Denver Museum of Nature and Science

While my brother was in town this past weekend we took the boys to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science! They had never been before so it was another new, fun, first experience! Some parts of the museum are better suited for older kids and adults, but they really had a lot of areas perfect for kids and that were really interesting for both a 3 year old and an 18 month old! Check out our day below...

***WARNING: These pictures are a little sketch! I forgot to charge my camera battery and it died after 1 photo! So I had to take all of these on my phone! But I'm glad I at least had some way to document our day!

Posing with the HUGE dinosaur sculpture in the front entry way of the museum! They are all looking...YAY...big success!

Uncle T. and Heath with some dinosaur I can't pronounce!

Nolan was so into seeing all the dinosaur bones!

He even got to dig for a few himself!

The Discovery Zone

Experimenting with a fan and some items! He would throw things on this large fan and watch to see if they would blow up into the air! He thought it was really funny when a large yellow scarf blew back up in his face!

Speaking of faces...

Can you guess who this is?

Nolan playing in a little kids area. We found this place in perfect time...just as he was getting antsy after seeing one too many taxidermy animals! He got to climb and slide and crawl through a tunnel and get rid of a little energy!

Pretending to be astronauts

We always laugh at how we've done just about every touristy thing in Denver when we've had company in town. And after this day...I really think we have! I'm gonna have to start recycling ideas and getting creative! Or maybe my family could just move here...that would solve our problem for sure! If only...

Go Rapids!

Here are some pictures from our evening out at the Colorado Rapids game! The weather was perfect and we got a great deal on a family pack of tickets, with good seats, that included dinner!

This was my first official soccer game. Other than watching my friend Keith play a few times in high school, I really don't think I have ever watched any other soccer game! Not the World Cup, not a single game at Calvin, and not even my niece Payton...which by the way, P.R., we really need to come watch you! So I definitely had NO IDEA what was going on! Because really, as everyone knows, I usually talk through most sporting events I attend!

So all the shots I took of the game actually being played, I can not even attempt to accurately comment on! My brother knows a whole lot about the sport and has been closely following a team this year, so he was really into it. Mark enjoyed the match too, but had to deal with a feisty 18 month old, and therefore missed some of the action! And Nolan really liked learning about some of the rules of the sport when he wasn't snacking, singing, or wiggling around our area!

The Rapids have a really nice stadium! They played Toronto FC.

Nolan is happy to debut his photography skills! He likes taking pictures of the sky! And heads! But this picture does really show what a pretty evening it was- 70 degrees and sunny! And can you see COLORADO spelled out on the seats?

Here starts the section of photos I like to call, "I have no idea what's happening!"

Man kicks ball

Player can not use his hands

Try to get the ball into the net

That's all I got! :)

Nolan was more than SUPER EXCITED to be able to have his very own "orange pop"! Here he is showing off his bottle!

Heath watching the action!

He DOES. NOT. SIT. STILL these days! He HATES to be confined! And if he has to be held- he SCREAMS and SCREECHES! Which made for being in a tight spot really fun! Luckily we had some empty seats behind us, so he and I moved back there for some room to walk around and explore!

Nolan and Uncle T. enjoying the game!

Can you tell both of the boys have full mouths? I think they ate their way through the match! Hot dogs, french fries, pop, fruit snacks, & suckers...what fun!

In the end, I guess it really wasn't that great of a game- a tie: 0-0! It would have been fun for Nolan to see a goal, but none the less, I still think he had a great time!

Nolan was such a good boy and really enjoyed being able to learn new things, see exciting stuff, and go to a fun new place! Thanks Uncle T. for the idea! It will be a special memory for him!

Uncle T.

My brother came to town to visit us for a couple of days this past weekend! We had fun playing together and checking out some fun things to do in Denver!

On Saturday we hit up Ella Krauth's 1st Birthday party, Toys 'R Us, the mall for dinner in the food court, and the new Lego Store! The boys loved walking around the store and checking out all the cool Lego and Duplo sets! Tyler and I had fun remembering his old days of Lego building! He was awesome! He would build the most amazing baseball stadiums!

Uncle T. bought a new Duplo set for Nolan! It's a camping set with a canoe, fishing rod, tent, and more! We spent a lot of time building Duplos while he was here!

Showing off his new set!

On Sunday we had a pancake breakfast, played outside, and went to the Rapids Soccer game. The weather was beautiful and we had a great first soccer match experience! I'll blog more on that tomorrow...it deserves it's own post!

Monday we visited the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, (again, it's own post to come!), made a yummy lasagna dinner, and took Uncle T. to our favorite Parker hot spot- Froyo!

Here's a pic of Nolan with his mouth full! Nolan makes quite the concoction! Each time we visit it's the same: strawberry Froyo with sour gummy worms, gummy bears, M&M's, strawberries, and blackberries on top!

When we got home Nolan was thrilled to be able to open a surprise package from Grandma & Grandpa!

A Bulls shirt for Heath, a new Monster Truck for Nolan, stickers, CARS bandaids, sour patch kids and more...what a fun surprise! Thanks Grandma & Grandpa!

The next morning Nolan and Uncle T. got to work on putting his new stickers in his Toy Story 3 Sticker Book!

Tyler also brought Nolan a Dinosaur Train hatching egg! They put it in water on Saturday morning and slowly watched the dino grow and hatch over the past couple of days!

Nolan proudly showing off "Buddy"!

Heath got some presents too...6 new Wheelie cars for his Stand and Play Rampway!

Thanks Uncle T. for a great visit! We are happy to have you any time! The boys LOVE you and can't wait to spend the week with you and the rest of the fam in Chicago in just a month! Yay!

