Montrose, CO

We drove 5 1/2 hours to Montrose from Denver. Adia was not a happy camper to be in the car that long. She started to scream just before Glenwood Springs and luckily we were planning on stopping there to eat. She was happy to be out of the car, but not so interested in eating. After dinner, we wandered around Target. DiDi wanted to buy Adia a fun toy to keep her busy, but we didn't have much luck. We were also looking for some new sandals since Adia's feet had a sudden growth spurt and the sandals I brought no longer fit. We didn't find any sandals either and the second I plopped Adia back in her seat, she started screaming. We got lucky because she fell asleep until just outside Montrose.


We arrived just before midnight. Adia woke up when I took her out of the seat and cried when DiDi held her while I got ready for bed. She was soon fast asleep and slept in just a little bit. She was more than excited to meet Connie's dogs in the morning. She wasn't so sure about Connie at first, but quickly warmed to her as well. Our first day there involved mostly grocery shopping and playing with the puppy. We did find her some new shoes at Walmart. One pair is hot pink and the other pair looks very similar to Big A's orange crocs. Adia wanted to steal them from him.




In the evening, Connie had a dog class at the park so we went too. Adia had fun running around in the grass. We then hit the play equipment. Adia's still getting the hang of the play equipment. She's still learning how to climb up the stairs and go down the slide. She doesn't seem to understand you need to sit to go down either. I have to sit her down and give her a little push to get her over the lip. She had fun until we tried the swing. She wasn't so sure about that.






The next day we headed to Ouray, CO. Adia wasn't happy to be in her seat again, but was very relieved when it ended up being a short drive. We walked around the small town, took some pictures, checked out a few shops and then had some lunch. Once again, Adia wasn't interested in eating. I'm thinking she's getting hamburgered out.




When we got back to Montrose, we went to Cold Stone. Adia loved her ice cream. She had strawberry scoop and ate every last bit. She was especially proud of herself as she sat in her own chair and used her own spoon.




That night we headed to the park close to Connie's house. We took the dogs with us, but the mosquitoes soon came out and we headed back home.


Wednesday took us to Paonia, by way of the Black Canyon. A few months ago, Scott applied for a job in Paonia and we have been curious about it since. Connie thought we might like to check on the Black Canyon and take a scenic drive. Adia fell asleep in the car by the time we got to the Black Canyon. Connie stayed with Adia while we checked out some of the views. Adia soon woke up once she realized the car had stopped. She enjoyed hiking on a few of the short trails too, but it was incredibly hot. Adia doesn't do heat any better than I do.










After checking out the visitor center, we were back on the road. Adia didn't mind the carseat at first, but we ended up taking a very windy road with a very low speed limit. We eventually made it near Crawford and ended up in the middle of a cattle drive. I've never had that experience before and Adia's jaw dropped. We opened our windows a bit so she could hear all the mooing. She had the biggest grin and started pointing at the cows and mooing with them. She definitely knows what a cow is now.




Less than a hour later we were in Paonia. We ate at a pretty good Mexican restaurant. Adia had a yummy cheese quesadilla and ate quite a bit of it. We then wandered around. We picked up some brochures and then headed out. Adia screamed when we put her back in the carseat again, but this drive was shorter. When we got back to Montrose, we went back to the park. Adia did a little better on the play equipment, but wanted to leave when a big dog showed up.




We headed back to Denver Thursday morning. Adia did not want to leave. She now has a new grandma, Grandma Connie, and I'm sure she wanted to take Bindi with her. DiDi called Connie that night and she said that Bindi was definitely looking for Adia. Adia did ok in the car. We made sure to pack lots of snacks and Adia ate almost the entire trip. We also played games. We stopped in Golden to buy stamps and find some souvenirs, but we didn't have any luck. Adia was glad to walk around and didn't want to get back in her seat when it was time to leave.

Colorado: Part 1

It's been a busy couple of weeks. Adia got pretty sick after coming back from California. Vomiting, diarrhea, super tired. I even took her to the doctor because her fever wasn't going away, only to be told she had a tummy bug and she should get better in 5-7 days. Great, we were leaving for Denver in less than that.

