Denver Zoo

The boys and I went with our neighbors, Garrett and Lily, to the Denver Zoo the other day.  It was a pretty hot day (in the 90's), but it didn't bother us Southerners.  We just drank lots of slushies and ate a lot of ice cream to stay cool. :)

The Denver Zoo was a slightly larger and cleaner version of the Birmingham Zoo.  My big boys were far more interested in the snacks and their friends, but Anderson loved seeing all the animals.  He seems to be a snake and fish kind of kid...I guess it's the Florida in him. ;)

My Parents in the Wild Wild West

 My parents came to visit us in Fort Collins this past week for the first time.  My mom wasn't feeling well and slept a good bit of the trip, but we were still able to get out and do a few fun things while they were here.

 First up, we took my parents up to Horsetooth Reservoir.  As always, the views were amazing!

 

 On Saturday, we rode over to Cheyenne, Wyoming to see the Gunslingers, which is a reenactment of a Wild West shootout.  This was my parents' first time to Wyoming; it's pretty cool that I got to show it to them.

 Jake was asked to participate in a trick from the cowboy; they passed hot coal between his ears.

 The cowboys used blanks for the show, but they were still super loud.  Oh, and you see that white rope, the kids weren't supposed to pass those ropes for safety reasons.  You'll never guess who decided to make a run for it and test out the white rope...Anderson.  I had a mini heart attack as I chased him down.  Mother of the year.

 To be honest, the show was pretty boring.  They did way too much talking and not enough shooting.  My parents got to see Cheyenne, though, and "real cowboys" as my Dad said.

 We did get a chance to walk around and eat some yummy food, though. :)

 My Dad's 73rd birthday is right around the corner, so we decided to surprise him after church on Sunday with cake and presents.  He loved his SpongeBob cake. :)

 The boys loved surprising him.  Anderson was just ready for a nap, though. Hahaha.

 Towards the end of their trip, we took mom and dad back to Horsetooth, but this time, we went to the bottom of the Reservoir and to the other side of the mountain.

 It was such a gorgeous day.  I really wish we could've been out on a boat in that water!

 Tyson got a few hours off that day and was able to join us. :)

I think mom and dad really enjoyed their trip.  We LOVED having them and showing them our new digs!

Frontier Days

 "Daddy of 'em All"

 Jake the Bullrider

 Walker the Bullrider

 Anderson the Bullrider

 Want popcorn?

 Anderson kept pointing at the bulls and saying "moooooo!"

 Bareback riding

 Steer wrestling- my personal favorite event

 The cowboys had to jump of the horse, wrestle the steer to the ground, and turn it up on all fours in the quickest amount of time.

 This bullrider almost died two years ago- I was a nervous wreck watching him.  He got bucked off right before 8 seconds.

 A display tepee in Indian Village.  Crazy thing was that there was a section of tepees that were roped off where real Indians live! 

 This was the closest my boys got to riding anything all day.  Hahaha!

There was a carnival outside of the rodeo, but a storm was rolling in so we didn't have long to spend there.  I gave the boys one shot at one of the games, and they both came back with these things.  They chose a basketball game and both nailed it.  Hahaha!  We were "those people" leaving the carnival with big ole stuffed animals.

The cutest cowboy I ever did see.

 

This was Tyson's last weekend before going into "lockdown" for football season, so we went out with a bang at Frontier Days in Cheyenne, Wyoming.  For those of you familiar with the movie "8 Seconds," this is the rodeo where Lane Frost died.  Luckily, no one was injured when we were there, though, but it was still hard not to get emotional thinking about it.

 

This was my first rodeo as well as the kids, and I loved every second of it.  The boys started getting bored after the first round of events, so we beat the crowd out and walked around Frontier Park.  We did a little shopping, visited Indian Village, bought a lot of carnival food, and played a carnival game.  The Friends and the Bobos also went, so we enjoyed our time with them as well. 

 

This was such a cool experience!  I'm so sad to see our adventures come to an end as Tyson starts back to work.  :(

Summer Happenings

Just to show that we've been doing some other things other than traveling, here is the photo evidence.  We've been spending lots of time at the pool.

 The big boys have been taking golf lessons, and now my back yard has turned into a putting green.

 Walker started sublingual allergy drops, called Allervision.  (You can read more about it here).  Poor baby has so many issues with his allergies (specifically dogs) and has already been told that allergy shots are in our future once he gets older.  Well, when our new pediatrician offered this service to us (he takes the drops at home every day for about 4 years and should start seeing improvement in about 6 months), I couldn't say no.  I'm really hoping that we can avoid allergy shots and that my sweet boy can get some relief.

Jake has been spending lots of time at the orthodontist to correct his cross bite (a result of his thumb sucking and enlarged tonsils).  He started with spacers that he wore for 2 weeks and then got this expander; he should wear it for about 9 months, get it out, and then wear a retainer.  The orthodontist thinks we may be able to avoid braces, but we'll have to see how the rest of his teeth come in.

 We have spent so much time this summer trying to find a new car.  I loved my minivan, but it was front wheel drive, which isn't good in the snow and ice.  So we traded it in and got this Tahoe, my "snow mobile."  Ha!  I love it so far!

We took Tyson's players out one night; I can't tell y'all how many wings these boys put down!  I thought I'd hear the usual "I'm watching my weight, Mrs. Summers."  Not these boys!  Haha!

Anderson has been perfecting his jump into the pool and swim to the step move.  :)

And that's about it- well, other than still unpacking boxes, hanging pictures, and FINALLY getting settled in our new house.  Our shutters should be in next week, and then I'll try to take some pics and give y'all a photo tour. :)

Rocky Mountain National Park

As part of our Colorado "staycation," we visited Rocky Mountain National Park this past weekend.  I'll be honest, the views were breathtaking and made for a beautiful scenic drive, but other than that, there wasn't much there for us.  The park was packed, so we couldn't find any where to park to hike or explore.  And for some reason, none of the animals were out.  Boo!  Anyways, we ended up riding into Estes Park, eating some lunch, and going into some cute shops in the downtown area.  How amazing is our new state?