denver.

last weekend joe, bennett and i went to visit my cousin amanda and her husband beau in denver. we flew out on friday evening. bennett did SO well on the flight, which was a huge relief. we tried to get him worn out before the flight by letting him crawl all over the terminal and in the kids' play area (i had to set aside all my thoughts about germs and used antibacterial wipes like crazy).

ben loved sliding down the slide and then crawling back up

i think it worked because he only fussed for a few minutes but then fell asleep for most of the flight. ben hasn't really slept in our arms since he was a few months old intentionally because we wanted him to know how to fall asleep on his own in his crib from an early age. it's been so great for the most part, except when his only option is sleeping in our arms! but he did great and i enjoyed the snuggles :)

amanda and beau picked us up from the airport and we made it to their apartment in englewood by around 10, put ben to bed in the pack n play, and stayed up chatting for a while. bennett didn't sleep great, but he always has a hard time in a new place and unfamiliar crib.

saturday was joe's 29th birthday. we got up in the morning and went to brunch at a fun breakfast place called snooze. they had all these different flavors of pancakes, so joe and i shared an egg dish and the pancake flight (3 different pancakes of your choice). we chose the red velvet pancake with bacon-infused maple syrup and cream cheese frosting, the blueberry danish pancake, and the carrot cake pancake. ummm, pancake coma, anyone? yes, please. it was amazing.

"reunited and it feels so good!"

happy birthday, dada!

amanda and bennett

beau and bennett

that afternoon, joe and beau went to play golf, while amanda and i lounged around, chatted, and napped with bennett. so relaxing and just what i needed! saturday night we all went out for mexican at Hacienda Colorado. joe thinks he knows spanish and said that "hacienda" means "house of the king" which it absolutely does not. the joke carried on throughout the weekend :) we went back to the house and watched "the guilt trip" with seth rogan and barbara streissand. it was much cuter than i expected it to be!

sunday was father's day and my birthday. joe went that morning and got me starbucks. while ben napped we watched "crazy stupid love." if you haven't seen it, you need to. it's so cute! then in the afternoon we took ben to the pool so he could practice his starfish skills. i got another nice, long nap sunday afternoon. perfect. then we went to parker, which is where beau and amanda's new jobs are and where they'll be looking for a house soon. it was parker days that weekend, which is like an outdoor festival. it was really nice out so we just walked around and took it all in.

that night, beau's sisters were nice enough to babysit for ben while the four of us went out on the town. we walked around downtown denver and then got dinner at pizza republica. it was a cool restaurant atmosphere and the food was great. it was nice to be able to chat and relax without having to worry about bennett, but we missed his cute face :)

monday, beau had his first day of his summer job (he's a teacher). amanda and i went shopping that morning while joe stayed home with ben.

practicing "SO big!"

headed out for some shopping

hanging out with daddy while mama went shopping

then we got packed up and went to the aquarium in denver. bennett had a blast looking at all the fish, turtles, otters, etc.

our flight home was delayed an hour and didn't take off til 8pm. it was a really rough flight... bennett was overtired but would NOT let himself fall asleep. i felt terrible for the poor guy who got stuck sitting next to us (i'm pretty sure as ben was flailing himself around he hit the guy a couple times...). i apologized profusedly and he was very nice about it, but i think i aged 10 years in 2 hours.

we had an overall awesome trip and can't wait til they come visit us in our new house sometime soon! i wish beau and amanda lived closer, but i'm thankful that we can make visits a priority :)