Rocky Mountain High!

Sunday, August 9, 2009
Dear Max,
Never a dull moment in this family! On Wednesday, August 5th I left really early in the morning to go on a business trip to Denver, Colorado. Daddy and I had decided earlier that we would extend my business trip a few day's and spend some time in the Denver area. Daddy was born and grew up in Boulder and he has always wanted to take me back to visit, and we had never made it. So we were so grateful that this opportunity came up and that you could come with us.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Your daddy is one brave dad! He actually flew all by himself with you for the first time. Now, I wouldn't admit this to your daddy, but I will say, that I was kind of grateful that your daddy was taking you on the plane for the first time. I was super nervous about it, but knew that if your daddy could do it first, then it would be a breeze for us. As usual you were a good little baby on the plane and your daddy said that everyone thought you were so cute! You left Las Vegas really late, so that you could sleep on the plane. The real adventure came when daddy and you landed and he had to get his luggage, you, the stroller and your diaper bag all on the car rental shuttle bus. But once he was back on the ground you were all good and met up with me at the hotel. It was the best feeling to see you and daddy at our hotel door at midnight that night!

Thursday, August 6, 2009
Today you and daddy hung out at the Hotel during the morning and then that afternoon, drove up to Fort Collins to spend the evening with Uncle Mark, Aunt Jill and Jacob. I was still working, so had a full day on the road meeting with my customers. We met back at the Hotel that night and that is when the "vacation" portion officially began!

Friday, August 7, 2009
Today we left the hotel early and drove out to Boulder. When we got to Boulder, your daddy could barely contain his excitement to show us all the places where he has memories in Boulder. We first drove past your daddy's old neighborhood and went up to INCAR it is a big research center on the top of the mountain behind daddy's old neighborhood. Daddy use to go with the neighbor boys and hike up there!

Our Family on top of the mountain at INCAR
Behind us is your daddy's old neighborhood.
This is the hill that your daddy would hike when he was a boy.

As we drove down the hill we went by your daddy's old elementary school. This is the school that your daddy went to Kindergarten at. He was so embarrassed that I had him stand out in front of the school for his picture.

Daddy at his old Elementary School

We then met up with the Joseph's. David, Diane and their daughter Beth live in the house next door to the house daddy grew up in. They still live there and were so excited to see your daddy. When your daddy was a little boy he would always go over to the Joseph's and entertain Beth. Diane would always take the two of them to the Park, Museum and Zoo during the summers to keep them entertained. It was so fun to see them and for them to meet you! The 6 of us (Diane, David, Beth, Daddy, You and Me) all went out to lunch and then came back to the Joseph's to visit. Uncle Mark, Aunt Jill and Jacob met up with us then.

Diane, Beth, David, Uncle Mark, Jacob, Aunt Jill, Daddy and You
Standing on the Joseph's Balcony looking over into your Daddy's old backyard

Daddy, You, Mommy, Jacob, Aunt Jill and Uncle Mark
Standing in front of your Daddy's old house

You and your daddy standing by one of the tree's that your daddy
says was a little baby tree when he lived there!

It was so great to spend time with the Joseph's and see the old house. After we left the Joseph's we went on a driving tour of Boulder, we saw...

The first McDonald's your daddy ever ate at...
It's not a McDonald's anymore, it's a coffee shop called Vic's
(only your dad would feel that this is a place of significance!)



This is the church house that your daddy went to church at.
Your Grandpa Charlie was not a member of the church, but every
Sunday he would load up all the kids and your Grandma and drive them
to Church and drop them off and pick them back up. This is also the Church that
your daddy was blessed in.



This was your Daddy's Dentist Office



"King Super" This is the Grocery Store that they would shop at.


Daddy's favorite Pizza place - it's not a pizza place anymore...their seemed to be a theme to the places that your daddy use to love to eat at... they were all out of business!

