John just enjoyed the fountain.
Sounds Like...
2 days ago
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Boulder
On the Sunday after the wedding, all the Pennas who were still in town went up to the Pearl Street Pedestrian Mall in Boulder. It was nice and Tony and I agreed that if we were 90% hipper and 90% richer we might want to live in Boulder...
John just enjoyed the fountain.
John just enjoyed the fountain.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Eugenia Mine and Estes Park Tram
We drove up scenic route 7 to get to Estes Park, stopping at the Eugenia Mine trail on the way. This was our first trail. It was very nice. We got snowed on and sleeted on just a little bit on the way down. John enjoyed throwing rocks and sticks into the stream at the top.
That evening we rode on the Estes Park Tramway. John liked it a lot. At the top, aside from the great views of the Estes Park valley, there was a gift shop where you could buy bags of peanuts to feed to the swarms of chipmunks. That of course was very popular with John. Although it devolved into John tossing the peanuts to the chipmunks. He wasn't quite patient enough to hold the peanut out so the chipmunk would come get it. There were also some great climbing rocks.
The next morning, we rode horses at a stable in Estes Park. I spent most of the time wheezing with asthma. I guess I'm allergic to horses. John had a good time, but was ready to get down once we got back to the stable.
That evening we rode on the Estes Park Tramway. John liked it a lot. At the top, aside from the great views of the Estes Park valley, there was a gift shop where you could buy bags of peanuts to feed to the swarms of chipmunks. That of course was very popular with John. Although it devolved into John tossing the peanuts to the chipmunks. He wasn't quite patient enough to hold the peanut out so the chipmunk would come get it. There were also some great climbing rocks.
The next morning, we rode horses at a stable in Estes Park. I spent most of the time wheezing with asthma. I guess I'm allergic to horses. John had a good time, but was ready to get down once we got back to the stable.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Colorado Springs, Garden of the Gods
Garden of the Gods was a park that has a lot of BIG rocks with trails around them. We thought John would be all over this... eventually he was. When we got there, he was in the middle of an unsatisfactory car nap and woke up badly. He had temper tantrum in the car, while Tony walked around and on Balancing Rock. That was crowded. John came around and we climbed up there, and then took a trail to the Siamese Twins and some other rocks. You could see Pike's Peak (which John called "Hike's Peak) from everywhere in the park.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Mommy's wish list for John's recovery
I've had a couple of requests for a sort of wish list...
John also loves getting cards in the mail, especially the ones that sing or make noise.
He likes puzzles, he can do the ones with about 24 pieces, usually rated for ages 3 and up.
He has started writing the letters in his name, and can recognize some of them easily. (He has "H" down pat, can write an "N" if he tries, the "O" looks like the Christian fish symbol, and the "J" looks like a backwards "L.") We have a magna-doodle, but very few letters games, aside from Flash Cards.
He is having lots of fun lately playing with the Mattel "World of Cars" matchbox-sized cars from the movie "Cars." Right now he just has Lightning McQueen, but he uses a couple of matchbox cars to represent other characters.
As for board games, we play Memory and Hi-Ho Cherry-O. We also have Candyland, but we haven't worked through the learning curve related to moving pieces around a board. That doesn't seem to interest him so much yet. We also have a Yahtzee, Jr. dice game with Disney Characters, but he's mostly interested in just rolling the dice around.
His favorite movie right now is "Cars," and he frequently acts out scenes from it using his toy vehicles. We watched "Toy Story," which he was lukewarm about, and I wasn't thrilled with, because there is a lot of yelling... "Finding Nemo" is an old favorite, which has left him with an interest in sharks. He has seen parts of "Monsters, Inc.," but hasn't really sparked to it yet. If you have a particular movie in mind, let me know, so that I can make sure we don't have it already.
He is surprisingly proficient at the Nintendo DSLite, and enjoys playing the mini-games in "Smart Boys Game Room." He can maneuver through all the screens to pick the games he likes... the bus driving game, the puzzle game, the train game, and the musical instrument game, mostly.