Adia screamed halfway to the Portland Airport. It was horrible. She did not want to be in the carseat. We finally parked and Adia was asleep. I moved her to the Kozy, but she woke up. No more screaming though. We successfully navigated the airport, flew through security and then tried to find something Adia could eat near the gate. We didn't have much luck, but she did share some yogurt and potato chips with DiDi. From the moment we got on the plane, I knew it was going to be a bad flight. She started screaming and screamed through half the flight. Part way through she fell asleep, but only slept for less than a hour. She woke up screaming. The screaming didn't stop until we landed. We made it to the car rental place and had to find a car that we could put Adia's carseat in. The Honda didn't work so we ended up with a Subaru Outback. It was a very easy install considering that's what we drive at home. As soon as I set Adia on the backseat, she squealed and climbed into her carseat. She was wide awake when we made it to my brother's house. My brother's kids we asleep, but we ate dinner. Adia was happy to be free and explore all the new toys. Bedtime was horrible though. She screamed bloody murder until finally screaming herself to sleep. I had never heard anything like it.

The next day Adia got to meet her cousins. She was a little shy at first, but quickly warmed up to M. She's about the same size at Lexi so I think Adia was a little confused. She played with her a little bit and even tried to read her book.


After M's morning nap, we headed to the zoo. It was still pretty early, but HOT! We rented a wagon and Adia and Big A enjoyed riding in it. I think Adia only wanted to be in it because her cousin was sitting in it too.


Adia loved the animals. If it was small and furry, Adia squealed and went nuts. She especially liked the mongoose. They were down at eye level and moving all over the place. We went in the Rainforest Exhibit and Adia fell in love with the fish. She didn't want to leave the first fish tank and kept trying to go back to it. She also loved the Primates. She threw a temper tantrum when we tried to leave that area. She was already tired so that didn't help either.










Adia fell asleep in the car on the way back to my brother's house. I didn't succeed in getting her from the car to bed though. She woke up screaming, once again, but I managed to get her back to sleep on my chest. She took a 3 hour nap! After waking up, she headed outside to play with Big A in the sandbox. She wasn't so sure about actually being in the sand at first, but soon changed her mind because he big cousin wasn't afraid of the sand. Uncle Paul then taught her to play basketball and she decided the patio needed a good sweep. It started to rain so we ended up eating in the house. That was ok with Adia since Big A sat with her and Ruby joined in the fun.










It was another fight to get her to sleep. Scott ended up sleeping on the couch. After M's nap, we headed to Evergreen to eat at Beau Jo's, the best pizza place ever. I was a little worried about what Adia would eat, but they had a GLUTEN FREE MENU! Adia had pizza for the first time ever. I think she liked it. She was all about the cheese and gnawed on the crust a little bit. I shared a pizza with her and it wasn't bad at all. We had Baskin Robbins for desert, which was heaven for Adia.


After Evergreen, we headed to Red Rocks Amphitheater. Adia wasn't too keen on that part except we saw horses outside and there was an elevator. She once again fell asleep in the car and I had no luck transferring her. I did get her back to sleep for another long nap. We ate dinner and then Uncle Paul, Aunt Amy, Scott and I went to a movie and left DiDi with the kids. M and Big A were already asleep, but Adia was wide awake and looking for a fight. She did eventually get her to sleep, but after showing her the whole house and that I wasn't hiding anywhere.





After breakfast on Saturday, Scott, DiDi, Uncle Paul, Big A, Adia and I went on a walk to the local Farmer's Market. I was amazed that they had an entire booth from a gluten free bakery. DiDi got some shaved ice and Scott bought some baklava.








When we got back, my grandparents were there for brunch. Brunch was delicious and Adia had a scrambled egg. She wasn't too interested in eating though. We had dinner at a great noodle place not far from the house that night. M made a big mess too and Adia was too interested in the birds to eat.






Scott's last day in Denver was Sunday. We went to the museum. Adia was Oohing and Aahing from the beginning. She wanted to look and touch everything. She grabbed onto Uncle Paul. Then it was onto Scott's shoulders. Big A was desperate to show her the dinosaurs too. They're his favorite part of the museum.







After lunch, we checked out the kid's play area. Adia had a blast with her cousins. M was even able to play.











We didn't last much longer. Adia was getting tired and cranky and Big A and M had already left. We paused for one more photo op outside before leaving. We headed back to Uncle Paul's house to pack up the luggage and then we were off. I don't think Adia wanted to leave.




We dropped Scott off at the airport before we headed off in the other direction towards Montrose.