Valentine's Day in Grand Junction

Last weekend was extra long because Jack had a day off school.  The weather looked good so I packed up the boys and took them to visit my parents in Grand Junction for Valentine's Day.  It was a fun packed weekend, as usual.  Lots of playing, lots of food, lots of attention for both of them. 
I have more pictures on my photostream, but here are some highlights. 

As soon as we arrived the boys ran a muck in their office.  Their new space has a great kid waiting area.  They also loved watching and feeding the fish.


That night and many other afternoons they played in the neighborhood playground.  Sam is far to adventurous for my liking.  Jack likes to play "Prison" with Grandpa.  Sam laughed his head off when we played "Surprise Kick in the Backside" on the swings. 


While the folks were at work on Friday a neighbor kid came over to play.  I found Andy's old Ninja Turtles in the basement and they were fascinated.



The boys are really good at messing up a house in no time at all.  Some of their favorite activities are:

Two hour long meals in front of the big TV. 


Banging on the piano:



And fighting over a some obscure toy when there are literally hundreds of other toys around them.  (In this case, a plain black rod that must be part of a frame to something larger)




They also took the chaos outside for tower building and chalk drawing.





On Valentine's Day they each got an obscene amount of candy.  These boys don't mess around when it comes to enjoying a cupcake either. 





Jack did the Lowes Build and Grow project with my dad while Sam and I and mom shopped for fabric for the musical.  Then we went downtown for my birthday present - a bike and kid trailer!  I was wondering if that might be a fun and easy way to get my kids around to schools and playgrounds once the weather is warmer.  I HATE car seats, and while strollers are nice, Jack doesn't have much endurance for walking and there isn't much storage space on them.  We went to Brown's Cycling to try some bikes with a trailer and it's actually so fun!  We found a comfort style bike that's more upright and cushy (I hate traditional biking posture) and they had a used trailer on sale that we hooked up.  The boys' faces melted into smiles when we pulled them around.  It was surprisingly effortless too!  Mom said the bike order is ready today and they will drive it up to me when they come out for the musical.  I'm so excited to use it! 

I had planned to return to Denver Monday, but there was a bad snow storm in the mountains and holiday skiing traffic to fight with.  So we stayed until Tuesday, when we had an easy drive home.  Jack was sad to miss a day of school, but by the end of the day was thrilled about everything we did on this "bonus day."

• Bookstore trip with me to buy a couple new books
• Dinosaur museum in Fruita
• Lunch at Mickel Donnulls
• Paddington movie with Grandpa
• Cook orange marmalade with Grandpa
• Fly a kite in the front yard

It was a wonderful weekend.  Thanks Mom and Dad for all your help and love to the kids.