We have several "going to the hospital books" already, I think we are mostly covered with that. We've started reading "Franklin Goes to the Hospital" and "Curious George Goes to the Hospital." He asked a LOT of questions the first time through each, and he still requests them often. We haven't started talking about the subject in terms of him, except for things that he has already experienced (taking temperature, taking blood pressure, X-rays). We just got another book called "Matty's Heart," which is very detailed about open heart surgery, written for kids, with lots of details for older kids, and easy to abridge for younger kids. Tony and I plan to go through that one together before we delve into it with John.
He's started to understand the process of talking on the phone, so we may have lots of phone calls following the surgery.
If you do send anything on this list, we thank you very much! Please post it in the comments so there aren't any unintentional duplicates. I promise we won't tell John in advance!
Of course at the top of our list is your continued prayers, good wishes, support, and love, but everyone is already doing a FANTASTIC job at that!!!
John also loves getting cards in the mail, especially the ones that sing or make noise.
He likes puzzles, he can do the ones with about 24 pieces, usually rated for ages 3 and up.
He has started writing the letters in his name, and can recognize some of them easily. (He has "H" down pat, can write an "N" if he tries, the "O" looks like the Christian fish symbol, and the "J" looks like a backwards "L.") We have a magna-doodle, but very few letters games, aside from Flash Cards.
He is having lots of fun lately playing with the Mattel "World of Cars" matchbox-sized cars from the movie "Cars." Right now he just has Lightning McQueen, but he uses a couple of matchbox cars to represent other characters.
As for board games, we play Memory and Hi-Ho Cherry-O. We also have Candyland, but we haven't worked through the learning curve related to moving pieces around a board. That doesn't seem to interest him so much yet. We also have a Yahtzee, Jr. dice game with Disney Characters, but he's mostly interested in just rolling the dice around.
His favorite movie right now is "Cars," and he frequently acts out scenes from it using his toy vehicles. We watched "Toy Story," which he was lukewarm about, and I wasn't thrilled with, because there is a lot of yelling... "Finding Nemo" is an old favorite, which has left him with an interest in sharks. He has seen parts of "Monsters, Inc.," but hasn't really sparked to it yet. If you have a particular movie in mind, let me know, so that I can make sure we don't have it already.
He is surprisingly proficient at the Nintendo DSLite, and enjoys playing the mini-games in "Smart Boys Game Room." He can maneuver through all the screens to pick the games he likes... the bus driving game, the puzzle game, the train game, and the musical instrument game, mostly.
We have several "going to the hospital books" already, I think we are mostly covered with that. We've started reading "Franklin Goes to the Hospital" and "Curious George Goes to the Hospital." He asked a LOT of questions the first time through each, and he still requests them often. We haven't started talking about the subject in terms of him, except for things that he has already experienced (taking temperature, taking blood pressure, X-rays). We just got another book called "Matty's Heart," which is very detailed about open heart surgery, written for kids, with lots of details for older kids, and easy to abridge for younger kids. Tony and I plan to go through that one together before we delve into it with John.
He's started to understand the process of talking on the phone, so we may have lots of phone calls following the surgery.
If you do send anything on this list, we thank you very much! Please post it in the comments so there aren't any unintentional duplicates. I promise we won't tell John in advance!
Of course at the top of our list is your continued prayers, good wishes, support, and love, but everyone is already doing a FANTASTIC job at that!!!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Last Day in Estes Park/Rocky Mountain National Park
In the morning we drove to the Old Fall River Road, a gravel road used in midsummer as a one way passage for cars. It is still closed to cars, but open to hikers and bikers. We walked up, up, up to Chasm Falls. It was nice because there was no snow on the ground, and the road was nice and wide. We saw another smaller waterfall partway up.
We picnicked at the picnic area at the park at the bottom of the road for lunch. John was asleep in the back pack at that time.
