My 17yo and her mom are in Europe for a few weeks so the younger two are with me for the duration, which is going well so far, though K-, my 10yo, has an occasional twinge of missing mommy. My son? I don’t know if he’d notice if they extended their trip for a few months or permanently relocated to Vietnam, as long as he can shoot hoops with his friends and play Clash of Clans on his iPod Touch. He and his pals are obsessed with that game, it’s amazing to see.
Anyway, we added G-‘s best pal to the mix and the four of us headed into Denver yesterday for some adventures. Being perhaps a bit bonkers, I was determined to get them to the Denver Art Museum because I really enjoy it and because we’re members, so it’s free, which means even if we bail after 20 minutes, hey, that’s still 20 minutes at an art museum with kids, right? 🙂
Turns out, we had a good time because there were interactive kid exhibits, including a sort of lay around “meditation” room that became a place where they could set up beanbags and practice running and falling into them, then, the real winner, a huge play area with foam “bricks” that they used to build castles and play soccer, fortunately without hurting any of the smaller kids in the area. You can see the great construction project in the photo above, though it appears that G- is suddenly taking the Pledge of Allegiance or something. Very patriotic of him!
In fact, they were having such a good time that they complained when I said we needed to move along!
Prior to the museum, we went to our favorite restaurant in Denver, BD’s Mongolian BBQ. I think this is just the best place to go with kids because everyone gets to pile all their favorite ingredients, proteins, veggies and sauces (they have about 25), then they grill it up on a huge griddle.
Here’s what my lunch looked like, before, during and after:
The sauce is the one I always get, buffalo sauce. Spicy and tasty!
Then, tossed on the grill:
Mine is just to the left of center. G-‘s is immediately to the right. Notice his strategy: I say “you have to have something green” so he has one, exactly one, piece of broccoli. Oi.
Cooked, here’s the delicious bowl I was handed:
Doesn’t that just look delicious?
Post Museum, we popped by Little Man Ice Cream, another favorite, and the line was amazingly long, about 60 people. I mean, come on, folk, it was 48F out and windy. But, of course, like everyone else, we stood in line. Popular flavors with my gang were Whoppers Malt, Orange Creamsicle, Chocolate and, for K-, Vanilla with a side of sprinkles.
All in all, a very fun day and a surprisingly enjoyable visit to the DAM with three kids who didn’t entirely hate it. 🙂