Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about Denver!
June 1858, GOLD! Gold is discovered in the South Platte River near Cherry creek. It is said that gold nuggets line the streets and waters and are just waiting to be picked up to make a man a fortune!
November 22, 1858 Denver City Town Company is founded by the William H. Larimer party from Leavenworth, Kansas Territory. Wanting to be Grand Pooba of the New Denver City, Larimer laid out street plats. Miners beware: grub stakes and land tracts are being offered up in Poker games. Be careful or you may end up with no stake and no home! Larimer was instrumental in the formation of the Colorado territory and making Denver the Capitol of that seat. He was expected to be Gov., but President Lincoln gave the seat to William Gilpin of Missouri. Larimer’s city was across the creek from the […]
Original post by liese4
Not the movie version. We had a very cool opportunity last night. In honor of Denver turning 150 years young next week, a bunch of museums stayed open till 10 pm last night and were free. It’s part of Denver arts week. If you know me, you know I don’t pass up an opportunity to go somewhere for free (when it’s usually a pay deal.) So, after work we ate and headed downtown.
The first stop was the Byers-Evans house. We had been there before, but James hadn’t. The city grossly underestimated how many people would turn out in 30 degree weather to see free museums. The place was packed. We had an introduction in the parlor and we got to stand on the side that’s usually closed off. The lady talked about the theater groups that use the house as their performing center. We found out it’s the only […]
Original post by liese4
That was a very nice ceremony.
We had a bagpiper, placed a wreath on the memorial, had a 21 gun salute, sang songs and had a fly over (that Joel said was braking all FAA rules, but I bet they allow them to fly that close to us on Veteran’s day.) The mayor of Littleton gave a speech and the roll call from 2 posts was called. Then people could come up and remember a vet in their family that died or that was still living to honor them. One vet came up and told us about how he was dropped near the woods in WWII and he came upon a group of Germans. They were surrendering so he took the officers’ luger and still has it today. He asked the Germans why they were still fighting when they knew they were losing, the officer replied, ‘We fight for the […]
Original post by liese4
No, we don’t.
Just because, we never have, so we don’t.
We did however, go out to eat.
Buy 6 pounds of candy.
Got a hotel room.
Watched the last 2 episodes of Lost season 3 and ate candy.
It was nice.
Original post by liese4
Oddly enough, Bethany’s history lesson was about the Constitution and France’s and America’s revolutions. Tomorrow is Constitution day, I’ll post links for that above this post. Joel raced through science and vocabulary and had a homeroom session for 30 minutes. Then back to math and history for him. Grace did math and phonics and science. For writing she had to write a sentience about ‘I wish’. So she wrote, I wish I could be a whale scientist when I grow up. Hannah was busy with her leap pad and counting beans in a bowl, throwing beans on the floor and spilling beans on her table. But, it kept her occupied.
After lunch we worked on our Picasso type prints.
We engraved images onto styrofoam plates, then painted and pressed them onto paper. It was hard work getting the paint just right, but the results are worth it. Hannah decided to […]
Original post by liese4
Last night we went over to the Wing’s museum to hear Richard Rutan speak and also the authors of the book “Capt. Jepp and his little black book”. First up was Mr. Rutan.
He told us that when he was a little boy his mother took him to air shows and he was very excited about the planes. Then one day he saw an F-100 pilot next to his plane and thought I could never do that. His mom sensed that he was thinking about the awesome job of piloting that plane and asked him, ‘Dickie, do you want to fly a plane like that?’ He said yes and she said, ‘Then set that as your goal. If you can dream it you can do it and remember only the only way to fail is to quit.’ So, he set the goal of becoming a jet pilot and he did. […]
Original post by liese4
I made out at the thrift store this morning, hmmm……I mean I got a good deal at the store (James was home, how could I ‘make out’?) Anyway I got the girls new coats, Hannah a new snow suit, Joel new snow pants, all the girls new jeans and some for me too. Now we’re almost ready for winter, I just need to see how many gloves we’re missing and who needs them, oh and maybe 1 pair of snow boots (the rest get passed down.) I hate trying to find a matching glove when we’re ready to go sledding. I know the last time I looked in the glove bin we had plenty of mittens, but mismatched gloves. Not that I care, as long as I can find 5 pairs of gloves that have a reasonable match in size to each other I’ll take them. Time to start knitting […]
Original post by liese4
First – James got to fly over the hot-air balloons yesterday for his flying lesson. Also he won’t have one this week because of the DNC. Centennial airport is locked up tight and VFR pilot’s don’t have to file a flight plan (but they want everyone flying out or in this week to file a flight plan) so he’ll have to wait till next week to get another lesson. Joel got to help put up and take down 4 balloons this morning, including the energizer bunny. We got there too late to see that, but we did see the balloons coming down. He was also security on 2 balloons, so he got to say ‘M’am you’re too close to the balloon, please step away.’