The rest of the day we drove halfway up Trail Ridge Road, stopping at overlooks and pull-offs. The road was good, not too traffic-y, there were lots of people at the stops though. It was pretty cold on top and lots of snow. We turned around at the Continental Divide.
Later that evening, we drove back down to Denver for our last couple of days there.
We picnicked at the picnic area at the park at the bottom of the road for lunch. John was asleep in the back pack at that time.
The rest of the day we drove halfway up Trail Ridge Road, stopping at overlooks and pull-offs. The road was good, not too traffic-y, there were lots of people at the stops though. It was pretty cold on top and lots of snow. We turned around at the Continental Divide.
Later that evening, we drove back down to Denver for our last couple of days there.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Rocky Mountains, Bear Lake Trails
On our full day at Rocky Mountains National Park, we hiked the trails in the Bear Lake Area. There were four lakes: Bear Lake, Nymph Lake, Dream Lake, and Emerald Lake, which we reached in that order.
About 30-40% of the trail was under snow, which was very slushy and icy. We had told John, "Oh, we'll see snow, but we won't get very close to it." We were very wrong. We had a lot of snow that day. We got snowed, sleeted, and rained on, but nothing that lasted more than just a couple of minutes. The trail was not too crowded, people passed us every 10-20 minutes or so... There were a couple of spots which were scary, one was a ledge of snow that sloped steeply down to the lake on one side, and another part was so steep and icy that if you lost your footing you would slide on your bottom the whole way back down. We both ended up on our bottoms on the snow once or twice. But it was fun, and Emerald Lake at the end (the ice covered lake) was very beautiful. And COLD!
John did a great job riding in the pack. He walked a little on our downhill trek.
We were about a 1/4 of a mile from the bottom on the way back, when all of the sudden he said "Where's my Bee?" Tony and I just looked at each other... FORTUNATELY, it was only about 1/3 of a mile back, which was low enough on the trail I didn't have to climb through snow to get it! Whew!
We had a great time! It was exactly what I had in mind when I planned the trip, although I didn't think there would be so much snow!
[For some reason, this album is playing in reverse order, and no matter what I do, it plays in this order... so just know that the two pics of John hiking with Tony are the end of the sequence, and Tony standing in front of the lake is the first one... Not that it matters.]
About 30-40% of the trail was under snow, which was very slushy and icy. We had told John, "Oh, we'll see snow, but we won't get very close to it." We were very wrong. We had a lot of snow that day. We got snowed, sleeted, and rained on, but nothing that lasted more than just a couple of minutes. The trail was not too crowded, people passed us every 10-20 minutes or so... There were a couple of spots which were scary, one was a ledge of snow that sloped steeply down to the lake on one side, and another part was so steep and icy that if you lost your footing you would slide on your bottom the whole way back down. We both ended up on our bottoms on the snow once or twice. But it was fun, and Emerald Lake at the end (the ice covered lake) was very beautiful. And COLD!
John did a great job riding in the pack. He walked a little on our downhill trek.
We were about a 1/4 of a mile from the bottom on the way back, when all of the sudden he said "Where's my Bee?" Tony and I just looked at each other... FORTUNATELY, it was only about 1/3 of a mile back, which was low enough on the trail I didn't have to climb through snow to get it! Whew!
We had a great time! It was exactly what I had in mind when I planned the trip, although I didn't think there would be so much snow!
[For some reason, this album is playing in reverse order, and no matter what I do, it plays in this order... so just know that the two pics of John hiking with Tony are the end of the sequence, and Tony standing in front of the lake is the first one... Not that it matters.]
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Saturday, Denver then Colorado Springs
On Saturday morning, before driving to Colorado Springs for the wedding, we stopped at the Butterfly Pavilion, north of Denver and very near where we were staying in Louisville, CO.
John was a little afraid of the butterflies at first, because he wanted to immediately leave the butterfly room and do other stuff after our first attempt.
He liked looking at the tank which featured fish and creatures from "Finding Nemo."