After our driving tour of Boulder we went down to a place called Pearl Street Mall. It was the cutest place. It was streets and streets, all tree lined, with all sorts of stores, street performers and restaurants. It was a really fun place to see. We found you a really rock in' t-shirt that says "Boulder" on it. I hope you like it. We bought it in a bigger size, so maybe it will make an appearance next summer.

Daddy at Pearl Street Mall

Look at this! We saw the cutest puppies riding in the side car with goggle on!
Don't tell Cooper - but it seems like the puppies in Boulder get some great treatment!

You were not overly impressed by the street performer.
He actually scared you. You started to cry, so we swooped you up
real quick. He was just juggling swords, I can't understand why you were so nervous?

After our visit to Pearl Street Mall we went to Jacob's favorite restaurant for dinner. You may wonder why we went to Jacob's pick? Well, it was his birthday! Isn't that cool of a 10 year old to spend his birthday with us!! We went to this fun Italian Restaurant that was buffet style. All the pasta, pizza, salad and entrees you could eat. It was really yummy! After dinner we headed back to Uncle Mark and Aunt Jill's in Fort Collins to open Jacob's birthday presents, eat yummy cake and go to bed!

Saturday, August 8, 2009
Today we went up to Estes Park. It was about an hour and 1/2 drive outside of Fort Collins. On the way up we stopped at a road side market to get some Cider. I had never had cold cider before! Apparently it has been around for a long time - but all the Cider I have ever had was always warm. I will admit it was yummy stuff!

Mommy and Daddy drinking their cold cider

When we got to Estes Park we went to the Stanly Hotel. It is a famous Hotel that the Stanley Brother built so he would have a place to stay when he visited the area. It is claimed to be haunted. Even in one of the rooms Stephen King wrote the Shining, which is a really scary book. We enjoyed exploring the hotel grounds. It was really pretty and spooky all the same!

Our Family in front of the Stanley Hotel

Daddy throwing money away in the pond
Actually he was making a wish!

This is the door to the room that Stephen King stayed in when
he wrote the Shining.

These are the guest room elevators. Do I need to say more...
we took the stairs!

Stanley Steamer Car!

Your daddy and Uncle Mark then agreed that the best way for us to get the greatest view of Estes Park was to ride the "Aerial Tramway" to the top of Prospect Mountain, which is at 8900 feet. You can see Long's Peak, the Continental Divide and feed the squirrels. What more would a mom want then to ride an open air gondola, 8900 feet into the air holding onto her baby! Let's do it!

Oh Heaven help us! You seem a little bit like a dare devil Max.
Look at you holding onto the window!

It's a long ride up to the top!

But once we got to the top we:

Fed the Squirrels

Had a snack with John Wayne


And then back down the mountain we went!


I was not sure if your daddy was going to get back on or not.
I was all for getting back on, mearly for the fact that hiking back down
was NOT an option!


Jacob was being really brave standing at the front of the car...
Your daddy wouldn't even stand in front. After being such a big
talker when our feet were on the ground he was a big chicken in the air!

You on the other hand, found a comfortable spot with Aunt Jill
to take an afternoon nap. That makes the ride down
much easier!

When we got done we went to a park and had some lunch. After eating we spotted these Elk. I couldn't believe how big they were, just walking through the little town.

Daddy and Mommy Elk with their two babies

Look at those long legs!

We then went up to Bear Lake in the National Forest Portion of Estes Park. It was BEAUTIFUL! The elevation is at 9475. It cooled down really quick up there. We walked all along the park and took in the beautiful scenery. It was the perfect day! Family, Fun and Memories created.

That Rocky Mountian Aire makes for a happy little man!

Trenholm Boy's (minus you)

Our Family at Bear Lake.
We walked clear around the entire lake.

Sunday, August 9th
We spent the day relaxing with Uncle Mark, Aunt Jill and Jacob. We enjoyed taking a Sunday afternoon nap, eating a yummy Sunday dinner and talking. It was a great way to end our vacation. On our way back to the airport we swung into the Bronco's Stadium to take a picture.

Bronco's Fan



Riding in the car rental shuttle!