After church we decided to head downtown for the pre-convention and just see what was up.
A green festival and peace protests (aren’t the words peace/protest […]
Original post by liese4
OR – Lakeside amusement park turns 100! Now, 100 is pretty old, Denver turns 100 this year, the capitol building in Denver was finished in 1908 and a little amusement park called Lakeside was born 100 years ago in Lakeside (of course), Colorado. It used to have a covered bathing pool (because people back then didn’t swim, they bathed, I guess.) It had a dancing pavilion, a train, a roller coaster named the Cyclone, a carousel and more. Some people would ride the trolley from downtown to get to Lakeside. I talked to a guy last year who fondly remembered getting on the trolley and arriving here and what a thrill it was. If you want to visit their website, go here, but turn your computer’s sound down (they have an old video of Lakeside from what looks like the 1920’s and it’s pretty loud.) *My pics are all from […]
Original post by liese4
We’ll be leaving at 6pm for Florida. We still have to mow, do 1 load of laundy, put up the cats and pig, take Maisy to the pet hotel, get the guys haircut and pack. But we did a lot yesterday so I don’t feel too bad about all of this. One thing that must happen before we ever leave on any trip is the house must be clean. That way when we get back the place is dusted, vacuumed and the bathrooms sparkle (it’s much nicer that way.)
Travel Bunny and Mr. Otter are ready to go in their new Florida shirts.
Here is the new Mr. Otter, isn’t he cute?
Coming soon Diney world, the beach, aquarium, marine biology institute, orange shaped store, liberty bell museum, kelly park, maitland art center, peabody ducks, and more.
Original post by liese4
This time we took some friends from our HS group (and GS too.)
Inside the cockpit:
Waist gunners:
Getting help from Daddy to climb up:
On April 18, 1942, Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle led a group of 16 B-25 bombers on a carrier-launched raid on industrial and military targets in Japan. The raid was one of the most daring missions of WW II. Planning for this secret mission began several months earlier, and Jimmy Doolittle, one of the most outstanding pilots and leaders in the United States Army Air Corps was chosen to plan, organize and lead the raid. The plan was to get within 300 or 400 miles of Japan, attack military and industrial targets in Tokyo, Osaka, and Kobe shortly after nightfall, and then fly on to a dawn landing at secret airfields on the coast of China. The twin engine B-25 Mitchell bomber was selected by Doolittle for the mission […]
Original post by liese4
Here are those bomber pics from Sunday:
F-18 and bomber:
Canyon:
Or as Hannah says, ‘Ewitch’. Well, it would have cost us $125 to get into Elitch, but thanks to our library – it was free. Good thing too, I would never pay $125 to get into Elitch. We had a friend meet us there so we had somebody else to ride rides with.
We rode the carousel and the Ferris wheel and then split up.
Joel and Bethany went to the big rides, Grace, Hannah and R went to the kids section. They rode the train, around the world in 80 seconds, airplanes, boats and bumper cars.
We played in the ball pit and Joel met up with us. He was using the map of Elitch to work on ground team skills. He drew an arrow and marked his location with the time he arrived and left each place. I thought that […]
Original post by liese4
Our internet is off and on; I can’t get my pics off Bethany’s computer, so I thought I’d do a quick update for now.