Then we went to the "see the world from a bug's point of view" exhibit.
We thought of Naomi when we saw these giant ants.
Of course, John loved climbing in the spider web. We spent a long time there, and he had a hard time adapting when the climbing traffic flow would alternate. Some groups of kids would climb up through the net and down the stairs on the side, others went the other way... there were a couple meltdowns, but he had fun.
The Pavilion also had a bug room, with the typical giant cockroaches, tarantulas, and praying mantises. I held a tarantula, but no photographic evidence exists. It was cool, they actually have retractable toe claws. The museum also had a small touch tank room, with star fish, horseshoe crabs, hermit crabs, etc.
We ended the visit with a trip back to the butterfly room. A butterfly landed on Tony's hand and then John spent the rest of the time with his hand out trying to catch one. He was very disappointed that he didn't.
He was pouting in the car, so I took this video to distract him. He LOVED watching it afterwards. Isn't it funny how people hide smiles when they are being humored out of a bad mood?
Here are two pictures taken by John on the trip down to Colorado Springs. He took about 5, but these are the most representative. This first picture really captures how we spent a lot of the trip: Daddy driving and Mommy navigating with the Blackberry GPS app. I love that thing, but we only use it (i.e. pay for it) when we go on long trips.
This one, I believe, is actually an ironic comment on the state of the auto industry, indicated in the skewed frame and the juxtaposition of Toyota, signified by the glimpse of our blue rental car reflected in the window, and Volkswagen, represented by the wordless logo on the front of the dealership...
John was a little afraid of the butterflies at first, because he wanted to immediately leave the butterfly room and do other stuff after our first attempt.
He liked looking at the tank which featured fish and creatures from "Finding Nemo."
Then we went to the "see the world from a bug's point of view" exhibit.
We thought of Naomi when we saw these giant ants.
Of course, John loved climbing in the spider web. We spent a long time there, and he had a hard time adapting when the climbing traffic flow would alternate. Some groups of kids would climb up through the net and down the stairs on the side, others went the other way... there were a couple meltdowns, but he had fun.
The Pavilion also had a bug room, with the typical giant cockroaches, tarantulas, and praying mantises. I held a tarantula, but no photographic evidence exists. It was cool, they actually have retractable toe claws. The museum also had a small touch tank room, with star fish, horseshoe crabs, hermit crabs, etc.
We ended the visit with a trip back to the butterfly room. A butterfly landed on Tony's hand and then John spent the rest of the time with his hand out trying to catch one. He was very disappointed that he didn't.
He was pouting in the car, so I took this video to distract him. He LOVED watching it afterwards. Isn't it funny how people hide smiles when they are being humored out of a bad mood?
Here are two pictures taken by John on the trip down to Colorado Springs. He took about 5, but these are the most representative. This first picture really captures how we spent a lot of the trip: Daddy driving and Mommy navigating with the Blackberry GPS app. I love that thing, but we only use it (i.e. pay for it) when we go on long trips.
This one, I believe, is actually an ironic comment on the state of the auto industry, indicated in the skewed frame and the juxtaposition of Toyota, signified by the glimpse of our blue rental car reflected in the window, and Volkswagen, represented by the wordless logo on the front of the dealership...
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Second Thursday, in Tiny Town (near Denver)
We drove to Tiny Town on our last day in Colorado. It was about 20 minutes away from the hotel. It was cloudy and rainy, but not intolerable.
John's favorites were the railroad ...
... and the sliding-climbing rope.
He also enjoyed filling his shirt pocket with rocks. He loves rocks.
(This is a long, boring one, if you are not passionately interested in John or gravel.)
He also enjoyed watching the train.
But he took a minute to have some quality Dad-Son time. Tony said that once they had both sat down, John said "I want to talk about some things."
Here he is inside the Tiny Town Firehouse.
He liked the gas station too, but was mostly interested in buildings he could go inside. Primarily because he didn't want to wear his jacket in the rain, and we let him take it off when he was inside a building...
