Denver! (and fun back home)

I went to Denver after our trip to Bend to visit my mom who is in the hospital receiving chemo.  Jonathan went with me, but unfortunately he wasn't allowed in the hospital so my mom couldn't see him. :(  However, my dad and Marge were so generous in offering to watch him - even though they had packed schedules - so I could be with Mom.  Back in Portland, Andy was in overtime with the other 3.  Fortunately, there were some fun adventures mixed in.

Abby got to have a play date on Free Slurpee Day!!  I sitting in the hospital on 7/11 not able to talk mom into a free slurpee, so I was glad at least one of my kids got to take advantage!

 

Maybe not quite as exciting ;) but Ashley got invited to the Adventure Park up at Mt. Hood.  It was a full day of adventure.  Here she is with her friend Samantha on the chair lift with their alpine slides:

And riding down.  She said by the end she was keeping the brake unengaged the entire time.  That's big for her.

 

Walking on the tight rope:

Bungee Trampoline.  When the guy asked her if she wanted to go higher she said, "yes!"  Way to go, Ash!

 

Samantha and Ashley:

 

These are called Zorb Balls.  You can see Ashley inside if you look closely.  They are like hamster wheels on water.  The entrance/exit is on top.

 

And, of course, I didn't pull my camera out the entire time while I was in Denver - except for one picture with Mom before I left. 

My dad and Marge got plenty of pictures of Jonathan exploring their house and trying to fit through places he couldn't quite fit.  It was neat to be able to have that time with them and for them to be able to have that time with Jonathan. 

Despite getting to the airport early, the ticketing line took so long that we missed the check-in time for our 6:30am flight and had to re-book for the afternoon.  So, we had a nice 8 hours in the airport with Jonathan this close:

 

Good thing my love language is quality time!  It went surprisingly fast by the time we checked the car seat, fed him twice, did a few diaper changes, got something to eat and walked between the terminals.  It brought back some serious memories from two summers ago when I was flying standby and I was running between gates trying to get on flights, being directed by Erika on my phone, and urging her on while watching my pedometer rack up the mileage and wanting more and more!  This was similar mileage, but at a much slower pace.

 

When we finally got on the (delayed) flight, I was pleasantly surprised to walk past 26 rows of completely full seats to end up at my last row - completely empty!  Jonny was pleased as well.

 

 

He slept most of the fight in his luxury seating.  I kept the shade closed during the flight to keep it dark, and once he woke up when we were landing, I opened it just to see where we were and this was our view!!!

 

 

It was amazing timing.  So breathtaking.

 

By the end of the day, Jonny was doing this constantly.  I didn't think anything of it at first, then I realized he'd been watching me chew gum for nearly 10 hours.  I guess when your space is that limited, you start to get creative.

 

I don't think I really chew that loud and sloppy, but he did have a front row seat to it all.  I'll have to be a little more self conscious.

 

Just as you think the day was all fun and games, I'll post a video of one of the many protests Jonny had to this long day being strapped to me.  I know he would have rather been crawling around poking outlets, grabbing cords and banging wooden spoons (as he did the previous 4 days at Dad and Marge's) but his protests were short lived and honestly, pretty pathetic.

 

 

*Repeat every hour or so just to remind me this is not his idea of fun!  Sorry, Buddy, your mama will take snuggling any way she can get it.  Even if I do have to strap you in!