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Wednesday June 11

The time had finally come to go back home. We packed everything up and headed to the airport. Once again the kids did really good-for the most part. We made it through the first flight with flying colors. As we made our way through the Dallas Airport we spotted a fun play area right next to our gate. Kalli was exhausted and fell asleep while riding on the trains, so Kaiden had a good time running around and getting some energy out. Once Kal finally woke up I felt bad that she hadn't played any so she ran around for a few minutes. After finally taring the kids away from the playground we made it to our gate and found out we were late and the last ones to board! To make matters worse it was a full flight and a very small plane with only1seat on the left side and 2 on the right. With my luck their was no 2 seaters empty so the stewardess had to ask for a volunteer. A gentleman right in the front offered his seat right away but the drawback was I wasn't able to keep any of my bags with me during take off. So the stewardess put my bags away fro me but now I don't have any snacks, drinks or toys-talk about a nightmare! So as we're taxing out Kalli is starting to scream and Kaiden is getting restless whining for his juice. The flight attendant was nice enough to come by and ask what bag I needed to grab a few things out of but I was so scatter-brained at this point I asked for the wrong one. I had a few things in there and just made due with what I had b/c it was time to take off. Once I was able to have both of my bags the DVD was on and the kids were as happy as could be, so the rest of the flight was smooth sailing. We were so happy to land in Baton Rouge and the 1/2 drive home made it so nice compared to the 1 1/2 hr from New Orleans! Joe and my mom picked us up and the kids were so excited to see Joe. Kaiden was easily distracted by some toys he had left in my dad's truck that GeGe gave to him but Kalli just wanted to be held by dad. She is usually such a momma's girl but she was definitely Daddy's Little Girl that day. We were glad to be home and on a normal routine for at least a week until we headed to the beach-but that's a whole other post!

Kalli passed out between flightsKaiden training early to become a pilot

Kaiden excited about his new/old toys and Daddy's Girl

Our Last Day

Tues June 10

This was our last full day in Colorado before heading back home to Louisiana. After the water park the kids played outside. We all enjoyed some icee's after dinner and Kaiden even rode his first big boy bike. Cameron was nice enough to let Kaiden ride his and after a few minutes of frustration on his end and mine he finally got the hang of it. After that he was cruising up and down the street trying to keep up with Nate.

Kaiden trying to get the hang of it

Nate's already a pro

Now he's getting the hang of it!

A few things about Cameron and Kaiden. They have what some might call a "love-hate" relationship. They could be playing great together one minute and then screaming at each other the next. It doesn't help that Kaiden is a few years younger and if he does something to bother Cameron and Cameron tells him to stop Kaiden thinks its funny and keeps doing it. But in Kaiden's head he thinks it's all a game and he's having a great time! A funny moment was when Sharon had the two boys in the van and they were saying what each color light means. Green means go, Red means stop and the Yellow light is what started the argument. We've always told Kaiden that Yellow means to go fast but Cameron was taught that Yellow means to stop. They were both positive that their way was right that they kept arguing back and forth. Sharon finally had to break in and tell them that they were both right and then change the subject. I was very surprised at Kaiden sleeping so well in Cameron's room and that they actually went to sleep! He loved being able to share a room and even sleep in Cameron's tent bed a few nights. Regardless of the disagreements the two of them had Kaiden loved being around Cameron and all of his other cousins. Kalli had the best time too but would get pretty frustrated when she couldn't keep up or do the things the big kids were doing. In all we had a wonderful time and were so grateful that we were able to visit with Mark, Sharon, Nate, Jake, and Cameron b/c it had been so long since the last time we were able to just hang out and have a good time. Sharon and I were also able to sneak away one night to get ice cream. We at our Cold Stone in the car and ended up sitting there and talking for over an hour! Good times!

Nate has gotten so big and grown up. It was so weird having him join in some of the adult conversations and him actually understand most of his dad's corny jokes. (Yes Mark, I said corny!) Nate has gotten to that stage were he's too cool for hugs and kisses. Well I wasn't having that so I made sure to give him a big hug our last night and even smothered him with kisses! It's going to be really hard on grandma when she gets back if he's still this stingy!

I know how embarrassing for an 11 year old!

CO Water Park

Monday June 9
Sunday after church we pretty much took it easy so we were well rested for the activities come Monday. The older boys had a field day at school so we went to there for a little while and watched some of the festivities. Afterward me, Kaiden and Kalli played at the park while Cameron had his first swimming lessons. After naps we all went up to the local water park where the kids had a blast. It was still pretty chilly with the wind blowing and all but it didn't stop those boys and girl! The kids ran around like crazy, teeth just a chattering! We had so much fun that we decided to go back on Tues night too. Between me and Sharon we took a million pictures so I figured it would be easiest to just put the better ones on a slide show.
On the second day a lot of kids were running around with cups throwing water on each other so when our kids were finally able to find some of their own they were very excited. The kids would play for a little while, warm up in their towels, and then they'd go back at it again. The second day Kalli remembered how cold it was so she played on the outskirts to keep dry and warm. But she enjoyed finding all the cups with holes that had been thrown off to the side.

On Tues we took a trip to the Denver Zoo. This zoo is really nice and big! We had a great time and the kids loved walking around seeing all of the animals. Unfortunately I didn't get very many pictures b/c I was chasing Kalli around the majority of the time! My favorite part was seeing Cameron and Kaiden interacting with the hyena. It kept walking back and forth along the glass and every time it got to our end it would stop and stare at the boys. Kaiden jumped back each time and yelled. I thought it was pretty funny. Going to the zoo always means it's going to be a great nap time!