Devin's Visit

For the second straight year, Devin, Bode's cousin on the McGuirk side from Albuquerque, came and stayed with us over Memorial Day weekend, and for the second straight year, we spent the weekend up at the mountain estate.  The Albuquerque clan arrived on Thursday night, and we all met up for dinner at a Japanese restaurant (I forgot the camera).  We had a wonderful meal, and were even more thrilled when Grammy picked up the check :-)  The four kiddos spent the night at Grammy's house.  First thing Friday morning, Ashley headed up to Blue River with the dogs.  She left early because we actually went and bought a THIRD piano--we have two in our house in Colorado Springs, and figured the mountain estate needed one.  She found one online in Hartsel, and has spent the last month figuring out how to get it delivered, which she managed to schedule for Friday morning.  The piano cost a whole $75...moving it was a bit more expensive :-)  It is a nice looking piano, although it does need some love, but it is playable and doesn't hurt one's ears any worse than when I sing.

I apologize for the quality of the above picture--for some reason, the only piano picture I took was with my phone.  The movers got it into the house with no trouble, which is amazing seeing that the piano weighs close to 700 pounds.  Bode, Devin, and I arrived around 1:45, having left Colorado Springs around 11:00 and stopping in Florissant at the Subway.  We relaxed for a bit, and then we went to dinner at Downstairs at Eric's, which has decent food, but more importantly, an arcade.  Bode's favorite game is Skeetball, which is awesome since it's only $0.25 per game.  Here's a movie of Bode and Devin playing what was probably once considered an advanced technology game.

My favorite game is the basketball shooting contest.  Ashley was kind enough to take a quick movie--watching me shoot reminds me a lot of Stephen Curry, and I'm sure you all can see the resemblance. 

After some good old-fashioned fun, we went to the Breckenridge Escape Room, which was pretty cool.  It's basically a room, in which you have to find various clues and solve puzzles in order to solve the crime that was committed before you arrived.  No pictures were allowed in the room, but I did take these two before we went inside.

Fortunately, we were able to solve all the puzzles and get out in 58:20.  Afterwards, we went home and relaxed.  The two kids queued up a movie and watched it as they fell asleep.

Saturday, I woke up early and took Joey for a run.  It's always best to try to wear him out because the mountain estate has no dog-door, and leaving an excited energetic Joey indoors for an extended period of time is asking for trouble.  The kids slept in, and then Mommy made up pancakes and bacon.  We then headed over to Frisco where we rented some bikes and went on a bike ride around the lake.  The temperatures were almost warm enough--great when the sun was out, but when it wasn't, our hands got a little chilly.  Still, the scenery was great.  Below are some pictures of the team.  First up are some pictures as we headed across the street to the bike path.

Next, some photos along the trail.  Some of the hills were steep, and Bode and Devin, tried as they might, had to get off and walk on some of them, which just meant it was time to stop for some Gatorade and some pictures.

At one point, Bode wanted to see how warm the water was.  He didn't believe us when we said it was ice-cold.  Even after he felt it, he still believed he could swim in it.  We told him to have at it, but he declined.

The bike was great, but I think we were all tiring out towards the end.  We grabbed a bite at a Mexican place, and then headed home.  Not being ones to relax, the kids wanted to take a walk out to the Blue River and throw rocks into the water.  We happily obliged them.

We saw lots of moose droppings near the river, and figured there must be moose nearby.  When we got back to the house, our neighbor told us a moose had just bedded down behind his house.  We carefully checked him out.  The moose had recently dropped their antlers, but this one still looked pretty big--his head is huge!

Sunday was another activity filled day.  Ashley took the kids (and Joey) hiking in the morning (no pictures).  We had lunch at home, and then we headed out to the ice rink for some ice-skating.  None of us are great skaters, but we had a great time...

until I fell.  Nothing serious, but it hurts so much more falling as a middle-aged man than as a young person :-)  After skating, we went to the rec-center for some indoor swimming, which included some keep-away, some water-ball activities, and then mini-rock wall that you could try to climb from the water (again, no pictures).  And then we finished our time in Breckenridge with a trip back to the arcade for more Skeetball, basketball, and Pac-Man.  This morning, we woke up early and made it back to Colorado Springs by 9:30.  We headed up to Villa and swam for a couple hours before the crowd got too crazy.  We then came home for lunch, during which I asked the kids about the weekend.  I expected a more enthusiastic response, but I guess that's kids.

We anxiously awaited the arrival of Uncle Pat, Sean, and Brenna, who were returning from a weekend of soccer in Denver.  As I write this, Bode is now riding down to Albuquerque to spend the week with the New Mexicans :-)  I'm not sure what Ashley and I will do--I think we already miss the kids, but I think we will also enjoy a week with NO responsibilities.  Happy Memorial Day to all.