Mile High!

3 Years, 24 Weeks.


A sea of orange and blue.  The excitement and anticipation in the air.  The media hype; the frenzied fans.  The season ticket holders; the nosebleed sections.  The network cameras; the behind-the-scenes.  The grand pageantry.  The splendid performance of the home team.  The poise and execution of a future hall of fame quarterback.  A decisive win.

It was the stuff memories are made of.

My point of view at the game!

We had the pleasure of visiting our family in Denver this past week, due in part because of Tangie's 20th high school reunion at Campion Academy.  It was a little different going out there during this time of the year, since we usually visit over the holidays and the ground is covered in snow.  Oh, it was still a bit chilly at times; we had a huge array of weather types the whole time we were there.  And though Colorado is full swing into the Fall season, the landscape was still lush and green from all the devastating rain and resulting flooding only a couple of weeks ago.

Looks more like Springtime than Fall!

The kids were so excited they could barely go to bed the night before.  I could only imagine how the grandparents felt as well.  Our flight was at 8:15 in the morning, so we knew it was going to be a very short night and early morning, as we still needed to finish packing our gear.  Up at 5 and out the door by 5:45, we parked our car at an offsite parking lot, rode the shuttle and arrived at the terminal with time to spare.  Or so, we thought we did.

Backpacks and flip-flops, check!

Still a little dark as we parked our car.

Maddy excited to see her grandparents.

Bright-eyed and bushy tailed!

Bags checked, let's go!

The line through security was unusually busy for an early Thursday morning. Fortunately, Tangie had signed up for the CLEAR check-in process, complete with fingerprint and retina scan, since she needs to fly out for work every once in a while; she took all three kids with her and was through in less than five minutes.  I, on the other hand, had to go through the regular lines with the rest of the flying public, the process slow and arduous.  Apparently the airport had implemented complete body scanners at each checkpoint, the lines funneling together into one before redistributing back into several lines again.  It took me 20 minutes to move 10 feet, and I was starting to panic, along with numerous other passengers.    I kept tabs with Tangie via text, keeping her updated with my situation.  I was finally able to clear security, ride the tram and run down to the gate, where the rest of the family stood waiting for me.  We were the last people on the plane, with 6 minutes to spare before we were supposed to take off!  Talk about a jump start to the morning!

The flight there was uneventful, save for one incident where Kohl was trying to get Carter from his backpack and smacked his cheek on the armrest on his way up.  The funny thing was that I was trying to take his picture when it happened and captured the exact moment of injury!  Poor guy, it jarred him somewhat fierce and he cried for a good 10 minutes.  Luckily I had wrapped up some presents for them to unwrap on the airplane so that was able to distract him.  They worked on coloring and some workbooks, as well as games on our phones or Dora on the computer.  We arrived in Denver just after 10 AM, to a balmy 51ºF.

Moment of impact!

Thank goodness for Dora!

We picked up our bags and then met both Papa and Nana at the curb, the kids smothering them with hugs and kisses.  We swung by a convention hall to see some of their friends who were there for a showing, and ended up staying for lunch.  We arrived at the Campbell residence afterwards to unpack and get the kids down for naps, before joining the rest of the family for supper at Texas Roadhouse.  The reunion with great-grandparents and cousins was very sweet, and it didn't take long before all 5 kids were laughing, giggling, and being silly throughout the meal.  You could tell that Nana was just soaking it in.  We were a tired crew when we turned in close to midnight, 2 AM back home, and especially so when the kids woke up at 6.  Oye.

Waiting for pickup!

Greeting Nana and Papa!

Kohl trying to figure out where he is.

Lunch with the family at the Convention Center.

Playing a game with Papa's hand.

Walking with Nana to the restaurant.

Greeting their great-grandparents, Deeda and Papa2.

Greeting cousin Caylee.

Showing Deeda her new loose tooth.

Playing with Disney Princesses Nana had set aside for her.

Quick game before bedtime.

Friday was a lazy day, since we awoke to dreary, cold, and wet weather.  We decided it was a stay indoors activity kind of a day, so after breakfast and getting ready, we headed out to the Children's Museum of Denver for a few hours of energy spending entertainment.  The precipitation persisted throughout the day, starting as mist at the beginning to a steady rainfall in the afternoon and evening, which probably drove a lot of parents with kids to the museum as well, it was quite crowded for a school day. Afterwards we headed over to Deeda and Papa2's house, dropping off Tangie and the twins while I drove Nana and Braelyn over to cousin Callen's school to pick him up. We swung by several stores for me to shop for some Broncos apparel to wear for Sunday's game, before heading back to join everyone else for supper.  We enjoyed a home cooked meal and then had a sleepover with the cousins staying over at the grandparents for the night.

