Colorado Springs - Day 3

Day #3 started early, as all of the other days did. Someday our kiddos will want to sleep in ... :) Thankfully, there were lots of other playmates also awake early, so it just meant we could get more game-playing in!

Papa and Ian played quite a few games of Guess Who,

and then Sarah, Ryan, Jaden, Cody, and I joined in to play Trouble.

Grammy, Papa, Sarah, and Ian played a final game of Trouble before breakfast.

After getting ready for the day, Ian was super excited to help make Papa's birthday cake.

After everyone got ready for the day, we all headed to the Focus on the Family headquarters for the morning. Focus on the Family had gotten really good reviews on TripAdvisor. In our estimation, it was fine but not fabulous. Nevertheless, it was a nice change of pace and a chance for the kids to get some exercise indoors.

Our first spot was a toddler play place with lots of things for the kids to climb around on. The boat was an especially big hit for the 2-year-old crew.

Ryan enjoyed balancing on the big flowers,

and Jaden enjoyed crawling under the bridge.

It was very cute watching Ian and Grammy act out the Billy Goats Gruff story from the bridge.

Then we headed into the Adventures in Odyssey Room. There were a few fun exhibits to play with,

though the most fun part of this room seemed to be the stage. Most members of the family took a turn in the limelight, either sporting some festive Adventures in Odyssey costumes or using puppets to tell a story/sing a song. We had some very entertaining presentations :)

We paused for some silly group pictures before moving onto the final play place area in Focus on the Family.

This play area included a 3-story, 76 foot corkscrew slide. Ian was the only kiddo who was tall enough to ride on it, but he thought it was GREAT. He rode three or four times before getting tired of climbing all the stairs to the top. :) He had to get inside a potato sack and wear socks on his arms to prevent rug burns.

A view of the slide from the outside of the building ...

We had a picnic snack outside before heading to the bookstore.

Andrew and Jason kept us entertained by trying to throw snacks for each other to catch in their mouths. Hilarious to watch!

After lunch and rest time, we had more game time, including more Guess Who

and even some fun MagnaTiles that Sarah had used in her classroom -- one of her former students' favorite activities! What a blessing it is to have a former preschool teacher as an aunt/sister-in-law! Ian was definitely interested in the magnetic tiles and enjoyed building all sorts of structures with Sarah's loving direction.

Today's group shot of the grandparents and grandkids turned out much better than yesterday's had! Everyone was happy! :)

We got to spend some time outside in the backyard before dinner. It was a little chilly, so we were glad we had jackets along. :)

While dinner was being prepared, Aunt Sarah led a construction crew of three ...

... and everyone got a turn or two in a massive game of t-ball/baseball.

No day would be complete without some a toddler powpow with the push toys by the gate. This time, though, Ryan decided to supervise (or something ...)

After a yummy dinner, we sang an early Happy Birthday" to Papa and enjoyed some strawberry shortcake.

After all the kiddos were in bed, Papa opened some birthday gifts from everyone.

Then, instead of the usual adult game time, we had some Guy/Girl time. We girls had each brought along a special craft project to work on. Mom, Amy, and I were working on some appliqued Christmas stockings, while Sarah busted out some pretty cool watercolor decorations & envelopes for Abby's upcoming birthday. We enjoyed the time to chat together and get some work done on our projects. (Thanks, Mom, for helping me untangle my crazy mess of embroidery floss! :))

Meanwhile, the guys were downstairs playing Risk and watching the St. Louis Cardinals baseball game at the same time. I think Matt ended up conquering the world in the end. :) The guys seemed to have a great time as well.

Another fun day ... :)