before 7 am

Hysterical laughing from B
"Wow, an explosion of blood!!!" uttered by N
a clingy koala baby B
and gibberish "a hana mu nee, hi MAMA!" from J

what on earth am I in for today???

cheap fun in the summertime

We had a great time yesterday at the Foam factory. One of the kids favorite places that we don't go to nearly as often as they want to.
We got in early and grabbed a bag for each of the kids, and started to load up on the foam balls. There are literally thousands of these balls. N had a blast shooting the "bombs" at people and even more so sneaking up and throwing them at me - and hit me squarely in the face several times (note: N throws hard!!!) B enjoyed playing with all the other kids (make that girls) and collecting just pink balls, while J loved the vacuums something he has been fascinated with at home (and giving me a headache with). Sucking the balls up to watch them come out at another end, and the slide. Even baby B had a blast trying to eat the balls. And the bonus? The fans from all the vacuums keep it super cool.

We go here about once a year, and always have a great time. My tips? grab a bag and tell the kids to hang on to it (they don't have enough bags and it is first come, first served), try to get there early in the day when it is less crowded, and if you have a baby crawling around, either Sling em, or Bjorn them so you can join in the fun! And a warning: be prepared to be pelted with balls, and it is loud from all the vacuums, next year I might bring ear plugs, (geesh I must be getting old).

We stayed about 2 1/2 hours, but the pass is good all day, so we could have come back if we wanted to (and probably would have after nap time if it wasn't such a long ass drive). It is a great place to take the little ones whenever you want some good clean and cool fun. On Wednesdays it is only $2 each, and you can stay as long as you want. They open at 11am and stay open till 10 pm.

is this a compliment?

Aba informed me tonight as I was busy making faces with my new red hair (it was not supposed to be red, but you know how things happen in our house) the usual cast of characters, Cousin It, Helga, Yosemite Sam, Pippi Longstockings... and that is where the compliment (or was he mocking me?) came in.

He said our House is run by Pippi. ???? Isn't Pippi the scatterbrained, unconventional dirty little girl with a monkey? The one who can lift a horse with one hand and wears red and white striped thigh highs? What does that mean? Am I scatterbrained? Is our house unkempt? Are my household skills unconventional?

He was laughing when he said it, but still... I am starting to think this wasn't a compliment after all.

Wordless Wednesday

to young to fish in the river, means big crocodile tears.

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totally 2

always full of smiles and laughter.

Day Trip: Estes Park

I know the only thing anyone is interested in is the food. So lets just jump to that.

Breakfast/Brunch: The Egg and I
very tasty! We arrived around 10 and had a
fifteen minute wait (it was packed and we were told it would be at least 30 minutes). The kids were given menus to color and toy dinosaurs to play with. The kids meal were priced right ( I expected it to be higher for a mountain tourist town) about $4 for a milk, half a waffle, a scrambled egg, and a slice of orange plus bacon (yeah I know, Bacon). They all loved it and ate every bite. I got the Denver omelet with ranch potatoes, English muffin and a pot of tea. A selection of tea bags arrived (although I did have to ask for cream). The omelet was fabulous! Hot and cheesy and filling. The potatoes however were not so good; a bit cold, and while some were super crispy and hard others were mushy and soft. I didn't eat the English muffin, and took it and the potatoes to the river for Aba who also said they were cold. All in all I would eat there again. $28 and change after tip

Lunch: okay it was Ice Cream. I had been wanting to go to the Danish Cone Factory since last summer, I had read many rave reviews about it then, and was quite shocked to see a sign in the window that said business for sale. Once inside though I noticed something, that really turned me off. The ice cream was not homemade in fact it is one of the grocery store brands Blue Bunny. I am not saying anything is wrong with Blue Bunny, in fact we have some in our freezer right now, but I am not paying $3.50 for a scoop of it when I can buy a half gallon for the same price! So we walked out and down about a block to Laura's which boasts homemade ice cream, fudge and candies on their awning. The kids each got a scoop of Fresh - home made today Mint chip on a sugar cone, while I got the cookie dough. The scoops were huge, (I even asked if it was a single, it looked like double scoops) for $2.50 each. And oh so yummy melt in your mouth! Plus the service was great. After handing N the first cone he promptly knocked the ice cream to the floor with the first lick, and the lady gave him a new one for free. I would recommend smooshing the ice cream on the cones harder with a spoon yourself after this, and did for the rest of the cones. Also get some water before you leave as it is super rich ice cream.

Dinner: Bob & Tony's Pizza (sorry no website)
after finally convincing Aba to stop fishing and get something to eat we went into town for pizza. When the kids and I had walked by earlier in the day the place was packed and the heavenly pizza smell was wafting down the street and hooked us in. Seating is plentiful, altho9ugh it is a bit odd, they request you find a seat, look at a menu and then come back to order. We got the 15 inch #1 with white sauce (basically a pepperoni, sausage and mushroom pizza with olive oil Parmesan and spices in lew of tomato sauce), hot wings and fountain drinks - no beer served here (or at the other pizza place in town - Aba had me check) The wait wasn't long and for less than $40 we had stuffed stomachs and a to go box. the kids each downed 2 lemonades while Aba and I both finished off 3 sodas (I am going with we were dehydrated because I have no other excuse for it) The pizza was soooo good and filling. Aba and I both ate more than we should, and we still had 2 slices to bring home and 6 wings. I didn't eat the wings and Aba is asleep so I can't give you a review on those, but the pizza alone is worth stopping in.

Bling Baby!

Look who got her first Bling Bling!

Isn't itweird, how bling has worked it's way into our everyday language? So much so that out of touch mommies like me even use it? Remember when it was lookin' fly? or all decked out? Wonder what will be next...

Anyhow she did great. No screaming or tears, and smiles before we even left the store.

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