The Little Turkeys

I've spent so many weeks making monster hats for friends and family. It got me thinking of last year, when I sent out a number of turkey hat packages to my friends and family. They all posted cute photos of their little ones wearing the hats. I thought I'd share a little collage of all the little turkeys from last Thanksgiving. 

A Very Merry Un-Birthday Broncos Un-Party!

Our favorite baby nephew is turning 1! OK, so he's our only baby nephew. It still counts.

I didn't want my brother-in-law or sister-in-law to think we'd forgotten about his birthday in the midst of all the wedding stuff, so I asked Andrew to check with his brother to see if they wanted to celebrate while they were in town. They said no, as they had their own thing planned. I totally get how that goes because there's nothing worse than planning a little celebration only to be upstaged to your own kids.

Only there ended up being a big misunderstanding, and Colleen came to me later to tell me they did want cupcakes after all. So, Andrew went out Sunday afternoon to pick up some cake mix last minute, and I told Oliver he'd get to bake cupcakes for his cousin's birthday! He got excited, and even Jo started to sing, "Happy Birthday." It was right about the time we turned on the mixer that I found out about the mis-communication. Sawyer's birthday party was next weekend, and they planned their first baby's first birthday party. I felt so awful because I know what that feels like... I am the last person who would do something like that and take away a parent's fun and celebration with their own child. Thankfully, they were really understanding of what happened, but I felt awful. Plus, there were my kids, mixing up cake mix...

SO WE HAD BRONCOS VICTORY CUPCAKES INSTEAD! I told Oliver there would be no singing, and he was totally cool with that. At that point, the kids just wanted to eat cupcakes. So, I totally let them pig out.

Anyway, it was a good thing it ended up being a Broncos party instead of a birthday party because the little guy didn't make it to the end of the game. 

Here's the newest Broncos fan:

The un-birthday Broncos party:

(Happy early Birthday, Sawyer!)

Shattuck Weekend: A Wedding on Vail Mountain

A good friend of Andrew's family got married last weekend in Vail, and he and his wife invited all of us. Paul and Colleen were kind enough to treat us and Andrew's brother's family to a weekend up in Vail. At first, Andrew and I talked to my parents about babysitting. We thought we'd drop the kids off to my parents on Saturday and head up to the mountains from there. We looked forward to an adult evening, and we didn't want to have to worry about getting a sitter up in the mountains. My in-laws were (understandably) looking forward to some family time. My brother-in-law and his family (including his brand new baby girl!) were coming into town, and so we wanted to make the family thing work. Paul and Colleen volunteered to drive the kids up early on Friday. Andrew and I would meet them up in Vail later that evening, after he got off work. My parents never cease to amaze me, and they agreed to drive up Saturday before the wedding to bring the kiddos back down to town to stay with them.

I don't know if the Shattuck family weekend turned out exactly as planned. All of the kids seemed to be on different schedules! Colleen somehow ended up babysitting all four kids Friday afternoon, and they were all in the midst of a meltdown when Andrew and I finally rolled into the mountain town. After a few desperate calls, Andrew sprinted ahead to rescue his mom from the little stinkers while I waited for the bellboy and our luggage. My poor mother-in-law... Andrew said that it was just four kids in absolute hysteria when he arrived. He wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. Thankfully, they all calmed down pretty quickly. She just needed one more set of hands!

Ours were up bright and early at 6am, and we got ready went over to Andrew's parents' suite to enjoy the breakfast I'd brought up with us... a big thanks to Colleen not just for her generosity, but for baking the strata when she got up with Sawyer!

The newest member of the extended Shattuck family slept in with her parents, so we took cousin Sawyer out to explore Vail. He was content with hanging out in the stroller and checking out all the water fountains. He happily let Andrew hold him as they went with Oliver up and down the escalators. It was a good time! It's nice spending time with the happy, little guy and it always makes me pause to think what our life would be like with more kids!

This is an ice rink in the winter!

There was still no sign of Jessica and Paisley, but we didn't want to disturb them, as sleep is the most precious thing when you have a newborn! So, we did all sorts of exciting stuff like playing with the bowl of pine cones in the room and brewing a few pots of coffee. When it got close to lunch time, we had to give up and head out to get the kiddos ready to meet my parents.

We got them dressed and packed and drove to the Vail Village parking structure (free parking in the summer!). We met my parents there and transferred all the kids' stuff to them. We wandered over to Starbucks for a treat, and then we took a stroll along Vail Creek. The pines were beautiful.

We said goodbye to our kids. Right as we waved goodbye, we got a phone call from the in-laws that everyone was up and dressed and getting lunch. Perfect timing! Andrew and I made our way back to the hotel to meet them for a meal. As usual, Mr. Sawyer was thrilled with everything and very happy to be eating! We had a nice time, and then everyone scattered to their own rooms to get ready for the wedding.

