A winter dinner at the Des Moines Botanical Garden with the Greater Des Moines Partnership

When Andrew was first interviewing for jobs in Des Moines, I sent my information to a group called the Greater Des Moines Partnership for a relocation packet. They sent me information on hundreds of miles of bike trails in central Iowa as well as things to do and places to eat in the city. I even got information on housing and apartments. 

Shortly before our move, I received an email about a free dinner they were hosting for people new to Des Moines at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden. We signed up and went after Andrew got off of work on Wednesday. The group was mostly young, single professionals, but there were a couple of other families there as well. I'm guessing they served dinner from their new restaurant, but they didn't say. Andrew enjoyed the flavorful cheeses, Jo gobbled down the fresh fruit, Oliver loved the bread sticks, and I filled up on surprisingly good pizza & black olives. We socialized a bit and met some people. I connected with a mom who hosts her own blog called Two Kids and a Coupon with things to do and ways to save. I'm excited to check it out! 

Here was the set up for dinner:

We also enjoyed walking through the greenhouse at the gardens, where the dinner was held.

Oliver took this picture of Joanna:

Here's the family!

Crayons for the kids. Very thoughtful.

The botanical gardens wasn't huge, but, of course, it's winter time. The gardens limited pretty much to the greenhouse. In one of the booklets I received on things to do in Des Moines, it said the gardens is undergoing an outdoor expansion this year. I look forward to checking it out when the weather's warm! A woman who worked at the gardens also said they're doing a seed planting next week for kids. I can't find any specifics online, but they have a spring break activity for families marked for Thursday the 20th and Friday the 21st from 10am to 3pm. Adults are $5, kids are $4, and little ones 3 and under are free.

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On the drive back, we drove along the river, and I spotted this Chinese pagoda. I did a quick search online and read that it's part of the Chinese Cultural Center's Asian Gardens. I bet it'll also be a beautiful place to walk through in just a couple months.

Mordecai Children's Gardens

We had a few gorgeous days at the start of this month. We enjoyed some cloud cover that made spending the days outside pleasant. So, we buckled the kids into the car and set out to the Denver Botanic Gardens. They now have a rooftop children's gardens, which we'd checked out in spring 2011 and loved. We have a membership to the Botanic Gardens and need to make it a point to go more often! Entry for us was free with our membership. Non-member adults are $12.50 a piece, kids under 3 are admitted free, and kids over 3 are $9.

We were a little disappointed in this trip. Most of the rocks in the rock stacking stations were gone. There were still some, but it was mostly barren. No kids played there. We hiked up "Marmot Mountain," which we loved last time. All of the animal bones for studying were gone. All of the blocks made from fallen trees were gone.

We wandered to the man-made creek. They added awnings over the creek to create shade for the children. It was a wonderful addition to the area.

Unfortunately, we found they removed all the buckets and rakes that kids used to play in the creek. There were no toys there anymore. Don't get me wrong; we still had a great time splashing in the water. I just don't understand why they took away the buckets and shovels when the little kids enjoyed them so much!

Here are some photos of us playing in the creek:

I love this candid photo I snapped of Andrew and Joanna:

Check out the clouds!  It was such a lovely day.

Behind Oliver is a pair of dress-up wings. It's all that was left in the stage area that used to be filled with dress-up items for kids to play with: 

Oliver loved our afternoon at the Botanic Gardens. Our membership made it was worth the trip. Had we paid the non-membership entrance fees (for our family, that would have been $25), then I'd have to say our trip wouldn't have been worth the cost. I mean, playing in the creek was fun, but kids can play in a nice creek for free at Belleview Park or at Civic Green Park! Hopefully, the Denver Botanic Gardens will bring back all the toys, activities, and learning tools that they offered to kids when they first opened the Mordecai Children's Gardens. As of now, it's just an expensive place to take kids to splash around.

Trail of Lights 2011

Every year, we get free passes to Denver Botanic Gardens' Trail of Lights and Blossoms of Lights. We usually opt to go to Blossoms of Lights downtown. It's really lovely, but the lines are long and the event is crowded, so it's not ideal for taking little kids. Last year was the first year we took Oliver, and we chose to go to Trail of Lights. It was less spectacular, but it had more of a rugged, "Colorado" feel that we enjoyed.

