Minnesota Vaca - Day Two

We spent our second day having lots of fun at Uncle Brian and Aunt Ania's house.  Kyle had a total blast playing with his cousins.  Caroline pushed him around on the trike, played with him on the playground, and taught him how to use the chalkboard.


We enjoyed swinging and playing hide-n-seek in their backyard.  I got both Jack and Caroline really good one time, so much so that after Jack's fit of laughter subsided, he said "okay Aunt Beth, you earned a free picture for that!" 

 

This is the result of that "gift":

After Kyle's morning nap, we all headed for some fun at the Mall of America.  I can remember going here on their grand opening back when the amusement park was called "Camp Snoopy."  It has far more rides now under the "Nickoledeon Universe" name.

Jack and I had fun on the log chutes together.

Kyle got to ride on the balloons with cousin Caroline.  As one would expect from Kyle, he LOVED it.  This will be a theme with him throughout the weekend.

 I was able to get Caroline to push aside her character fear for a few moments while she met a few of the Nick Jr characters.  Kyle of course about jumped out of my arms asking to go snap a photo with them.  

Back at their house, we enjoyed some more outside time.  Kyle immediately figured out how to climb up their rock wall and go down their big slide.  Which he LOVED.

And by the evening, he had mastered erasing his drawings off the chalkboard. Maybe we will need to get him one of these?

Caroline and I ended the night with a dance party.  She would twirl around with these plastic cups around her ears.  Such a sweetheart!

 

Minnesota Vaca - Day One

We lucked out with our flight to Minnesota.  Southwest is a wonderful airline (and format) to travel with children.  Not only do families board early and bags check free (great for all that baby gear!), you get to chose your seat upon boarding.  Our flight had over 30 open seats, so we were able to bring Kyle's carseat with us.  He got his own seat and immediately fell asleep upon take-off.  So did Daddy.  That means mommy enjoyed some wonderful peace and quiet.  It was nice!


We met Uncle Brian and cousin Caroline at the airport and grabbed dinner out before heading to their house.  Cousin Jack enjoyed bedtime TV with Kyle and cousin Caroline read Kyle his bedtime story.  It was precious!

 

 

First Haircut

Today we took Kyle for his first haircut.  His hair was starting to get in his eyes and over his ears.  So it was time!  I really really love his hair longer, so we only had them take off enough to get it out of his face & ears, but she took quite a bit off the back (bye bye curls!).

Here's a before shot:


Kyle was initially a bit timid in the firetruck,

but very quickly warmed up to the idea when he realized it had a steering wheel

He got giddy with excitement as he turned the wheel and bounced up and down in the chair

 

I think he thought he was on a ride at Disney!

He held very still as she trimmed his hair

He watched her with his serious face taking in every cut she made

He didn't even mind the trimmers!

He had a personal TV playing a disney show and at one point he spotted Pluto and said "dog dog."  We were quite impressed because he's never seen Pluto on TV (we don't let him watch TV) so he must've remembered him from Disney?  Or he just knows what dogs look like!

Ta-da!  All done!  How handsome is he?

Apparently he wasn't ready to be all done though.  He got upset when she took his "cape" off and started clapping his hands (this is his sign for "more").  

I think he had a great time and I'm quite happy with how well it turned out.  He looks so much older now!

How We Spent Our 4th

We had the whole week off for the 4th of July (lucky us!) and we kept rather busy.  Here's how we enjoyed our holiday:

Doing gymnastics

Going to playdates at the park

Cooling off with popsicles

And shopping at the Outlets with Grandma

Painting and coloring

Hanging out at the Children's Museum

Going to the (only) fireworks show in downtown Denver

Attending the Highlands Ranch Parade & Festival

Grilling out,

Playing card games with our friends,

Golfing, hanging out at Grandma and Grandpa's, and going to the outdoor spray-ground

Riding a golf cart for the first time!

Taking naps at the Photographer's studio

Going to the Zoo and seeing the new elephants, eating dinner with cliff divers at Casa Bonita,

lots and lots of pool time, 

and brunch downtown with our friends from California.  Phew, quite a busy (and really fun!) week-- it left Kyle exhausted:

Fireman and Fireworks

We celebrated Independence Day Eve with all sorts of fire-related fun.  It was free evening at the Children's Museum, so we joined Matson and company for some boating, fishing, rocket-launching and fireman fun. 
 

Kyle was not at all a fan of the whole fireman's outfit:

 

Because of all the crazy dry heat & wildfires we've had all over the state, there was a state-wide ban on all fireworks (even the professional ones), but downtown Denver petitioned to keep theres.  Not wanting to miss the fireworks, we braved traffic and crowds to see the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and Fireworks at Civic Center Park.  Despite getting there 10 mins after the start of the music, we still were able to easily park 1 block away and find seats with a good view. 

Kyle REALLY loves fireworks (he's seen half a dozen shows already in his short life!).  So even though he was up WELL past his bedtime, he did great.  He sits on daddy's lap with his mouth wide open in amazement.  I seriously love watching the fireworks through his eyes!