Real quick before I forget (because I already did once), movie reviews. The Avengers: loved it. Good action, good storyline, no high pitching whining from Pepper and no fighting between her and Tony. Liked seeing the interaction between Stark and Banner, even if Banner was Mark Ruffalo instead of Edward Norton. Dark Shadows: we walked out. Too dark and too much sex.
We really did have a relaxing, enjoyable time in Colorado, though it seemed we were always doing something. Yes, we had a lot of errands to run and places to go, but we weren't controlled by the clock and that's what made it feel relaxing. On previous trips, we've had our time scheduled out to the hour between friends, family and shopping. We tried to see friends this time and succeeded with a few, and had some cancellations, but that's okay. I think sometime when we go, we should just have a get together at a park with whoever feels like showing up and that way we can see a ton of people without spending all our time driving to them individually.
And so we had plenty of time to relax at my parents' house and play games. Games are Tommy's new favorite thing. I hardly see toys out all over the floor anymore, rather 2 or 3 games. He's still figuring out that he can play with one, put it away and then get a new one. But he and Ryan played their games with Grandma, and Shad and I played games with Jake, Amber, Ruth, Levi and Dan. Lisa, Lori and Dad didn't get in on any of them.
Jake and Katie fell asleep together, and Tommy was actually sweet and lovey with his Lori. He really does love her--he always asks to call her, and walks around the house holding pictures of her and kissing them, holding them to his face, saying "Awwww, Waywee!" and even watching Mulan with them. However, the last time we saw her, he didn't want anything to do with her. He only wanted Grandma. So this time it was nice to see him want her, and cuddle her, and kiss her goodbye.
This is a Tickle Levi party that ended right as the camera snapped. Tommy loves tickling!
The cousins! Tom, Katie and Ryan.
I've been wanting to stop at the Wonder View Tower in Genoa, CO on I-70 just 10 minutes east of Limon for over a year now. We finally did. It's a nice quirky place that only costs $1 admission. There's a large museum with all sorts of antiques--art, glass bottles, rocks, arrowheads, etc. Tommy liked practicing his counting on the many cash registers.
Ruth and Tom sitting in the cave in the Pike's Peak display.
Top of the tower. We didn't let Katie come up. That built in ladder just didn't seem like a good idea with her.
Looking down 6 stories.
Now, it's been proven by Ripley himself (Ripley's Believe It or Not) that 6 states can be seen from the top of this tower--Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota and Wyoming. Even the Grand Tetons can be seen. I just didn't have the equipment for that.
Tom, Levi, Ruth, Shad, Katie and me on the 5th floor of the tower museum.
Hey guess what! They have this cool 2 headed calf.
Um,...yes. This would be the bathroom facility that I did use. I really couldn't hold it. And yes, it's falling over and supported on the wrong side.
Here's the tower from the outhouse.
They've got mammoth tusks and dinosaur bones and a dinosaur egg. All right there!
The owners are quirky themselves and have a sense of humor. I forget the guy's name, but he's a character in and of himself. He likes to pull out artifacts and have you guess what it was used for. If you're correct, you earn your $1 admission back. I was actually pretty good at that game. Most of them I guessed on, but one thing he pulled out was an old military uniform button polishing plate, and I knew that on site, thanks to Dances with Wolves. We let him keep the money though.
This room is entirely built out of petrified materials. Even Shad is petrified.
Lots of Native American art on the stones.
And here's the museum.
Most of the items in the museum are marked with prices, so you can feel free to leave with a souvenir.
Overall, we DO recommend this for a nice, fun, cheap entertainment to break up a 5 hour roadtrip on your way to come see us from Denver. We DON'T recommend this for those afflicted with acrophobia or claustrophobia. Okay, the museum will be fine for you, but don't go too far up in the tower. It's gets cramped and the stairs/ladders can be...scary. We also DON'T recommend this for a bathroom/water stop.
On the way home, Tommy had fun trying out the glasses we got him at the thrift store. We got them so that I don't have to share mine with him anymore, and because he's going to be Harry Potter for Halloween. He likes them a lot.
Since our trip, we've moved Katie into Tom's room. They did fine sharing a room at Dan's house and it's nice to have to spare rooms now. Tommy likes Katie being in his room and he's a sweetheart. He turns on the music if Katie wakes up too soon from napping, hands her toys in her bed and talks to her over the railing. I ran to their room one day as naptime ended with Tommy wailing. He was looking over her railing and she was happily wiggling about in her playpen. It took me a few seconds to realize that he had dropped his blankie in the pen! Oh, that's the worst! Hahaha:) Funny kid. Goofy Tom went upstairs to nap one day without a word. I found him curled up in the glider, sleeping with his cork and blankie.
And so we had plenty of time to relax at my parents' house and play games. Games are Tommy's new favorite thing. I hardly see toys out all over the floor anymore, rather 2 or 3 games. He's still figuring out that he can play with one, put it away and then get a new one. But he and Ryan played their games with Grandma, and Shad and I played games with Jake, Amber, Ruth, Levi and Dan. Lisa, Lori and Dad didn't get in on any of them.
Tommy has new phrases, and words we try not to use. He likes to "lie down" in bed, on his bedroom floor, and in the hallway with Katie. He also likes to say "fall down." So we learned "Ring Around the Rosie" last night...and played it more times than one can count. Speaking of counting! He can count to 10 all by himself. Occasionally he'll need help bridging the gap between 3 and 5, but that's only if he's in the mood to count to 3 and I'm in the mood to hear more. He like to play 1-2-3 swing on walks. He likes to count pennies in his piggy bank and was delighted when, one day while wearing a button up shirt, Levi put some pennies in his shirt pocket. He came running to me saying, "Mom! Pock! Peebake!" (Mom! Pocket! Piggy bank!) He was so happy that his pocket had become a piggy bank. Words we are working to improve pronunciation on: fart and cracker. Tommy is learning the difference between a fart and a poop. I'm not one who feels the need to make my kids use more "polite" words for things, so when he'd fart and tell me "Ooops! Poop!" I'd correct him and say it was a fart. The thought didn't occur to me that a boy who pronounced "dart" as "duck" would pronounce "fart" the same way...and since we don't say fart much, I'd forget everytime in between, too. I'm much better trained now and we "toot" in this house until "dart" sounds like "dart."
