Visiting with Colorado Family - 2024/06/05

Time to continue our summer adventure and fly to Colorado! We're leaving the RV in Michigan and traveling the next couple months by plane! When we looked at the cost of fuel and campgrounds, it made more sense to fly and rent a car/hotel once we arrived. 

Welcome to Denver!

Where Pop Pop was there waiting for us! 

Hi Gram! 

And with a new city, we get a new Chuck E Cheese with new games to play! 

Setting a high score in Crossy Road. 

And winning in basketball. 

Normally we would love playing Down the Clown. I've checked this manual and this game is supposed to come with 20 balls to throw. This one had only 3... Made it really hard to get a good score when you spent more than half the time waiting for the balls to roll back. 

Taking a break with some cheesy bread and a giant cookie! With the Summer Fun Pass we bought, all food is 50% off, which actually makes the prices pretty reasonable. 

More games that we'd normally love, but instead of having 7-8 footballs, there were only 2. Seems like this Chuck E Cheese has a problem with keeping the balls in their machines. 

At least Skeeball always works. 

And speaking of arcades, Uncle Patrick had a surprise for the kids when they got home. We follow a YouTuber named Arcade Matt who goes to arcades and plays different games. Patrick saw an Instagram post and was able to jump on it quickly for free merchandise! 

Stickers and a keychain!

Signed (probably) by Arcade Matt!

Thanks Uncle Patrick! 

Whenever the kids disappear into the basement for a few hours and tell us not to come down, we know they're in the middle of planning another fun festival. 

Once we were invited down, we saw that it's time for The Festival of Drinks! 

All this work they've done means there is an admission fee of 25 cents each. 

Drinks are 5 cents each, or 10 cents for unlimited. But, if someone wants to pay up, 50 cents will get unlimited drinks for everyone! 

Each drink has a different station and the kids made signs for everything. 

There's Root Beer. 

Major Melon Mountain Dew

Chocolate Milk (which has been described as Healthy)

Coca-Cola is here somewhere, but I missed getting a photo. And then there's the water station. 

Along with the drinks there is also a game to play called "Catch Drinks Game".

Let's get this festival started! They raided the basement fridge for all their treats. 

I'd love a Root Beer please! 

Chocolate Milk? 

Maybe we could mix the two! 

Gram is ready to play the catch the drink game. She gets a pipe cleaner with tape on the end. 

And on the table are lots of different drinks she could win. 

Ian - It took me so long to color and cut out all those drinks. 

We've got a winner! 

The kids were great little servers, pouring drinks for anyone who wanted something. 

We tasted everything, but when I asked for water, they ran upstairs. 

Joe - Why do I hear the toilet running? 

Just kidding. They came back shortly with filtered water and even ice! 

Nice job on the festival kids! This wasn't just an excuse for you to drink a whole lot of soda, was it? 

We went to watch Avery do gymnastics at her gym. 

Alli reading "Because of Winn-Dixie" to Ian during the car ride. 

And you know we're always going to eat well. Tacos at Pat and Megan's house. 

Or homemade pizza. 

With all the toppings!

There's always a puzzle going on at Gram's house. If you help with it at all, you get to be in the picture when it's done. 

Getting out for a walk is always a good idea after a filling dinner. 

Seeing local wildlife, like a bunny trying to hide. 

A big bumblebee. 

I let her get back to work. 

Getting out with T to a local coffee shop. 

Or the Library that has a view of the mountains. 

Watching Inside Out 2 which we all thought was pretty good. 

Another day, the kids disappeared into the backyard for hours. Sounds like they've got another project going on. 

With a whole bunch of bottles, they made different "body oils". 

Explaining what each is made of, mostly flowers, grass, herbs, and dirt. 

Smell it! 

Rub it on your skin for the best benefits. 

Time to leave to go to our next stop on this summer vacation adventure! Thanks for the ride to the airport Dad! 

Off to California!