Rain, Rain Go Away!

We've had a rainy and gloomy week around here! Which is not very common in sunny Colorado! So we've had to spend a little more time cooped up inside. Growing up outside of Chicago, I'm pretty used to a grey day, and I actually really like them every so often! But a whole week has been a little much! Here are some pics of some fun we've been having around the house lately!

Daddy built a fun tent for the boys with the couch, ottoman, and blankets!

Heath had a blast crawling through the tunnels!

They ended up having to use baseball bats to prop up the blankets! Nolan absolutely adores his Daddy!

Nolan playing with his stuffed animals in his "ship"!

Brothers cuddling up to watch Finding Nemo together!

And finally, a little breakfast time clip that includes a lot of giggling, a bit of silliness, a whole bunch of smiles, and a dash or two of the common screeching toddler! Just another morning around the Jansen household!

Jansen Fam takes on the ZOO!

Saturday morning the whole Jansen crew met up at the Denver Zoo to celebrate Mark's Mom's birthday and belated Mother's Day! It was cooler than expected outside but the animals didn't seem to mind! They were unusually active and gave us all quite the show for the day!

Payton and Nolan checking out the hyenas! They were running back and forth showing off the hair on their backs that sticks straight up! Pretty cool!

Inside the Feline House we saw leopards and tigers eating and romping around!

I missed it on camera, but the polar bear was really playful! He was throwing his ball up against the glass right in front of our faces!

Oma and Nolan getting mighty close to the peacock! Later on he flashed his feathers for all to see! Beautiful!

Heath LOVED all the fish, turtles, and stingrays! He gets a bit nervous when up close to the other animals, but can't get enough of the sea creatures! Maybe he'll be a marine biologist someday?!

About half way through our zoo trip we stopped and set up a picnic in a grassy area!

After eating we surprised Oma with her presents!

Nolan, Heath, and I worked hard on a stone for Oma too. We made hers with a heart mold and painted it. Nolan chose all the colors and tried his best to stay on the lines! It's not perfect, but it's made with LOVE!

Here we all are getting ready to dig into Oma's birthday carrot cake cupcakes! Nolan has been talking about these cupcakes NON STOP since! Good baking Cara... he is obsessed!

Cousins riding the hippo statue...pretty cute!

And the REAL hippo was really just as fun to see...

He was running back and forth, splashing in the water, stretching his jaws open wide, trying to chase off a peacock, and eating some questionable material for a snack! He had us all laughing!

We all had a little too much fun seeing how far we could jump!

Seeing how my little monkey measures up!

Despite chilly temps, if you couldn't already tell by the look on this face...we all had a fantastic day together!

We love you Oma! Hope you had just as much fun as we did!

Nothing says love like...

donuts!

I woke up Sunday morning to the best surprise ever! Nolan actually managed to keep a secret all week! He came up with his own plan for what he thought would be the perfect Mother's Day gift! So Mark woke him up early on Sunday morning and the two of them snuck out of the house on their "secret mission"! Nolan did whisper to me the night before, "We have a lot of places to go. It's a secret!" And that they did. They headed out to Lamar's donuts where Nolan handpicked each donut. Then it was off to King Soopers, with the many other last minute dads and kids, to pick out a recordable card and pink tulips!

When they got home they snuck upstairs to wake me up! Nolan greeted me with my usual "morning kiss" and the sweetest and most excited, "Happy Mother's Day"! Then he showed me the tulips he picked out and the yummy donuts too! When I opened my card, there was Nolan's voice saying, "Happy Mother's Day! I love you!" and it played the song "You're Unbelievable!" Nolan was so proud of his message and he started dancing to the music!

Then it was time to dig in to the donuts! Nolan picked out the most perfect donut for himself- a glazed cake donut covered in Lucky Charms marshmallows! Every kids dream!

After breakfast in bed, we decided to skip church because the boys both have yucky colds and Heath was quite cranky, so we headed over to visit Mark's grandma instead. We had a nice time chatting with Oma Bosch, Aunt Sue, and Uncle Dave! But then it was on to one of our favorite Denver Hot Spots- Wash Park!

The weather was warm and beautiful...perfect for a walk and picnic in the park!

We planted ourselves under this tree and spread out the blanket!

The boys LOVED eating outside...

lounging around...

and soaking up some sun!

I got to relax on the blanket while the boys went out to explore! Look at how cute they are! Nolan looks just like his Daddy!

They threw some rocks in the creek...

and we fed some bread to the ducks!

After walking all the way around the lake it was time to go home for naps and a little pampering!

I had one, glorious, quiet hour at the spa getting a pedicure! For all you OPI lovers out there, the color of choice was "Lincoln Park After Dark"! It felt so good to have a little me time and cute toes too!

Later that evening, after naps, we got to celebrate Mother's Day with my Mom via Skype! Nolan, Heath, and I worked together to make her this stone for her garden! It was fun to get to see her open it, even if it couldn't be in person! We sure love Grandma!

Nolan had fun pressing in his handprint and choosing the perfect spot for each little gem!

Mark's parents were in Michigan for a wedding so we will be celebrating Mother's Day with Oma tomorrow!

It was a simply perfect day! I am so honored to be a mom to my two incredible boys! And I am blessed to have Mark to do it all with!

Speaking of how awesome Mark is...

he really surprised me with this belated Mother's Day gift...

Due to a shipping error, this little beauty arrived 2 days late! But better late than never! I was so thrilled! I have forever been eyeing this sideways cross necklace that Kelly Ripa wears almost daily on her show! And now it's gracing my neck too! Can you tell I'm just a bit giddy?!

Thank you Mark for making me feel so special and so loved!