Houston, we have a problem: Suicidal Squirrels.

(This is long, but it is really funny. I highly suggest you read it. Just sayin')


The kids are off-track and today I was finally able to do something fun with them. It was heavenly to get out of the house for the first time in weeks.

We had big plans to go to the Denver Mint. It is a free tour, but you do have to make reservations well in advance. My friend and I planned ahead and got our tickets and we were all set. We left the house a full hour and a half before our tour was scheduled to begin. The first bump in the road occurred because I let Isaac program our GPS, and while he did a perfectly acceptable job of putting the address in, he also thought it would be hilarious to change the voice so it was a NASA guy telling me where to go. "BEEP, Discovery is cleared for take off. It is a go to enter the motorway. Repeat it is a go to enter the motorway. Touchdown! Discovery has landed. BEEP!" The NASA guy is funny at first. He is not remotely helpful when I am trying to drive somewhere unfamiliar in busy, downtown Denver traffic. He doesn't tell me what street to take, or which exit to get off. And he bursts into random bits of monologue that had me screaming "SHUT UP!!!!!" repeatedly at the GPS.

Anyway...Discovery eventually landed at the Houston Space Center and we were a go. Except we couldn't find a parking spot that wasn't going to cost us our firstborn child. And all the streets downtown are one way. And there was construction. We finally found a spot, got all seven kids unloaded, hid all of our valuables (because you can't take anything into the Mint) and started the long walk down from the Capitol to the Mint. Only then it turned into a run. And then a sprint. Because despite the fact that we had left the house 90 minutes early, it became clear that if we didn't hurry, we weren't going to make it. So there we were, me, Amy (about to give birth any day) and our seven children sprinting through downtown Denver to make our tour.

We got there with ten minutes to spare. Oh, but wait. Too bad. We were five minutes too late because you have to get there 15 minutes early. The guard just glanced at us unsympathetically as we panted and showed him our tickets. I pleaded our case--"This poor pregnant woman just ran all the way down from the Capitol to make this tour." The man couldn't have cared less. Better luck next time.

We went to the gift shop. The kids wanted me to buy them something. I said (loud enough for everyone to hear) "No. I am pissed off at the Denver Mint."

So there you have it.

We walked all the way back up the hill, got our picnic lunches and went into the Capitol to eat them. The rest of the day was great. We ate amongst Senators, we hiked to the top of the dome, we saw the chambers for the Senate and the House and lots of other fun things. Did you know that one of the original suggestions for the name of the state of Colorado was Lula? I'm glad they stuck with Colorado.

The view from the top of the Dome. I'm surprised the hike up there plus the 10K we ran through downtown didn't put Amy into labor. That was all part of my evil plan. Well, I guess the night is still young...

Chloe and Katy
The girls at the Dome museum. They really liked these "girl cowboys."

Audrey in front of the Capitol.

All the kids exactly one mile above sea level. Yay for the Mile High City!!

A view of the Dome.
Looking down...
Looking up...
Looking at the camera...
Amy was a little tired by then so she took her brood home, but I had paid an arm and a leg to park so we decided to go to The Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception which was right across the street from our expensive parking spot. I got a little concerned when I realized that today is Ash Wednesday--I wasn't sure what we would come out of that church looking like, but they weren't actually doing services at that time. It was really an incredibly beautiful church. The girls are ready to join.



We had walked past a museum earlier in the day, so after our flirtation with Catholicism we decided to go see what it was all about. As we were walking along, we walked under some tall trees when out of nowhere something fell from the sky right in front of me and right next to Chloe. It smacked into the sidewalk with a very loud thud. I thought someone had thrown something out of the window at us. Then this thing scurried around and ran away. It was a kamikaze squirrel that had dive bombed Chloe!! Seriously, it was within inches of landing on her head--and from the noise that thing made, I think it would have caused some pretty severe damage. I can't believe it even survived the fall--it must have been three stories high when it decided to off itself. Oh my. After freaking out for a minute we laughed and laughed. Apparently Audrey thought it was a monkey falling from the sky. Because Denver is just that exciting.

The museum we were headed for ended up not being an actual museum, so we did a bit more sight-seeing, then called it a day and came home.

It was such a good day. I love feeling well enough to do things again!!!!! And I know you all want to come visit me now. Just don't ask me to take you to the Mint.