Denver Zoo

About two weeks ago, I noticed that there was going to be some really good weather coming up, and so I asked Reid to take a day off of work and come to the zoo with us.  I know that making plans based on a weather forecast out here is similar to gambling, but I was in a betting mood.  It turned out really well, except that just about every other person in the Denver area had the same thought.  Thankfully, we decided to head up to the Denver Zoo (which is bigger) so I didn't feel all that crowded.  We didn't tell Kai where we were going, just that it was a surprise.  He kept guessing the whole way and right at the corner he spotted the sign.  He read the word "zoo" and said "It's the zoo!"  He was pretty excited.

The weather started out a tad chilly, but by the afternoon it was quite nice.  We wore ourselves out walking through the entire place.  Kai would have walked, too, but by the end we were in a hurry to get out and he was slowing us up.  Reid ended up carrying him out, or he would have walked the entire distance of the zoo, too.  He's a trooper!

These were some pretty neat animals right at the front.  I don't remember what they were called though.

Here's a picture of them.

Kai's favorite animals at the zoo are the giraffes.  I don't know why, but I know that he has said for a couple of years now.  

There were a couple of peacocks roaming free.  Finn chased them away pretty quickly.

This is a mama tiger with one of her 5 baby cubs.  They were laying right up against the glass.

I love how you can see the blue of Kai's eyes in this picture.

And the grey in Finn's eyes in this one.

Reid's perfectly timed shot!

My boys would get crushed by a polar bear!

If Kai's favorite thing at the zoo is the giraffes, then Finn's favorite is running away.  He just wanted to be FREE!

Kai was having a good time.

Finn did get fascinated by the fish and turtles for a few minutes.

A female peacock walked by this male.  Reid and Kai were coming out of this building from using the potty and this is what they found.

So cute!

We had lunch about mid-day (which cost us as much as our admission!) and it worked out well.  We ate across from an open field, so when we were done I let Finn run for a bit and Kai and Daddy went to the potty.  There were two little ones running in the field as well and they were Finn's size.  When I asked how old they were, I was surprised to find out that they were already 2.  I was so proud of my Finn.  He is growing so well, which for us is just one of those miracles that I don't take lightly.

At the zoo, I found a new job, or at least hobby, for Reid--aquatic life photographer.  Give Reid an aquarium and a camera and who knows how many pictures you will have.  And they are all beautiful!

Well, after completely wearing ourselves and the boys out we headed home.  We stopped for milkshakes and fries on the way back and enjoyed our time.  Both boys ended up falling asleep in the car.  It was a good day for them!

More Outside Fun

We have had several good days lately (well, minus some wind here and there) and the kids have discovered the joys of playing outside.  Finn just LOVES to go outside.  If you mention the word "shoes" he will run to the garage door, dig out shoes (any shoes) and try to put them on.  He gets upset if you then try to load him in the car.  He would much rather play outside.  Kai is still my inside kid.  In fact, he has taken to telling me that he will stay home by himself while Finn and I go do things.  I've explained to him several times that he's not old enough for that and today he began asking how old he had to be.  *sigh*  I'm hoping I can still convince him that it's fun to be outside and play and run errands, etc.  I have a few more years, right??

Anyway, here are some recent pictures from outside.  The kids have turned a dirt zone right by the garage into their our sandbox.  I can't wait to actually get them a real sandbox this summer.  It's going to be great!

Since we were playing outside so much, and Finn really didn't have as much to do (since he can't ride a tricycle like Kai can), I decided to buy the boys a cozy coupe type car.  We found a decent one on Craigslist, brought it home, cleaned it up, and have enjoyed it.  That first afternoon I had the boys taking turns and kicked myself the whole time thinking I should have bought two.  But now, they understand that they have to share and so we're not having as many problems.  Granted, it's only been two weeks or so, so we'll see how the summer goes.

Here Finn is screaming "Cah!" for "car".  It was so cute!

And finally, I need to apologize for the pictures in this post and the next ones to come.  We discovered last week that Finn had adjusted the settings on my camera resulting in our pictures being taken at the lowest resolution setting.  Ugghhh!  Well, it's fixed now and here's to it not happening again!

The Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center

Yesterday we took Kai to the Dinosaur Resource Center as his ultimate treat for finally potty training.  He had earned this trip several weeks ago, but we finally got around it to this weekend.  He was certainly excited and seemed to have a great time.  The center is relatively small, but has a good display of dinosaurs and pretty informative tour.  We arrived about 20 minutes before a tour began, so we used that time to look around and do a bit of playing in the children's area.  The tour lasted about 45 minutes, although Finn only lasted about 5 of them.  Luckily the center was small enough that I could wander a bit with Finn and still hear portions of the tour.  Kai enjoyed riding on his dad's shoulders for a good chunk of the tour, as well as interrupting the tour guide with observations such as "He's big!".  The tour guide seemed, well, a bit annoyed by the end.  Oh well!

Kai next to the T-Rex skull

Touching real dinosaur bones

Kai was really into making funny faces by sticking out his tongue.

Finn climbed up onto the bench in the children's area to watch Prehistoric Planet.