Max - You sure do love to fly! Happy little man!

We are so grateful that we were able to go to Denver together as a family. It was so fun for your daddy to show us all the places he remembers growing up and spending time at with his family. It was a fun time together! We love you Max!

A Day of Firsts...

Sunday, August 2, 2009
Dear Max,
Today was a day of firsts...Today after sacrament meeting, you and I drove up to St. George. We were so excited to make the trip. This is because you were getting to meet one of mommy's dearest friends. Julie Hunt and her family. Now, you remember Grandma Swendy (Grammies best friend) well, her daughter's Julie and Becky and I grew up together. It was so fun that you got to meet Becky a few weeks earlier when we were in Salt Lake City and now Julie and her family were down from Seattle and came to meet YOU! Julie and her family stayed with Grammie and Grampie, so we met up for lunch and some great visiting. It was so fun to see everyone and get caught up on all the fun and excitement. Julie's kids, Jessie, Caden and Whitney loved seeing you!

The first first of the day.... Meeting Julie and her family!

The second first... Loosing the Binkie! That's right, some how on the drive up to St. George we lost your binkie! Now I wasn't all that concerned at first, you are not terribly dependent on the binkie during the day, so in true new mom fashion I chose to just "power through" and not worry about this little thing of having no Binkie. Until...

The third first... While hanging out at Grammie's house in her office, rolling around like you do so well, you banged your face into the bottom of the office chair! Oh boy - we had a screamer on our hands! You cried, and cried and cried! And guess what! Mommy had no binkie! So Grammie and Grampie took you to the couch, both doing all they could to console you and Julie and I took off at mommy speed to wal-mart to replace the binkie. I'm glad I had another mommy to go with me! Now, your probably wondering, what the first really is, banging your face into an office chair? Nope. Getting a black eye from banging your head into the office chair!

You should see the other guy!

The Fourth first of the day, was a great way to end our adventure to St. George. Grampie taught you a new trick that you LOVE! He taught you to smack your tounge against your top lip making a loud smacking sound. It was hilarious watching you study how your Grampie did this and then mimicking it yourself with complete accomplishment. You and Grampie were laughing so hard! It was the greatest!

Step One: Smack the tounge

Step Two: Giggle

Step Three: Laugh as hard as you can!

Another genius life lesson from Max: Never don't forget to laugh as hard as you can! It's amazing what it does for your sole! We love you Max and we love your belly laughs! They are the best cure all medicine in the world!

Sunday, August 2, 2009
Dear Max,
What an eventful weekend this has been. Where do I even begin? So Friday night, your Auntie Julie and Jaden came down to Vegas. They came down to celebrate Auntie Julie's mom (Grandma Roger's) birthday. Now, you are one lucky little guy and are so loved by so many people. But I must say, that you have a very special bond with Grandma and Grandpa Roger's. They just think the world of you and love you so much. So we were very lucky to be invited to Grandma Roger's birthday party in Las Vegas. Auntie Julie and Jaden stayed with us, and Grandma and Grandpa Roger's, Keirra and Taylor all stayed down town. So Saturday morning we met up with everyone down town.

First things first we rented Grandpa Roger's a "jazzy" we knew that would make the day a lot funner for all and enable Grandpa Roger's to "keep up" with us young kids. So once we got the jazzy we decided to ride the monorail.

Now, riding the monorail was a fun idea, but we didn't just want to go one stop, we wnated to ride for awhile so we decided to ride the monorail all the way to the end of the track and then all the way back to the MGM Grand. This seemed like a good idea at the time... until mid way to the end of the track we needed to make an "emergency" break. If you know what I mean? That is when we took a $10.00 potty break. So we had 8 of us on the monorail, with you in a stroller and Grandpa Roger's in a "jazzy" so we came to the next stop and started to all jump out of the monorail, Grandpa Roger's started to back out of the monorail and we all waited... slowly, slowly, slowly the jazzy backed up until he it a pole. By the time he had backed into the pole and tried to go back forward to get unstuck, it was too late the doors had already closed. We couldn't get out. It was like watching a slow train wreck and we were laughing so hard the entire time. So we used our time wisely as we rode to the next stop, making sure we positioned the jazzy just right so that we could make our quick escape from the monorail. So we got to the last stop of the monorail - the doors opened - and we all got out! YEAH! We made it! We made it! We made it!
WAIT - where is the "facilities?" where is anything?
Oh No! This was the last stop - their was not another monorail car! We were suppose to stay on the same car and it would just change the direction it was going!!!!
HURRY! Everyone - back on the monorail! Grandpa - go quick!!