Sunday
We went and saw the B-25 H Mitchell bomber at Centennial airport. If you’re in Denver, it will be here until September. They have free tours Fri-Sun and flights those days too ($325 a pop!) This B-25 H is the ONLY flying one around. Remember when we saw the B-17; it was 1 of 10 still flying. Well, this one, the Barbie 3, is the last B-25 H flying. This particular one flew stateside during the war and was then used for experimental landing gear. One of the cool things about seeing these old planes up close is talking to the pilots and crew. They are in their 80’s and they have stories to tell. The crew chief told us that the B-25 H was the […]
Original post by liese4
Tiny pinecones.
At the hot dog stand.
Giant cookie.
We went to the antique store and Hannah got a turtle puppet.
Joel has been wanting a typewriter forever and guess what he found!
Bethany got 2 bags of necklaces.
Original post by liese4
We went to my friend Maura’s house today to eat and play.
We had lunch, fed the horses, pet the donkeys and some of us played in the sprinkler.
Then we headed over to a neighbor of hers, Al, to see his farm. What doesn’t this guy own? He had puppies, dogs, cats, kitties, donkeys, chickens, llamas, rams, goats, sheep, turkey, geese, pheasant and I’m sure I’m missing something. The girls loved those kittens.
What is this Hannah is petting?
A tiny border collie puppy.
Here are some miniature horses (who needed a haircut!)
Grace, of course, caught a chicken.
Here is a mama chicken with her chicks, aren’t they cute?
We went to see the goats and they ran down the field, the kids (the human kind) walked all the way down.
Hannah and her friend Noah stopped on the hill and then all the goats started a stampede […]
Original post by liese4
Today after church we went to the Aurora history museum to hear FDR. Well, ok, not the real FDR, a guy that takes on the persona of FDR. We saw Mr. Lincoln a couple of years ago and he was pretty good, but this guy was great. The director of the museum talked about the campaign exhibit that was going on and gave a few facts about Franklin Roosevelt and then said, ‘Please welcome President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.’ He wheeled into the room in a handmade wheelchair made to 1920’s style. He started to talk about his early life, his marriage, his conventions, polio and the health spas he visited, his Presidential campaigns and WWII. He was asked to focus on conventions that he had attended (to correspond with the exhibit.) So he told of the 1928 convention in Houston, TX. ‘Why they decided to hold it there in the […]
Original post by liese4
Some rules: Kid’s day falls on the Friday after the 4th of July (if Daddy is off) or on the Saturday after the 4th (unless the 4th falls on a Friday, because that would make kid’s day too close to the 4th of July!) The kids get to pick out what they want to do, but must all agree on it. This worked a lot better when Joel was 5 and Bethany couldn’t talk. So, ice skating was out, Casa Bonita was in and Wings over the Rockies was in.
First we stopped by the pilots shop to get the manual James needs for his test next Tuesday. He’s on flight 4 and he’s studying hard. He said the plane does have a feel and it’s more like driving a boat through the water than a car on land. At the shop we found clipboards for 50 cents, so all the […]
Original post by liese4
It’s not too late to go to Chick-Fil-A and get a free dinner. Go like this and get a free sandwich.
Go like this and get a free meal (I had a tie too.)
They even have masks and signs there so you can put one on real quick and get a free sandwich at least. Looking silly for a bit is a small price to pay for a free meal there. Total cost to me (my time making the masks and cutting out black paper) what it would have cost for lunch: $22, yeah I think I’ll look silly for that. Grace is under here somewhere.
The kids spun the prize wheel and won 4 free breakfast items, I won a salad and they all got stuffed cows.
After running errands we went to Westlands park to cool off.
Joel occupied his time between running sprints on the soccer […]
Original post by liese4
Bethany wrote a nice little narrative about our hot dog stand trip, it’s up under her tab. Joel surprised me by typing up his essay this morning. I mean I know he can write, but I’m usually sitting over there hovering. All week he has been taking notes from books and a movie about the protestant reformation. He typed up most of his findings (and thought he was done.) When I told him it was a first draft I got the “Aww!”, but it is a good first draft. After school we hiked out to our swimming hole, well the swimming creek. With the movie Nim’s Island fresh in our minds we took our tools with us so we could be a scientist like Nim’s father and explorers like Nim. We have a creek with little islands on it, animals to find, tools to experiment with, a curiosity, oh, and […]
Original post by liese4
Today we went and toured the Governors mansion. Technically it’s the Governors residence at the Boettcher mansion.
