June in Denver

Erin & Bryn

June in Denver was a family centered time.  Erin, on home leave before she heads to Pakistan in August, decided to spend it in Denver, which prompted us to change our plans, come back to the States early, and be in Denver with her and Bryn’s family.

We are so glad that we did.  First, Denver is a wonderful town in the summer.  Although this June was hotter than normal, with the thermometer often topping 90, the dry heat is nothing like the steaming heat of the east coast.

Grant & Bryn's Garden

Bryn and Grant have been working really hard on their yard and garden.  The perennials that they have planted over the last three years are beginning to mature and put on a good show. This year, they have been concentrating on transforming the side yard into a wonderful showcase.  One Saturday, we all—Grant, Bryn, Charlie, Sue and Larry—ventured out to Santa Fe Rock and Gravel to select some rocks and boulders to place in the garden.  It was a lot of fun selecting the rocks we all liked, and Charlie loved watching the big machinery and equipment in operation. When we got the rocks home, it was a lot of work getting them off of the truck and placed in the garden.  Grant did most of the lifting, with a little help from the rest of us. We all really like the dramatic effect that the rocks provide!

Charlie brushing his teeth

We have, of course, loved the time we have been able to spend with Charlie. We couldn’t believe  how big he was when we first arrived, but he also seems to change and grow with each passing day.

 A week after we arrived, he decided that he was done with his crib and proceeded to climb out of it one morning.  We believe that it signaled the end of babyhood.  He is a bundle of energy; always on the go; bouncing up from every fall like a rubber ball, acting like a true toddler.  He seldom cries when he is hurt; usually only when there is blood.   

With his favorite digger

Reading all about trucks

Each day seems to bring a new bruise, black eye, scrape or cut—but he just keeps on trucking.  And speaking of trucking; he is mad for trucks and cars.  His favorite toy is a large digger we got for him, and his favorite book is a board book about trucks that Erin found for him; he will sit for minutes at a time poring over the book, and he has to read it three or four times before he settles down at night.

At the Children's Museum

Sharing?

At the playground

With Oma

Charlie doesn’t say many words yet; but he is always jabbering, singing/humming, and pointing to things.  If he wants your attention, he takes one of your fingers in his chubby little hands and drags you to where he wants you to be. Bryn is using sign language with him, and it is fun watching him sign “more, all done, milk, and smile” among other things. Being able to sign things seems to help a lot with the frustration that he sometimes feels about not being able to communicate.  And although he doesn’t talk much, he seems to understand absolutely everything!

Grant's Family

Bryn

Grant and Bryn have been welcoming and inclusive as usual.  They seem to find some excuse (welcome home, birthday, first day of summer, etc.) to have a party at least once a week, which means inviting friends and family over for a cookout and beer with lots of music and good conversation in the their backyard—the more the merrier.  In addition to us, that often includes Grant’s extended family, and now his parents. Greg and Shirley have sold their house in California and retired (at least temporarily), and like us, they are thinking of making Denver their base of operations if not their year-round residence.

Erin at Botanical Garden

It was fun being with Erin so much, after her two-year stint in Mexico City.  She has invited us to stay with her in DC in July, while she is in training for her next assignment. She especially wanted to be in Denver to see more of her sister and of course have time with Charlie. We were surprised at the number of her friends who managed to come to Denver to visit her during her stay.  All we met were delightful and we enjoyed being with them.

Even though our initial Denver AIRBNB experience was not the best, we have not lost faith, and in fact have had our trust restored.  After taking advantage of Greg and Shirley’s kind offer to stay in their apartment while they were traveling, we finished our last week in Denver renting a room in a house in the Curtis Park neighborhood.  Brian, our host, is a young man who has been renting out his second bedroom through AIRBNB for more than a year—he tells us that he has hosted more than a hundred visitors in that time.  Since he spends a lot of time with his girlfriend who lives nearby, we often had the apartment to ourselves, but we enjoyed the time when he was their getting to know him.  An Upstate New York transplant, Brian is a great Denver booster; we really enjoyed learning about the Bike Sharing Program (B-Bikes) for which he volunteers and his community gardening adventures. We would recommend staying with him to anyone visiting Denver.

It came time to day goodbye, briefly, as we are spending July on the east coast.  We flew to Dulles on July 4^th and will return to Colorado on August 4^th for a three month stay to see if we like spending a longer time there.  Our travels will continue in November when we plan to go back to Mexico.  Meanwhile, we’re in the U.S. and glad to be here.