This was Tony's favorite display. Someone has a really wicked sense of humor. Notice John peering in through the back window in the second shot.
John's favorites were the railroad ...
... and the sliding-climbing rope.
He also enjoyed filling his shirt pocket with rocks. He loves rocks.
(This is a long, boring one, if you are not passionately interested in John or gravel.)
He also enjoyed watching the train.
But he took a minute to have some quality Dad-Son time. Tony said that once they had both sat down, John said "I want to talk about some things."
Here he is inside the Tiny Town Firehouse.
He liked the gas station too, but was mostly interested in buildings he could go inside. Primarily because he didn't want to wear his jacket in the rain, and we let him take it off when he was inside a building...
This was Tony's favorite display. Someone has a really wicked sense of humor. Notice John peering in through the back window in the second shot.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Surgery info
We received a packet of information from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), the hospital where John will have his operation next month. Here are the basics...
The operation will be at MUSC Children's Hospital in Charleston, SC on July 14th. Our surgeon's name is Dr. Hsia.
At 9am on July 13th we go to the hospital for 4 to 5 hours of outpatient presurgical workup: electrocardiogram (EKG), echocardiogram, chest x-ray, and blood tests. We'll also meet with the cardiologist, the surgeon, the anesthesiologist, and the heart nurse. We'll discuss the procedure in detail and the heart nurse will tell us the time of the operation. We will be with John room during the workup.
John's grandparents from Texas will be with us on the 13th. They will help John play and relax while Juliet and I meet with the various doctors to discuss the surgery. The hospital has an atrium playroom with specialists who can provide "therapeutic play and developmental support" to reduce stress and anxiety before the operation. We'll also take along some of John's favorite books and video games so he has something that he is familiar with.
On July 14th, we'll go to the OR at 6:30am if our operation is scheduled early in the day. About 30 minutes before the surgery, they will give John some medicine that will make him sleepy. After he takes the medicine we can either hold him or he can be in his bed.
When John goes to the OR, Juliet and I will wait in the Pediatric Cardiac ICU (PCICU) waiting room. The heart nurse will keep us informed with frequent updates throughout the surgery. When the operation is over, the surgeon will talk with us.
After the operation, John will be admitted to the PCICU for up to 4 days. We can see John about an hour after he is admitted. The only hours we can't be with him are 7am-8:30am, 7pm-8:30pm, when doctors are doing rounds, when other patients are being admitted, or when procedures are being done in the PCICU. Believe me that we'll stay with him as much as we possibly can. Two family members can be in the PCICU at once and must be family members (in our case parents and grandparents).
When John transfers from the PCICU to the Children's Hospital, one of us can stay in his room overnight. We can only take a couple of toys and games due to limited space. He'll be in the Children's Hospital for up to 10 days.
When we leave the hospital John will have about 2 weeks of recovery. He can move around if he feels up to it, but he can't run, jump, or have any physical exertion. We'll have to be careful not to pick him up under his arms (his breastbone will be cut during the surgery). He'll need to be scooped up like an infant. John's Indiana grandmother will be with us for this recovery period. Thank God for grandparents!
The operation will be at MUSC Children's Hospital in Charleston, SC on July 14th. Our surgeon's name is Dr. Hsia.
At 9am on July 13th we go to the hospital for 4 to 5 hours of outpatient presurgical workup: electrocardiogram (EKG), echocardiogram, chest x-ray, and blood tests. We'll also meet with the cardiologist, the surgeon, the anesthesiologist, and the heart nurse. We'll discuss the procedure in detail and the heart nurse will tell us the time of the operation. We will be with John room during the workup.
John's grandparents from Texas will be with us on the 13th. They will help John play and relax while Juliet and I meet with the various doctors to discuss the surgery. The hospital has an atrium playroom with specialists who can provide "therapeutic play and developmental support" to reduce stress and anxiety before the operation. We'll also take along some of John's favorite books and video games so he has something that he is familiar with.
