Sunday Funday at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science

With the weather starting to cool off in Denver, we're left to take our weekend activities indoors. Turns out, it was in the mid-50s Sunday afternoon and beautiful. Anyway, the boys had a blast at the museum and can't wait to go back. We're members now, so future trips are certainly in our future.

We started in outer space, Tate drove the space shuttle (Jason docked it twice) and  Cooper geared up for a trip to the stars.

 

 

 

After lunch, we headed to the Paleolithic era and the dinosaur exhibit. The kids put on a little puppet show and read some books.

 

 

Tate wanted to jump right in and play with the prehistoric beasts.  Literally! Lila thought it looked like a good idea. She's all smiles here.

  Biggest dinosaur ever!

 

Cooper was telling the volunteer a thing or two about the fossils in the box.

 

 Tate did not want to leave! Don't worry, kiddo. These guys aren't going anywhere. We'll see them again soon.

 

Tate's Girlfriend Visits!

Lila came over for a visit on Friday and she and my boys had a great time!

Hangin' at the barnyard. You should've seen them dancing to the music!

 

Hi Mom!!! I'm having  so much fun!!

 

CHOO CHOO!!! Tate shared his train so nicely!

 

Lila, you're welcome back at any time! We loved having you. :-)

 

 

Sunday Funday at the Zoo

 

We have been having the most amazing weather here in Colorado this fall. I'm talking 60s and sunny which means bonus days to have fun outside with the boys. So, Sunday we took them to the zoo and had a great day!

Cooper was our tour guide, making sure we hit up all the coolest animals. A few of them are featured here in pictures.

 

What's up, Groucho? Groucho is a 42 year old male and weighs in at 11,000 pounds!


Is that a 5th leg or are you just happy to see us? Nope, just a male elephant in musth, which is their mating season and lasts up to 3 months!

 

Sleepy Daddy leopard; happy brothers

 

 

Tate looks a lot like Cooper here at this age. Wow! Hi, Giraffes!

 

Roar!

This Red Koala moves like a big house cat and was my favorite animal of the day.

 HE'S SO FUZZY!

Mmm... lunch 

 

  The day concluded with a spin on the carousel and a train ride, of course!

 

CHOO CHOO!! 

 Hi Mom!

 

 

 

 

 



Cindy's Kitchen Adventures, AKA, Why My Pants Don't Fit

So, it's Autumn and with Autumn comes pumpkin. Obviously. And with pumpkin comes muffins, cookies and breads. And, my ever present sweet tooth demands chocolate. So, here's a bit of what's been happening in my kitchen lately and my thoughts on each recipe.
 
These pumpkin cookies were delicious and the hit of WODzilla, for those who knew I brought them, anyway.
http://lexiscleankitchen.com/2013/08/29/chocolate-chip-pumpkin-cookies/

 

These fudge brownies were good, but a bit dense for my taste and not very sweet. They are sweetened with dates, so that's why.

http://www.texanerin.com/2013/10/grain-free-fudge-brownies.html

 

 

These muffins are wonderful; they are soft and light and delicious! Perfect Paleo pumpkin muffin, I think! I also made them without the chips but with raisins and walnuts to try to replicate Mom's delicious pumpkin bread and they are delicious.

http://paleomg.com/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-muffins/

 

 

I also tried her (PaleOmg's) Pumpkin Swirl Brownies, without the swirl since I'm usually not that creative or just don't have the time. These were pretty great. More airy than the fudge brownies above and I really liked them. Enough that I ate the last few at work with my morning coffee. Yum.
http://paleomg.com/pumpkin-swirl-brownies/
 

 

 
These pumpkin bars were tasty, too. I didn't use fresh roasted pumpkin as the recipe swears you must use; I used canned and they came out great!
http://www.elanaspantry.com/paleo-pumpkin-bars/

 

 

I made these scones the other night. A little dense, but good. I had to use some whole wheat flour in place of the last half cup of almond flour because I ran out!

OK, I can't find the recipe link but here's a picture, anyway!

 

 

 

These little chocolate morsels from MyBakingAddiction.com snuck into my oven on Friday at Tate's nap time. And they are to. Die. For!!! I didn't make them into the monster 4 oz-ers as the recipe suggests. Mine are probably about an ounce. I used my small cookie scoop & I've only eaten 4. Or 5. Over 2 days. The rest are in the freezer. Hiding. Lurking.

http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/levain-bakery-copycat-cookies/

 

And these recipes are the reasons my pants aren't fitting too great right now.  On to the next kitchen adventure. The adventure in healthy and tasty (predominantly) Paleo food.

 

 

 

 



 

Cooper, You are a Triathlete!

Cooper, at the ripe age of 4, became a triathlete this summer. After mastering the art of a 2 wheeler at 3 3/4 (it was actually that very day, April 26th) and practicing his swimming for the last 2 years, he was more than ready to take on the challenge. Ashton Breedlove, 5 1/2, joined in on the fun for his first triathlon, as well.

Nanci and I organized the small event, the first annual Grant Ranch 6 & Under Super Sprint Triathlon, with the help of Jason and Luke as well as Kelly and Tate as spectators. After a lengthy warm-up on the pool (I'm pretty sure they wore themselves out before the event even started), they were off!

Game faces! 

 

And they're off! (I'm not sure the fins were race legal but the judges allowed them).

 

 
Tate aspiring to be a triathlete himself soon!

 

On to T1 and the bike ride! Thanks to Jason for being their escort through the Belvedere neighborhood for the bike leg of the event.

 

 

A successful T1 and they are off!

 

They are neck and neck leaving T1!

 

Strong finishes on the bike for both boys!

 

 

Are we done yet?

 

 

Cooper Smith and Ashton Breedlove: You are Triathletes!!!

 

 

 

As soon as this race was over, they quickly got on-line to search for their next race. Unfortuntely, for them, this event is only held once per year. Mabye in 2014, there will also be a tune up in the Spring. Great job, boys! We are all so proud of you both.

 

 

 

 

 

Crazy Hair Day at KB

Some weeks at day care the staff puts together a Spirit Week with dress up opportunites and such. They have special days like hat day, pj day, wear Bronco orange day and crazy hair day. On the days that I actually remember this, the boys get to participate. This day last week was crazy hair day. So, I gooped them all up with some of my hair clay and away we went.

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, by the end of the day, all that was left was flat hair, weighed down by Mom's hair goop. They had fun anyway! And look how cute!

 

OH - and go Red Sox! I think the World Series started last week; they are playing the Cardinals.

Firefighter's Museum, WODzilla and Hudson Gardens, 10/18/2013

This weekend was jam packed with activity. I had a full schedule planned for us:

Friday: Snow greeted us as we awoke. Then we headed to the RTD Lightrail for a train ride to Downtown Denver for the Firefighter's Museum (the train ride was a treat in itself), lunch out and a visit to the convention center for the Rock 'n Roll Marathon Expo and packet pick-up (more on that topic later).

Oh, and we awoke to snow on Friday!

Fire Chief Cooper (who says a fireman's boots have to match?)

 Peek a boo!

 And we're off to fight the fire!!!

Saturday: WODzilla for Cindy (CFL's own in-house competition), a long bike ride for Jason and some time with Grandma Barb for the kiddos. 

Event #1 - 500m row/90 sec rest/500m row

Kettle Bells set up for WOD #2

Thrusters in WOD #5

Sunday: The half marathon was on the agenda for Cindy, but after all the fun at WODzilla, running was not an option; not 13.1 miles anyway. So, we bundled up and headed over to Hudson Gardens for some tree climbing, exploring and leaf peeping.



A fun weekend was had by all.