Braelyn displays her artwork.

The girls climbing out of the rabbit hole.

Buddy doing some grocery shopping.

She and Daddy made a cardboard airplane!

What happens if I pop this bubble...?

Putting herself inside a giant bubble.

Fireman Kohl to the rescue!

The twins fishing for some trout.

Maddy helps Deeda clean up the mixer!

The cousins fashion some new clothes from Deeda.

Tangie spends some time with her niece.

The boys hang out together.

Kohl was exhausted, can't you tell?

We left for Campion Academy close to 9 Sabbath morning; the grandparents and cousins would follow later and meet up with us there.  It's about an hour's drive north of Denver, towards Loveland, where the hardest hit areas of the recent floodings were located.  It was a completely different day than the one before; the sun was out and the sky was a brilliant blue.  Still, the temperature was quite chilly, especially in the shade. We drove past cornfields and farmlands as we arrived at Tangie's old stomping grounds. After registering for alumni weekend (her year was an honor class, hence the reason we were there) we attended church service before having lunch with the family.  Tangie was technically in charge of her class's activities for the day, as she was the class historian her senior year.  The afternoon was reserved for all the classes to get together, hers meeting at the old music room.  There were 52 in her graduating class, but only 13 showed up for the weekend, and most of them were from out of town:  Florida (us), California, Alaska, and Canada!  She was a bit disappointed that more didn't show; a lot of them were locals who lived in or near Denver had "other plans" that conflicted with the reunion.  I guess that's what having Facebook does for you!

Gorgeous city skyline both with buildings

And with the Rockies.

Getting a messy face from the pumpkin bread.

Church service inside the gym.

The kids kept Papa and Nana busy.

Sharing some coloring with cousin Caylee.

Eating at the children's table!

She had a great time catching up with her former classmates; it had been 5 years since she last attended alumni weekend.  We chatted with them for a couple of hours while the grandparents babysat all five grandkids, before taking all of them up to Tadd and Courtney's lake cabin to drop off their kids.  We took a short drive around to look at some of the flooding damage to the area, before joining her classmates for supper at Mimi's Café in Loveland.  We had reserved the back room for the group, and with all the kids (minus ours) and other spouses joining, we had 32 in attendance. Unfortunately, that Saturday evening was the same as Homecoming for all the neighboring high schools, so the restaurant was out of a lot of their usual menu choices and ingredients, including cilantro.  Seriously, who runs out of cilantro??  Great job with planning that out on their end.  Nevertheless, we took it all in stride and enjoyed chatting with everyone, grateful we didn't have to cut conversations short because we had to keep an eye on our kids!  We finished just after 11:30 PM, everyone saying goodbye and dispersing to their respective places, with us making the hour drive back home and in bed by 1.

A more serious moment captured during a photo session with the grandparents!

Tangie catching up with former classmates.

Damage from the flooding.

The group together for dinner at Mimi's Cafe.

A very eclectic bunch!

Sunday was game day, and I was stoked.  Nana and Papa were treating me for my birthday, with Papa and I going to the Broncos game against the Philadelphia Eagles!  Never mind being in the same city, Peyton Manning and I were going to be at the same stadium!  Tangie had asked her dad to give me the full experience, as he had been a season ticket holder for over 40 years.   That meant taking along binoculars to see the action up close and radio headsets to listen to the commentators' play by play.  I was so excited I could barely sleep the night before; Tangie got a kick out of seeing me become a giddy school girl.

Somebody, slap me awake!

We left for Sports Authority Field at noon to get decent parking; kick off was at 2:25.  We wanted to have time to park, walk down to the stadium, go through security, check our seats, and get some lunch before the game.  The place was already buzzing when we arrived, you could feel the energy as people passed you by.  The place was, simply put, just massive.  I couldn't believe I was actually there.  And when I walked past the concrete walls that opened up to the football field, I just had to keep pinching myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming.  I was actually here, standing on hallowed ground, where my football team plays.  I was in Broncos territory!

Gorgeous view of the stadium with Denver in the background.

Fans going all out!

My first glimpse of the field.  I was awestruck!

We had a good hour and change before the game was to start.  Our seats were on the north stands, behind the end zone, 14 rows from the field!  We were in great position to see a lot of the action.  It was a pretty warm day, almost searingly hot, especially in the sun.  We watched the teams come out and do their practice warm-ups before the opening ceremonies, and I got a chance to see some of our favorite players doing their thing on the field.  Before long we had the color guards present the flags, while 4 parachuters dropped down from the heavens and landed inside the stadium!  The teams came back out onto the field; the Broncos charged out with a fiery entrance to thunderous cheers and applause.  And then singing the National Anthem with the rockets' red glare, it felt surreal to be a part of it all!