We decided to bundle up the kids and take them to Trail of Lights. I was cold--close to freezing--but it didn't feel uncomfortable when we left. Here's Jo, ready to head out and check out the holiday display:

We arrived at the Chatfield location, and, like last year, were amazed at how busy it wasn't. There were about a dozen cars in the lot, so we parked close. Almost immediately after stepping out of the car, we regretted our decision to go. The open fields provided no protection from the wind, and it felt bitter cold.

We hiked up to the entrance where there was a large fire pit. It was quite cozy, and we were able to stay warm.

We enjoyed the lights from afar and opted not to go through the trails. Ten minutes or so in, I decided it would only get colder outside and decided to take Joanna back to the car. Oliver cried because he wanted to go see all of the Christmas trees I'd promised him, so Andrew took him over to a nearby bush to count lights as Jo and I made the cold trek back.

I felt disappointed. It took about half an hour to get our kids bundled up and ready to leave the house, and it took about 20 minutes to drive to Chatfield. We only spent 10 minutes there. We didn't want the outing to be for naught, so we decided to stop at Starbucks on the way home.

Oliver and Jo were a hit at Starbucks. The tables were filled with women who were, presumably, taking breaks from Christmas shopping. They gushed over our kids in their snowsuits, and I sipped my latte feeling like I had the most adorable kids who ever existed.

Even though the night didn't go as planned, I enjoyed getting out of the house and spending time with my family. Next year, we'll try again, and I'm willing to bet things will go a lot better!

Oliver's Second Birthday Party

We celebrated Oliver's second birthday three weeks early this year because his actual birthday is so close to my due date. It gave me an excuse to host the party at the Denver Botanic Gardens Pumpkin Festival, which is held in early October every year. This year, I was delighted to see so many little kids at the party, and they all wore costumes. It was a cuteness overload, and I didn't mind one bit. Unfortunately, an hour of party festivities wore out most of the toddlers. So, even though the party was fun, most of our little guests needed naps and had to forgo the pumpkin patch and face painting.

Our guests this year included all four grandparents; our old neighbor, Shawna, with Owen; my old work buddy, Vicky, with Gissell and Maddox; one of my oldest friends, Andy, with his wife, Kristen, and their son, Logan; one of my closest and dearest friends, Aminta; Andrew's good friend, Chris C; Andrew's old work buddy, Jake, with his wife, Libby, and their daughter, Charlotte; and family friends Patti and Nicole.

Here is a recap from Oliver's party last year (how was that a year ago?), and here are the photos from this year's party:

The cake, which I finished glazing an hour before the party:

Waiting in the cold, 40 degree weather for the gates to open. It's a good thing the kids wore warm costumes!:

We gave out homemade pumpkin bread for the guests, and the kids also got pumpkin decorating kits:


Nicole came! She's so sweet, and she's always willing to watch and play with Oliver:


Charlotte (or "Charlie") came dressed as a puppy! This first shot was taken by Chris:


Owen came as a monster. At first, he was overwhelmed by the sight of everyone and started to cry. Unfortunately, I missed that photo op because it was the cutest thing, ever. Here he is after he (quickly) adjusted:


Oliver had his own mini-melt down when everyone sang, "Happy Birthday." It was quickly remedied by birthday cake. The close-up shots are courtesy of our friend, Chris:

Here's Logan! He's sporting the dragon costume sent to us by my sister, Julie. I brought it with because it's warm. I think it did the trick. The second shot is from Chris, too:


Here are our attempts at herding the toddlers together for a group photo shot:

Here are photos of Gissell (the witch) and Maddox (Darth Vader), brother and sister:


Oliver's trying to escape:


He made a break for it!


Mr. Owen, enjoying his milk:


Time for presents!


The revealing of Elmo:

Feelings were hurt when one toddler was told that Elmo was for Oliver. I can't help it; I think this is so cute:


Thankfully, Oliver was willing to share the beloved Elmo doll:

Elmo got a lot of love from Logan:


...and Oliver was on to his next gift!:

Off to the pumpkin patch:

Oliver let us know that it was time to go home and take a nap:

What a fun birthday celebration! Thanks to everyone who could join us!