Kaleb's Colorado Trip

To get Kaleb to Colorado Springs, we met his aunt and cousin halfway between our house and her house. It's always strange to spend all day driving and end up right back where you started. Anyway--the closer we came to our meeting point, the darker the skies grew. Soon we were driving in a torrential downpour and I knew we were going to get wet unloading Kaleb and his things. But maybe that was a good thing, since it made our goodbyes quick and painless.

He's on his way! Yes, Aaron snuck in this picture. :)

When you give an 11 year old boy a camera to take on a trip to visit his aunt and uncle, you just never know what kinds of pictures he will return with. Especially when that 11 year old is Kaleb. :) He took lots of pictures of windmills, trees, tree bark, rocks, the moon, water reflections, and zoo animals. Like I've done many times, I will allow the pictures to tell the rest of the story...

Kaleb brought one of his many Adventures in Odyssey CD sets on this trip, and he and Aunt Sarena listened to them on the drive. It helps pass the time since the scenery is pretty much brown grass and windmills. I bet when Sarena bought the boys those Odyssey CDs years ago she never imagined she would get to listen to them too! The drive went well and eventually the rain stopped.

They packed a picnic supper to share at Dave and Sarena's favorite park in the Springs. After being in the car most of the day, it felt good to walk around and take pictures of the pretty park. :)

A perfect evening for a picnic

Kaleb and Uncle Dave look really tiny!

There they are!

This is my favorite scenery picture from Kaleb's time at the park.

This is Kaleb's favorite scenery picture of the bark on a twisted tree.

Kaleb and the leaning tree

Back at the house, Kaleb had lots of time with his little cousin. He taught him the words "toe, knee, and happy." By the end of the weekend, Danny was calling him "Paleb." Kaleb said Danny liked to head-butt him in the shins and say "hi" to everyone and anyone, over and over.

The next day they spent lots of time at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Kaleb liked the wolves, hippos, feeding the giraffes, and riding the chair lift. He took all kinds of videos and pictures. Here are some of his favorite shots.

Look at that tongue!

A very big, slow tortoise

The otter kept swimming in backward circles.

peek-a-boo

Kaleb took lots of elephant pictures, but I refused to post the one of the elephant "taking care of business." :)

Monkey

What a great view from the mountain zoo!

Kaleb bought some souvenirs on his trip, but they were not all for him. He bought a Garden of the gods magnet for our fridge, a cinch sack for himself, a souvenir penny from the zoo, and a very nice pen that says #1 Mom. How sweet and thoughtful is he?!?! I love my pen and keep it in my purse.

After the zoo they had supper at Chick-fil-a. We talked to Kaleb every night, and on Saturday night we could tell he was missing us. This is really his first time away from home without his family or big brother along. I think a movie night helped cheer him up. :)

On Sunday they went to church and out for lunch. Kaleb liked walking around Garden of the gods. Since we were there as a family last spring, he remembered it well. Back at the house they grilled hamburgers for supper. All was going well and then...Kaleb was stung by a bee in the backyard! Yowzers, that hurt! Aunt Sarena called me because Kaleb asked her to. Poor guy. I gave him sympathy but really needed Derek to take the phone and make him laugh. He does a good job teaching our boys to rise above the situation and move on. We make a good team like that. :)

Did Kaleb have fun? Oh, yes! Did he miss us? Definitely. But when he went to bed at home Monday night, he said he missed his aunt and uncle. That made me really glad he took this trip. Middle school will bring lots of changes and challenges. I hope that as he faces his fears, he remembers his time in Colorado this summer. Neither homesickness nor bee stings kept him from having a good time. And when it was all over with, he missed being there. Thank you, Sarena and Dave, for giving Kaleb this trip. He (and I) will remember it always! (He also wishes he could have pancakes every day at home, like he did at Aunt Sarena's house!)