Just Keep Swimming

In another attempt to keep the kids entertained we did it all today. We left the house at 6:35 AM and had a few minutes to spare before our scheduled time at the Denver Mint.

Shh, don't tell anyone, but Sherri and I were looking forward to getting a bag of shredded money. Well, they don't have that at the Denver Mint. We did find out that a Federal Reserve bank is located not far from the Mint. Next visit, we'll have to go there for some shredded money. We did watch one cents being made. I can't call them pennies, apparently, they only have pennies in England. Also, they didn't have a flattened penny machine for souvenirs.

Next we went to the Butterfly Pavilion. I think everyone held a Rose Haired Tarantula named Rosie, except Sherri and I. We did not get the "I held Rosie" sticker. We did splurge and buy the $1 guide and saw a lot of butterflies that we were able to identify. The kids loved this, but it was hot and humid and we moved on to the next room. I think that we only forgot that Emma was in the Butterfly room for about 10 minutes. She was happy to see Aunt Sherri when we realized she was missing. At least we hadn't left the building yet.
We grabbed some lunch before we hit the Rec Center. The kids were prunes by the time we left the pool this afternoon. Right now we're watching Enchanted and the kids are mellow as can be. Let's see if this holds up until bedtime.

Boondocks

I have been to Boondocks and I never need to return. The name is a dead give away, but it promised entertainment for the kids. Think Chuck E. Cheese, but worse.

We left the house with six kids and we managed to return with the exact same kids. I could have traded a few of my own, but you never know what to expect with other children.

So, back to Boondocks. Think arcade on steroids, only louder. My kids get their tokens and scatter like leaves in the wind. Sherri manages to stop Emma from leaving out the front door. Lily is attached to my leg or arm depending on her choice of transportation.

When the tokens run out the fun begins. So many tokens spent, so few tickets to show for it. It's such a racket, but the kids love it. Once you get the tickets, you put them in a nifty machine that counts them for you. In other words, puts you to work so the the teenagers that work the prize counter aren't overburdened with taking the actual tickets.

I'd like to relate a story about Sherri and the 52 missing tickets. Sherri had tickets that were counted and had the slip of paper to verify the accuracy of the counting machine. We go to the prize counter and the scanner says the tickets have already been scanned. Well, the first teen can't fathom there might be a machine error. Sherri requests a manager and another teen walks over and "offers" Sherri a replacement of 40 tickets. Hmm, this might be a case for Encyclopedia Brown.

Once again Sherri requests a manager. This teenager looks like he might be able to grow a mustache. He says that the scanner are "very" reliable and "Never" make mistakes. He finally consents to replace the 52 lost tickets. It was a matter of principle at this point.

There's another story involving Emma, Michael and a go-cart, but it's late and I think I've related too much regarding Boondocks.

Discovery Days Part Deux

More glue, paint, and bunnies than you can shake an Easter egg at.

Not For the Feint of Heart

Furniture shopping. It gets me every time. I swear that my blood pressure spikes and I nearly have a heart attack when the experience is over.

Michael and I had out first "argument" over a couch. We sat in Ikea for way too long discussing the merits of a green and white striped couch and why, in my opinion, it looked like jailhouse garb. That couch is long gone, but the memories are occasionally a little too fresh.

Yesterday we took the kids (never a good idea) and went furniture shopping. We'd already been to a store earlier in the week to find a writing desk. This was a successful trip in that we were in and out of the store in under 75 minutes and that was returning a cracked chair they tried to pass off on us. But I digress.

Yesterday. The plan was to go to Costco and see if they had any furniture then hit two other stores possibly. Well, Costco had outdoor furniture, not exactly what we were looking for. We got slightly distracted when we saw a Pier 1 near Costco, but we played it smart. Michael dropped me off while he stayed in the car with the kids. Pier 1 had exactly 3 couches and none of which were what we wanted. Back to the freeway to head to store #3.

The next store was farther up the freeway and since it had the word sofa in the name, it was our best bet at finding what we were looking for. Well, I missed the off ramp and had to double back on a frontage road. It always seems like you're going much farther away from your destination when you're not sure where the next exit is. Luckily it was only a few miles... but it still was a detour that wasted precious time while shopping with the kids.

Once again, I hopped out of the car to check out the store before dragging Michael and the kids into the big black hole of a furniture store. Sofa Mart. Doesn't that sound promising? Well, it was the jackpot of sofa shopping. It had it all; fabric, leather, durahide, naugahyde, microsuede, cheap, expensive, sectionals, poofy, classic, traditional, and modern. I went back to get Michael and the kids.

Sofa Mart is smart, they set up a "kids" area with toys, vrc/movies, and a big bean bag. Just the thing to let parents shop while their kids run amuck. Michael and I started narrowing down the field. Actually this was a fairly easy process of elimination. We tend to like traditional which took out half the choices in the store. Our biggest decision was perhaps what and how many pieces to get. This is the part of the shopping trip that starts to get hairy for me. We're starting to make decisions and Lily is starting to act like the 2 year old that she is.

Lily. Sweet Lily. By now it is past naptime and she has missed that window of opportunity. She has also done a euphemism in her diaper. No fear, I have a backup diaper in the car. I get her changed and we go back in the store. Michael is wrapping things up with the saleslady and Lily starts pulling at my purse and yelling for gum. She loses it. I lose it. We head to the car.Michael heads back to the car after having closed the deal on two couches and two loveseats.

Whew, another furniture purchase for the books.

Discovery Days

I found out about the kids having today off at the begining of the week because of a Teacher Inservice Day. That is NOT enough time to prepare myself mentally for the rigors of a three day weekend. I guess what really gets me is the fact that Emma has two days off next week. Pfft. How is she supposed to learn geophysics at this rate?!

All in all, today has been successful, thanks in part to "Discovery Days". It is a kid's program at the Longmont Museum. The kids got to play with playdough, paint, glue, stamp, and string beads. These are all the messy activities that I don't want to do at home. The best part was not having to clean up after all that. Can you guess what the theme is this month?

New Neighbors

A moving truck was in front of the house across the street about a month ago. The house has been a rental for a while, so I wasn't very motivated to go meet the new neighbors. The last renter was there for about two months and then up and left nearly as soon as he got moved in.


Well, tonight I was taking out the trash and I noticed that the person across the street was doing the same. This was my chance to be a good neighbor and introduce myself. I bravely crossed the street (in the dark) and met my new neighbor over the trash can. Who knew that trash day was "meet you new neighbor day" as well?!

It turns out that the world is pretty small. The family moved from the bay area and the wife grew up in Thousand Oaks. Which is just over the hill from our old place.

It's a funny thing living in a neighborhood. I suddenly want to know all the people living around me...especially the ones with kids.