On July 14th, we'll go to the OR at 6:30am if our operation is scheduled early in the day. About 30 minutes before the surgery, they will give John some medicine that will make him sleepy. After he takes the medicine we can either hold him or he can be in his bed.
When John goes to the OR, Juliet and I will wait in the Pediatric Cardiac ICU (PCICU) waiting room. The heart nurse will keep us informed with frequent updates throughout the surgery. When the operation is over, the surgeon will talk with us.
After the operation, John will be admitted to the PCICU for up to 4 days. We can see John about an hour after he is admitted. The only hours we can't be with him are 7am-8:30am, 7pm-8:30pm, when doctors are doing rounds, when other patients are being admitted, or when procedures are being done in the PCICU. Believe me that we'll stay with him as much as we possibly can. Two family members can be in the PCICU at once and must be family members (in our case parents and grandparents).
When John transfers from the PCICU to the Children's Hospital, one of us can stay in his room overnight. We can only take a couple of toys and games due to limited space. He'll be in the Children's Hospital for up to 10 days.
When we leave the hospital John will have about 2 weeks of recovery. He can move around if he feels up to it, but he can't run, jump, or have any physical exertion. We'll have to be careful not to pick him up under his arms (his breastbone will be cut during the surgery). He'll need to be scooped up like an infant. John's Indiana grandmother will be with us for this recovery period. Thank God for grandparents!
During this period we have follow-ups with Pediatrician Feiste and Cardiologist Malpass.
Visitors to the Children's Hospital should check with the information desk on the first floor to get a visitor's badge. Visiting hours are 9am-9pm. The visitor information web page is www.musckids.com/visit/visitors.htm.
You can visit http://www.musckids.com/ for more information. The Children's Hospital web site for surgery is www.musckids.com/health_library/surgery.
If you have any questions, please comment on this post and we'll reply as soon as we can. Send good wishes toward South Carolina on the 14th!
Monday, June 8, 2009
Monday, in Estes Park
We just arrived at our hotel in Estes Park. John is watching "Cars," Tony went to fetch some late lunch, and I'm about to start working.
We left Louisville, CO, this morning and drove up here via the scenic route. We stopped at the Longs Peak trail head and hiked on the Eugenia Mine trail. Moderate, little traffic, 2.8 miles round trip. We got sleeted on a little. Tony had some snowflakes on his sleeve, but mostly it was just sprinkles. John rode in the back pack, thanks to some help from Oreos. He got out at the end and threw sticks and rocks into the little stream....
I have pictures from the last several days, just have to get caught up!
We left Louisville, CO, this morning and drove up here via the scenic route. We stopped at the Longs Peak trail head and hiked on the Eugenia Mine trail. Moderate, little traffic, 2.8 miles round trip. We got sleeted on a little. Tony had some snowflakes on his sleeve, but mostly it was just sprinkles. John rode in the back pack, thanks to some help from Oreos. He got out at the end and threw sticks and rocks into the little stream....
I have pictures from the last several days, just have to get caught up!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Thursday, in Denver
We enjoyed our breakfast very early this morning. John slept solidly from 7:30pm to 5:30am.
We visited the U.S. Mint in downtown Denver. Not our favorite so far. John was unhappy because I told him he couldn't take his Bee or his Baby. Here's the list of forbidden items:
* Cameras or camera cell phones
* Handbags, book bags, backpacks, purses, fanny packs, diaper bags
* Packages of any type
* Strollers
* Food or beverages of any kind
* Video recorders or any type of recording device
* Tobacco products
* Personal grooming items (makeup, hair brush or comb, lip or hand lotions, etc.)
* Any pointed objects (pens, knitting needles, umbrellas, etc.)
* Mace, or aerosol containers
* Guns, or ammunition
* Fireworks
* Electric stun guns
* Martial arts weapons/devices
* Knives of any size
I figured they would not allow a stuffed animal or a blanket. Turns out I may have been wrong... but you guess, then you commit, and oh, well.