Enjoying some quality time with the father-in-law!

Watching some players warming up.  #11 would return a kickoff for a touchdown during the game!

#83 Wes Welker.  Best slot receiver ever, acquired from the Patriots over the summer! 

And there he is, the man himself, #18 Peyton Manning!

Soaking it all up!

Parachuters landing inside the field!

Fans on their feet as opening ceremonies commence!

I couldn't have asked for a better performance by the Broncos, what a great birthday gift!  Our team steamrolled over the opposition, routing the Eagles 52-20.  And it was almost a complete game too.  I witnessed Peyton throw for 4 touchdowns, a 105 yard kickoff return and a blocked punt return, both for touchdowns!  The only thing missing was a pick six (interception returned for a touchdown) but hey, you can't be too greedy, right?    I spent the entire 3 hours there screaming my head off, and promptly lost my voice afterwards; it wouldn't fully return until Wednesday.  But the thing I remember most was the entire stadium going into absolute pandemonium after each score, us celebrating and sharing high-fives with complete strangers.

It.  Was.  Awesome!

Manning making it look easy.

Fireworks celebration at the end as the teams shake hands in the middle.

Peyton meeting the other players.  The score on the screen says it all!

I hooked up with a group of random strangers to get my picture taken.
The girl to my left was grabbing my butt while her boyfriend stood next to her!   Crazy fans!

Meanwhile, Tangie and Nana took the children up towards Morrison to a small family center area called Tiny Town, a miniature village just right for kids.  They had fun playing around, both with the different buildings as well as the nearby playground.  Then they swung by a place called Dinosaur Ridge, where they have a real dinosaur skeleton displayed on the side of a mountain.  The kids spent some time in their "dino dig" area, but what Braelyn really wanted to do was some gem mining, as she had spotted a sluice there.  It was unattended at that moment and the water wasn't running through, but the lady in the store said that they would have it open the next day, so Braelyn wanted to make sure we would return there before we left back home.

Need to ship something?

Attack of the giant children!

With Nana at the library.

They really wanted to play on the swings...

World's tiniest Post Office!

The sun was a tad bit too bright.

Close encounter with a dinosaur!

Digging for fossils.

And so, that's exactly what we did.  Monday morning after breakfast we trekked back towards the foothills and went gem mining.  Excuse me, "sluicing" is the correct term.  For some reason or other, Braelyn is really into shiny rocks, crystals, and gems at the moment.  So anytime she has an opportunity to go geode hunting, either back home, at school, or here in Colorado, she'll be sure to find some and keep them for her collection, which is already quite copious, and extremely heavy.  Anyway, the three did some sluicing back at Dinosaur Ridge and found some pretty gems and artifacts, including a couple of indian arrowheads.  Braelyn was so excited and is planning on showing them to her classmates for show and tell upon her return.

Harvesting a watermelon from Nana's box garden.

Perfect size for Braelyn, she ate 3/4 of it!

Starting their sluicing.

Afterwards we met up with Deeda and Papa and family friend Rita for lunch at Panera Bread, and then we took in an early afternoon matinee, Tangie and Nana took the kids to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 while I accompanied the older kids to see another flick.  When that was done we spent the remainder of the afternoon just relaxing at Tangie's grandparents patio and backyard, soaking in the gorgeous Colorado weather and playing with the Fall leaves.  We capped the evening off with dinner and Pho at a Vietnamese restaurant.

Too nice not to eat outside!

Deeda takes a picture of her Florida great-grandkids.

Walking with Mommy and Papa2 to the movies.

They had the entire theater to themselves!

Chilling out on Deeda's lawn.

Trying to take a nap with Madelyn.

Jumping into a pile of leaves!

Oh deer, what a cutie!

Expanding Papa and Nana's palate with some Vietnamese!

Tuesday was set aside to take a short road trip to visit Tangie's former roommate from Union College and her family, who had just recently moved to Boulder, CO.  For all the times I have visited Colorado, I had never been to Boulder.  It's a very quaint college town, the home of the University of Colorado, and has a very charming downtown area with shops and restaurants, very reminiscent of Old Savannah meets New England.   We met up with Brenda, her husband Robert, and their 3 girls for a couple of hours, as the moms talked and caught up, while the children played tag and hide & seek.  Afterwards we made our way back home, where Jane had set up a nice dinner with family and friends over, including the Reynolds and Brodis families.  It was great to see everyone and catch up, if but for just a short while.

