you drive a Subaru wagon you don't just love the outdoors, you are the outdoors.

What a cute puppy??

Folks in Colorado are ga-ga for their dogs. I'm not saying that it is a bad thing, I just have never been in such a dog crazy place before. Several times at the park I have been carrying on a typical young-mother "How old is your baby?" "What is he learning to do" conversation with someone, only to discover that while I was referring to my toddler, they were talking about their dog. On top of that, the local target has only one small isle for baby food and four for dog food. Thats right, you can find organic dog food, meaty dog food, vegetarian dog food, and dog food that guarantees to help your dog grow smarter.


Do they come with neon flashing lights?

During those few moments that our faithful Coloradans abandon thier Subarus, they do have another identifying feature. Footware. I'm not quite sure what they are just yet, they appear to be a cross between a hiking shoe and a sandal. The best part about them is that they only come in hiteously bright colors so that they can be spotted from long distances, leaving no doubt as to the message their wearer is trying to send.

Home Sweet Barn

In case you didn't already know, we live in a barn. No worries though, the cows are sweet and the sheep let us lay down on their straw anytime we want. Actually for a barn, our accommodations are pretty nice. Our landlord has a workshop down below us and just finished constructing this loft over the summer. Our barn is snuggled in between North and South Table Mountain so we feel like we are kicking it out in the woods (our yard is full of deer and rabbits every morning). Best of all, the rent is just the right price (cheap for this area) and includes a nice big washer and dryer, a must for anyone who has a toddler. Now that we are all moved in we are ready to welcome anyone who wants to get better acquainted with Denver to come for a visit.


I think that I already mentioned Oliver's obsession with "unpacking", well, he also enjoys emptying things. Normally he likes to empty his toybox and climb in, but yesterday Sam and I left the kitchen and came back to this.



Some babies don't like grass, but Oliver revels in it. Sometimes he just lays down and rolls around in it and smiles. This time he had a handful of sticks.

Lookout Mountain Here We Come

This week we took a drive up Lookout Mountain, it is just a few minutes from our home and they have a big park and lookout area from which you can see all of Golden and most of Denver. Oliver of course was thrilled by the number of sticks and rocks, Sam and I enjoyed the cool weather and pretty scenery.

Things started to slow down for us this week. Ollie and I have tried to find some new things to do but pretty much ended up at our same old parks. We have made some new friends in the ward, Sam is the only "student", but there are a few other couples our age and so we are excited about that. Sam has also made some new friends in his program. Both of them are army officers and they invited him on their Saturday morning workout with them. Sam said he only threw up four times, way to go Sammy!!