Giraffe-y Licks

On our last day in Colorado Springs we went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. This is one of the best zoos I've been to because it is so interactive, and Samuel had a much better zoo experience this time around. The trick is that you have to be able to actually see the animals. Who knew?

Samuel absolutely loved getting to feed the giraffes. I couldn't believe how tame they are. As soon as they see you have a cracker they come right over and stick their tongues out. They swipe the cracker out of your hand and leave a little slobber as an extra special thank you.

The zoo is built into the side of the Cheyenne Mountain so it's an uphill hike. We got quite a workout, especially Samuel, who was intent on pushing his stroller most of the way. At least getting down was easy. Allen put Samuel in the stroller and let go so he went flying down the path. I, of course, did not think that was a good idea but Samuel laughed the whole time. Sometimes I'm not sure who the kid is... Allen or Samuel!

After the hike up you can see Colorado Springs below.



Samuel made some new friends!





Mr. Meerkat, would you like to hold my stick?



Giddy-up zebra!



Giddy-up lion?





Giddy-up horse! (finally) Yay!



Shrinking Samuel!



He's after me!



I'm gonna get you!



Mommy made a new friend too.

Roar!

Expectation and reality are often two very different things. We, unfortunately, learned this during our visit to The Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center in Woodlands Park. How anyone can, in good conscience, hype this place up and charge an exuberant admission price is beyond me.

Our expectation (based off the brochures) was that this would be a great place to take Samuel since the exhibits were hands-on and we would have a great dinosaur adventure together as a family. In reality, we paid $10.50 a piece to step into a room full of replicated dinosaur bones and some boring fact-plaques. The only part of the place that was "interactive" was a couple of fake bones that you could touch. Woo hoo!

Here is Allen with his sad, empty wallet.



We just made the best of the situation and clowned around the whole time, which I think was about 30 minutes. When we bought our tickets the lady told us we could have our hands stamped if we decide to leave for lunch (we got there around 10 AM) and come back. She could not have seriously thought we would stay two hours and then come back for more. I'm glad that Allen and I always know how to have a good time. We just cracked jokes and took funny pictures.

Samuel would have made a great dinner for a T-Rex.



He was not amused by the dino puppets.



Dad, this is lame. Can we go to the park or something?



Whoa! That's one big, fake bone.



The hip bone's connected to the leg bone....



Oh, no! We've been eaten!



We made sure to do a lot of growling while we were there and by the time we left Samuel had learned how to roar too. Rawrrrrr!



We started to head back to Colorado Springs, but decided it would be more fun to continue our prehistoric adventure and visit the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. I wish we had gone here first! It was so much more interesting and way less expensive.

For a few dollars we had access to several miles of trails. Along the way you could stop and see petrified redwoods, leaves, flowers and insects. I was amazed to learn that in prehistoric times Colorado was actually very warm and humid.

The redwood stumps were petrified by a volcano. Yep, that's right. There were volcanoes in the Rocky Mountains.





The area there is so beautiful in the fall. The aspen trees were golden yellow.



Of course, all Samuel cared about was climbing the stairs.



Eventually, Samuel made it to the park.



We met up with my friend Melanie and her son. The boys had fun on the swings and the moms liked the slide!

Fizzy Pop

On day two we ventured to Manitou Springs, a kitschy little town right at the base of Pikes Peak. It has a nice downtown strip with several shops and restaurants. It's perfect for walking around and wasting time. I'd say its just like any other mountain town tourist trap except that they have a fantastic Penny Arcade.

There are literally hundreds of vintage video games, pinball machines and kiddie rides - all for their original prices. It's a great way to revel in some classic Americana. I always get nostalgic playing Ms. Pacman, Space Invaders and Frogger, but I particuarly love the retro mechanical games from the 50s. It's like stepping into a time machine.



We couldn't pass by without letting Samuel try out a few of the kiddie rides that were lined up outside. He loved the airplane that went up (really high) and down again.



Daddy helped Samuel with the control sticks.



We also rode in the fire truck.



Guess who got to push the siren button and watch the flashing lights?



We made sure to stop at the soda springs fountain in the middle of town. Allen and I both took a drink to check that the water is actually fizzy - it is!



Next, we went to Soda Springs Park which is right by the main downtown area so Samuel and Dad could ride the flying saucer swing. We'd never seen anything like it before. At first we weren't even sure what it was!





The grasshopper was pretty fun too!



Through the tunnels.





One last photo op!

Pizza Face

Allen took a week off this month so we decided to head down to Colorado Springs for a few days. It was fun to tell Samuel about where he lived while he was inside my tummy!

We hadn't been there for several months and we enjoyed getting to take Samuel to some new places. The first place we went was a fun center called Lil' Biggs. They had all kinds of toddler thrills.

Samuel loved sharing pepperoni pizza with Dad!



He is signing that he would like less kisses and MORE pizza.



Now he's ready to snuggle.



After our bellies were full we headed over to the play area where Samuel went shopping for the dinner groceries.



