when the Chapmans came to town...

Dan's family (mine too now!) missed us so much after we left Utah last week that they came to see us 4 days after we got home. Well, that's not exactly true... actually they had planned a trip out to Denver long before any of us knew we would be in Utah the prior week. Even though we had just seen each other, we had a great time! I am totally kidding... not about the good time part but the other part. ANYWAY, here's some stuff that we did while they were here.

The first day we spent in downtown Denver. We took the light rail so we didn't have to park but we sure did WALK!! I was very smart and wore my red peep toe wedges, I consider them very comfortable shoes as far as heels go but by the end of the day I was sort of hobbling as to avoid putting any pressure on my growing blisters. :) How's the saying go? "Beauty is pain." What can I say, I'm kind of ridiculous.

Ok, if I didn't lose you yet I will continue with my account of events: Everyone but myself, Ann and all the kiddos went to the US Mint (sorry no, pics of that... I wasn't there ok?). They said that one-quarter of the Nation's gold is stored there, although it is in a secret location, so not part of the tour. Meanwhile, Ann and I enjoyed entertaining the children in a park between the Capitol building and the court house. There were plenty of bums as an audience, we felt like we really stood out. I immediately regretted yelling to Daniel just before they left to make sure they leave all of their purses, phones, and cameras with us since they aren't allowed in the mint. I might as well put a huge target on our foreheads! But, no one bothered us. Dan's last words as they walked away were, "if you're in trouble just yell really loud!" That made me feel better.

When they got back we went to lunch at a sandwich shop called Heidi's, it was quite good. Then we walked (of course) over to the 16th street mall. It's a mall that Denver is famous for, it's over a mile long and no cars are allowed, just pedestrians and the free buses go up and down the street. After a little shopping we started our LONG WALK to "the unsinkable" Molly Brown's house for a tour. It was a neat house and we learned a lot of interesting stuff about Molly, first of all that her name isn't Molly, it's actually Margaret. She's known as Molly because when writing a musical about her they had a hard time using her real name in the songs. So silly. The toddlers had to leave the tour early because they got cabin fever but they did pretty well over all. That horrible picture was taken by a nice lady on the porch while we were waiting for our tour to start, but at least you get an idea.

That evening we went to one of Dan and my favorite local restaurants, Pasquini's. The girls enjoyed playing with some dough while our food was prepared.

Saturday was FREE day at the zoo. We knew it would be busy but still decided to go. It was a beautiful Saturday in the 70's so we shouldn't have been surprised by the crowds but we were. The street the zoo's on was stop and go for over a mile in either direction. It took us about 45 mins to get down the street and find parking (which was about 1 mile away from the zoo entrance). We didn't let that get us down, we had a great time. Sophie was more into the animals than ever before and it always helps to have Elise around. They not only love to play together but are the greatest distractions for one another when one's upset. I think it's a toss up whether Sophie was more into the larikeet birds she could nearly touch or the elephants she gawked at from afar. Sidenote: I had to include the 2nd picture of me playing ring-around-the-roseies with the girls because I love the scowls I am getting from the two ladies pushing strollers coming towards us. I was playing with them while we were waiting for someone to use the restroom.

We had plans to go to the Denver Botanic Gardens following our trip to the zoo because they were having a free day too. But we were all too exhausted after fighting the crowds at the zoo. So we just went home, napped and watched a movie instead. We had a nice dinner at BJ's that evening. Sadly the most memorable part of the dinner for me was how Sophie had terrible gas, the poor girl kept holding her stomach and crying "stinky." I felt so bad for her, she was in real pain.

This morning we had to say goodbye. Sophie and Elise got in some more ring-around-the-rosies (one-handed style, so they could hold their toys) before their tearful goodbye. These two played so well together. I really wish we lived closer so they could play more often. Don't you think they look a lot alike?

And here's uncle Jason, he's a niece magnet! They really just flock to him.

We are so glad that the Chapman's came to visit, it's so fun to have visitors! We love you guys.