One of the first things Josh saw there was his birthday present from Clair and Lena. It was a huge Ninja Turtles playset with the sewer on the bottom and the alley above. He wanted it so badly that he didn't want to believe that it was his. When he saw it he got really excited and showed me. "Who do you think that's for?" big hopeful eyes and shoulder shrug then a pause, "Dosh?" We began taking it out but quickly realized that we would never be able to get it on the plane. Poor Josh spent the whole weekend playing with his Ninja Turtles on top of the box pretending it was the real thing. Each time I came downstairs he would point out a new feature he noticed (tire swing, secret entrance, etc). Clair shipped it to us when we left and Josh asked to pray for it to arrive safely everyday until it came. Since then, he has played with it everyday.
The first day we went to Tyler's old school and saw the city. It felt like every street we went on had a memory attached and I would swear he pointed out at least 5 different places he used to live. We went to 16th Street Mall which is a neat outdoor mall that stretches down many blocks. There were all sorts of characters out there. It started to rain but there was something really fun about walking in the rain with people playing pianos outside, the energy was palpable.
The next day we went to the Denver Zoo. I am not sure how the rest of the group felt but Josh and I had a blast. We love animals and a new zoo is like a dream come true.
They had some animals that our zoo doesn't have and they had many that our zoo has but you can't normally see well, like the cheetahs.
One of the coolest attractions that they had was an area that you could buy nectar and feed the birds. I can't remember what they are called now because it has been too long but it was so much fun. The little birds are hogs and as you hold the cup to them they will do anything to keep you from taking it away including grabbing the cup or using their beak to pull it back to them. Tyler got pooped on, which naturally I thought was hilarious but didn't take a picture of.
Josh and I learned a lot. I always like to read the placards and then read out loud one or two of the most interesting facts to Josh.
Denver Zoo must have something with birds because they had amazing bird houses as well. I realize now that I took more pictures of us looking at the birds in the birdhouses but I promise you the birds were beautiful. Lena is the woman with the camera in the salmon top and hat.
Since Josh is really into Gator Boys, he loved the crocodile statue and wanted to kiss it like the Gator Boys do after they catch their alligators. Neither of us was thinking about the fact that it was metal in like 100 degrees so he burnt his little lips but he got over it pretty quickly.
After that, we went to this fun little bistro in a hole in the wall that Tyler found. Delicious food. One of the best soup and sandwiches I have ever had. We drove all over that day, going to car shops and seeing where Tyler used to do this or that. Josh was a complete angel which was shocking because normally his ADHD would have made this impossible.
The next day we spent the day in Boulder. We began by going to the farmers market. I love farmer's markets and this one was exceptional though small. There was a stand that had an amazing variety of plants. If we lived there I would have bought more because they were so interesting but as it was we just bought one for Clair and Lena.
Next we went to an outside mall that Boulder is famous for. We had a blast! Josh found the best hat.
There were lots of outside things for kids to do and climb on. Of course Josh liked the frog the best but we had to take pictures of him with just about all of them.
Tyler told Josh that he would give him $5 if he could get to the other side of the splash pad without getting wet. This is what happened. Technically, I think Tyler still owes Josh that $5.
Of course, then he wanted to play in it.
This was Josh's first time seeing street performers. He really liked the man that played all the instruments at once. He looks like such a big boy.
We went into a shop that was full of expensive art so I told him to keep his hands in his pockets. I love this statue.
This guy was amazing. He played the drums with an African flair. After Josh watched him for a bit, he asked Josh to join him. You should have heard the music they made, it was beautiful and Josh made all sorts of happy noises.
We continued out of Boulder to Estes Park and went to another beautiful outdoors mall. The front side of the stores was the street side and the back side had these amazing stream and rock garden with a path down the entire mall.
For some reason they had a free live band in Estes Park that day. Josh loves listening to live music. He stood and pretended to drum the whole time. There were actually a good amount of middle age people drinking and dancing too.
We met up with one of Tyler's old friends, Twitch. They had a great time reminiscing. We all made our way to Robin and Rick's house. Robin and Rick are the parents of the original Josh. The Josh that Josh is named after. Josh was Tyler's best friend when he lived in Colorado. Tyler became part of the family and always will be. I have spoken to Robin on the phone from time to time since I was dating Tyler so it was great to meet her. Their family is so amazing. There is such a feeling of love in their home. You can feel it in their smiles, in the way their daughter snuggles up to them although she is a teenager. It was so easy to instantly love them and feel at ease. Tyler and Twitch told stories about their exploits with Josh well into the night. Their daughter, Alana, smiled and laughed along. It is amazing how they have kept Josh a part of their family. Although Alana was so young when he died, it is as if he has been there all along. They love our Josh immediately and unconditionally. They celebrated everything he can do. I have to admit, unless you are family, it is hard for you to say the right thing when it comes to my son. I over think what it said about him and people often bother me with what they say. They didn't. It was as if they were family. I wish I could better explain this night. It was such a wonderful night. They are such a wonderful family. We all laughed and played. Josh fell asleep for a few hours but by midnight he woke up again. Around this time we were dying of starvation because we talked through dinner time. They have had some bad luck and their kitchen was not really usable due to a fire. So Rick made us ravioli from Costco. He boiled them then brushed them with olive oil and baked them. We all ate ravioli, bread, and this delicious spread mostly with our fingers. It felt like so many meals I have had with my family.
The same time that the ravioli were being made, Robin asked what size of shoes I wear. They had boxes of hand me downs from cousins and we spent hours playing dress up. We stayed until after 2am and I wish we could have stayed longer.
Our last day we were all tired but it was Josh's birthday! We went out for breakfast with Clair. Josh spent most of the time playing with his new Ninja Turtle bad guys (Rat King and Cockroach Terminator).
Josh loved his birthday balloons. Of course, who doesn't like Wolverine?
Lena got Josh a Russian cake. I believe it was apricot if I am remembering correctly. It was yummy, I do remember that. Seven years old, he is looking like such a little man now.
This is Lena's granddaughter. She was such a cutie. She asked to come home with us and Josh was seriously concerned he may have to share me.
Denver was a blast. I am excited to visit again sometime.
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