The tour itself was kind of boring. It was nice to see the machines, but there was not a lot of activity, and there weren't very many machines that we could see. Most of the info was about the history of the mint. And the tour guide was one of those used car salesman types. There were three LAME jokes I heard him use at least twice, and that REALLY turns me off. But the tour only lasted 30 minutes or so, and the U.S. Mint Police were really nice and very friendly. Not power crazy like the T-S-A people...
After that, we drove to the Denver Botanic Garden. It was very nice. Much more garden than arboretum than the one in our neighborhood. They had a very nice visitor center, lots of displays, and a Jurassic display that showed about 15 dinosaurs scattered throughout the park. The weather was perfect!
Here is a picture of the first dinosaur we found. Notice the large yawn which indicates the 5:30am wake up time, in addition to no nap the day before.
He also had fun rolling down the grassy concert lawn.
We came back, had an aborted attempt at a nap, then John and Tony went for a swim and I worked.
We then met Tony's Uncle John (who John calls "Pa John") and Aunt Vicki and her sister Rory and her niece Allison at the pizza place where John and Vicki's daughter Evelyn works. Very yummy pizza, and Evelyn amused John by putting a piece of pepperoni on the window where you can watch the pizza bakers working.
We then went to John and Vicki's house, where Grandpa Mike was waiting from his flight from Indy.
John watched "Finding Nemo," Uncle John gave me and Tony maps and lots of good information about Rocky Mountain National Park.
Now John and Tony are reading "Rudolf von Flugel's Busy Day," after having had the bath.
Tomorrow we pack up the car, check out, do some sightseeing thing (TBD) in the Denver area and then drive to Colorado Springs.
We visited the U.S. Mint in downtown Denver. Not our favorite so far. John was unhappy because I told him he couldn't take his Bee or his Baby. Here's the list of forbidden items:
* Cameras or camera cell phones
* Handbags, book bags, backpacks, purses, fanny packs, diaper bags
* Packages of any type
* Strollers
* Food or beverages of any kind
* Video recorders or any type of recording device
* Tobacco products
* Personal grooming items (makeup, hair brush or comb, lip or hand lotions, etc.)
* Any pointed objects (pens, knitting needles, umbrellas, etc.)
* Mace, or aerosol containers
* Guns, or ammunition
* Fireworks
* Electric stun guns
* Martial arts weapons/devices
* Knives of any size
I figured they would not allow a stuffed animal or a blanket. Turns out I may have been wrong... but you guess, then you commit, and oh, well.
The tour itself was kind of boring. It was nice to see the machines, but there was not a lot of activity, and there weren't very many machines that we could see. Most of the info was about the history of the mint. And the tour guide was one of those used car salesman types. There were three LAME jokes I heard him use at least twice, and that REALLY turns me off. But the tour only lasted 30 minutes or so, and the U.S. Mint Police were really nice and very friendly. Not power crazy like the T-S-A people...
After that, we drove to the Denver Botanic Garden. It was very nice. Much more garden than arboretum than the one in our neighborhood. They had a very nice visitor center, lots of displays, and a Jurassic display that showed about 15 dinosaurs scattered throughout the park. The weather was perfect!
Here is a picture of the first dinosaur we found. Notice the large yawn which indicates the 5:30am wake up time, in addition to no nap the day before.
He also had fun rolling down the grassy concert lawn.
We came back, had an aborted attempt at a nap, then John and Tony went for a swim and I worked.
We then met Tony's Uncle John (who John calls "Pa John") and Aunt Vicki and her sister Rory and her niece Allison at the pizza place where John and Vicki's daughter Evelyn works. Very yummy pizza, and Evelyn amused John by putting a piece of pepperoni on the window where you can watch the pizza bakers working.
We then went to John and Vicki's house, where Grandpa Mike was waiting from his flight from Indy.
John watched "Finding Nemo," Uncle John gave me and Tony maps and lots of good information about Rocky Mountain National Park.
