A Little Staycation

I don't mean to brag, but pretty much everybody wants to vacation where I live. Ok, so maybe I'm overstating things just a bit, but if you've ever been here you have to admit that we live within driving distance of some pretty cool stuff.  So when Andy and I decided that we needed to take the kids away for a little family time, we didn't have to go very far to find some pretty killer experiences.  We packed up the car and headed for Colorado Springs.

We started out with a tried-and-true favorite: the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.  I don't care how many times you hand-feed a giraffe, it never stops being incredible. 

And now they've added something even more amazing.  I got up close and personal with this gigantic beauty.  Ever read, "Water for Elephants"?  If not, you should. 

The next day we stepped back in time.  Built into the side of a mountain in Manitou Springs are the Manitou Cliff Dwellings, built hundreds of years ago by the Pueblo Anasazi. 

Ceremonial Fire Pit

Intricately built, apartment-style living quarters, so solidly and expertly constructed that you can still walk through them.  You can feel the history.  Definitely one of the coolest things we've ever experienced.

From the culturally significant, to the oh-so-cheesy, we left the dwellings and booked it over to The North Pole.  Turns out that in the off-season Santa lives in an amusement park in Colorado Springs.  Who knew.

He also has an unfortunate predilection for ugly holiday-wear.

If you can ignore the shirt, he's taking early Christmas requests.  Ava asked for a mermaid Barbie.  I'd say her chances are pretty good.

800 rides and a magic show later, our little vacation was over.  We should definitely do this again soon.

Kansas

Road trips with 2 small kids are no picnic.  But the opportunity to watch my kids spend the 4th of July surrounded by their cousins makes it all totally worth it.  (By the way, if you're interested in the pecking order in our house, the sleeping arrangements in our allotted bedroom at Joel and Kristen's were as follows: Ava got the one twin bed in the room, I slept on an air mattress, and poor Andy was relegated to a 4X2 section of the floor, covered with a child-sized fuzzy puppy sleeping bag.  I have a feeling when Lila gets too big for the pack-n-play, one of us is going to end up sleeping in the closet.  Or the yard.)

This was Lila's first foray into the Lundstrom Family 4th of July, and despite a sincere distaste for lifejackets, she fit right in. 



Can't really blame her.  This thing looks awful.

Papa Snuggles

Here's a sampling of how we spent our days.  If you aren't jealous by the end then you weren't paying attention.

Ava drove the boat.





A little lakeside snack.

So very cool.  See you all next year! 

Happy Birthday, Little Love

Just over a year ago this sweet, funny, happy, snuggly little girl joined our family. 

She spends her days clapping and giggling her way into the hearts of everyone she sees.  She quickly and seamlessly became Ava's little pal and my little shadow.  She came along and made us all happier, better people.  We love you, sweet baby.

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Every little girl needs a proper 1st birthday party, and since we wanted to have Lila's bash in Kansas while we were there for the 4th of July, I enlisted Aunt Kristen to help me pull it off.  She came through in a big way with a couple of the sweetest (and most delicious) pink cakes I've ever seen.  Here is Lila's personal version.

Which she unfortunately wanted nothing to do with. 

Braydon feels her pain.

But once the cake disappeared, the party was on.

 

 

Happy Birthday, Lila.  We're so glad you're here.