Then Samuel and I jumped around in the bounce houses.







No day-of-fun would be complete without getting a little dirty, so we played in the sandbox.





Last but not least, a few trips down the slide!

Shake Your Booty

At barely a year old Samuel already has some killer dance moves! He really knows how to get his groove on. See for yourself....



It was a total surprize when he started dancing for the first time to my silly made-up song. Allen and I are both big fans of making up songs with Samuel as the subject but using popular tunes. The day he decided to bust a move I was about to change his stinky diaper so I was singing "Poo Poo" to the tune of the old 1950s Rock-a-teen's song "Woo Hoo."

Other favorites includes Allen's rendition of "Samuel-razzi" (from Lady GaGa's "Paparazzi") and my take on "Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On," which goes "Samuel's Got His Poo Pants On."

There's never a dull moment at the Graham house!

Farm Fresh

Anyone who knows me very well would probably list "farm" as the very last place you would find me. There is something about smelly animals, dirt and grown men in overalls that just rubs me the wrong way. Although, last weekend I was at a farm and actually had a pretty awesome time!

When it comes to farm life I am completely clueless. In fact, I'm pretty sure I've been to a farm on only one prior occasion. When I was about 4 I visited my dad's friend's parents' dairy farm. All I remember is that I tasted the fresh milk and spit it right back out because it tasted weird. Even 4-year-old Laura knew that farm living would not be the life for me.

My cluelessness was pretty evident by the attire I chose for the day. I knew I would be picking vegetables but for some reason I guess I didn't realize that I would be getting really dirty. I chose to wear a Juicy hoodie, Citizen's jeans and Converse tennies. Not exactly the most rugged choice. At least Samuel was dressed appropriately. I put him in a pair of hand-me-down jeans and boots.

I'd heard great things about Miller Farm so I was very excited to be partaking in this adventure with our church group. I was also looking forward to helping my friend Kerri celebrate her birthday, which was part of the excursion. Allen wanted to go too but was already committed to a volunteer activity for work.

The idea of growing our own produce appeals to both of us since we enjoy cooking (and eating) so much. We would really like to grow our own garden one day. We tried to a container garden a few years ago but that was before we knew there was a book called "Container Gardening for Dummies." If you assumed that the outcome was failure then you would be right. Between the cold weather and lack of watering I think our harvest amounted to a handful of cherry tomatoes and one cucumber. But as I recall it was a damn good cucumber.

Back to the farm....

So after a hearty Subway lunch and cupcakes (for Kerri's b.day) we loaded up in the back of the truck lined with hay bales to start pickin' our veggies. This farm had just about every vegetable you can imagine and for $10 you can have as much as you can carry. Score! I was planning dinner menus in my head as we made our way for the corn stalks.

I set off with Olivia and Jeremy since they both seemed to know what they were doing. I got a quick lesson on how to twist the husk off the stalk and then Samuel (who was riding on my hip) and I set off on our own. It took a while to find ears that were large enough to pick, but eventually I ended up with about 8. I was so proud. Allen loves sweet corn so I couldn't wait to show him what we had picked just for him. I was already imagining his praise. Back on the wagon Olivia started helping me shuck my corn and much to my dismay, every single ear I had, all 8, were infested in worms. Eww!!

I was quite discouraged as we headed for the potatoes. In fact, I was convinced that if we were somehow thrown into a post-apocalyptic situation where the survival of my family depended on my ability to gather, we would certainly all die. This realization made me more determined to make sure that I at least took home something that was suitable to eat.

After digging, pulling, twisting and scrounging around all afternoon, most of it with a 22 pound baby strapped to my back, I harvested a decent size sack of red & white potatoes, about 12 onions, 2 cabbages, several carrots and 2 mini pumpkins. Also, thanks to the generosity (and, most likely, pity) of Olivia, I brought home 4 ears of sweet corn. I also had some help along the way since bending over with a baby can be somewhat of a challenge.

While exhausting, it was also fun being out there with Samuel. I felt like a real pioneer woman since throughout history women have had to wear their babies while they harvested. I even stopped to breastfeed him since that, undoubtedly, would have been part of a real pioneer woman's day.

After workin' in the fields we headed back to the amusement part of the farm so the kids could play. Samuel got to pet a goat, who nipped his hand. Bad goat! We also rode a petal cart made to look like a John Deere tractor. He attempted to climb a giant hay bale pyramid but settled for just chewing a few pieces of hay. He also got to climb through a tractor-tire tunnel and he attempted to push a tractor. That might have been my favorite part of the day. He got behind a tractor, put his little hands out and started pushing with all his might. When it wouldn't budge he looked up at me with an expression that could only be interpreted as, "what the heck?"

Samuel and I had a great time getting dirty. Now that I am the mom of a little boy I know I'll be doing a lot of things I never thought I would do and this will be the first of many times when I'll have to toss aside my preconcieved notions of certain activites and just jump right in to the unknown. I'm sure this won't be the last time that I'll come home covered head to toe in dirt!