Day Two was a slow day – cold and full of arguing (hence the dip I referred to in yesterday’s post). I had a tension headache of extreme proportions and was excited about the quiet and dark of the movie theatre we were planning to visit in the late afternoon.

We went to see Cinderella. Have you seen it?

I was so very impressed with the movie. I was astounded by how quickly they made me care for Ella’s mother and feel Ella’s loss. I cried when her daddy died (obviously) and giggled all the way through the fairy godmother’s magic. And I won’t tell you why but I lost my breath at the end and didn’t quite recover until we were in the lobby and my kids were arguing again. I. LOVED. THAT. FILM.

New town – new surroundings – new spring break experience.

Turns out our little town goes on break a week before the kiddos in the big city, so we lucked out on the two days we visited Denver. No real crowds – gorgeous weather – good times.

Day 1 I drove down with the kids and we went to a place called Dinosaur Ridge; it is JUST what it sounds like. When the highway was being built they uncovered dinosaur bones and foot prints and they have turned it into a way to pay for said highway *wink*. There was a little museum with bone replicas and information – Bubba’s favorite part by far. 

We ladies were completely taken by the size of the extinct creatures. There was a leg as tall as Little and an eye socket the size of KB’s head! I kept hearing myself calling out, “Come look at THIS!” We kept recalling the names of characters from Dinosaur Train too. It was super fun.

We were supposed to take a bus tour to the other parts of the “park” but Providence intervened and they sold more tickets than there were seats on the bus. SO WE WALKED! (This was NOT Bubba’s favorite part!) Our destination was to see the footprints. 

Phase One complete, we went to find  a very specific restaurant in Littleton (10 min. from the ridge). “Why Littleton?” you ask. It’s kinda embarrassing, but we have been watching all the episodes of Austin and Ally on Disney and listening to the band R5, whose lead singer is Austin on the show. The band consists of four siblings and a best friend whose names all start with “R” and they are fascinating. I would LOVE the opportunity to have lunch with their mom! So, we have watched a couple of videos on YouTube and seen some interviews. In one of the videos the band went to a restaurant in Littleton so . . . there you go. KB had the idea, I’m an awesome mom, and we went to eat, took a picture, and tweeted it to the band. Ridiculous.

Phase Two complete, we headed to IKEA for a completely disappointing attempt to get a lamp that my friend picked out for my living room. It turned out to be as big as my living room – and you know how IKEA is . . . you have to walk through the entire store to get to the end . . . so there was a lot of “I want” and “What about this, momma?” and “Becky, keep walking you don’t need that!” We finally reached the end of the line and our reward was me making a wrong turn onto the highway and ending up on the tollway and having to pay $30 in tolls to get home!! Turns out the traffic was at a stand still on I-25 so we got home hours earlier, BUT $30 in tolls! WHAT IN HEAVEN’S NAME!?!

So, that was the beginning or our Spring Break. Don’t you feel like you were there? It was a nice start to the week and left me optimistic (I didn’t find out about the tolls until the next day). Little did I know that the next day would, in the spirit of the interval setting on the gym elliptical machine, take a dip of sorts. (insert sign and foreboding music)

Little woke me up at 4:45 AM announcing, “It’s my birthday! I’m 11!” You have to hand it to her – she gets excited and spreads the joy. The next announcement was that I forgot to hang the birthday banner – first time in 8 years (when I got the banner). Honey got it out and hung it up before we had breakfast.

It was a day of things Little loves . . . Dunkin Donuts for breakfast:

Oatmeal Creme Pies for a school snack:

A class presentation for Colorado History being Baby Doe Tabor (she was awesome):

She rode in front seat on the way home from school:

Mac-n-Cheese and Grilled Cheese sandwiches for dinner, presents (KB gathered up 11 things from her room that she didn’t want any more and wrapped it for Little. Nice.),

and a Barbie Fashion Tablet cake!

It was a good day but she has already announced that she will be twelve soon. It’s a YEAR – – SLOW DOWN, Little One.