We just took a trip! With a 19-month-old! I know people do it all the time, but we were pretty hesitant to undergo either a car trip or a plane ride with a toddler. But David had a conference in Denver last Thursday-Friday, and since his parents live in Boulder, we thought it would be a good opportunity (while his plane ticket was paid for) for me and Anna to tag along and extend the trip through the weekend so Anna could finally see her Nana and Granddad’s home.

I fully intended to get a picture of Anna on her first plane ride, but it just didn’t happen. She was quite a handful on the ride out, but we managed to keep her entertained and avoid a complete meltdown. All of us were glad to be off that plane. Fortunately, we had sprung for the direct flight. After that flight, we marveled at how we had originally debated whether or not it was worth the extra cost. It was.

So while David was cooped up in a hotel conference room, Anna and I were out enjoying Denver during what was probably some of the best weather they’ve ever had this time of year. We were staying downtown (at the Magnolia Hotel, which is very nice, by the way), so we walked to places nearby and rode the bus to places that were farther away. That’s right—we rode the bus, by ourselves! Fortunately, the places we went only required one bus (no transfers), so it was actually pretty easy. It’s just fun to ride the bus sometimes. Does anyone else think so? I wish we had them in Conway for the people who don’t have cars. I’ve enjoyed using public transportation in some of the larger cities we’ve visited.

Thursday we visited the Denver Children’s Museum. It was amazing! I don’t have much to compare it to, but this seemed like a very well-done place. Some of it was a bit like The Wonder Place in Little Rock where I took Anna, but of course much bigger! Anna loved being able to run and climb and go wherever she wanted to (almost) and get into things without someone constantly hanging onto her. There was a big area just for babies and toddlers, and it was separated from the rest of the museum with no way to “escape,” so she was able to wander around without my worrying about her getting away from me. (She’s fast now, by the way!) The rest of the museum was great too, and had plenty for kids her age to do. I’ll post some pictures in the next blog post.

On Friday morning we went to the Denver Zoo. They have a pretty nice zoo. (And, unlike the Little Rock Zoo, they don’t charge for 1-year-olds!) We only had about 2 hours, so we saw a lot, but not quite everything. But that was really long enough for Anna anyway, who was way over-tired at this point! She enjoyed making her animal sounds, and if she didn’t recognize the animal, sometimes she just assigned it a random sound she already knew. It was cute. She also enjoyed pushing the stroller around and picking up rocks and sticks. I told her I paid 9 bucks so she could see the animals, not pick up rocks and sticks. Hmm, maybe she’s a little young to fully appreciate the zoo! That’s ok; I mostly went because I wanted to see it and I wanted something fun to do with her.

Then we headed back into downtown to meet my aunt and uncle for lunch. We had to check out of the hotel that morning, so I figured Anna just wouldn’t get a nap that day. Well, on the way into the restaurant, someone coming out pointed down to her and jokingly said, “She’s gonna need come coffee.” I looked down, and she was asleep in her stroller! Now, this may not seem like a big deal to you, because you can pretty regularly see little kids asleep in their strollers or in their parents’ arms. But you have to understand, Anna NEVER falls asleep when we’re out! She hasn’t done that since she was a tiny baby. That’s how tired she was, I guess. She ended up sleeping about 30 minutes—not nearly long enough, but enough to get her through the rest of lunch with a pleasant demeanor.

David was done around 2:30, so David’s dad picked us up and we headed to Boulder for the rest of the weekend.

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