Colorado Trip - first half

When it was clear that three out of the four of us would be vaccinated this summer, I agreed to plan a family trip.  Tom's brother Mike and his wife Lynz had a baby last August, so of course, we gotta see the baby. 

We booked a trip to Colorado over 4th of July.  Since we've hosted a pool party just about every 4th of July that we haven't been traveling (or in a pandemic), I knew it would be a little sad this year without the pool, so a trip was a great idea.  Except, we are still in a pandemic and Serafina is unvaccinated.  It made me deeply nervous to think about her traveling.  But we committed to spending time exclusively with vaccinated family members and lots of outdoor activities.  I also found an amazing pet sitter, because that was a huge part of making travel for possible for us. It was so hard for us to leave our precious Mousse Goose, but he was in good hands.  

Fortunately, the airport was surprisingly mellow on Friday.  There was weather in Denver so we had to circle for a while, but we finally got there and it was great to see Mike and Lynz.  Baby Theo was already in bed when we got there. 

But we got to meet him in the morning.  Since we were strangers, we made sure we didn't overwhelm him.  Serafina did a great job of letting him come to her.  

And he sure did!  He is an absolute doll.  

They had so much fun playing with the baby and his toys.  

Serafina helped out with a feeding on Saturday. 

And they did some reading. 

Theo might be the first baby that's not afraid of Tom.  Guess he knows another Mirrione when he sees him. 

 Sunday we celebrated the 4th of July by taking a beautiful hike in Boulder with Grandma Carrie and her fiancé Eric. 

It was hot out, but the sun went behind the clouds for a majority of the hike, which made it much more pleasant. 

Here's the whole hiking crew: Theo, Mike, Lynz, Carrie, Serafina, me, Tom, Leo and Eric. 

Tom's hiking hat goes lots of places. 

Theo and Serafina dressed in their patriotic colors.  That night we could see fireworks near and far from Mike and Lynz's house. 

Monday morning we woke up and visited the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.  We came here before when we were in Colorado for Mike and Lynz's wedding, but we went on a very crowded day. 

This time there were a lot less people. 

Serafina's favorite part was the space exhibit.  Here she is with a model Mars rover. 

Tom took his turn with a hands-on exhibit. 

Both kids tried this out. 

Leo liked the gems quite a bit.  Here he is with an impressive crystal. 

Serafina's braces

 Last Thursday, both kids went to the orthodontist.  Leo had his first adjustment to his braces, and Serafina was getting checked to see if she was ready for braces.  I had a feeling she would be getting them some time this summer. Well, the doctor decided she was ready right now since she's done so much growing recently.  They decided to squeeze her in the schedule, so today we went to get the braces on. 

Here's one last smile before the appointment. 

Brackets on.  Feeling the weird sensation. 

Braces on!  She was such a good sport.  It's not a pleasant process and she did great. 

Doubling down on the braces around here. 

Weekend Getaway in the Woods

We snuck away for a little weekend getaway at an Airbnb in the mountains.  The house was in the Santa Cruz mountains, and it was way out of the way on a windy road deep in the forest.  The view from the house was pretty amazing. That's the ocean in the distance. 

The house was...rustic.  It was a funky place with lots of quarks, but it was in a great location so we tried to roll with and appreciate the scenery.  

The house sat on the top of a large piece of land.  Shortly after arriving, the dog, kids and I drove down the road on the property to explore some.  We found some interesting stuff, like this little theater space in the woods. 

How many faces do you see?

There were lots of campsites down the road.  I told the kids this was a cult gathering.  After seeing all the tents and RVs, the kids appreciated our rustic lodging more. 

Evening walk with Tom and Mousse.  

The next day, we did some more exploring on the property. 

But it was hot and not everyone was loving it. 

We all love the beach (especially Mousse), so we drove down the mountain and arrived at the coast.  

Beautiful day at a beautiful beach with beautiful people. 

Nothing makes Mousse happier than a frisbee. 

Very nice outing with mom and dad. 

The house had a bedroom in a loft.  Leo didn't want to stay up there, so he stayed downstairs with Tom and I stayed upstairs with Serafina.  Mousse didn't like it too much when I went up there and left him down below.  Here he is waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. 

After we packed up today, we headed to Santa Cruz.  We got there just before the crowds and managed to find parking.  Serafina and I took a walk along West Cliff. 

Tom and Leo took Mousse down to the beach.  It's a beach full of friendly dogs, but all this dog cares about is that frisbee. 

See?

Tom's beach selfie. 

Windy, but warming up. 

Handsome beach bum.  

After the beach time, we headed to a brewery with dog-friendly outside seating.  This was the first time the kids had been at any time of establishment in 15 months.  It was Mousse's first time ever.  They had a pop-up pizza place and we had a delicious lunch.  

We tried to keep Mousse busy and happy, but he got a little restless towards the end.  I think with some more practice, he could be a good restaurant patio dog. 

Of course, we hit our favorite ice cream shop on our way out of town.  We came home happy and exhausted from our weekend adventure.