Have Toddler, Will Travel!

The words Family Vacation conjure up all sorts of memories. From road trips in the old Volvo with dad to the four corners area, to beach time with the cousins in Laguna, CA.
Now, as a parent, I feel this deep burning desire to take Audrey to all sorts of places, some of which I hope her young little brain can hold on to in the form of a fond memory she too will look back on. I am certain I will blog about all sorts of vacation adventures, but wanted to start with sharing a few of my favorite photos.
There is, in my opinion, nothing better than a toddler girl in a bikini. I admire the way they let it all hang out, not a care or worry in the world, ahhh to be that oblivious of social pressure and the feeling of needing to suck in your belly!
There is also the inevitable site seeing expedition. If you want good entertainment, you should watch 8 adults and 2 children try to get themselves organized and ready for a 45 minute drive to an aquarium. The aquarium was super fun and marked a milestone in young Audrey's life. It was (drum roll here) Audrey's first public temper tantrum. I was thuroughly amused, but thought poor Scott was going to loose it. I did not, for obvious reasons, take a picture of this particular occasion, however momentous.
There was also the birthday party to end all birthday parties. Leave it to Aunt Joy to throw a party for everyone's birthday. An absolutely brilliant idea that had Audrey singing happy birthday to everyone for hours on end. This celebration was capped off by a round of bubble blowing on the beach. Unfortunately my camera did not pick up the ridiculous amount of bubbles that were created, but the look on Audrey's and Hope's face was priceless. Listen to me, I sound like a Mastercard commercial - Birthday cake, $20, decorations, $35, bubbles, $15, the look on the kids' faces...priceless.

A Sense of Style

Audrey is really getting in to playing dress-up and her Grandma Gilpin is an amazing seamstress. Thats actually like calling the Pope, sort of religious, but you get the idea. The lady can sew. Grandma Gilpin whipped up a few tu-tus for miss Audrey before her latest visit and they have quickly become the accessory du-jur. On occasion Audrey will become particularly attached to one tu-tu or another, and its not worth trying to get it off of her for errands, playing or general public appearances. To be honest, if I can get her out of her pj's in the morning, I consider my day a success. So a tu-tu, sure thing bugger-bum, wear the tu-tu.
I have to admit, I'm a bit jealous. I'd love to throw a tu-tu on every now and then and not think twice about it. Grocery shopping..."Yeah, diggin' my tu-tu." Library..."What are you looking at? Ever seen someone in a tu-tu before?" Jury duty...now there's an idea, next time you want out of jury duty, slap on your tu-tu.
Where was I? Oh, right, the tu-tu. Well my twin brother Drew came to town for a visit (and job hunt, yippie and fingers crossed) and I dragged him to the Denver zoo. I love the zoo, and more importantly, Audrey loves the zoo. On this particular zoo visit Audrey dawned what I have termed the hippie/psychedelic tu-tu. Its a sassy little number that is impossible to match with anything, so anything goes. Audrey being every flexible and always stylish tried the piece as a tu-tu, a shawl and a headdress. Sadly, I was not able to capture the headpiece number on film, but it was a classic, let me tell you. That is until she couldn't get it off and then all hell broke loose!
I also threw in a couple photos of Audrey in her fully glittered bodysuit tu-tu thingy - the satin shoes get me, every time!
I see ballet classes in our future.

Hide 'n Seek

Audrey's really getting into playing games, one of her favorites lately is hide 'n seek. This is an especially fun game for the adults involved, particularly her dad who really get into "finding" her. It goes a little something like this.
Scott: "Audrey, wanna play hide 'n seek?"
Audrey: "Yeah, I hide."
Scott: "OK, I"ll count to 10."
Audrey: " I hide on the chair"
Scott: "Well Audrey, you aren't supposed to tell me where you're hiding."
Audrey: "Ok, I hide on the chair."
Scott: "ugh, 1, 2, 3...
Audrey: "Come find me daddy, I'm on the chair!"
Scott, then proceeds to roam through the house calling for Audrey - "Are you behind the curtain?"
Audrey: "No daddy, I'm on the chair!"
Scott: "Are you on the couch?"
Audrey: (very stern and frustrated) "NO DADDY, I'M ON THE CHAIR!"
Scott: "Oh my goodness, you're on the chair."
Audrey: "Good job daddy, I hide again...on the chair."
God bless patient people, and god bless hide 'n seek. Its a fabulous game to watch, with or without a glass of wine!

Dolla Flowla

So Audrey is a fan of Dora the Explorer. And she is quite capable of saying her name correctly, however she is into funny voices and saying things really fast. So Dora the Explorer has become - Dolla Flowla. I personally like Dolla better, because then people don't know that I allow my daughter to sit mindlessly staring into a TV screen for 30 minutes almost every morning. But guess that secrets out now.
Anyway, dad discovered a Dolla bike for sale on craigslist this weekend and Audrey and I had set aside this morning to go on an adventure (very Dora the Explorer like) to Parker. If any of you have seen the cartoon you know that Dolla, aka Dora, consults her friend Map! for directions to the day's adventure. Which I did. And that she has several obstacles in her way, which I did as well.
First, I got my directions (thanks Map!) then we set off, to the southern regions of Parker/Aurora, CO. I got off at the marked exit and was presented with the option of going south or north...hmmm obstacle #1, the directions said to go east - no east? I know, call Scott, he's not as directionally challenged, and has access to the information super highway. Problem solved, we went south - way south.
Obstacle #2 torrential rain. I get to use this term because rain i s rare here and its June, in case you all weren't aware. So today, on my day of grand bike adventures, its raining and in the 50s. Gotta love CO weather! So after missing the turn not once, but twice because it was raining so hard, we arrive ourselves upon suburbia and purchase said Dora bike for a sweet 20 bones. Audrey insists on riding it-"just a little bit" before packing it in the car and heading home. She is not too sure about the training wheel thing, as you can tell by some of the photos, but I see family bike rides not too far off in our future!