"Come Visit Colorado!"

We LOVE when visitors come. It is so fun to have an excuse to find fun things to do, and to show off all the great things our new home has to offer! From aunts and uncles to grandmas and grandpas we're always telling people to "Come visit Colorado!"

Grandma Joanie and Grandpa Tom Tom are two such visitors who are always game to do just that-- come visit and let me (mom) check out new fun things to do! Grandma flew in Wednesday morning just after I'd dropped Lucy and Zach off at school. We spent the rest of the morning grabbing groceries at Trader Joe's, eating lunch at Chick fil A, and getting pedicures that afternoon at our favorite place. Thursday afternoon we were in store for a huge treat. I'd researched a really cool place down in Colorado Springs that does an authentic "High Tea" every afternoon at the Glen Eyrie Castle (built in 1871).  

It's located just before the entrance of the Garden of the Gods and was built by General William Jackson Palmer, the founder of Colorado Springs. It is BEAUTIFUL! This is just inside the entrance hall leading to the parlor where they do the afternoon tea.

We were so glad Grandma Joanie was with us!

Oh my goodness, can I just say how very excited these little girls were for tea at the castle??? Not only did Lucy get pulled out of school early, they got to borrow tea hats (they are provided if you want one), and they looooove tea parties!

Leah was on her absolute best behavior!! She was being so careful with all of the pretty china and minding all of her manners.

This little Monster Baby however, was NOT on her best behavior. I had really debated whether or not to bring her, but with Jon working until 3, and then needing to go pick Zach up from school, and then needing to go pick Grandpa Tom Tom up from the airport, I just felt it'd be too much for the baby and for him... But then she did not nap in the car on the way down and she was WIRED! Holy moly!

Thankfully there was a sitting room adjacent from the parlor so I could sneak out whenever she got too rowdy (which was pretty much the entire time) and have my mom take turns so we could both try all of the delicious tea things and not miss out!

First we got to pick two pots of tea. We chose an herbal strawberry tea that was sweet and delicious and the girls' favorite. We also picked a caffiene-free rooibos vanilla tea that was lovely.

They were still serving their "Summer" menu (they switch for each season) and there were 3 courses. First was a grilled peach with creme fraiche and balsamic. Second we had tea sandwiches-- cucumber tuna boats, ham and swiss cheese on rye, curried chicken salad on croissants, and hummus and caramelized onions on white bread. Yum!  

The last course was the pies de resistance with fresh scones, key lime shortbread cookies, strawberry rhubarb hand-pies, and Victorian sandwiches with fresh whipped cream. After watching "The Great British Baking Show" all summer on PBS, I was totally digging all of these thoroughly British tea staples.

We had so much fun getting to do girly things with Grandma!

It wasn't that expensive either compared to other hotels that offer tea times, only $25/person and worth every penny. I think we'll definitely be going back (minus the Baby Monster)!

The castle grounds were so pretty we took a few pictures before heading back to Parker to see Grandpa who'd flown in that evening.

Baby Monster was just happy to be outside and able to roam free! Naturally as soon as she got in her car seat she was out like a light. Sigh....

Friday morning Jon took my dad mountain biking over at the MAC in Castle Rock. They met us at the gym at 11 a.m. so my parents could do my Body Pump class (woot, woot!). We then hurried down to the Denver Biscuit Company for lunch in downtown Denver because they're only open until 2.  

My dad is an ol' biscuit-lover-connoisseur-kinda-guy so I knew this place would be right up his alley. Sure enough these little biscuit sandwiches hit a home run! I got the DBC Club which had fried chicken, cheese, lettuce and tomato all piled up high on an amazing baking powder biscuit.  That night, Jon and I even got to go shooting at the gun range and to the new Star Trek movie for date night. Thanks for babysitting guys!

Saturday morning at 9 a.m. Zach had a flag football game. He was pretty excited to show off for grandma and grandpa who were cheering from the sidelines! 

Go Zach! He's getting better each game, learning as he plays, and really starting to love football.

As soon as his game ended we loaded all 8 of us up into the minivan and headed back down to Colorado Springs to check out Garden of the Gods. We got lucky and found a parking spot AND a picnic table which is amazing for a nice Saturday afternoon. We sure love fall picnics!

Hiking around on the red rocks after the picnic.

We hiked the 1-mile loop trail through some of the big rock formations and it was just beautiful!

Here's how Busy Lizzie hiked. She rode on her dad's back in style!

Such gorgeous country and such a pleasant day! We'd tangled with the idea of possibly doing the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo right after, but we were under strict orders from Grandma Joanie that we HAD to be back in time for the BYU-Utah game at 5 p.m. The kids were hot and tired by that point so we were definitely okay with that. We made it back with time to spare, ordered some pizza, and watched the Cougars lose. Oh well. Maybe next year!

Monday was busy-- with a date at a golf course for my dad, and an emergency root canal for my mom (I mean really, could she have been in a better place or had better connections for something like that to happen??), and then a concert at Red Rocks to Hall and Oates for them that night. Tuesday morning after I dropped the kiddos off at school we stopped for breakfast at Waffle House (it's tradition!) and then I dropped them off at the airport to head back home to Boise. We're SO thankful they wanted to "Come Visit Colorado" and were game to go check out so many fun things and new places. And I think they definitely got the full Colorado experience!