Ahir's in town!

We were so fortunate as to be able to help out Seth & Vassu while they were in Tortola by having Ahir stay with us for the week!  Not gonna lie:  Momma was a little nervous at hosting a 12 year old.  Wanted him to have fun, but I'm not practiced at entertaining a pre-teen.  Turned out to be a pretty easy task.  Water parks, bugs, hikes, pool time and a little video game time - done!

The first thing we did was to take him on a hike or two to see the area.  First to Chautauqua Park in Boulder.  We did Bluebell Mesa trail with Maggie and the boys.  It was quite hot and Ahir learned quickly to ration water and energy, but did very well and had a great time (save for a large metal shard that he picked up in his shoe - crazy!  It took pliers at home to get the bugger out.)  The next day we took it a little easier with a hike around Coot Lake.  Great views from both hikes and all the boys had a wonderful time!

 Sunday we rang on Gigi to join us for a ride up through Estes Park to Rocky Mountain National Park.  We stopped for some bbq in Estes then drove up Trail Ridge Road, the highest continuously paved road in North America, to the visitor's center just past the peak.  We had a nice view, but we could go higher still!  Ahir, Van, Josh and Alyssa hiked through a small snow field and up a long set of stairs to peak out at 12,006'.  We had a gorgeous sweeping vista of the Rockies and the Continental Divide.  On the way back down we managed to find a small herd of elk (which Josh promised Ahir we'd see - quite lucky!) and watched them nosh a bit before heading home.
Later that night we took in a movie... at the drive-in!  Wes and Van were quite stoked to see How to Train Your Dragon 2, and Ahir was as well.  They snuggled in the back of the car with lots of pillows (most of our couch) and glow sticks.  Everyone agreed it was a great flick.

Monday was a big hit:  Water World.  Water slides, wave pools and lazy rivers - oh my!  We were there all day with Lindsay and none of those boys wanted to go home.  Ahir got Aunt Alyssa to go on The Spacebowl, a black tube that dumps the rider out into a giant bowl that then deposits you out the bottom into an 8' pool - yikes!  Oh, and we got Tube Valet so as to ride the family tube rides quicker.  Dinner that night was at Prospect Eats, Longmont's weekly food truck night.  Live music, tons of awesome food - a very good ending to an awesome day!

Tuesday and Wednesday we stayed a little closer to home.  The boys and Aunt Alyssa took Ahir to Pearl Street to get him a pair of Crocs.  We got hot dogs from the cart, tried on some silly hats and checked out the play spaces along the mall.  Wednesday Gigi accompanied us on one of her favorite outings:  The Butterfly Pavilion.  She and Ahir both held Rosie the tarantula in the bug room *shiver*  

Before Ahir left, Van had requested to stay up late with him.  His first sleep over!  They played video games and watched Star Wars... all night!  Van stayed up until about 12:30 a.m., and Ahir made it until about 4:30 a.m.  They had cookies, Cheetos and gummies to keep 'em satiated.  Mom came down at 8:00 a.m. to two sprawled out sleeping boys.  So, so sweet!  Van was so tickled to do this with his big cousin - it was very special for him.

Later this morning we'd leave for Phase 2 of the Colorado Experience:  Glenwood Springs!