Summer Trip #2 - Denver, CO

We headed up to Denver the weekend after the Iron Horse to see our awesome Denver cousins.  (The real reason to head up this particular weekend was the Taylor Swift tickets in our pockets and to meet up with Taylor's biggest fan - cousin Janie, but that will be the next post.)

We always have the best time with Jane and family.  They are so easy to be with and so generous and kind.  We wanted to do something big with the kids that Evan could easily enjoy too, so Jane found this awesome Wild Animal Sanctuary for our animal-loving brood.

The day we went was super chilly and extremely windy.  Logically, I only packed shorts and flip-flops for my SUMMER vacation trip, so I was unprepared for the weather and we had to go buy long pants for our crowd to get through the day.

The kids had a blast exploring the sanctuary and observing all the cool animals there that they have rescued, including grizzly bears, lions, tigers, wolves, and some other big cats.  I really liked how the animals were all in huge (like, acres-big) enclosures.  They had tons of room to roam and hang out and lots of places to hide away and take shelter.  They seemed so much happier than zoo animals - no pacing back and forth in front of a 12 foot cage-front.  They had all been rescued from things like circuses, crazy private owners trying to keep a tiger in a horse trailer, or raise a wolf in an apartment.

I loved the grizzly bear taking a cold dip in his water tank.  

He probably loved getting wet in the chilly weather.

There were some white tigers in the "introduction" pens.  They do introduce the animals in stages and slowly release them into larger and larger areas with each other.  

Grace is always happy to see a white tiger.

We spent a lot of our trip just hanging out at Jane's house and letting the cousins turn into vegetables in front of "stupid TV" (as Jane calls it.)  It's kind of their treat - we never let them watch TV like that, so they love getting to lounge on the couch and kill their brain cells for a few days with their cousins.  But, did manage to get them off the couch to go to church, a movie, the pool, (THE CONCERT!) and they couldn't wait to finish writing the play that they started at our house LAST summer.  The play was extremely funny.  Too bad that Harriet couldn't handle the social stress of sharing her cousin, Janie, with Grace.  Combining that with staying up until midnight every night and eating only sugar for 4 days, she was primed for several-too-many giant melt-downs, her best of which she included in the play performance.   I should have been a better mom and made her go to bed, eat well, and stay sane, but I let the excitement of being with cousins and having fun get the better of my judgement.  Still, it was cool to see them so dedicated to finishing something they started a year ago and get excited about their lines, costumes, and parts.

Stay tuned for the concert post!