Kids Fair and Bass Pro

As I was searching around for more things to do, I found out that there was a baby and kids fair taking place over the weekend. After a little more searching I found some discount coupons so I thought is would be nice to go walk around and look for deals. I have found you can buy stuff at better deals than they sell at their online stores so if you luck out things work out great.

The fair was a lot smaller than I expected. I guessed it would be big like most of the ones in Utah. This was tiny, like the chocolate show I went to a while back. It had great potential. There was a small petting zoo and mini horse rides. My only problem was that you paid to enter and then they wanted an extra $2 a person to enter the petting zoo and $5 a ride for the horses. Sorry Ellie, maybe next time. Oddly enough, DirecTV was there so we were able to negotiate some contract/pricing changes. We were also able to collect a little information about health care and daycare as we may be looking into both these areas in the near future. Needless to say, it was a complete waste.

Since we were out in the area, we decided to head to Bass Pro Shops. If you know anything about the Watterson family, you understand that trips to Bass Pro and Cabelas are big deals. In addition to looking for those items you didn't know about before but after seeing them you can't live without them, we also spend time walking around looking at the decor (mounted items and fish tanks).

Ellie, my little shopper, didn't mind as she loves shopping.


Can I help push the cart?

What? I didn't do anything. I'm just pushing.

I liked being out to see about a new shopping center to see if there were interesting looking shops or possible future restaurants to try out. Driving around some of these areas I'm not sure if Denver is a big city, a growing city, or a blimp in the middle of nowhere. 

Butterfly Pavilion and Flatiron Crossing

Friday's trip was to the Butterfly Pavilion and it was a good day to go. As we pulled up and unloaded from the car, I took off my jacket because it was so warm outside.  Inside the building there are several exhibits to see. You start off with the bugs and insects. This is a room filled with cages of roaches, beetles, spiders, scorpions, bees, and ants. On each cage is a plaque with the name and some information about the creature. Ellie loves looking at this stuff. I don't know how she would react to touching because mommy doesn't touch them.

 

Jake's picture of some beetles.

   

The other guys call him "coach".



   

A huge tarantula as compared to Jake's hand

 

I can't remember what this bug was called but it had something to do with mask.



Here's daddy holding Rosie, the tarantula and an Ellie bug.

After you walk through this room, there is another room where you can look at and touch a horseshoe crab and starfish. This is a small exhibit but with some fun information and games for elementary age kids.

After this, you enter the "Wings of the Tropics" exhibit. This is a room that is mostly sealed off and very humid, like the tropics. Butterflies fly freely around the room. Food is provided as well as plenty of plants that the butterflies would be used to. 

 Anytime a butterfly would pass or we would point one out to Ellie, she "oohed" and "aahed" or "wowed".


Ellie bug with the butterflies.

Some of the butterflies just sitting on some flowers.



Ellie did like walking around in here. As you can tell by my hair, it was very humid.

Of course, after spending enough time in there that our skin felt lovingly refreshed we walked out of the room. You have to exit through 2 sets of doors. In between each set is a small area that has a strong gust blowing back into the tropics and mirrors on each side. The signs inform you to check for hitchhiking butterflies.

Before you exit the building, there is always the gift shop. I always look around even though we rarely buy anything. I almost bought this though.

100% recycled and odorless products made from elephant poo. Now that's recycling.

 The pavilion was a little fun and potentially interesting. It would definitely be better with an older child that questions or at least understands what the bugs were. They have mini programs throughout the day but we weren't there during any of the times. The descriptions of them were quite interesting.

Since the day was still young, we decided to go check out yet another mall, Flatiron Crossing. Denver's newer malls have been designed to bring people in and let them stay all day. This was just outside the entrance we walked in. In the middle there were lounge chairs in sand. Parents were relaxing in the sun (remember is was about 70 outside) and kids playing in this giant sandbox.

Great motivation for parents to hang out by the mall.

Most of the malls I have been to so far are really trying to incorporate ideas or activities that invite parents to bring the kids to so they are out of the house, which is genius because if your already at the mall most people can't help but walk inside to see about any sales going on.

I just enjoy walking around and seeing what crazy ideas and clothing people come up with. We stopped by Fuzziwigs candy store. Soon Jake and I realized we have a potential problem child.

Ellie trying to sneak candy out of the bins.

After we left the store (no she didn't manage to actually steal or eat any of the candy), we walked through a few other stores.  At one point, I was going to put Ellie back into the stroller when I saw 2 packs of markers on the seat. Upon inspection, they had Fuzziwig tags on them. Neither Jake nor I know how they made it into the stroller. Neither of us saw Ellie even touch markers. So we had to head back and Jake returned them to the store.



Flatiron is a nice mall. A new retro type look on the inside. All around the mall are small strip malls with almost any store imaginable and plenty of restaurants within a 5 minute drive. That's how quite a few of the shopping districts are around here. At least I know I have options when I want to go shopping.

Parenting is weird

It's weird some of the thoughts you have as a parent towards a child. The other night, I couldn't help but think of what an awesome little girl we have. Now I know that isn't a bad thing, but let me explain the situation.

