Elisablog: NinaPapa visit--Part 1

Evan's parents came out to visit this past week!!!! They came in Friday afternoon and stayed until this morning. Elisabeth was excited to get to show them our new house, introduce them to her neighborhood friends and take them around town. The weather was super cooperative the entire time they were here, so we got to do everything we had planned. First on the list...visit Elisabeth's favorite neighborhood park!

Jana and Elisabeth hanging out on the equipment.

Julia loves to swing!

On Saturday, we took the Cog Railway to the top of Pike's Peak! I won't lie, I was stoked to get to go to the top of the mountain we see down our street everyday! We had reservations to take the train at noon, and it's an hour ride on the way up. Julia did an excellent job on the train and dealing with the increase in altitude (14,ooo+ feet!). The temperature was in the low 90s when we got on the train at the bottom of the mountain, but when we reached the top, it was in the low 60s! I took a million pictures of the view, but I'll only show you the ones with people in the foreground. :) It was an amazing trip and I can't wait to do it again in a different season (maybe fall with all the trees in full fall garb!)

Julia was quite impressed with the rock selection for her tasting pleasure at the summit.

After we came down from Pike's Peak, we drove a few miles to the Cliff Dwellings in Manitou Springs. I have been looking forward to visiting these ever since we moved here. I am so interested in Native American history and how they built these homes into the mountains. We were able to explore the insides of the dwellings and they had a museum as well.

The following pictures are of baby carriers the women used!!! They slung their babies until they were around 2 years old! I found the reading information quite interesting, especially since I was slinging Julia as I read it!

Julia was not too happy to go back into the car, as you can probably tell. :(

Sunday, we took at trip to The Royal Gorge in Canon City. It took about 1.5 hours to get there, but it was probably my favorite trip of the week. The Royal Gorge has a bridge over a mile long that crosses the gorge that you can walk on. Once over, there are lots of activities including a tram across the gorge, a little old west town, a petting zoo, burro rides, an incline train all the way down to the Arkansas River, and the steepest hills ever! We had to take turns pushing the stroller because I about died 6 times. Elisabeth has recently started being scared of heights, so the bridge wasn't her favorite, but she had no problems with the tram or the incline train. Being in Colorado, surrounded by mountains and hills, I'm thinking she'll eventually get over her fear. :)

Julia cruised the seats in the theater while waiting to watch the 17 minute video about the gorge.

Panning for gold.

There was a gun fight in town involving some cowboys and indians.

Look at this woman's shoes!!!! How gross are they?! Jana and I were discussing the extreme ugliness of them (look at them! they are the weirdest sandals I have ever seen!), and then realized she was European, which explained her footwear choice. Bleh.