Sunday, July 25, 2010

All Aboard!


Genevieve & D.C. of Choo Choo Soul

Elitch Gardens offers some great entertainment with their Summer Concert Series, there is something for everybody. Acts like Third Eye Blind, Emily Osment and preschooler favorite Choo Choo Soul. My boys were thrilled at the idea of going to see Choo Choo Soul, and I didn't even tell them about the ride attractions!

We took the light rail to Elitch Gardens, since it has its own stop. We've never been to EG, but we've passed it many times taking the light rail downtown. The kids' eyes were like saucers when they saw this park. The first ride we had to do was the ferris wheel. It gave great views of the park, and downtown Denver. We then headed over to Startoon Studios, where the lines were considerably less, and the rides were sized perfectly for the 5 & 3 yr old. Elijah loved the Cactus Coaster, he was the first one to give the ride operator the thumbs up to go another round. He ended up going around 4 times, the smile was so huge on his face.



Miles said his favorite was the Matinee Marina, a boat with a bell that went around in a circle.



When we finished all the rides there, we made our way to Elitch Arena to see the show. The arena offers plenty of seats and plenty of dancing room for the kiddos. Choo Choo Soul provided much more energy than the show on Playhouse Disney, it's clear these guys enjoy what they do. The catchy music, D.C.'s rad dancing moves along with interacting with the audience made the show a lot of fun. Parents and kids of all ages were enjoying themselves. Following the show there was the opportunity to meet and greet Genevieve & D.C. Sadly we couldn't stay for this, much to Elijah's dismay. He really wanted to talk to D.C., but Miles was falling asleep- too much excitement for him.


D.C. dancing with the kids at the show

The show was a success. Heck, even Geoff got into it. There need to be more role models like Genevieve & D.C., teaching kids about eating vegetables, and dressing appropriately. Glad to hear Disney has ordered more episodes of Choo Choo Soul. And they may even allow you to submit videos of your kids dancing to be on the show. How cool is that?


*Thanks to Elitch Gardens for giving us free admittance to the park to enjoy the concert. My kids can't wait to go back!*

Monday, July 19, 2010

Better Photographer

I'd love to be a better photographer, so for fun, I'm entering a picture on a fellow MHM (Mile High Mamas) website, Greeblemonkey. One of my favorites from our hike around Lily Lake.



Wildflowers, Lily Lake, RMNP

I don't even care if I win, I'd just like to be a finalist. To know that other shutterbugs think I have a good eye.

Monday, July 12, 2010

When Armstrongs Camp

Normally I'd be moaning to you about how it rained the whole time, and we had a rough time camping.

Not so this time!

Nana & Grampy joined us for a wonderful 3 days camp in Rocky Mountain National Park. I was nervous we'd have a hard time getting a site in Longs Peak Campground, since it only has 26 tent sites. But arriving on a Monday, we nearly had our pick of the sites. We settled in the inner sites, sites 15 and 16 (but for fantastic views try to secure sites 1-4). The weather couldn't have been better, and the food and company were great.

The highlight for me was the lovely hike around Lily Lake.


Lily Lake, with Longs Peak in the background
The views from up high and me figuring out macro photos for wildflowers make me eager to go back. The highlight for the boys was having Nana & Grampy to play with as well as daily conversations with Mr. Bill. He was the camp host, and with him set up across the road from us, the boys could say hello to him several times a day.

The future plan is for us to all tackle Longs Peak, one of the famous 14ers in Colorado. For now, we just enjoyed it from afar.

A trip in Estes Park provided me with an awesome souvenir, trail tags. You can obtain them from Brownfield's Trading Post (on Elkhorn Ave), and the different colored border signify the length of hike you completed. This will be something I hope the boys enjoy earning. I got them the trail tag for the hike we did at Sprague Lake earlier this year.

With so much more of the National Park to explore, I hope get back real soon.

Tuesday, July 06, 2010

The Great Outdoors

We enjoyed a lovely camping trip to Rocky Mountain National Park, and I plant o write about it this week.

For reals. Until then, look at how pretty it was!