CO Trip, part 6: YMCA

We spent one day at the YMCA of the Rockies.

Crafts!

Picnic lunch with other Raintree / Washburn friends:

Rocks to climb on:

Mini golf:

Playgrounds:

CO Trip, part 5: Fishing

We ended up in Estes Park, Colorado.  First up:  fishing!

Perhaps my favorite picture of the trip:  Henry diligently fishing.  Coop reading next to the tackle box.  Patience is not our strong suit!

CO Trip, part 4: Denver Museum of Nature and Science

We met my sister Kelly, her daughter Zoey (in the purple), and Zoey's friend Cameron for breakfast at McDonald's in Denver before we headed to the museum.

Museum!  Skeletons!  Sea creatures!!

The skyline:

Water:

Paleontologists:

In space:

CO Trip, part 3: On the road...

Settled in for many, many hours on the road:

Beef jerky!  Coop wasn't exactly thrilled to stop, but when you see a beef jerky store in the middle of Kansas, you have to buy some.

At the Fick Museum in the library in Oakley, KS.

Sea creature fossils!  Win!

 In the right state!

Because curse word jokes are just funny:

CO Trip, part 2: Lyons

We stayed the night in Lyons with my folks before heading out to CO.  The boys seemed to enjoy themselves.

Walking on the railroad tracks:

Dad's tractor:

In the hay loft of the barn:

Checking out the new tiny barn kitties:

In mom's classroom.  I fed them Oreos here, hoping to create good associations with high school math!

Legos:

CO Trip, part 1: Wichita Museum of World Treasures

Coop and I took a road trip out to Colorado during the weeks Coop's camp / school was closed.  We met up with some of my Washburn friends and a few family members along the way.  We made most of the trip with Coop's friend Henry, after meeting up with him in Wichita.

First stop, Museum of World Treasures:

Some dino skull:

Fishing (which, not to give away the rest of the CO trip, was just far more successful than fishing in actual water):

Bear:

Buddha (and two very not-zen-like boys):

Coop staring intently at a mummy.  Henry analyzing the fish / sea creatures on the wall.

Royalty:

We drove from Wichita to Lyons, with a quick stop at McPherson College.  Henry's parents have a friend who went to college there (in addition to my mom!):

More summer

"I look like a drunken Frenchman."  A bit, actually.

Working on roller skates.  Not easy.  But the helmet was a big hit.

Silly hair and silly sock day at summer camp.  (You can't tell, but his hair is half red and half blue.)

At dinner one evening, Coop asked to play with the iPod.  I said no and suggested he draw instead.  So the smarty pants drew an iPod.  Such a deprived child.

Coop and I went with my folks to see The Sound of Music at Starlight.

Preshow snacks -- popcorn, skittles, and a giant pretzel.

Mid-summer

Another tooth gone.  Coop's rocking the snaggletooth look:

A clay class creation:

Coop has an affinity for jewelry as a gift.  Here's what he picked out for my birthday:

A sweet butterfly necklace and two very dangly bracelets:

Eating outside at Zen Zero for my birthday:

New Darth Vader costume:

But even the dark lord has to stop and read every now and then: