Nothing But Words

I shot a gun for the first time at the Silver Bullet gun range View at Picasa I shot a gun for the first time at the Silver Bullet gun range12-Jul-2012 14:33, Canon Canon PowerShot SD780 IS, 3.2, 5.9mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 320	Maria, Eidan, and Mike at Marco's Pizza in Denver View at Picasa Maria, Eidan, and Mike at Marco's Pizza in Denver11-Jul-2012 21:51, Canon Canon PowerShot SD780 IS, 4.0, 8.736mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 640	Whiffle ball in Denver City Park View at Picasa Whiffle ball in Denver City Park10-Jul-2012 21:44, Canon Canon PowerShot SD780 IS, 3.2, 5.9mm, 0.013 sec, ISO 160
Maria and Yoko enjoying the lobster View at Picasa Maria and Yoko enjoying the lobster12-Jul-2012 21:36, Canon Canon PowerShot SD780 IS, 4.0, 8.736mm, 0.1 sec, ISO 800	Eidan and Kai at the Denver skate park View at Picasa Eidan and Kai at the Denver skate park03-Jul-2012 15:01, Canon Canon PowerShot SD780 IS, 3.2, 5.9mm, 0.001 sec, ISO 80	On the scooter View at Picasa On the scooter03-Jul-2012 20:12, Canon Canon PowerShot SD780 IS, 3.2, 5.9mm, 0.013 sec, ISO 160

Awesome sign at the bar 1UP in Denver View at Picasa Awesome sign at the bar 1UP in Denver15-Jul-2012 22:13, Canon Canon PowerShot SD780 IS, 3.2, 5.9mm, 0.02 sec, ISO 160

I saved Eidan from almost being eaten by a giant Boa Constrictor View at Picasa I saved Eidan from almost being eaten by a giant Boa Constrictor

My favorite piece at the Denver Art Festival View at Picasa My favorite piece at the Denver Art Festival06-Jul-2012 15:57, Canon Canon PowerShot SD780 IS, 3.2, 5.9mm, 0.005 sec, ISO 160

We’ve visited Maria’s sister Yoko and her husband James several times in Denver over the years, and it has become one of my favorite cities. Visiting with kids, it can’t be beat – the many skate parks are amazing, the Elitch Gardens theme park and Water World are right in town, and the Arvada Apex Center, with it’s skate park and indoor water park, is probably the nicest public facility I’ve ever seen in the United States. Part of the reason the parks and related facilities are so nice is that they get money from the Colorado state lottery. There’s plenty for adults too – the bars and restaurants downtown are great (my favorite is the retro arcade bar 1UP), the Denver Cruisers are fun to watch on Wednesday nights, and the Denver Rockies play right downtown in Coors Field, a stadium which is much more impressive then the team’s record.

We visited for two weeks, and the boys spent one week in skate camp, which also included time at the Apex Center water park (the video at that link gives you a glimpse of one of the skate parks). Yoko and James were great hosts, taking us and the boys all around town, not to mention giving Maria and I a couple nights out while they watched the boys. James took me out to a shooting range, for my first experience firing a gun (by the end of the session I was a pretty good shot), and they hosted a great 4th of July party at their house. The highlight for Kai was spending most of a weekend in the garage with James, building his Captain America light-up sign that I wrote about last week. For Eidan I think he was simply thrilled to be in a house where there were twice as many adults, all giving him some significant portion of their attention every day. For Maria and I it was a very rare extended reduction in our parenting duties – with Yoko and James to help with the kids, we could do things like wander into a bar and see a band, just walk around town together, and other ordinary things like that, which become extraordinary when you have kids.

If you want to see more pictures, click the album thumbnail below:

2012 - DenverJul 3, 2012Photos: 24