Dinosaur Ridge

I purchased a membership to Dinosaur Ridge in an effort to get out there this summer. Well, we are down to the last week so we better get moving. 

It was a pretty nice little place. The membership includes a shuttle tour of the area. They talked about the different eras you could see in the rocks and how you could tell the land used to be under water. Then we got to get out of the bus and touch actual dinosaur bones. This place is full of bones that have never been excavated. It was pretty neat. 

Daniel pointing to a bone in the rock.

They also have an area you can crawl around with dinosaur footprints. 

When we got back from the tour, we walked around the little exhibit hall they had.

They also had a little place where you could excavate dinosaur bones although the boys thought it was more fun to bury their little brother's foot and watch him break out of the pile.

It was a fun little place. We will have to go back on an off school day for the kids.

Sports Authority Field Tour

For a few years I have been hearing about the tour you can take at Sports Authority Field, which is the home of the Denver Broncos. So, I finally decided this was the summer we would go and two weeks before school started, I booked us a tour. It was on an off Friday so Dad got to join us. 

It was pretty neat. They took you up in the suites, the press boxes, the guest locker room (the Broncos locker room was off limits, I guess they are superstitious), and on the field. 

The press room

The 5280 Suite. The only suite you can purchase individual seats for. The rest you have to purchase the entire suite, plus food and drinks.

As close as we got to the field. They were having an NFL Play 60 event going on. 

We got to go into the beer fridge. They have two of them that supply the entire stadium. Look at all those tubes bringing beer to the good people of Denver.

The visitors hot/cold tubs. I guess they are the ones used by the Broncos since the 70's. They go moved to the visitor locker room when the Broncos updated to nicer ones for themselves. 

After the tour we walked around the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. They had a kid room where the kids could dress up with all the old athletic equipment from the teams. He makes a pretty cute football player. 

It was pretty neat to see parts of the stadium you don't see when you go to a game and hear the history of it. And those from Iowa will get a kick out of hearing the Hawkeyes make the tour for their pink visitor locker room. We were discussing tricks to psych out the competition.

It was a fun little trip.

No more braces

We had a very fun orthodontist appointment this morning. 

He went from this....

....to this (look at that genuine smile!)

He even came out with a bag full of all the things he wasn't supposed to eat with braces on (and proceed to pull them out one-by-one saying, "I didn't know I wasn't supposed to eat this". Oops!) Now we get to experience life with a retainer. Yay!

Touch-A-Truck

This year we were in town for the annual Touch-A-Truck event near our house. The boys love it. It is a parking lot full of trucks, cars, vans, buses, firetrucks, police cars, ambulances, buses, and anything else that moves. And the best part, you get to climb into every single one. It is a little boys' dream.

Batman was there with his supped up bat mobile. 

The boys got to sit in the back of a police car. We had the talk about how that should be the only time they have to sit in the back. Ha!

They also had a race with ride-on toys from a local store. 

And a Pepsi truck you could paint on.

They got to climb into the back of an ambulance. 

And drive a garbage truck.

The cutest kids on the bus. 

It was a fun day and something we will definitely do next year. 

Adventureland

Since we were in Iowa already, we decided to drive up to Des Moines from the Strutt vacation and spend a few days with the other side of the family. Which meant, our kids (and us) got to go to Adventureland for the day.

We started the day on the Ferris Wheel. The kids liked being able to see really far away.

Then we headed over to the Gallian (since it was right next to the Ferris Wheel). Patrick went on it but I guess wasn't too impressed. He still talks about the scary pirate ship.

Then we were all over the park trying out all different kinds of rides. Of course we had to go on the log ride a few times since this was the last season it would be at Adventureland. 

They have a lot of little rides for the little guys. Of course, he loved it.

And you can't go to Adventureland without riding the Tornado.

Josh's favorite ride were the swings. I was okay with staying on the ground for that one. They got really high. 

On the way out we stopped for ice cream (curtesy of Uncle Joe).

 

And one last ride on the train before we headed home. 

It was a very fun (very hot) day and the kids loved it. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!