Okay a funny thing happened today (by today, of course, I mean almost two weeks ago). I wanted to get up a little early this morning so I could get to Teresa and Dave's house before dinner. So I set my alarm for 7:00 central. But here's the thing: I added the photos that I had taken onto my computer so I could put them on Facebook and on the blog. The problem was that the time zone on my phone was also changed, and my computer was still in the Eastern time zone, so this morning when I woke up, it was actually 7:00 eastern time. And it took me a few hours to figure this out, even with the campsite offices still closed. The offices opened at 8am, and I couldn't figure out why it was still closed even though it was nearly 9 (I played snooze tag a bit too). So I just dropped the key to my cabin in the dropslot and left.
Did get a free carwash out of the deal, because it was pouring rain in Kansas as I left. Drove west through the prairies and right up to the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains in a town just south of Denver called Parker, Colorado.
Got to my cousin Teresa's house in the late afternoon and within five minutes found myself reading books about Babe Ruth and Princesses to her three year old son and daughter. See, like the Freemans, Teresa and Dave also have five kids. Now I know what you reading this blog are thinking: "You're crazy". And my response to you would be: "You know what would
really be crazy? Is if I read a book that was about both Babe Ruth AND Princesses.
But seriously, I go to a care group that is comprised of thirty somethings who all have small children, so I am used to it.
Also, since many people who read this blog are family who would be interested, I will say something about each of the kids, like I did with the Freemans.
There's Benjamin, who's nearly nine and reads at a fifth (or sixth) grade level. See, the kids are home schooled, which enables them to achieve academic heights unattainable for those in the public school system. Also, the first day of school in Parker is on August 1st. What.
There's Daniel, who is six and is left handed and enjoys drawing
There's Lucy, who is three and a half and enjoys reading about princesses. She also enjoys the 25th letter of the alphabet, and often stated it in an inquisitive tone.
There's Toby, who is three and enjoys playing catch using a plastic shovel. The Schoel's adopted Toby from China.
And there's Violet, who is six months old and enjoys discussing politics over high tea
I stayed there for two nights, and on Thursday I went with Teresa and the kids to the Denver Natural History Museum
Teresa and Dave have a membership there, and so they knew which exhibits were worth seeing. We went into a space themed room which contained, among other things, a to-scale topographical globe, pictured above. Also, there was a machine that simulated a meteorite striking the surface of a planet.
We went into an exhibit that featured various crystals and minerals (also pictured above). This was simply remarkable. The picture immediately above is of crystallized leaf gold.
Finally, we went through an exhibit where we were able to walk through 4.6 billion years of the Earth's history (aww, isn't that cute?). I have strong opinions about certain things, and I will not spend too much time talking about them here, but Teresa and I did have an interesting talk about origins.
We had a picnic lunch in a park just outside the museum. It was hot out. I shared my fascination during my middle school years of watching science shows on the discovery channel, where an old earth worldview was always assumed. I heard it so much that I just accepted it, although it never threatened my Christian faith. I did, however, have a teacher in middle school who taught a unit in science on mammoths that he used to teach science from a more creationist perspective. He also presented some of the weaknesses of evolution (which you are NOT allowed to do in secular institutions. There's no room for skepticism when it comes to evolution. Just blind faith).
When we got back home, the boys showed me their Wii gaming system. Then Teresa sprayed us with a hose. Because she's awesome like that.
Often times on hot days, the kids run around in the back yard and Teresa sprays them with a garden hose. And I also ended up being a target. At one point, Benjamin and I were on the trampoline with a sprinkler underneath. He was worried that I was going to break the trampoline (come on, I only weigh 140lbs). I told him that I used to jump on the trampoline with a sprinkler underneath when I was a kid to which Ben replied:
"Trampolines were actually made?"
Dave took us out for frozen yogurt after dinner, which was another first for me. The store charges by weight and I ordered a rather large serving of yogurt. It was absolutely amazing. Mine cost $10 US (which is about $3 Canadian). It was coconut, vanilla and chocolate and left me wishing we had frozen yogurt here in BC.
Do we have frozen yogurt here in BC? If you are in BC and are reading this blog and know where there's a frozen yogurt shop, could you please let me know by commenting below? Thank you.
I played catch with Lucy and Toby over the course of my time there. I don't know if you've ever played catch with three-year-olds, but I'm going to describe to you the process: Lucy holds her glove out and I basically aim for her glove. She then throws the ball back to me and I "throw" the ball to Toby who is standing right beside me. And by "throw", I mean I place the ball into a plastic shovel which he uses to transfer the ball into the glove, then back into the shovel, and then I pick it up again and repeat. Also, at times they would put the gloves over their faces and pretend to hide. It was cute.
Most guys my age would be going to Vegas or something during the summer, but here I'm describing in detail playing catch with three year olds. Edge. Of. The. Seat.
Until next time...
