The Mile High City!

This is Downtown Denver......

And there is so many fun things to do in and around this city.  Best of all, it is only an hour from our home and the perfect spot for a mini vacation that is much deserved.

We were lucky enough to get away for a couple of days during fall break to spend some quality family time together.  First off, it was FREE day at the Nature and Science Museum.  LOVE IT!!!  We had a great time going through a lot of the exhibits.  We have been there many times, so it is nice not to feel like we have to see everything every time we go.  They have exhibits that change all the time, so we try to hit those that are not around all the time--they had 2 this time.  The Health Expedition had activity stations to participate in.  I found out that my arm span is longer than my height.  Everyone got a printed profile of their bodies at the end. 

The Amazon Voyage showed us the animals found along the Amazon River.  There were many interactive areas such as getting electrified by an eel and sticking our hands in slug to see what is on the bottom of the river.  The best part was when T got to wrestle a anaconda.

Of course, we had to see the mummy exhibit for J, the bears for K and the space exhibit.  And we can't forget finding the gnomes in many of the murals throughout the exhibits.

The one thing we haven't done before, was go to the IMAX and see a movie.  So we saw HUBBLE 3D.  It was cool to see pictures of space taken by the Hubble telescope and in 3D no less.  M wants to be an astronaut even more now.

It was a great day at the museum, but we were quite hungry after all that, so off we went to Cafe Rio for some yummy burritos.  (We ran into some friends there enjoying the food too)  Then it was off to check into our hotel and get down to some real family fun.  This was a very nice hotel and we were all thrilled that everyone got a bed and in the same room.  That almost never happens with 6 of us.  I do believe that we have found THE hotel to always stay in.  It was nice to actually check into a hotel right at the designated check in time.  (we usually get there after dinner)  So we had plenty of time to swim and swim and then swim some more.

In between that time, we played games, watched movies, read books, and did I mention we swam?!  It was a nice relaxing night and the next morning too.  We slept in until the last minute for breakfast in the lobby and then took our time to check out--it was nice and lazy. 

T and my hubby love fishing and just got into shooting.  So since we were so close, we headed off to this place.....

The biggest outdoor store ever and so much fun to walk through too.  The second into the door, we lost the boys as they scurried off.  Us girls hit the toy area where K found lots of bear things---stuff animals, puzzles, toys, and so on.  The only thing that would drag her away was the many large "stuffed" bears everywhere in the store.

She couldn't get enough and kept telling me to take a pix of her with a different bear....really not sure how this obsession came about, but it is crazy.  If you haven't been into one of these stores (another one is Cabela's), they have many animals stuffed and placed in outdoor scenes throughout the store.  We had a good time looking at the huge fish tank and even the cute little live ducks swimming in the pond.

Finally we made our way to the boats and had a great time getting in them to "test" them out and see which one we would buy.

We also had to jump on the ATV's---I like the one M is on, but I really am not picky---I would take any one of them.

After that, we headed to Hammond's to satisfy our sweet tooth.  They offer tours of their factory and give out free samples.  Gotta love it.  It is so interesting to watch them pull and stretch and cut the candy into candy canes, lollipops, and ribbons.  They must have some might strong arm muscles after doing that all day every day.

By this time, we are starving and where else do you go when you need a good burger.......Duffy's.  There is nothing like a Cricket burger to satisfy those hunger pains.  T's was the most elaborate with green chilies, jalapenos, bacon, and cheese.  Although M's was pretty good too with cheese, bacon, BBQ sauce and onion rings.  Top it off with a basket of their fabulous fries and a Sprite and we were rolling ourselves out of the restaurant.  YUMMO!

There were a few other tours we were thinking about taking, but decided that we would hold off on those until our next overnighter in Denver.  What a great time we had together - just what we needed.