Friday, April 11
Andy got off work early. I had the car loaded up already so we just loaded the dogs stuff and dropped them off with Daniel and Canaan. We drove to Wichita and got there in time to eat dinner with Josh, Sara and Jake. Jake was climbing on the kitchen table, crushing our plastic cups, and talking saying "fly fly" over and over. Fly fly=ceiling fan, or anything that hangs on the ceiling.
Since we were in Kansas we went to a few stores to find some KU National Championship gear. We headed back to Josh and Sara's, watched a little tv, and then went to bed.Saturday, April 12
Woke up around 8 to Jake saying "fly fly." Headed to Denver. There are several wind farms on that route. Here are some of the windmills. They are HUGE.
Andy drove the first leg and then I drove the Hays to Denver leg. Andy was finishing his last assignment for his last class. We arrived at Liz and Cameron's apartment around 5. We went to get some great burgers at the Cherry Cricket and then back to their apt to hang out.Sunday, April 13
We woke up Sunday morning to the sound of running water. We really didn't think anything of it for awhile because Cameron was getting ready for church, but once we got out of bed we realized that something was wrong. There was a huge water bubble coming up through the drywall in their guest room. Cameron called the maintenance man (great thing about living in an apartment). The hot water tank had been leaking all night so they cut a huge chunk out of their drywall so they could repair and replace it all. (see Liz's blog for photos) Liz was working Sunday morning so Andy and I went out on our own. We drove to Invesco Field 
and took some pictures. Because it was Sun morning the Broncos store was closed, but Andy spent some time daydreaming about what it would be like to go to a broncos game. From there we went to REI (awesome store!) and then walked around Confluence Park/Platte River. 
This is a really great park area/running and biking trails and a kayaking chute? at one spot on the river. We watched a guy kayak down the river and then saw this dog jumping in the water to fetch a toy buoy. He did it over and over. His owner would throw the buoy into the "rapids" of this kayaking thing and the dog would just leap in and swim to get it. What a great dog! Then we drove to Morrison, ate at Red Rocks Grill (we saw this really cool weinermobile while we were there--its a mini cooper)
and then went to the Red Rocks Amphitheater. There were tons of people walking and running in the amphitheater. They would run the length of one of the levels of seats, then go up one level and run back.
We hiked for awhile on a few of the many trails they have around the amphitheater and then drove back toward Liz and Cameron's area. We stopped at another REI hoping to find the shoes I was searching for and Andy was wanting to get more information about mountain bikes. We went back to Liz and Cameron's to clean up and then went out to dinner with them and a few of their friends.
Monday, April 14and took some pictures. Because it was Sun morning the Broncos store was closed, but Andy spent some time daydreaming about what it would be like to go to a broncos game. From there we went to REI (awesome store!) and then walked around Confluence Park/Platte River. This is a really great park area/running and biking trails and a kayaking chute? at one spot on the river. We watched a guy kayak down the river and then saw this dog jumping in the water to fetch a toy buoy. He did it over and over. His owner would throw the buoy into the "rapids" of this kayaking thing and the dog would just leap in and swim to get it. What a great dog! Then we drove to Morrison, ate at Red Rocks Grill (we saw this really cool weinermobile while we were there--its a mini cooper)and then went to the Red Rocks Amphitheater. There were tons of people walking and running in the amphitheater. They would run the length of one of the levels of seats, then go up one level and run back.We hiked for awhile on a few of the many trails they have around the amphitheater and then drove back toward Liz and Cameron's area. We stopped at another REI hoping to find the shoes I was searching for and Andy was wanting to get more information about mountain bikes. We went back to Liz and Cameron's to clean up and then went out to dinner with them and a few of their friends.Went to breakfast at Liz's favorite breakfast place, Mona's. YUM. Then went to the Container Store and Crate & Barrel at the Cherry Creek shopping center. We went with Liz to get Schnooze (their min. schnauzer) from the groomer and then Andy and I loaded our stuff back in the car and headed to Colorado Springs. We stopped at the Castle Rock outlet mall (I couldn't pass it up!) and got to our hotel in Colo. Springs that evening. We went to a bike shop to look at mountain bikes and then went to a 3rd REI so I could exchange the shoes I had purchased at REI #2 (wrong size). We ate dinner at Extreme Pizza, wandered around Whole Foods for a little while, and then went back to the hotel to rest.
Tuesday, April 15
We ate breakfast at the hotel and then went to Garden of the Gods. 
We drove around, hiked, and took lots of pictures! We ate lunch on our way to Pikes Peak, 
but when we got there they had closed the last 6 miles of the drive up Pikes Peak. We decided not to pay to drive partway up, and went to Cave of the Winds instead. 
It was a really not so great tour. We felt like they were making us sprint through the caves and we really didn't get to see that much. Pretty disappointing and definitely not worth the money. We went to Seven Falls 
and climbed to the top of the 224 stairs (my legs were burning!) but all the hiking trails were closed. We were just not having very good luck that day. We went back to the hotel and cleaned up and then went to the movie theater to see Leatherheads--pretty cute movie. i was craving Mexican food so we went to a place called 3 Margaritas. The food was not very good, but that seemed like the appropriate ending to that day.
Wednesday, April 16thWe drove around, hiked, and took lots of pictures! We ate lunch on our way to Pikes Peak, but when we got there they had closed the last 6 miles of the drive up Pikes Peak. We decided not to pay to drive partway up, and went to Cave of the Winds instead. It was a really not so great tour. We felt like they were making us sprint through the caves and we really didn't get to see that much. Pretty disappointing and definitely not worth the money. We went to Seven Falls and climbed to the top of the 224 stairs (my legs were burning!) but all the hiking trails were closed. We were just not having very good luck that day. We went back to the hotel and cleaned up and then went to the movie theater to see Leatherheads--pretty cute movie. i was craving Mexican food so we went to a place called 3 Margaritas. The food was not very good, but that seemed like the appropriate ending to that day.We ate breakfast at the hotel again and then loaded up the car to head for home. We contemplated taking the day and driving to the Royal Gorge, but it was supposed to rain all day so we decided to just head home. As we passed the exit for the highway to the Royal Gorge, it was closed due to grass fires. We were just not meant to see some of the sights in Colorado. We took a route through Dodge City and Cimarron on our way home and stopped to see Andy's old house and church.
We got home that evening and slept really well. It is funny how a day of sitting on your rump in the car makes you sleep like a baby.That gave us a couple of days at home to get things done and to relax. I had a baby shower to go to and my mom and dad came up for Dad's eye appt. We went all over the OKC metro looking at mountain bikes (bike shops, pawn shops, etc) and finally ended up buying Andy a mountain bike and me a "comfort bike". They are awesome. Andy has been going mountain biking every monday since we bought the bike. He found several guys at church that like to go.
We had a great week off and returned to work semi-rejuvinated (It is always hard to go back to work after a vacation). I am already ready for another vacation :)
Uncle Andy and Jake playing with Grandpa Dave's guitar. Jake loved playing the guitar.
Jake was playing in the office with Andy and Luke and I was sitting in the hallway taking pictures of them. He started to play the open the door-close the door game and this was the look he gave me just before he shut the door in my face. We had lots of fun with our family and we can't wait to hang out again!