Colorado Springs Day 4

On day 4 we were out the door by 8:30 and on our way to the Zoo! Another of Helen's friends stayed back with Mills for the day. The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is located in the mountains, so it was a gorgeous setting.

We saw lots of animals and did lots of fun things. Here is a small sampling...

 Bird house

 Perry loved the birds!

 holding it all by himself!

 Kangaroo

Alligators aka "chomps"

 Mr. Grizzly

 Mountain Lion

 Moose

 Perry got to ride a horse! He was so excited and looked like such a big boy up there!

A couple of group shots:

one of the many monkeys we saw

 love those Orangutans

And finally, the giraffes...

 We all got to feed them!

so fun!

After the Zoo, we drove around to see some of the fire-burned neighborhoods. It was definitely sad to see so many homes burned to the ground, but at the same time, amazing to see how many were saved. We grabbed lunch at Chipolte and headed home. Helen, Mom and I got pedicures that afternoon and then we all cooked in and played around that evening before packing up.

 Jeremy taught us how to play corn hole.

It was such a wonderful vacation. I wish we could have stayed another day just to lay low, play outside and enjoy the nice temperatures. I've decided I want to "Summer" in Colorado, so hopefully I can escape the Louisiana heat again next year. Helen and Jeremy were gracious hosts and Mae Mae was sweet to make it all happen!

Colorado Springs Day 3

Day 3 we woke up at The Broadmoor. Mills had a good night's sleep in the pack-n-play in the bathroom and Perry slept pretty well on his palate next to our bed. We ate a light breakfast in the room and then Helen, Mom, and I went for a stroll with the little boys while the big boys slept in and relaxed.

Perry got to play on the playground in his pajamas. It was nice and cool in the mornings...something we aren't used to, so I didn't pack any cool-weather clothes.

Perry and I were some of the very first guests at the pool that morning when it opened. We enjoyed having the place to ourselves!

Mills joined us at the pool after his morning nap.

We all had lunch by the pool and then the little boys went back to the room for a quick nap before check out. Staying at The Broadmoor was such a neat experience. Everything about it was beautiful...so much more than pictures can capture.

That afternoon we went back to the house to clean up and rest before going to Focus on the Family. Helen and Jeremy both work at Focus, so they were able to give us the grand tour. Perry loved playing in the Children's Center and running around all the big buildings. He was saying "Wow!" at everything. After  Focus, we ate a delicious meal at Ted's Montana Grill. Everyone had the Bison (except for Jeremy, of course).

Colorado Springs Day 2

Our clan was up quite early on Day 2, so we lounged around the house while H and J slept in. Our only plan for the day was to pack up and head to The Broadmoor after naps. The Broadmoor is a gorgeous resort that is spread out around Cheyenne Lake and sits at the base of the Rocky Mountains.

Main (original) building

 You can see the West Tower on the far right of this picture. That was where we stayed.

After we checked in to the hotel, we immediately hit the pool. It was so crowded, but the views were phenomenal! Alex and Perry had fun in the water, while everyone else enjoyed drinks by the pool. 

Can you spot Alex and Perry?

 Check out that slide! It was even bigger in person. Helen and Jeremy were the only brave ones to do it. Perry was too little to try.

We had a babysitter (friend of Helen) come to the hotel that night and the 5 adults went out to dinner. We ate at Phantom Canyon Brewing Co. and then got some of the best ice cream I've ever had at a place called Josh & John's. It was a fun night!

Oatmeal cookie ice cream!

Colorado Springs Day 1

We got up bright and early on Saturday and headed to DFW airport. Perry was SO excited to ride the "bus" that  picked us up at our car and dropped us off at our terminal. After we got through security, we found Mae Mae at our gate (she had flown from Shreveport that morning).

We all boarded the plane and got settled for our flight. Perry was absolutely perfect and spent his time observing his surroundings, looking through magazines, and playing on the ipad. Mills was super tired and finally fell asleep after nursing.

Mills' first plane ride

After a little while we landed in Colorado Springs!!

We all headed to Helen and Jeremy's house for naps. After naps we ventured out to Garden of the Gods. Garden of the Gods is a beautiful park full of natural rock formations. The land was purchased by Mr. Perkins in 1879 and was later given to the city of Colorado Springs under one condition--that it remain free to the public, according to Mr. Perkins' dream. What a spectacular gift!

 Pikes Peak--the tallest mountain around Colorado Springs at 14,115 feet.

Perry loved running around on the rocks

 "Kissing Camels" The camel on the right lost its hump from a lightening strike.

"Balancing Rock"

That night we had a yummy dinner at Helen and Jeremy's house and made plans for Day 2.

Summer Vacation

To kick off our vacation, we spent two days in Dallas/Denton. Alex and I stayed by ourselves at The Four Seasons on Thursday night while the boys stayed with Cheetah and Papou. Alex and I went to a very nice dinner hosted by some business colleagues at Pappa's Steakhouse.

On Friday Alex played in a golf tournament while I lounged by the pool! 

This was our first night away as a couple since Mills had been born and it was such a treat for both of us. I was able to completely relax and indulge myself knowing that the boys were in such good hands. I didn't worry or miss them a bit...maybe I shouldn't admit that. I WAS very happy to see them on Friday though! We had a short time to recoup and repack before flying to Colorado early Saturday morning.

Names

I've been thinking about all the various names that Mills goes by in our house. First I should mention that his actual name is William Mills. I call him that sometimes because I do love it, but most of the time he gets called other nicknames.

Perry calls him "Baby Bills" for now and it's really cute.

Alex calls him "Millsie".

I tend to call him the following:

Baby Mills

Millsie

Millsie boy

Doddle bug

Doddle do

Don't ask how some of those evolved. I think we were so used to saying "Perry" that it seemed natural to add an "ie" to the end of Mills. I know we wont always use these silly names, so I wanted to document it while it's still considered cute :-)