Go West!

Uncle Dave and Aunt Kara moved to Colorado Springs last August, so we gave them a full year to acclimate before we descended upon them. The kids were initially confused that we were going to Colorado but not going skiing, but Dave and Kara proved that there are lots of other fun things to do in the Centennial State besides plummet down the a snowy hill.

We arrived Thursday night, immediately crashed and then awoke Friday morning to a huge breakfast courtesy of Kara. We then headed out to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, where feeding of the animals is actively encouraged (provided you purchase said food from their convenient placed kiosks). Everyone got into feeding the giraffes -- a few of the giraffes almost got too into it -- but Nora was the only one that really embraced sharing a meal with the peacocks. Fortunately, none of the animals reciprocated.

In addition to all the exhibits (and I'm pretty sure we hit them all except for the elephants), the zoo also has a ski lift with a climbing wall and playground at the top. The kids got to ride with Uncle Dave and Aunt Kara while Allen and I got a few moments of alone time.

Saturday, we headed out to "The Castle" and Kara's favorite hot dog joint, Johnny B's Taste of Chicago, before meeting up with one of Allen's high school friend, Paul, and his kids at Garden of the Gods. Once we made it past the initial entrance, we were a little sad we hadn't brought any of our climbing gear (though as Allen pointed out, he wouldn't really trust any of us to belay him), as the formations and the views are pretty amazing. Still the kids had a great time bouldering and while we discovered how terrifying playing "hide and go seek" can be in a 1,364 acre canyon, everyone made it out alive and in time for dinner with Caitlin (Nora's Godmother) and Paxton.

Caitlin was offered a job at the Aurora History Museum about a year before Dave and Kara moved to the Springs (and about 20 months before our cousin Brandon and his wife moved to Aurora as well -- apparently, all the cool kids are doing it), so they were kind enough to drive up for the night. Kara had skipped our convening with the Gods in order to whip up a huge spread (homemade baguettes, soup, hamburgers, salad, hand pies, cookies...), so we were able to just relax, catch up and hear all about their life at 5000 feet above sea level.

Sunday morning, Uncle Dave got up early for a donut run (including a cotton candy one for Nora -- her Godfather hooked her up nicely), before we headed to the airport to drop Kara off (she was flying to Chicago for her dad's 75th birthday), drop off the rental car and the had lunch with Dave before he headed back to Colorado Springs and we retired to our hotel room in order to wake up for our 7 am flight the next day.

It was too short of a visit, but I have a feeling we'll be back before too long...

(To see all the pics, please click here.)