I'm sure Max, that you think we must all be crazy! We all ran back on the monorail...well, Grandpa Roger's Jazzied back onto the monorail and the next stop is where we officially had our $10.000 potty break. Why it cost us $10.00 you ask, cause we had to re-buy our admission back onto the monorail. I went along with Grandma Roger's and you stayed back with the gang - apprantly having jazzy races. Well, I will give credit for feeding you between racing the jazzy!

Eating on the run!

Surrounded by my ladies... it's tough to be this adorable!


And the races begin...
Grandpa Roger's was off to a good start...

Then Taylor came up from behind, with that innocent face no one saw her coming!


Then Kierra came around the corner, did someone say that she
just got her drivers permit?


Now those are some skills!

Well, after our $10.00 potty break, you having your lunch and of course the Jazzy races, our adventure was back on track... literally we were back on the monorail track headed over to the MGM Grand. Once we arrived to the MGM, we decided to stop and have a birthday lunch for Grandma Roger's at the Rain Forest Cafe. Their was so many fun things to look at in the restaurant. It's so nice that you are able to sit in a high chair at the table, however, with all these extra hands, you were pretty much being held the entire lunch. You had so much fun with all your friends, getting lot's of love and attention! We even got to sing Happy Birthday to Grandma Roger's.

Happy Birthday!

Max and Kierra

Max, Taylor and Auntie Julie

Max with Mommy

The Crew

After our lunch at the MGM we headed over to M&M world. It was super busy, but we managed to make it through the crowds and get some fun pictures and go through the 4 stories of M&M Heaven.

Auntie Julie

Jaden


Max and Mommy


Kierra and Taylor

After visiting M&M world we needed to walk down to Wallgreen's drug store. So we continued on our adventure to Wallgreen's. Now this is when things really got interesting. You see, we were at a place of decision. It was a big decision. Do we walk all the way back to the MGM Grand and all the way through the MGM to the back of the hotel where the monorail is and ride the monorail back to the Flamingo. OR do we just "power through" and walk from Wallgreen's down to the Flamingo. I choose the later. And we started on our journey. Now, you must remember, it is August 1st in Las Vegas at approx. 3:00 pm, the hottest part of the day and we are walking into the sunlight. WHAT WHERE WE THINKING?!?! I really thought this decision had killed Grandma and Grandpa Roger's... well, really just Grandma Roger's. Grandpa Roger's had the jazzy! By the time we made it to the walkway's we were all dripping in sweat. I never felt so disgusting. We couldn't stop, we couldn't think, heat stroke had set in and we just kept walking - not talking. Until the sweetest moment came when we walked into the air conditioned hotel, it was all we could do to get back to the hotel room.
Now they say that a picture is worth a thousand words... let's try

You were a bit warm

So what is the cure? SWIMMING! Your Favorite!

Putting on Sun Screen... Not Your Favorite!


This is Bad...

This is Worse...

Does nobody hear my woes?

Oh Yeah... now this is a great end to a long day!

After our whirlwind day, you and I left after swimming, while the rest of the crew went to see Phantom of the Opera and go to dinner. Let's just say that before we even got out of the parking garage you were fast asleep and didn't wake up the rest of the night. You were one tired little guy! But what I love about you - is that you don't want to miss anything fun and you find a way to stick through the long day's and still so happy! You are a constant reminder to us to remain positive and happy even when the day's are long. We love you Max!