Denver Aquarium

The Denver Aquarium is the third largest Aquarium in the United States. From sea otters to jelly fish, we were impressed.

A baby sting ray pressed up against the glass.

Ella petting the Chocolate Chip Starfish.

The sea otters were our family favorite. They were very active and fun to watch!
We even got to see them eat their lunch......dead fish.....yum!

The sharks were the scariest sharks we have ever seen...at ANY aquarium!!!
Tiger sand sharks. They looked like they were right out of the movie Jaws, with beady eyes and the longest, sharpest teeth. They made all of us a little nervous.

The worlds largest flower is the rafflesia. It grows naturally in Indonesia. My sister Amy and I had the opportunity to travel to Indonesia in 1995. We didn't see any rafflesia's while we were there, but they did have one growing at the Denver Aquarium.

Little Ella in the Survivor Shark Tank.

Ella LOVED the pink fish!

It was a fun day.....and a really neat Aquarium.

Relaxing...at the hotel!

Swimming...

Outside of our room...it was beautiful.The girls loved being on vacation.

Exploring Denver

The kids loved the huge bear peaking into the Denver Convention Center.

Welcome To Denver

Denver Capitol.

When I was a kid, my Dad had meetings in Denver a couple of summers in a row. As a family, we stayed in Denver for 2 weeks, 2 different summers, so we have lots of fun memories there. For Christmas this last year, Grandpa and Grandma gave us a trip to Colorado. So this week all 12 of us boarded a plane and spent a few days exploring Denver.

Denver Capitol Building
Underneath our feet, engraved on the stair it says,
"One Mile Above Sea Level."

Denver : The Mile High City.

Ella's Big Week

Ella loves to play under our ping pong table.
Such a tease.....this is her "I won't smile," smile!

Ella loves to build "castles" out of our kitchen table and chairs.

Ella is a very happy girl. Last week was a big week for Ella. She started dance. She started Kindermusik.....and she went to the dentist. When the dentist told us she had 2 cavities I was shocked!!! I have only had 2 cavities in my whole life and I am 31 years old. Ella is only 2 and she has the same number of cavities as me!!! Ah! So yesterday, J took her to have them filled (yes, I was too scared to take her). Being the happy and brave girl that she is, Ella left with a smile and came home with a smile. No tears, all grins. (She was most excited about getting to ride in Daddy's car). Ellla....you are brave! You are always ready for the next adventure and a good example to us!

Ella Starts Kindermusik

Ella loves Kindermusik!
Ella and her little friend Kiki (Kennedy) started Kindermusik today. They loved it! Ella was so happy to get to take home the music, books, harmonicas, and a cute little train board box to keep all of her important musical things in.

It is so much fun to see Ella growing and feeling so big. She was so happy when her music teacher announced that she would have homework for Kindermusik. She has been talking about
"her homework" all day long!

Kate's Big Lip

Poor Kate!
On Saturday night, we were walking out the door to go to the Jazz Game. Kate was carrying her boots, and her coat, so when she tripped on the hardwood floor, she didn't have any hands to catch herself. Her lips and gums bleed and bleed. By the time we got to the game, her lip was huge and we were wondering if she would need stitches. Luckily, there was a medic team on staff. They were kind enough to look in her mouth and to assure us that she is ok, and will just sport a fat lip for a few days!

Jazz Game

We are Jazz fans! We watch 99% of their games.

Last night was our favorite game ever! Not only did the Jazz win, but we got to stand on the Jazz floor during Half Time and give high Five's to the Jazz Players.....
Korver, Boozer, Williams, Mathews.....it was so much.

I held Ella. You can see that even Ella is a Jazz fan and put her hand out for some high fives!

Abby had a good time!

J, Abby, Lori and Ella all lined up for the Jazz players.
Here comes Boozer!

Boozer! Abby reaching up to touch his hand!

Thank you to my Dad and Mom for arranging the fun night!

J, Lori and Abby all lined up with Deron Williams!

High Fives!

We had so much fun! Go Jazz!

Fun With The Jazz

Grandma, Grandpa, Ella, Abby and John enjoying the game.

Snapping shots right on the court.

Ashley, Dan, J and me enjoying dinner before the game.

My friend Lynette!

Welcome Home

One of the best parts of going away....is getting to come back home!
Abby, Kate and Ella had a wonderful time with Papa J, Grammy and Daisy while we were gone! Thank you!
We brought home a hammock (to take a siesta in), Mexican puppets, games, toys and candy, and lots of fun pictures.

Isle de Mujeres

Isle de Mujeres

It was quite an adventure catching the bus and then a boat to get to the island.
We were glad we understand Spanish.

On our way back from the island, we had the entire 75 passenger boat to ourselves.

Beautiful beaches with clear blue water surround the island.

J served his mission in Mexico and often talks about their cemeteries, which are above ground.
It was interesting to get to see one.

Mexico is full of bright colors. I'm sure our girls would each love to have a pink house.

This small island was packed of fun places.
You can rent scooters, bikes or golf carts and ride around the island.
We rented a golf cart and had a good time exploring.

Senor Frogs!

Mexico

The Mayans find flat foreheads to be beautiful. It is amazing to me that they would strap stones to their babies foreheads to help them form flat foreheads.

Small replica of a Mayan pyramid.

There are several water springs to swim in Mexico.
At only 68 degrees, they make for a great way to jump in and cool off.

Chichen Itza

3 hours inland from Cancun, is Chichen Itza. It was built in 400 A.D. We rode a comfortable bus with a tour guide, and spent the day learning about the Mayan Culture. It was fascinating!Rows and rows of columns with the Mayan culture everywhere.

Temple of the priests.

Stories to be told....this of one captain taking the head of another captain.

We were able to ask about some of our LDS beliefs.
The guide pointed out the Tree of Life etched many places.
This tree, close to the largest pyramid, is believed to be the same kind of tree as
The Tree of Life.

The building above was used as an observatory. The Mayans knew a lot about astrology.
In fact, we learned a little about the infamous day in December 2012, when the Mayan Calendar ends. The planets will be lined up, which only happens every 5, 100 years (approx.).

The largest pyramid is breathtaking. Our guide had us clap our hands in front of the large staircase. The echo sounds like the Quetzal bird. The stairs are made out of hard limestone and the rest of the pyramid is made out of soft limestone. It is the hard limestone that amplifies the sound and carries the sound so clearly in all directions.

Snakes are everywhere in the Mayan Culture....a symbol of Jesus Christ.

There are two reasons I love to travel. First, is to relax! Second, is to visit great places in the world. I love History. I am fascinated to learn about people, cultures and this amazing world that we live in. I love to enjoy our world! Our trip to Mexico was a good mix of both. Both relaxing and culturally educational.