A quick morning visit to a park.

Blowing some dandelion seeds!

Playing tag, aka getting their energy out!

Had Indian/Nepalese cuisine for lunch!

An hour's drive northwest of Denver, Boulder was made of just that.  Boulders.

Playing Queen of the Boulder with some new friends.

Tangie and Brenda with all their children!

Catching up with the Reynolds and Brodis families during supper.

Wednesday we went swimming at an indoor recreation facility near Nana's house, where the cousins had taken their swimming lessons.  It was very nice, like the one up in Silverthorne where we usually go in the mountains during the holidays.  It had several swimming pool options, including a lazy river, a nice children's splash area, and a 3 story tall,  yellow winding water slide.  We spent a couple of hours there and then headed back to the house.  The girls went on a date to get their toes painted, along with a treat from Starbucks; I stayed behind with Kohl and started working on laundry to get ready for packing.  That evening Papa and Nana treated us to dinner out with friends sans kids.  We were picked up by Tadd and Courtney, and met up with friends James and Robin Schellman, for a sunset dinner at La Sandia, a latin themed restaurant at Park Meadows.  It was lovely to just sit and chat and talk together.  I would like to say that our kids were never discussed, but then I would be lying.  At least we all were able to share in our parenting stories, nightmares, and adventures! A great evening catching up.

Lunch at the nearby playground.

What a fun recreation center!

Nana with her two youngest girls.

Mommy keeping an eye on the twins,

while I watched Braelyn go down the big water slide!

Kohl hung out with Caylee for the afternoon.

Mommy had a date with her girls to get pedis.

Such divas!

Can you tell which toes are who's?

Nice to get together with this group once a year!

Thursday was the day we had to fly back home.  We woke up real early in order to pack up our gear and bags.  The kids were excited to get their backpacks on, even though we were not supposed to leave for another 6 hours!  It was another brilliant day outside, but we knew it wasn't going to last; a huge storm was heading towards Denver and forecasted to hit later in the afternoon, and with it, the first snow of the season!  Fortunately we would just miss it.  We took advantage of the beautiful weather that morning before heading out.

Came across this giant sleeping cowboy at the park.

The hat doubled as a slide!

Photo with Nana on the bridge.

Came across some cougar tracks!

Saying goodbye to Nana.

Giving hugs to Papa.

Tadd took us to the airport.  I wanted to make sure we had enough time to go through security unlike last time, so we arrived there 2 hours before our flight.  And of course, going through security was a breeze, so that left us with close to 2 hours to sit and wait and chill at the gate.  Our flight was slightly delayed leaving, but they made up for it in the sky, the flight just under 3 and a half hours.  The kids did amazingly great, keeping busy with their electronic devices, books, and stickers.  Unlike some other children on the plane, it seemed like their parents came unprepared!  After collecting our baggage and taking the shuttle back to the car parking lot, we were on our way home, arriving shortly after midnight, a happy but exhausted crew.

Loading up the Excursion.

Shaking Uncle Tadd's hand goodbye.

Bags checked, let's go!

They enjoyed riding the tram.

He had to make sure every single one was working.

Trying to keep themselves entertained while we wait to board.

Everyone busy with their electronic devices.

Maddy wanted to make me look pretty!

A little mustache fun when the electronics had to be put away.

Waiting for our shuttle.

Finally home, and asleep!

Although this was a shorter trip than what we usually have when going to Denver, we did take in quite a lot, but we especially enjoyed hanging out and catching up with our family and friends.  Thank you all for your generous hospitality and love.  Until next time!


Quotes:

• Our first day in Denver, we were having lunch at the Convention Center with Papa and Nana, and I was chatting with Madelyn:

          Me:  "Where are you?"

          Maddy:  [thinking]

          Me:  "Are you in Florida?"

          Maddy:  "No."

          Me:  "Are you in Orlando?"

          Maddy:  "No."

          Me:  "Are you in Miami?"

          Maddy:  "No."

          Me:  "So where are you?"

          Maddy:  "Earth."

• We were packing up the car to head out for church at Campion Academy:

           Kohl:  "Are we going back to Florida?"

           Me:  "No, we're not going back to Florida."

           Kohl:  "Are we going back to Earth?"

• On our way to Campion, driving through some farm roads:

           Tangie:  "Braelyn, look at all the corn!"

           Brae:  "I don't see any."

           Tangie:  "Well, I don't think they're ready to be picked yet."

           Brae:  "You mean...harvest?"

• In line to walk the gangway to our plane on our way back to Orlando:

          Kohl:  "We're going back to Earth!"

Have a great weekend!