Sunday, January 06, 2013

July – The Month of Guests

July was a busy month with four different groups of visitors…and somehow Andy managed to squeeze in a few days to fly back to Florida to empty our storage and remove some personal things from our condo before the closing.  Whew!

My Mom had flown in at the end of June, but sadly spent most of her trip in the hospital with pneumonia.  We added a few recovery days to her visit before she boarded a plane and went to my sister’s in Arizona.  None of us felt that the elevation was helping her.

But at least Eliz and Nana had some play time together – which to me was the most important thing…

Building blocks…

Playing Tickle Monster…

Going to the playground…

And taking time for hugs and kisses…

(For more pictures of Mom’s visit, go to June Webalbums)

The day after Mom flew out, our nephew Nick and his wife, Amy, came.

On our way to hike Alderfer/Three Sisters trail, we stopped in Genessee to see if the buffalo herd was out.

We were happy to see that they were, and they were right by the fence.  We spent quite a bit of time visiting with them.  “Buffalo” soon become a frequently spoken word for Elizabeth.

Then we continued on to our hike.

We did a big lazy loop through pine trees and past large boulders.

Elizabeth fell asleep long before we got to Brother’s Lookout.

It’s a beautiful spot to hike, and so close being just in Evergreen.

Back at home, Eliz enjoyed the pool…her private pool on our balcony.

Nick and Amy were here over the Fourth of July.  We had hoped to really impress our family veteran with the Arvada fireworks when they were shot into the air just yards away from our balcony, but the fireworks were canceled this year to the drought and fire dangers.  It was such a disappointment.  Especially since we were counting on it being the last Fourth for us in this condo.  We had been making plans to move to a single family home.  Feels like we are going full circle with our lives.

But we got Elizabeth dressed up in her new Stars and Stripes dress (thank you Noemi!) and walked to the local festival in the soccer field complex.

She loved the bouncy house, although she never braved the slide portion.  Fine by me!  She was one of the tiniest ones being bounced in the house.

Nick and Amy had flown to Denver for a wedding.  We were so thankful that they were able to come and spend a few days with us!

We spent an afternoon at the Zoo.  Elizabeth loves seeing the animals.  I wonder where she gets that from?

I was trying to teach her about the Prayer Wheels…

She just wanted to drive the buggy.

Then Bobby (Andy’s brother) and Nancy came to visit.  We only had a few days with them and since it was the first visit, we of course wanted to show them everything!

We took them up to Boulder and hiked Pioneer Park.

Beautiful red rocks, a relatively short hike, great views…it makes for a great intro hike when time is limited.

Then we took them to Pearl Street in Boulder.  Elizabeth just wanted the outdoor playgrounds and water fountains…which was fine with us.  We listened to the outdoor music buskers while we watched.

Here are two cute videos of her in the fountains:

The second one was really funny.  We all couldn’t stop laughing long enough to console the poor girl!  I felt awful afterward!

Another day we took them to Red Rocks Amphitheater and Park.

Nancy and Bobby had tickets to a Phillies-Rockies Game and took us along.

Wait, if I remember right…THIS was the reason THEY came to Denver!!  Hey!  That’s ok…we don’t care what excuse you have that brings you to Denver, just as long as you spend some days with us!  Love ya and hope you come back soon.

I’ll finish the second half of July in a separate post…this one is getting too darn long!  For more pictures…visit July Webalbums.

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