Our Big Trip

I had this week off of work, so Ian and I jumped on the opportunity to go visit his great-grandparents in Colorado. We try and go visit every summer but weren't able to make it last year with Ian being so little. Since Ian's great-grandparents hadn't even gotten a chance to meet him in person yet, we were thrilled to finally get an opportunity to visit. Grandma Cookie (named by our little cousin Angelina) and Grandpa Grape (named by Cousin Allie when she was trying to say great-grandpa) were really sweet and hosted us, Auntie Liz and family, Aunt Carol and Cousin Sarah, and Uncle Kenny!

Our morning started super early. Our flight left at 7:30am, and we had to leave for the airport at 5am so Daddy could get to work on time. Ian was sleeping so soundly, but was pretty good-natured about getting up so early.

Ian stayed awake through the car trip to the airport! We got there in enough time for Daddy to get out and help us take our luggage in.

What a little early morning travel pro! His motto is "Have sippy cup, will travel".

After we got through security (where some nice lady helped me load all our stuff on the conveyor belt and get it off again), Ian was finally able to enjoy his breakfast while watching the planes.

I have no pictures of actually being in the plane on the way to Colorado. Ian fell asleep in my arms on the way from Dallas to Houston and I didn't want to risk waking him up by getting my camera out of our bag underneath the seat. We only had a twenty-five minute layover in Houston and our plane arrived ten minutes late! Fortunately, we arrived at gate 49 and left from gate 51. So, we literally walked off the plane, got our boarding pass (the first agent that morning had forgotten to print us a boarding pass for the second flight and I didn't think about it until we were somewhere in the air between Dallas and Houston), and walked right on to our next plane.

The flight from Houston to Denver was MUCH harder. Ian never did go back to sleep and was not happy about having to sit in my lap for the whole trip. Fortunately, another family with two little girls was sitting in the back of the plane near us and they had a portable DVD player. They were even nice enough to let us borrow it when their girls were occupied with other activities. That helped a lot! But, I still ended up with several bite marks on my shoulder. Ian still bites when he is upset or teething (fortunately, he really doesn't try to bite anyone else other than me), and there were several times I had something else in my other hand and wasn't able to move him fast enough to stop the biting. Sigh. We really are working on that, but it sure made for a difficult trip!

I think Ian and I were both glad to land in Denver! Ian did a great job hanging on to our big suitcase while I gathered the car seat from the large luggage area.

Purely by luck, Aunt Carol and Cousin Sarah's flight arrived thirty minutes after ours did. We didn't plan it that way, but it meant we could all ride the shuttle to Grandma Cookie and Grandpa Grape's house together! So, after Ian and I gathered our luggage, we headed over to Aunt Carol and Sarah's baggage claim. We had a bit of time left before they arrived, so the nice lady at the kiosk agreed to watch our luggage while Ian walked circles around the baggage claim area. Ian had a blast! He was so glad to get to walk again! It was so funny - he kept following different passengers. He would see them walk past him, turn around, and toddle after them. Most of them had no idea they were being followed and Ian got a huge kick out of "walking" with them. He followed this one family from one end of the baggage claim almost all the way out the door, giggling the whole way. They had no idea he was behind them or that they could have gained a new family member!

After a little while (their flight was a bit delayed too), Aunt Carol and Cousin Sarah arrived! Ian sure was happy to see them! We were trying to figure out the logistics of taking all our luggage over to the shuttle counter when a porter came by with a large cart and offered to transport it for us. We couldn't pass that up! He was nice enough to follow us to the food court so we could grab lunch before going to the shuttle counter. After grabbing some chicken nuggets, we headed over to the shuttle. Imagine our surprise to see the line was three miles long!! (Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration...it was probably only two miles!) Aunt Carol nicely offered to stand in line while we finished eating. I joined her after a little bit while Ian and Sarah hung out.

We were the first ones outside and lined up our luggage for the shuttle.

Ian, of course, wanted to walk back and forth up the sidewalk, so we were all the way down at the other end when the shuttle drove up. We hurried back and Ian and I jumped in the van. Unfortunately, the shuttle is first come, first served, and we sure didn't want to have to wait for another one (especially since we really were the first ones out there)! It's a good thing we did too. When Aunt Carol handed the driver our confirmation ticket, he told her to wait and see if he had room. I spoke up from the back of the van and (nicely) told him that we already had a reservation and had been waiting to get on. He said something about everyone having a reservation, but ended up taking us. Another couple had to wait for the next shuttle, so if we hadn't said something, we would have been the ones waiting. I felt bad for them, but knew I had a fussy toddler who desperately needed sleep. And indeed - as soon as we started driving, he fell right asleep! We didn't even make it out of the airport before he was in sandman land.

When we got to Grandma Cookie's, Ian had so much fun looking around at seeing what great toys she had out and ready for the cousins.

The front master with a king size bed, crib, and private bath. Auntie Liz, Aiden, myself, and Ian slept together in this room.

The front living room with two cots, a couch bed, and toys!!! (I didn't get a picture of the toys.)

The back living room that looks out into the awesome backyard where they get deer, foxes, owls, raccoons, and lots of other wildlife.

Outside the living room window. Just a very small portion of the immense backyard. The trash cans hold wildlife food - Grandma Cookie's is a neighbor hood favorite for all the critters too.

A few of the birdfeeders.

Out in the very back of the yard are a couple of porch swings, a swingset, and a tugboat sandbox. Grandma Cookie and Grandpa Grape really know what kids love!

A sweet little moment with my buddy. He wanted to hold my hand while we swung on the porch swing.

Swinging on the big kid swing!

Hehe...love this little expression.

Ian had a great time playing in the sandless sandbox! Grandma Cookie and Grandpa Grape had cleaned it out, but hadn't refilled it yet (the sand is sitting in the wheelbarrow in the background).

Our little tugboat driver, who absolutely loved the toys!

Day one and we were already having so much fun!! Any trip to Grandma Cookie's and Grandpa Grape's is guaranteed to be the highlight of our summer!