Ellie goes to bed around 8:00 pm. Last Wednesday or Thursday we put her down like normal. She wasn't fussy or any trouble; just simply jama's on, teeth brushed, prayers said, lay her down, and she's out. We didn't hear a noise from her. About 11 when Jake and I were heading to bed, I stopped by her room to add an extra blanket (we turn the thermostat down at night). As I walked in, I knew something was wrong by the smell.  I called down to Jake because Ellie had thrown up.  The best/worst part was she was still asleep. So Jake woke her up and went to go bathe her. I proceed to clean the crib and throw all the sheets and blankets into the washers. Once she was all clean (now about 11:30), we bundled her up minus the pink blankie, and brought her into our bed. She rolled around a bit so I just picked her up and put her into her own bed, freshly cleaned with Clorox wipes and new sheets plus a little Febreze sprayed in the room.  She laid right down and went back to sleep. We didn't hear from her again until morning. HOW AWESOME IS THAT?

But as a parent that feeling wears off quick enough once they've pulled a dirty diaper from the garbage or ripped pages from a book or when they continue to climb into a jump toy just to cry to be taken out again.

To eat or not to eat

Yesterday was one of those days when I truly understood why some animals eat their young. The day started out OK. Ellie actually ate almost 2 whole pancakes. After eating she started playing and then throwing tantrums.  Her new thing is climbing on everything. Recently she has figured out how to climb into her jumpy toy. Once she is in there, she starts crying to be taken out.

Love this face.

Here is the video of her climbing in. Listen for the crying after. She really hated that I just recorded this and didn't help her out.

She tried to hit me twice after taking away some of daddy's things that she wasn't supposed to play with. I decided I was tired of it so I put her in her crib and she fell asleep. I figured she was just sleepy from trying to get rid of one nap.

After the nap, we ate lunch. First thing she did was dump her noodles down the front of her. Normally that is something she does once she is done eating and no one listens to her pleas to be taken out of her chair. After a little eating, she was out playing and managed to climb on the tucked in chairs around the table. She likes climbing on the kitchen table.


She was fussing because she couldn't get up or down, so mom takes the picture.

Sometime during the rest of the day she took another nap (because mom just wanted her away for a bit), pulled the lid off a highlighter and drew on her mouth, climbed into the Tupperware cupboard and emptied it, reached onto the counter (which I didn't know she could do) and pulled raw chicken off and onto the newly cleaned floor, threw dinner onto the ground, hit me at least once more, and threw a few more tantrums for crackers, drinks or whatever.

Even with all that, she still wanted me to put her to bed that night and cuddled with me while drinking her night bottle. I guess that's why humans don't eat there children. I am just hoping this isn't an early start to the terrible 2s. She still makes me laugh.


Ellie in her moo-moo a goo-goo after a bath.

 

Ellie sitting in the cupboard, emptying the Tupperware. Yes, this makes me laugh...sometimes.

Manitou Springs

For Friday's adventure, we took off to Manitou Springs which is located about an hour south just outside of Colorado Springs. Manitou Springs has several natural mineral springs, which in years past (and I mean many years past) were known their healing qualities. Early Indian tribes, especially the Utes, considered the soda waters sacred but many explorers later detailed the boiling springs. The area was founded in 1871 and was the first and foremost watering place in Colorado until the early 1900's and many sick or invalid people came to drink of the healing waters.

Along with the springs, there is a quaint old town with stores lining the streets. Most of the shops are what you would expect; handcrafted, Indian, or old fashioned items. There was a blown glass shop, a toy store, a clock and knickknack seller, handmade soaps, and souvenir shops.  Also was the world famous Penny Arcade.

Oh the things you can see for a penny.

Yes Jake did put in a penny to look at the Sultan's Harem. You'll have to ask him about it.

I don't know if they open the shops at different times or if they even use them but there were about 5 store spaces filled with video games from all times. Outside were the ride toys. I was amazed by the shear volume of items they had.

Outside the penny arcade, this is about 1/4 of the rides on the walkway.

As part of the tourist attraction are the 9 piped springs; we saw or walked by 5 of them. You are allowed to sample the water. During the summer months they keep sample cups stocked next to each of the springs. I gave Navajo Spring a taste with my fingers. Yep, tastes just like soda water.


Ellie and I standing by Cheyenne Spring.

In one of the shops, they had cups and a pump to bring up some water so we sampled a bit more. Remember these are mineral soda springs so not just your regular soda (carbonated) water. The each spring contains some or all of the following minerals; bicarbonate, calcium, chloride, copper, fluoride, iron, lithium, mangesium, manganese, potassium, silica, sodium, sulfate, and/or zinc. Sounds yummy, huh? Ellie pulled an awesome face on the second sip. (She took a second to make sure the water was really that bad tasting.) The lady at the shop said it is just a taste you have to get used to.

