Steve's Long Weekend

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.

~J. Lubbock

Sometimes you just need a little time off. Steve who has been diligently saving days off for when the babies arrive and who has, at work, been on a team that has been down one person for some time, was a little fried and decided to take an extra day off last week and play with me. I have to admit, it was good for me to - to get in some play time with Steve before the babies arrive.

Our adventures aren't epic these days - we look for mellow fun close to home since I'm so slow and, well, pregnant - but sometimes silly adventures are the best. On Steve's Friday off, we went to the Butterfly Pavilion in Broomfield, which we jokingly (nerdily?) call the Papillon (French for butterfly, pronounced pap-E-on) Pavilion (pav-E-on) whenever we drive by. Us and droves of preschoolers, oh, and butterflies. Later that day Steve indulged my desire to do a paddle boat ride on Lake Waneka in neighboring Lafayette. I couldn't even paddle because of my big belly. Poor Steve: my workhorse. The last two pictures in this blog were taken on a trail in the town to our west, Superior.

Butterfly Pavilion, Broomfield







Lake Waneka, Lafayette

Captain Steve

(Steve wanted to paddle the pirate ship and I wanted to ride in the pink flamingo, but we got the dragon instead. Still fun!)

Single Tree Trail, Superior

A Little Boy for Peanut Butter

The fundamental job of a toddler is to rule the universe.

~Alice Kutner

Jade Star, my brother, and his two and a half year old son Finn just spent a long weekend with us, and this morning Peanut Butter was giving me the cold shoulder. It took a few chunks of hamburger to win her back over again. I'm pretty sure she was mad at me because the little boy was gone. She loves little kids and LOVED Finn. She lick, lick, licked Finn's little hands and face forcing him into eruptions of laughter that only encouraged Peanut Butter further.

Steve loves little kids, too, and had a great time with Finn as well. On our last night together, Steve and Finn played a belly laughing game of I'm eating your ear/finger/nose.

Finn is a smart, imaginative, incredibly verbal little boy. Jade Star is an awesome dad. This was a special weekend for me to observe my brother as a dad in anticipation of the arrival of my own babies.

Finn and Peanut Butter, looking for prairie dogs

Father and son

Jade Star and Finn looking for fat bullfrog polliwogs

Finn in a "spinning tea cup" at Community Park in Louisville

Train Conductor Finn and passenger Jade Star

Finn in the sprayground



Steve and Finn in Downtown Boulder

A man-tree (Ent?) on the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder

Finn splashes about in the children's swimming area on Boulder Creek. (That's my week 28 belly!)