Andrew and I were ready first. The wedding was on top of Vail Mountain, and we were given tickets to ride the gondola to the top. It was a 13 minute gondola ride! We decided to go early to enjoy the view. Before we left, I stepped out onto our balcony. It was very comfortable and sunny, so I decided not to waste the effort with bringing a shawl or umbrella. I asked Andrew if he wanted the umbrella, and he said no. I believe his exact words were, "Even if it does rain, I would rather be a little wet than have to lug around a wet umbrella all night." If you think I that seems a little naive and even foreboding, well, you are right.

We made our way up the mountain with only our tickets, wedding card, and camera. It was gorgeous up there. It was the perfect place for a wedding. We met a few guests, took a few pictures, and enjoyed the sunshine.

When it got close to the ceremony, guests started murmuring about the clouds rolling in. They blocked the sun, and it started to get chilly. That's about the time Paul, Colleen, and Jessica showed up with the babies. We were surprised to see them since Colleen's friend drove up to babysit them, but we rolled with it. Andrew was quick to take our nephew to help keep him warm and entertained until the ceremony started. Then, he handed off our little nephew so he could enjoy the ceremony as planned.

It got cold so fast. Then, right when the wedding party started walking up the aisles, the clouds opened up, and it started to rain. I don't get cold very easily, but my hands started to freeze by the end of the ceremony. I could only imagine how the bride and bridesmaids felt! The bride's father officiated, and he gave us an abridged version of the ceremony. Then, everyone scattered to get back to the gondolas! Andrew and I made sure Sawyer made it to Zach, and then we trotted ahead to get warm & dry. I'm pretty sure we were the only guests who hadn't brought a jacket and/or umbrella! Ah, and we'd thought we were so clever for not hauling stuff up the mountain...

By the time we caught a gondola back down, the rest of the family caught up to us. It also stopped raining, and a rainbow appeared! It was the perfect ending to such a memorable ceremony.

Road Trip to Utah + Updated Summer Bucket List

We just got back from a last minute road trip to Utah! Andrew's brother lives there, and we'd hoped to go visit them in June. Things got delayed and then cancelled due to conflicting schedules. Last week, Andrew's work sent out a memo that said they would be closed on Friday, July 5, in addition to July 4. With four days off, we decided to make the trip to Utah happen. We went on lots of adventures including our first family tent camping trip in Wyoming! I wrote about our adventures here: http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/WhirledPeas/Trips/23214

Here are a few photo highlights of the trip:

With the trip came lots to mark off for our family's summer bucket list! We got to watch a fireworks display on the Fourth of July in Hyrum, Utah. The fireworks came with a view, as they were right in front of a backdrop of mountains. Oliver and I also made a stars and stripes cake. Uncle Zach didn't have a mixer, but he gave us an immersion blender to use. Oliver thought that was really cool. Of course, we got to mark off going on a road trip as well as tent camping. I'll be honest: the kids didn't sleep very much when we were camping. They really had a great time, though, and Oliver has already asked to go back to the sleeping bag and fire.

Other items that I don't have pictured (yet...) that I've marked off are blowing bubbles and running through sprinklers. We totally did those things this summer, too. We're making progress on our list!

* Watch a fireworks display on the Fourth of July.
* Bake a berry stars & stripes cake with Oliver.
* Run through the sprinklers.
* Go to a splash park.
* Play in the "creek" at the Children's Mordecai Gardens at the Denver Botanic Gardens.
* Watch our first parade.
* Ride the outdoor train at Belleview Park.
* Visit a petting zoo.
* Take the kids for a swim.
* Have a real outdoor picnic on the grass with a picnic basket.
* Watch a sunrise.
* Go for a hike in the mountains.
* Go on a road trip.
* Go out for an ice cream cone, and eat it outside!
* Make our own ice cream, and let Oliver choose the flavor.
* Pick and eat vegetables out of the garden we're growing at Grandma Judy's house.
* Eat cherry tomatoes right off the vine at Aunt Bonnie & Uncle George's house.
* Throw water balloons.
* Go tent camping overnight.
* Look at stars in the sky.
* Visit Andrew at work for lunch.
* Take the train downtown to visit Grandpa Larry for lunch.
* Go to the Fireman's Museum.
* Use sidewalk chalk.
* Blow bubbles.
* Take Father's Day photos with the letters that spell out "DAD" again.

