On trips, Angela and I enjoy reading, sleeping and listening to music. Xavier enjoyed the sunflower patches, wind turbines, and statues of airplanes and helicopters. Lizet doesn't want to miss a thing! We can tell she will be our world traveler.
The next evening, we had dinner at Casa Grande, watched Rush Hour 3, played Chicken Foot, had ice cream, and sat in the hot tub. The hot tub relaxed them so much, Lizet thought it was my evil plan to make them sleepy.
Earlier in the evening, we shopped at Wal-Mart for some things for the house, including games. Angela was intrigued by a Magic 8 Ball. She was skeptical at first, but once she discovered it answered the same question in a variety of different "yes" ways, she was convinced it worked. The question: Is Xavier stupid? Needless to say, she made the purchase.
The next morning after breakfast, Xavier and Dave went fishing - nothing! We had grilled sandwiches, watched movies and played games all afternoon. It rained all week, by the way. So games and movies were quite relaxing. Dinner was at Mangia! Mangia! When we came home, there was a deer in our driveway. We ended the night with a game of Sorry!, the hot tub, and chocolate ice cream.
Lizet told me that if anyone ever asks us if they are adopted to please lie. I asked her why, and she said that when I say "yes" to the question people often ask, she says she doesn't feel like my real daughter. Real. That was such a gift to hear.
There was a piano at the home where we stayed and Lizet asked me about that song she promised Mimi she'd learn. I started singing "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" and she told me I need to sing in the Baptist choir. She said if I did, she'd sit on the front row every Sunday.
On Monday, we drove to Manitou Springs. The time was 2:22, so Lizet needed to make a wish - I hope it was a good one! We visited some quaint stores in the arts district and had lunch at a health food-type place, dining on turkey burgers and smoothies. Afterwards, we purchased various sweets from a candy store and headed to Colorado Springs for a bus tour through Garden of the Gods. Lizet so badly wanted to climb a mountain.
On our way back, Lizet was looking at the houses in the mountains. Since Xavi expressed how much he is loving Colorado, she tells him that he may not have Play Station if he lives in the mountains. He said he didn't care. She said he could live in those little houses at Wal-Mart. Dave reminded her that those were dog houses. She says to Xavier, "Sorry, tiny brother."
We arrived at our next stop: Dinosaur Resource Center. Xavi has decided he may go to college in Colorado to study dinosaurs and excavating such things.
Angela wrote postcards to her grandmothers, which spurred the others to do the same.
For dinner, we had homemade chicken soup with bread and butter.
Tuesday, Angela and I stayed home on a rainy day and watched Legally Blonde, Legally Blonde 2, played Chicken Foot and attempted the hot tub. It was only sprinkling at this point, but I told her the first sight of lightening, we would hop out. We heard several rounds of thunder and I kept reassuring her everything was okay. Then, two shots of lightening hit the driveway and startled both of us and I yelled, "OUT!" She panicked and slipped, falling backwards. I caught her before she went under and we ended up laughing and hugging watching the rain begin to pour.
While we had an afternoon of fun, and a near-death experience, Dave, Xavi, and Lizet visited the Dinosaur Museum again and brought us McDonald's for dinner. That evening, we drove to Colorado Springs to pick up our family friend, Kym McDaniel from the Missionary Training Institute where she will be for three weeks before heading to Peru. We had dinner at Jasmine Garden, enjoyed a nice visit, and hugged good-bye. It was great having dinner with Kym on this very day because it was our one-year Adoption Day. She was with us in Peru when we became a family. Then we were off to the Denver airport to pick up our cousin Catherine who stayed with us for the rest of our vacation.
The next day, Catherine, Xavi, Dave, and Lizet went to a baseball game in Denver: Denver vs. Phillies. Phillies won. Angela and I stayed behind eating leftover Chinese food, watching Casper and Any Which Way You Can, playing Chicken Foot, and then the hot tub.
On Thursday, Xavi, Dave, and Catherine went to a few more dinosaur places and then returned to take us with them to Manitou Springs where we hopped a train to Pike's Peak. Before leaving, we did a little shopping in the gift shop (Angela did some Christmas shopping), and Xavi insisted on using his money to buy me a necklace: a beautiful stone-carved turtle. He knows how much I love turtles. He even let me kiss him on the cheek - in PUBLIC! The trek was an hour and a half both ways and the top was covered with permafrost. I reminded Xavi that he learned about that in science last year. After a "world famous" cinnamon and sugar donut, which has been featured on the Food Network, a bathroom break, and some souvenirs, we hopped the train again. Our tour guide told us that if we missed the train back, our body would do something magical... It would turn into a hiker. I couldn't let that happen! We had dinner at Maximillian's Cafe on our way home.
On the last day, Xavi and Dave fished with the girls. Again, nothing. But, they did get to feed some squirrels. Dinner was at La Fiesta Mexicana and as usual, the night closed with an hour in the hot tub.
Saturday morning, we dropped Catherine off at the airport and started our nine-hour drive home. We stopped at Gambino's Pizza for lunch in Goodland, Kansas. Several hours later, Dave introduced us to Carlos O'Kelly's. Later, we found ourselves quite comfortable in a brand new hotel in Salina, Kansas. The kids and I enjoyed the pool and sauna. I actually made them dry off in the sauna since hotel rooms are so cold.
The next morning at 7:00 a.m., Angela, Xavi, and Dave went fishing. We showered for the day, packed, checked out, and drove home. We stopped at Dairy Queen to fuel our stomachs and made it home by 4:00, and that included picking up Fletcher, too! It was a great trip!
