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June 4: From Kansas to Denver
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Anticipation: I ask Levi what he’s looking forward to most on the trip. “The children’s museum and my I Spy books,” he responds. The former is in reference to our plan to visit the Children’s Museum of Denver. The latter refers to three I Spy books which the grandparents bought for Levi less than a week before for his birthday. The books, which were ordered online, hadn’t arrived in time for his birthday, but since my mom and dad are dropping us off at the airport, it means Levi will get the books just in time for the trip. In the not-quite 15 minute drive to the airport, Levi nearly finishes them all.
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Levi is greeted at the airport by Flat Polly.
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Air Travel: Riding on a plane with a well-behaved 5YO is quite the joy. Asking your seatmate for her air sickness bag because the same 5YO thinks he’s going to throw up (he didn’t) pops that bubble of joy pretty quickly.
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The Dog: We’ll spend two nights in Denver at Becky’s cousin Kay’s house. While we enjoy Kay, her husband Dennis, and their daughters Kelly and Laura, 15 and 13 years old respectively, it is the dog, a 10-year-old black Labrador named Zack who Evan will became most enamored with.
Despite the many options of activity for the afternoon, once we arrive at their house, Evan is overjoyed to play fetch with the dog. In fact, the dog tires of the activity quicker than Evan. We have to remind him that the dog is old. This is like playing fetch with your grandparents, we tell him.
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The dog is such a hit that Evan abandons his original plan to tent in the backyard when he finds out that Zack sometimes sleeps in Kelly’s room. Consequently, Evan plops his sleeping bag down on her floor. He doses off with one hand resting on the dog, but Zack doesn’t stay put. Perhaps he’s afraid Evan might wake up in the middle of the night ready for another game of fetch.
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Horseback Riding: Only the prospect of an animal larger than a dog pries Evan away from the house. The most anticipated part of the trip for Evan has been the prospect of horseback riding while at Kay’s. When she breaks out the cowboy hats and boots they picked up for him and Levi, the dog becomes much lower on the list. He gets to ride solo and even bareback.
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While Levi is initially reluctant, he also gives horseback riding a shot, although he sticks to the saddle. Bareback makes him a bit more nervous. The whole experience doesn’t do Becky’s allergies a bit of good, even though she stays outside the barn most of the time.
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While Evan attaches himself to Kelly, Levi has latched on to Laura. This becomes especially apparent at bedtime when Levi wants Laura to read to him and Evan, in turn, foists a book on Kelly.
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Laura and Levi
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Sleep: Sleeping in the same bed as a 5YO can be hazardous to your health, not to mention your sleep quality. After he kicked me repeatedly through the night and fussed any time I attempted scooting him at least somewhat toward his side of the bed, I was awarded in the morning with a pre-6am wake up call. At home this kid would sleep at least until 7, sometimes 8. |
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