Now John and Tony are reading "Rudolf von Flugel's Busy Day," after having had the bath.
Tomorrow we pack up the car, check out, do some sightseeing thing (TBD) in the Denver area and then drive to Colorado Springs.
Miscellaneous Pictures
This is John and James at the zoo a couple days before we left on the trip.
I can't remember what they are looking at...
Here is John at the Indianapolis Children's Museum, engaged in his favorite occupation: moving sand.
Here is John with Grandma Judy at the Children's Museum. I was not there, but I can only imagine that Grandma is hiding from a fish and John is checking to see if the coast is clear.
I can't remember what they are looking at...
Here is John at the Indianapolis Children's Museum, engaged in his favorite occupation: moving sand.
Here is John with Grandma Judy at the Children's Museum. I was not there, but I can only imagine that Grandma is hiding from a fish and John is checking to see if the coast is clear.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Colorado, First Stop, Denver and Louisville
We are right now in the Hampton Inn in Louisville (LOO-iss-ville), Colorado, which is where Tony's Uncle John lives and where the Pennas are mustering for the wedding. We have a couple days of sightseeing here before the next stop in Colorado Springs.
Grandma Judy very lovingly drove us to the airport this morning at 4:45am for our 6:45 flight. It was on time, we got to preboard, and everything was smooth. No peanuts even, though they did give us a drink. John did pretty well, but was a little punchy and tired now and then.
We landed, gathered the baggage and got our rental car. We drove toward Denver, stopping at a Waffle House for a second breakfast and then checked in here. Thank you SO MUCH to the Louisville Hampton Inn for letting us check in at 11am!
I'm going to work now, Tony and John are taking a bath and hopefully a nap, and then we'll go to the Butterfly Pavilion this afternoon, if rain doesn't impede us!
Grandma Judy very lovingly drove us to the airport this morning at 4:45am for our 6:45 flight. It was on time, we got to preboard, and everything was smooth. No peanuts even, though they did give us a drink. John did pretty well, but was a little punchy and tired now and then.
We landed, gathered the baggage and got our rental car. We drove toward Denver, stopping at a Waffle House for a second breakfast and then checked in here. Thank you SO MUCH to the Louisville Hampton Inn for letting us check in at 11am!
I'm going to work now, Tony and John are taking a bath and hopefully a nap, and then we'll go to the Butterfly Pavilion this afternoon, if rain doesn't impede us!
Monday, June 1, 2009
Midwest Grandcamp
We made it to Indy on Saturday about 6:30pm. We left about 8:30am, so that was a pretty good trip. John did very well. He listened to Elmo and the Orchestra, watched DVDs, slept a little, and played DSLite with Tony.
When we got here, John and Grandma and Granpa played ball and knock you over in the backyard.
He was in love with his inflatable air bed.
He played here and there on Sunday morning, and in the afternoon we went to the house of Tony's childhood friend, Curt, his wife Alecia, and their kids Erica (8), Hannah (5, I think) and Drew (turned 3 in April). The kids had lots of fun screaming, digging in the sand box and rice box, climbing on the jungle gym, and throwing balls at each other's faces.
Today, Grandma, Tony, and John went to the Children's Museum in downtown Indy. (I think they just got back.)
I struggled with my computer and stayed here.
More from Grandcamp soon!
When we got here, John and Grandma and Granpa played ball and knock you over in the backyard.
He was in love with his inflatable air bed.
He played here and there on Sunday morning, and in the afternoon we went to the house of Tony's childhood friend, Curt, his wife Alecia, and their kids Erica (8), Hannah (5, I think) and Drew (turned 3 in April). The kids had lots of fun screaming, digging in the sand box and rice box, climbing on the jungle gym, and throwing balls at each other's faces.
Today, Grandma, Tony, and John went to the Children's Museum in downtown Indy. (I think they just got back.)
I struggled with my computer and stayed here.
More from Grandcamp soon!
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