Unassisted steps with Grandpa

On the road

Ready to start the journey - vacation here we come!

Playing peek-a-boo from the back seat


Here I am!

Traveling with the essentials

The other essential

We saw two capitols this summer: Jefferson City and Topeka. Someone (not naming names but... his name starts with a C and rhymes with gnarl) was not quite quick enough with the camera on this one.

The very cool windmills in Kansas

I don't think we're in Kansas anymore

Denver Zoo

On our first day in Colorado, we met my friend Kitty at the Denver Zoo. I truly like zoos, and I especially enjoy exploring new zoos. The Denver Zoo was really nice. We liked it so much that we were there for nearly 4 hours!

Denver Zoo, here we come!

One of the most notable things about the Denver Zoo was the abundance of baby animals. These tiger cubs were on display for the very first time!

This little pup, Ady, was just 2 1/2 months old

Not everything at the zoo was so sweet!

It has to be a bit unnerving to have a vulture staring you down.

Little William was tuckered out from a long day at the zoo

Lily now has a new friend in Denver!

The Deetz family successfully tackles another zoo!

More Boulder pictures

Although much of our time was spent outside, we managed to get a few pictures inside as well. Thank you to our hosts, Carl's family - it is not easy to have a family of four descend upon your house!

While we were in the kitchen, we caught this deer in the act - munching on the neighbors flowers.

Back views from inside the house

William loved playing with these blocks, and he even found the perfect support for standing!

Lily liked playing with the blocks as well, but instead of trying to eat them, she made words with them.

Lily also enjoyed painting, making pictures for Zander, Grandpa, and Daddy. Where's the love for the girls?

Uncle Zander with William

Lily poses with Uncle Zander. We didn't see Uncle Zander until a couple days into our trip, and Lily couldn't wait to see him. Then in true Lily fashion, she acted shy when he was around.

In the garden with grandpa

I'm quite sure that Lily will remember her Colorado trip for two things: her hike to the top of Green Mountain and gardening with Grandpa. Lily loves to garden! Unfortunately, her parents don't exactly have green thumbs. She loves our little herb, pepper, and tomato garden at home, but we may have to leave the heavier stuff to the extended family. :)

William hanging out in the backyard

You can see some of the gorgeous views from the backyard behind William and me

Pulling up a carrot for the evening's dinner

A good find!

A successful afternoon resulting in lots of yummy veggies

Giving the veggies a good scrubbing

William is introduced to the kholrabi, a Deetz favorite

Lily's first mountain hike

Lily climbed Green Mountain! She was so, so excited to climb a mountain. She talked about it for days leading up to our trip, and it was definitely the highlight of her vacation. It was a shining moment for her, as it should be. She hiked 2 hours up and 2 hours back down - pretty impressive for a 4-year-old. I had to stay back with William who was not quite up to the challenge yet. When she came back from her outing, the first thing she said to me was, "I want to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa now". This girl is all about new adventures!

They had a place where you could drop a note when you reached the top. Luckily, Grandpa tipped us off to this fact so Lily had two notes prepared, one with William's name and one with her own name.

Snuggles with daddy who was really just trying to keep her near to him

The view from the top (looks pretty good!)

Celestial Seasonings Tour

Many may not know that Celestial Seasonings calls Boulder, Colorado their home. The company offers a free tour of their facilities that was both fun and informative. They are really proud of their hippie roots as a garage operation that has grown into a thriving company. Lily liked the Peppermint Room, one you will not soon forget. My favorite tidbit from the tour is that most of their varieties of tea are not actually tea at all. Who knew?

Give us any chance we'll take it; read us any rule, we'll break it...

William was too young to go on the tour, so he got some one-on-one time with his Grandpa. Lily was technically too young as well, but what difference does a couple months make anyway? :)

Sipping on some chilled peach tea - looks like a winner!

Tea house

After our Celestial Seasonings tour, we continued the tea theme with a very special lunch at Boulder's Tea house. The entire building was sent to Boulder as a gift from their sister city, Dushanbe. The carvings and paintings in the tea house are made with such intricate details; it is truly amazing, and the food was as wonderful as the surroundings!

Inside the Tea house

Ready for lunch!

William with Grandpa

Lily lounging amongst the pillows. A girl could get used to this.

Lily and Grandpa checking out the beautiful fish pond.

Pearl Street

After our special tea house lunch, we walked along Pearl Street. Pearl Street is a fun shopping and eating district open to pedestrians only. Each block had some fun activity for kids, and Lily had a good time exploring all the things to do.

Rock climbing

Bunny riding

Pop jets

William loved watching his sister frolic. Soon he will be able to participate instead of just being a spectator!