It was built in 1908 (same year that the capitol was completed) by the Cheesman family. We hear a lot of things with their name today, Cheesman Park, Cheesman ranch, anyway they built it and in 1923 it was bought by the Boettcher family. Here again we hear of Boettcher hall, Boettcher scholarship, the mansion and more bearing the name. He was into cement, railroads and banks. In the 1950’s the house was offered to Colorado by the Boettcher foundation as a place for the Governor to live in. Colorado actually rejected the offer and the whole place was about to be sold when they reconsidered! The first family moved in there in 1960 and now it is the residence of Gov. Bill Ritter and family.
Here is the sitting room and the […]
Original post by liese4
After 2 hours of running errands, man that took a long time, we were at the museum for free night. It wasn’t very busy, so we had a good time.
We played in the animal section and Joel spent almost the entire time in the workshop area making light-saber handles.
I always wonder if they’ve ever gotten sued because someone got hurt drilling their eye or sawing their arm, guess not. I have to say it’s still the only children’s museum I’ve ever sent that uses real tools.
Hannah had fun in the grocery department; she thought there was a food shortage, so her basket was always full.
Grace was being a short order cook; she’ll never make it in real life though, when people started yelling orders she gave them the look of death.
She made me a sandwich with some fruit and here is the pea pasta taco cake, […]
Original post by liese4
Let’s see, what’s new, oh yeah……..THIS!
Yeah, it’s a new car (van.) Our old one dropped dead of transmission failure, oil pan grief, broken rotors and rods and sparkplug anomalies. So, do you pay $4,200 to fix an 8 year old van with 110K miles on it and it only cost you $3,200 in the first place? Well, last time we did that to a car (major tranny overhaul and other things that were more than the price of the car) we got screwed, so we went into Kuni Honda and they said……’Here are the keys to your new van, would you like to drive it home tonight?!!!!’
That may not be a major thing for most people, but the last new car we had was 15 years ago when we got married. Back then we had good credit. As the years wore on it got worse and worse, but James has […]
Original post by liese4
Well, it’s that day again. Since I am a SAHHSM, my kids spent the day with me! Since I tend to do cool things, they not only spent it with me, they spent it at the ballpark! (Not that I think I’m cool, but my kids like the neat stuff we do, so that makes me kind of cool to them.)
So, we headed out to Coors field to sit in the rock pile. I’m not sure why they call it the rock pile, maybe because it’s on top of this?
I have to say that the guy behind me was so rude. The National Anthem was playing and he was on his cell phone, my gosh! Get off the phone and sing or just shut up and listen.
Anyway it’s the cheap seats and we were 1 bleacher from the top, which made it easy to squish the Cubs […]
Original post by liese4
Friday we stuck around the house cleaning and putting up paper curtains. The cleaning was because we needed to, the paper curtains were to try and cut the sun in the house. The front room and the kid’s rooms get so much sun and get so hot in the summer. Now they have a paper curtain, blinds (and in the girls room curtains too.) It was so dark in there the next morning that Hannah slept until 9am! (Hmmm….this could be a good thing!)
Our friends the Carlson’s from TX were coming into town to pick up a goat and drop Tim’s dad off (not in that order), so they dropped in on us. They only brought 5 kids with them (children, not goats), they have 11 now. This is the newest, Seth. He had two moods here; take a guess as to what they were? (Hint he’s 11 days old.) […]
Original post by liese4
That’s what Hannah calls it anyway.
We didn’t take Maisy this time, so I got to sled a lot more.
The snow was really crunchy and made some great snowmen, even if they were small.
Bethany made a great snow angel and then Grace joined her.
Here’s upside-down snow angels.
Here’s Hannah talking about what the snow tastes like: sled, sissy and then Grace saying it tastes like her arm (my children must go around tasting things a lot.)
We were out there for two hours!
I think I have a slight sunburn, but it was fun.
We’re doing the star lab at the library later, I’ll post those pics under here when we get back.
Original post by liese4
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