It's official, she costs more

Only four days after Callie turned two we jumped on a plane and headed to Denver. However, this trip was a little bit different. Something felt lighter. Was it our bags? Nope, we had to pack for 30 degree weather in Denver. Was it the air? Well, sort of, because Denver is the Mile High City. Was it our wallet? Definitely, because now we get the pleasure of buying three tickets instead of two. She is no longer a "lap child."


So we had to have the talk with Callie. We laid it out for her. The airlines paid for her first thirteen trips, her parents will pay for the next thirteen trips, and after that she is on her own. And yet there she sits in her roomy seat without a care in the world, ready to take on Denver and see Aunt Suzy.





Oh, but this trip was not just about seeing Suzy. We also got to meet Suzy's boyfriend Brian. We were the only ones in the immediate family who hadn't met him yet, so we were eager to get our chance. And no lie, this is how he was dressed for that initial meeting. As many of you know, you seldom get a second chance to make a first impression. Fortunately Brian got that chance with Callie, who cried at the sight of the crazy red hair. She will soon learn, as we did quickly, that Brian is a guy who commits to everything he does, including spirit week at the high school where he teaches.


All the humans were quickly forgotten by Callie, however. She was in love with the kittycat named Disney. As you can see in this picture, Callie had not problem getting right in Disney's grill. And to her credit, Disney was an absolute saint. At no time did she come close to taking a swipe at Callie, who at times may have deserved it. Overall Callie did great with Disney. She gave her lots of attention and learned to be very gentle while petting.


Callie and Suzy decided that the cold weather and the SNOW required a change in plans. Instead of going to the Denver Zoo we would remain indoors and go to the Denver Children's Museum.



This is one cool museum and we barely got to get our bearings in the two hours we were there. It really seemed like they had thought of everything and anything a kid might enjoy.


There was one whole floor of the museum dedicated to activities for kids under the age of 4. It was really cute - everything was miniature and the place was definitely designed for independent play. For example, here is Callie playing in the fishing boat. Both the rod and the fish had magnets attached which allowed Callie to be a much better fisherwoman than her parents have ever been. She truly enjoyed it and squealed with excitement every time she caught one.


Next up was a play area focused on trains and automobiles. Callie has long been a fan of trains, and was excited to have Aunt Suzy as a playmate. Seriously, this museum had everything. Not pictured - a mini basketball court, a mini grocery store, an invention room, and so much more. We will be going back. Oh yeah, and Callie cost more as a two-year-old here as well.

The next day we headed to Boulder to take a stroll down Pearl Street. Unfortunately the weather conditions remained chilly with a touch of snow. One thing to mention here. The snow was so dry that when it fell and stuck to your jacket you could actually see the complex shape of each individual snowflake. It was very cool. In any case, the cold weather necessitated a stop for coffee and hot chocolate.



Callie didn't mind a quick stop, but was restless to move along to see all that Boulder had to offer. There were some cool shops and come spring, Callie and the rest of us will be happy to play with the design your own kite kits we bought that day.

Another bonus of the trip was breakfast with the Andrews family. John and Thomas went to undergrad together, lived together for a year in LA, and now both are history professors. A lot of things have changed since those southern California days. Thomas and his wife Amy are now the proud parents of two beautiful children, Santiago and Fiona.



We met at a cool little breakfast place called Snooze. Good ambience, and of course, good omelettes and sizeable pancakes. Good stuff.


Santiago and Callie really enjoyed their time together. They shared a pancake, colored together, and read a book together. But what they really enjoyed were they leaves outside. We probably spent twenty to thirty minutes hanging out in an abandoned parking lot near Snooze watching the two of them play.


It's amazing how kids can entertain themselves just about anywhere. And it allowed the adults to continue the conversations begun over breakfast. It was so great their growing family and hopefully we can get together again soon. And the date ended with both parents bribing their respective children with fruit snacks to get in their car seats.

Our post comes to an end with picture of our wonderful hosts, who on the final night gave us a well deserved adult evening, which included a scrumptious dinner and the musical "Wicked". We had so much fun and look forward to many more of these evenings in the future.



And since Suzy and Brian just booked their tickets to Madison for Christmas, we will be seeing them in just a couple of months. But before we can get to Christmas we have Halloween and Thanksgiving. The fun never ends...