Lucy's Colorado Trip

Lucy has been with my mom and dad -in COLORADO! - for the past 9 days, and as you may have noticed from the lack of posts, me and "my boys" have been super busy enjoying our Spring Break in the South.

And, from what I've been told, Lucy has very much enjoyed her trip out West! My dad is working in Denver for a while, and my mom offered to take Lucy out there for a trip. (Originally, my mom wanted to take Lucy AND Jack, but I told her that she would surely go crazy if Jack were out there with her ;-)

The few times Lucy did want to talk to me on the phone, I could hear such excitement in her voice: Papa and Lady had so many fun things lined up for them to experience each day. They went to the zoo, visited the circus - which happened to be in town - went to the butterfly museum, played with the ponies at my mom's cousins' houses, shopped for new clothes and shoes, and visited Diary Queen frequently (my guess is probably every day ;-).

We certainly missed her here, but I have to say, this was a "win-win" for everyone. Before the trip, Lucy was in the throes of a whiny spell, it was nearly impossible for me to spend much quality time with Jack, and I felt like it was 9pm before I was ever able to just hold Connor and soak him in. But, with Lucy gone, Jack received attention, other than being told to go to time out or stop touching Connor, and he has really been a pleasure.

One new thing that has started happening - that had NEVER happened before - is that he'll say, "I love you, Mom" after a hug or kiss. (Notice, I'm "mom" not "mommy"...I have no idea why, but he's called me mom for quite some time now.) And he lays on the sweetness often, too. He loves having Connor on his bed for nap and bedtime stories, and he'll be sure to kiss and tell Connor he loves him before going to bed. And Jack has started taking showers with Jason, which he loves.

My aunt Karen was able to visit us again, and she was really great to have around. Jack loved playing outside with her, not to mention receiving all the gifts she gave him. She bought him a tee-ball set and two guns that shoot darts. One time I returned from a jog to find both of them on their bellies in the driveway, playing with a new car I bought Jack at the Hampton Cove yard sales (another fun thing my aunt and I did). And I haven't done laundry since Wednesday, so another major THANK YOU to Karen for all her help!


So, here's a look at Lucy's trip:

sweet Lucy, who turns 4 next week! (April 26)



just gorgeous - I love Denver!



LOVE this picture! (I'm holding this one ransom ;-)



Now, perhaps Lucy gets a free pass, being that she can't read that sign, but Uncle Brendan?!? LOL!











Lucy and Papa...sweet picture ;-)



Look at Lucy's face smiling up at him... awww







Lucy 'n Lady (Mom, you look so great and YOUNG in this picture! ;-)




I'm sure that's candy in Lucy's mouth...she'll probably need a detox period when she's back in Huntsville ;-) (But, hey, spoiling is what grandparents are for, right ;-)






She and Brendan were fast friends with all the time they got to spend together. My mom told me that when Brendan left to go back to his home (an hour north of Denver) after being with her for several days, she cried really hard. So sweet...


Trip to the circus...Before the show Lucy and my dad rode an elephant!



Visiting the butterfly exhibit. Cute backstory: Before Lucy went out there, every time I'd mention the trip, Lucy would obsess and focus on Papa giving her a butterfly net so she could try to catch the butterflies at the exhibit. I called my dad and gave him a heads up about how this was not something Lucy was likely to let go of, and he might want to actually make sure he had a butterfly net ready to go ;-). Well, my sweet dad tried to arrange to have butterflies fluttering around his house when she got there so she could catch them in her net. Well, after investigating how to accomplish that, he discovered the only way was to order them through a wedding service...for $450 they told him they could deliver the butterflies the next day. Now, I know a grandparent's love knows no bounds, but I have to say I'm glad my dad didn't pay that... ;-)

Lastly, click on the link to see a few more that are on our Shutterfly page:
http://kjjlmartinpics.shutterfly.com/

We can't wait to see our Lucy again and hear more about her trip! What a special time she's had with Papa 'n Lady! (I feel a Shutterfly photo album project is in order! ;-)