More watching of Prehistoric Planet.

Looking into the lab

Watching another dinosaur movie.

A real T-Rex bone!

Finn had to feel, too.

Hmmmm.....T-Rex is a carnivore!

What I found most interesting about the center is that it seems to be more of a front for people who go out and really hunt dinosaurs.  The people who work in the lab went on 12 different dinosaur digs last summer.  They bring back their finds and then assemble them in the lab.  From there they are shipped off to different museums around the world.  If I remember correctly, their dinosaurs are on display in over 100 museums worldwide!  At the end of the tour you can look through the windows into the lab and see what they are working on.  It was amazing to me that there are actually dinosaur bones right here in our mountains and that there are people right here who collect them.  It always seemed to me that paleontology was one of those professions where you never really met anyone who actually was a paleontologist, and it was just something you heard about.  Yeah, I guess you could be a paleontologist, but there really aren't that many and they aren't close by.  Well, I was wrong.  There are dinosaurs and paleontologists right in our backyard, and they are finding some neat things.  It makes that career field seem much more reachable, and realistic.  It definitely gave me a different perspective.

More Funny Kai Stories

Hair Conditioning

On Thursday afternoon, we were doing a bit of a shopping spree.  We hit 3 stores in one outting--that's a lot for us!  (I'm not a fan of the in and out of the car routine.)  It was still decently warm, but a bit windy.  While we were riding in the car Kai asked me a question.  I couldn't understand it at all.  He repeated his question.  "Mom, can you (mumble) hair (mumble mumble)?"  Once again, I asked for clarification.  "Mom, can you (mumble) hair (mumble mumble)?"  At this point, I thought he was saying something about wanting or needing a haircut.  I asked if that's what he was saying.  He said "No" and then said, "Mom, can you turn on the hair conditioning?"  Inwardly chuckling, I asked him if he was hot.  His reply, "Only where my hair is."  Ahhhhh, the laughs!

I wanted it wet!


*Warning--This story takes place on the potty.  If you don't like those kind of stories, feel free to skip this one.*

Before going to bed we always insist that Kai use the potty.  Thursday was no exception.  I put Finn down and then came out of his room to find Kai using the potty.  I joined Kai and his dad in there to wait for him to finish.  Kai almost immediately handed me one (just one) little square of toilet paper.  A bit perplexed as to what I was to do with it, I dabbed at his wet front-end and then tossed it into the pot.  Of course, that wasn't right.  Kai began to throw a fit right away that he had wanted me to wipe his bum, and that he had wanted to wipe the front end.  Well, I went ahead to wipe the back-end, but he still was devastated that the front was now dry.  He cried over and over "I wanted it wet!"  At this point, all of the crying woke up Finn.  With two boys screaming, and one boy seriously late to bed, there was no other choice.  Reid went to the sink, got his hand wet, and sprinkled Kai.  Even better is that it worked!  Kai stopped crying and proceeded to wipe himself.  Geez, poor Finn had to wake up for that!

Time Outisde

We had three pretty nice days this week and it felt so nice to get out and just play.  I've been feeling pretty guilty about the amount of time the boys spend watching TV, but that changed this week.  It makes me realize how much I'm looking forward to warmer weather.  I was on the computer and other electronics a lot less, my boys watched less TV, and we all went to bed completely wiped out.  Win, Win, WIN!

Tuesday we went to our normal park (Fox Run) in the morning with some friends from the ward.  We spent about an hour and half there before needing to go home for lunch and Finn's nap.  After nap time was over, we loaded back in the car and went to a park in another neighborhood.  It's a nice, expensive neighborhood with a nice park that I've never really seen anyone at.  I figure that the people that can afford to live in that neighborhood have older kids, not little ones like ours.  We had a good time there for over an hour before we needed to go grocery shopping.  There was a really tall, long slide there that Finn just loved.  We would climb to the top of the play structure together and then slide down together.  He would giggle and say "Weeeeee" all the way down.  It was so cute!

On Wednesday, we played in the yard in the morning.  I gave Finn a shovel and bucket and let him play in a dirt patch right next to our house.  He loved scooping stuff into the bucket and then using his hands to transfer it to some cups.  Kai used the shovel to "build a house".  In other words, he put the dirt on the house.  They were both covered when we were done and didn't want to come in, but they definitely needed baths.  After Finn's nap, we decided to go on a nature walk.  Kai was a real trooper as he walked the entire distance, around 1.8 miles.  We saw rocks, dead grass of all kinds, some cows, horses, and ducks.  Kai made me laugh as he yelled "Watch out ducks!".  I asked what they needed to watch out for and he yelled out again, "Watch out for the dirt, ducks!".  That would be my kid, worried that the ducks were going to get dirty.  I took the camera and only got a few pictures before the battery died.

On Thursday, it was a bit windy, so we played inside in the morning.  While Finn napped, Kai and I went outside to scoop some dirt out of his planter so he could start some seeds in cups inside.  From there, we played outside until Finn woke up.  After that, we decided to do some shopping.  There's a great story from that trip, but I'll save that for another post.

We really did have a fun week.  I'm looking forward to warmer weather so we can do it all again!