Nearby is Pike's Peak, one of the 14-neers. Near Manitou is a cog railway that you can ride to the summit. There is also an old rail line, rails removed and only the ties remain, that is called the Manitou Incline. It is sometimes considered part of several hiking trails in the area but technically on private property. Depending on how far you want to hike the distance is between 2-4.5 miles with vertical gains between 1100 - 2200 ft.


This is the dirt path on private property to access Manitou Incline.

 

Jake and Ellie at the beginning of the Manitou Incline. Hiking anyone?

Yes, the top of the trail can be seen on the hill in the background on both pictures. The town seems a little confused about whether on not you can/should climb it. One person told us about it and gave basic instructions to get there. When we couldn't find it, another person "didn't tell" *wink wink* where to find the entrance.

After we drove down to Rudy's BBQ. I sometimes have a hard time with BBQ because it is so expensive, between $7-$12 a pound depending on which cut of meat you ordered. Also to cater to more people, they no longer smoke the meats in the BBQ sauce. You add that after. Other than that, the meat was tender and delicious. Ellie really enjoyed the sausage. The sides were plain tasting; corn and potatoes didn't have anything special about them.

Mile High Marketplace

Now that we are back in Denver, it is time to continue our Friday afternoon activities. Last Friday we went to Mile High Marketplace, Denver's year round outdoor flea market and farmer's market. I have wanted to go see what it is like for a while but we were busy doing other things. Luckily for us, there was wonderful weather on Friday. It was in the 50's so walking around wasn't a big deal.

Mile High Marketplace wasn't exactly what I expected but I imagine that part of it was because it's January. More than half the stores/booths were closed. The farmer's market wasn't that great but I imagine it's hard to grow too much during Denver winters. There is an entire open air section where there isn't a building covering but sectioned off spots on the ground for people to sell stuff.  This area looked like a bunch of people came out with garage/yard sale items to sell. It was a little weird. Then again, if space only costs $70 for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday it could be worth it so that its easier for people to find your yard sale.

It did make me laugh to see an Asian shop owner with signs written in Spanish.  Jake was curious and wants to know if flea market lingerie is more dirty.

We did find some cute shoes for Ellie. Hopefully things look a lot better in the spring and summer because I really enjoy flea markets. Although I did have a feeling that reminisced of the Utah State Fair.

Because it didn't take long to walk around, we drove out to the Colorado Mills Outlet mall. It is a newer mall here that mixes high end outlets with your regular outlets (more like Tanger in Park City). By higher end, there is a Neiman Marcus and Sachs 5th Ave outlet store in this mall.

It was a nice low key day but great to be out and walking around. Ellie really enjoys having the extra space to run around. Not to mention, she really loves running up and down ramps. She would have stayed on this one ramp at the mall all night but we were ready to leave after she spent 20 minutes running up and down it.  Then she climbed up and sat on some big chairs out in the walkway and then climbed down and then back up. She cried almost the whole way to the car because we picked her up and made her come with us.

New Year's Fun

New Years was rather low key for us this year. New Year's Eve was spent with Annie and Brian at their house. We enjoyed a quiet dinner (as Macy and Kelsey were staying with Grandma and Grandpa Kartchner). After dinner, we enjoyed some games; Carcassonne and then Wii Resort. Carcassonne became a little heated when Jake force Jeff, Annie and I to share a city and then he had a hard time trying to decide whether it would be worth it to screw all of us over by the placement of one of his tiles. He decided to not be a jerk (I know amazing, right.) but it most likely cost him the game because we finished this city and earned something like 30 points each. 

My parents showed up just in time to celebrate the New Year. We said cheers and kissed and went back to playing games. After 2-3 more Wii resort games Jake, Ellie and I made the drive back to Wanship.

On New Years day, we went sledding with the Watterson family.  This is something we have done for the past few years now. We go to Soldiers Hollow and sled the fun way. We had a huge group set to go (so we could pay the group discount rate). Unfortunately our time was from 4-6pm making it freezing cold (around 5 degrees or so). We took Ellie. She was so bundled up. She had on 3 shirts with her double layered coat, 2 pairs of pants with her snow pants, 2 pairs of socks with snow boots, and a hat with coat hood but it was so cold that she was quickly frozen.  We did make one run down the hill with her. She seemed to like it; she stopped crying on the ride up the hill and the ride down the hill. Luckily, Annie (who hates the cold) had come and was sitting in the lodge with Braden and Kelsey. Ellie sat and played with them.

Brian, Macy, Stef and Jeff came also. I think just about everyone in our group spent a little time in the lodge warming up. It was only about -5 degrees outside by the time we were done. We still had a lot of fun though and made sure to cause a few problems and entertain the people who worked there. I am sure they remember us each year.



Jake riding up the hill.

Me riding up the hill.

Our cute frozen family after sledding.

Ellie playing in the car on the ride home.

After, the Watterson clan headed back to Steve and Connie's for the traditional New Year's Day dinner; delicious chicken kiev, rice, homemade eggnog and of course Watterson family dinner conversations. These dinner's are such great memories and I am glad I can be a part of them. I think it is real fun to have family traditions that aren't common, like on New Year's day.