petting zoo

during the course of his sedulous studies of the misadventures of a well known curious primate, eli has become obsessed with realizing his desire to pet a bunny. (come on, don't even try to tell me you've never read curious george flies a kite before.) so consumed was he that i underwent an intensive reconnaissance of the entire colorado front range in search of a proper petting hare. most serendipitously, i stumbled across the belleview children's farm, who's sprawling acreage boasts not only a first class petting zoo, but an intricate play structure, and a train running laps around the perimeter. eli and penelope enjoyed splashing around in the giardia infested stream in between handling their food and licking their contaminated fingers. in the petting zoo proper, eli explored the textures of various farm mammals, concluding that pigs were rough, sheep feel like carpet, and finding the soft constitution of chicken feathers to be particularly enchanting before discovering the petting of chickens to be forbidden by petting zoo administrators due to their tendency to aggressively turn on human admirers. of course, the crowning event was petting dandelion the rabbit. for eli, this was a defining moment, tantamount to completing a doctorate degree, or running the boston marathon. 

family photos

we took the kids down to the park to get a wall-worthy family picture. you'd never imagine, but trying to get ten eyes open, five mouths smiling, and one gut sucked in all at the same time is far more difficult than statistics would suggest. after the emulsion dried, we walked away with some good american mantle portraits, and all for the modest price of photographer's fees plus one small cup of light blue ice cream with white chocolate chips.

roller dolly

penelope found the new footwear at a friend's house- anyone know of a good 0-2 year roller derby league?

utah valley vacation

we managed to turn a training assignment in salt lake into a family trip to the beehive state. we packed as much as we could in the few days we were there, but our stop at the monte l. bean science  museum was particularly noteworthy. the kids enjoyed the panoply of stuffed and treated animal skins, particularly the wide miscellany of large ungulates.

a meeting with my brother and his wife only served to deepen penelope's infatuation with her uncle james, now emaciated from a month of his new post oral surgery all liquid diet.

we stayed with some friends in pleasant grove, thriving hub of the utah valley. their kids match ages with ours, so there was twice the playing, laughing, running, fighting, yelling and temper tantruming to be had. one saving occupier of toddler time was the raspberry bush located in the far corner of the back yard. it was quite possibly the most popular activity of the trip.

the second most popular activity was petting a bald spot into this dilapidated cat's back. unfortunately, this operation was often performed in between trips to the berry bush without a hand washing break- you may notice penelope's runny nose in some of the above photos.

we were able to visit our friends the aus in their new utah domicile. as this visit took place in the final hours of the evening, this was the most engaging photo we were able to get of the kids with their friend zion. kelley was smitten with the house, mostly because it was located only a few blocks from the park where she was able to take egregious advantage of a promotional chewing gum giveaway. any visitors to our place in the next few years will have their choice of flavors.

pigtail penny

it's official! penelope's hair is now long enough to pull back into two fledgling anemic pigtails. as usual, she was happy to model the new coiffure.

pretty woman

lucia turns on the charm...

reckless abandonment

have you ever told your kids you were going to leave without them because it was the only way to get them to come with you?

i have.

lovers of liberty

this year, we reverenced our independence in the age old american practice of blowing stuff up. the neighborhood fireworks show started late. too late, in fact. by the time the main event began, penelope and eli were already satiated by the intermittent distant flashes we caught just over the horizon from some show taking place outside el paso. 

i also showed the kids how to cook corn on the grill. they shucked these by themselves, and as you can see, they were quite proud.

open gym

kelley found a nearby gym that offers open play time for toddlers. its a perfect venue for jumping, rolling, climbing, bouncing, or any other playtime activity that can push bedtime up an extra ten minutes. no value can be placed on reducing the number of bedside requests for a drink of water in a given evening.

and the best part of it all...