We didn't go stargazing as a family, but I am happy to say that I get to mark something off of my own bucket list. I got to see the Milky Way! We were camping in the Medicine Bow National Forest, and at 1am, things were dark enough and clear enough for me to see the Milky Way and a sprinkling of star dust.
* Watch a movie in the park with the kids.
* Take the kids to Disney World.
* Take the kids to Sesame Street Place.
* Take the kids tent camping.
* Take the kids to the tulip festival in Holland, Michigan
* Build a snowman with the kids.
* Have a tea party with the kids.
* Have a real picnic with the kids (blanket + picnic basket).
* Pick wild berries with the kids.
* Stay in a log cabin for a winter night in the mountains with the kids.
* Take the kids to a parade.
* Take the kids on a drive to see Christmas lights.
* Help the kids with a science fair project.
* Take Andrew on a cheese tasting. 
* Live in an old, brick home.
* Pay off our house entirely. Own it out right!
* Make our very own garden.
* Dress up for Halloween as a family.
* Plant a fruit tree.
* Train and run in another half marathon.
* Sit in a hot tub in the snow.
* Throw a nice dinner party for no reason.
* Go on an Alaskan cruise.
* Go on another tropical vacation, just Andrew and me.
* Go to the National Cherry Festival in Michigan.
* Go to the Mackinac Island Fudge Festival in Michigan.
* Go to the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC.
* See the Northern Lights.
* See the Milky Way. (Medicine Bow National Forest, 2013)
* Go to Hong Kong with Phuong.
* Go to India with Aminta.
* Go to the Dominican Republic with Stasa.
* Get to every continent (So far: North America--including Central--and Europe)
* See Machu Picchu.
* Go to Paris.
* See Mount Rushmore.
* See the Crazy Horse Monument.
* See the Little Bighorn National Monument.
* See the Vietnam Memorial.
* Go to the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC.
* See the Abraham Lincoln National Memorial in Washington, DC.
* See the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial.
* See a whale (in the wild)
* Take a train across country.
* Camp on my uncle's land in Vashon Island.
* Go to the strawberry festival on Vashon Island.
* Go to the original Starbucks in Seattle.
* Go to a coffee plantation.
* Drink espresso in Italy with Andrew.
* Learn how to use a wet saw and lay tile all by myself.
* "Yarn Bomb" something!
* Build a window seat for reading.
* Backpack Europe (Phuong and I backpacked through Germany, the Czech Republic, Italy, and Austria in 2006)
* Sky Dive (2002)
* Get a tattoo (2002)
* Dye my hair a funky color (Purple - 2001)
* Cut my hair super short (2000)
* See Yellowstone (2003)
* Ride a mule down the Grand Canyon (1995)
* Get my degree (2005)
* Train and run in a half marathon (Disney World 2009)
* Have a garden wedding (2007)
* Have children (2009 & 2011)
* Stay in the dorms (2001)
* Live in an apartment (2007-2008)
* Buy our first home (town home, 2009)
* Take the kids apple picking (2012)
* Build a sandcastle at the beach with the kids (2013)
* See the aspens in the Colorado mountains in the fall (2012)
* See the Maroon Bells (2012)
* Explore Mayan Pyramids (Belize 2008)
* Drive along Highway 1 through Big Sur (2008)
* See the redwoods (2008)
* Go for a wine tasting in Napa Valley (2008)
* See the Scottish countryside (2012)
* Learn how to use a jigsaw and use it (1997 and 2013)
* Learn how to use a miter saw and use it (2009, 2010, and 2013)
* Redecorate an entire room (first: 2009)
* Volunteer for a political campaign (Barack Obama, 2012)
* See a President speak (Barack Obama, 2012)
* Hike with the kids in a hiking backpack (2010 and 2013)
* Go treasure hunting! (New Mexico, 2013)
* Throw boxes of tea into the Boston Harbor (simulation, 1996)
* See the Gateway Arch in St Louis (1997)
* See a panda bear (San Diego Zoo, 2003 & 2005)
* See a bonobo chimpanzee (San Diego Zoo, 2005)
* Go to a Renaissance Festival (Larkspur, 2003-2007)
* Ride a steam engine (1997 and 2012)
* Vacation at Cape Cod (2010)
* Host Thanksgiving (2011)

Hudson Gardens in Littleton

Last week, the kids and I met up with my sister-in-law, Jessica, and nephew, Sawyer, at the Hudson Gardens in Littleton. I've actually never been there, despite having gone to college literally across the street from this place for a couple years!

Hudson Gardens has free admission. I think they make their money off of their gift shop, concerts, and classes. Most of the area is natural, and only a small part seemed to be developed gardens.

It was a pretty place to take a stroll, but there was very little shade. The heat in the direct sun got to be a little much. We had fun, but I think Hudson Gardens would make a better stop in the fall or winter--certainly not the late spring or summer!

As is normal for our climate, there were trees along the river. They provided shade in a few spots, so we stopped by the river a couple times to cool off.

After saying bye to the tunnel, we stopped over at the Starbucks in Aspen Grove. It was so nice to have some AC! Oliver got Jo's high chair, and we sat down: the kids with their chocolate milk & cake pops, and me with a coffee frappuccino. Here's my rosy-cheeked boy and my cool-as-a-cucumber little girl:

You can't beat free! I think we'll go back to Hudson Gardens again, maybe in November when the weather will be better for it.