Boy Meets Girl

About a month ago Katie traveled with the kids to Colorado Springs to visit our good friends Bleys, Lynn, Josie and especially Silas who we have never met yet since he was born in Colroado 3 days after Ana was born in Dallas. James & Josie were reunited after over a year separation and it was as if they had never been apart. They still loved to be together to play and they still loved to make each other cry.

As for Ana and Silas, it was your classic boy meets girl story...

Boy thinks he is happy alone...

Then a little lady makes her way into his life...

At first everybody is having a great time...

but she starts to get a little bit possessive of his time and attention...

Then she starts going through all of his stuff and rearranging...

Then she starts telling him what to do...

And then she starts telling other people in his life what to do...

He starts to have his doubts...

But in the end they just stick it out and sing a song.

Let's start from the beginning of our trip. I knew that I was getting myself into trouble before I set out on a 12 hour travel adventure with the kids but we had never tried it before so I wanted to see exactly how much trouble.
The well-kept rest stops were very helpful. As we approached west Texas we found these signs posted all over the playground. I guess they want you to watch for rattlesnakes so you can be sure to know exactly what killed you.

When we arrived we met everyone in Pueblo, CO for a camping trip which was another first for the Gaspard kids. They did great and James can't wait to take Daddy camping when it cools down in Texas. Lynn's parents, Ruth & John, were there as well as Josie's cousin, Charlotte.

Good morning, Josie!
 

Here we have the first argument of the week. A serious debate ensued over the appropriate time to fall down during the song Ring Around the Rosie.

Grandpa John and Grandma Ruth were great with the kids. They even brought two jet skis for the big kids.

Bleys & Lynn were so comfortable with Josie in the water that it gave me confidence to try it with James. Lakes and children are one of my worst fears but we did it, we really did it.

We went to the Focus on the Family children's center where James promptly found a stage where he could also see himself on tv. Without any prompting he immediately picked up an imaginary microphone and welcomed the entire room to "the show from A to Z!"

 

Josie & Charlotte improv

 

 

 

Then to the Colorado Springs Zoo which was quite impressive. The zoo is built on the side of a mountain. Our first stop was the giraffes that will eat crackers right out of the hands of visitors. Just think, that wooden post could be you.

 

One of the most exciting animals to see were the grizzly bears who wrestled around right in front of us.

 

And here we are at the old park across the street. It took us 2 minutes to get here from their house. 

 

 

And then we had to say goodbye. James still talks about Josie and how he wishes her house were closer to Dallas. Since our trip he has been asking me a lot of questions about distance and doesn't seem satisfied with any answer I give him. Maybe the world is so small to a toddler that driving two days to get somewhere seems impossible. I miss Josie too, and the whole gang. They were amazing hosts.

 

On the way home James helped me clean the car at gas stops. He knows it can be difficult to drive if the rear right brake light is dusty.

 

To cheer ourselves up after saying goodbye to our friends, we had lunch at our favorite place--Sonic!

 

After placing an order, Ana found another baby to talk to.