August

Quentin's favorite activity recently has been building "set ups" and "palaces" out of legos. Here is an example of one:

We hooped up the Super NES on the TV in the guest room. Quentin isn't interested in playing it himself, but he loves to watch. He prefers games with monsters:

This picture is primarily to show off his ankylosaurus shoes. In addition to the pictures and dinosaur footprints on the bottom, they also have eyes on the top that light up. I think it is safe to say that these are his favorite shoes ever:

I have no idea what is going on here:

At the new Children's Garden at the Denver Botanic Gardens:

Our last camping trip of the year. A two-day trip near Dillon reservoir. We spent a lot of time around the lake. Matthew skipped stones and Quentin just threw rocks into the water.

Bigger rocks, like this one, were "magic books." I'm not sure exactly what they did, but that's beside the point...

July

At the museum:

Belleview Park.  We had never been here before, but it turned out to be a great park.  Aside from the traditional playground, it had a creek for wading, a petting zoo, and a train.

One of Quentin's favorite things this summer has been drawing monsters with sidewalk chalk. 

We decided to try growing broccoli this year and it has been a great success.  It is also the first thing we have grown in the garden that Quentin will actually eat (including the strawberries).

Playing cyclops (yes, he looks like a pirate, but he's really a cyclops).

Playing Hero Quest.  We have had this game for years, but never played it. Quentin discovered it and liked playing with the pieces, so we decided to try an actual game.  He did great!  Of course he needed help, but he actually remained interested for the entire game, and we have played it again since.

Quentin and I spontaneously decided to go to Lakeside one day.  He had a great time and was much less timid about the rides than last year.  The turtles were his favorite.  We steered clear of the roller coaster.

Camping: The highlight of the month was a camping trip at Trinidad State Park with the Smith family, our friends who live in New Mexico.  We had a great time, although Quentin would have preferred to skip the car trip.

At the playground in Pueblo where we stopped for a picnic.

Group picture, minus Matthew.

Complete group picture.

There was supposed to be a playground at the campground, but it had been torn out (possibly in preparation for an upgrade), so we played on the walls instead. Despite some initial dissapointment about the missing playground, everybody had fun anyway.

In the tent.

Bent's Old Fort, a reconstructed fur trading post from the 1840s.

June

We made a fort out of the boxes from the ceiling tiles for our basement.  Quentin particularly enjoyed knocking it down.

Exploring at Belmar Park:

Picking cherries from the tree in the front yard:

Bowling (for the first time!):

Playing in the back yard:

Feeding a dragon?

May

May was a busy month.  For Mother's Day, we went to Heritage Square with Grandma Cindi and William. Here are pictures of the swan boats and go-carts:

Shortly after Christmas, Quentin decided he really wanted a toy Destroyah (a monster from a Godzilla movie).  We told him he would have to earn it.  He earned stickers by doing things  like cleaning up within a certain time limit or doing a particularly good job at something. This month, he finally completed it.  Here he is with his chart and Destroyah:

We went hiking at Dinosaur Ridge with our friend Leslie.  As luck would have it, it was an unseasonably cold day, and the rain started just as we arrived.  We did not let it stop us.

After Dinosaur Ridge, we went for a short walk at Red Rocks.  Quentin was delighted and called it our "secret world."

Quentin and I are trying to visit as many playgrounds/parks as we can this summer. Here are some pictures from a couple of them. 

This tree, at Addenbrooke park, was Quentin's "house."

We took our first camping trip of the year.  The place we had planned on going was full, so we drove a little bit further and found a nearly-deserted campground.  It turned out even better than we had planned, with a playground nearby, deep fire-pits (essential for the very windy conditions), and five deer grazing within 50 feet of our campsite (unfortunately, the camera ran out of power just when they came closest).

Quentin's preschool had an end-of-the year field day and picnic:

At the Lakewood Heritage Center:

Running in the sprinkler:

Memorial Day Barbeque with cousins Joseph and Aurora:

 Quentin remains as imaginative as ever.  He is a big fan of Godzilla movies, with a recently-renewed interest in the Ray Harryhausen movies (with cool stop-motion creatures). We have been reading him a series of beginning chapter books called Dinosaur Cove.  He is always excited to hear the next installment. He likes counting and does very basic addition and subtraction, but often trips up on 6s and 9s. He frequently asks us to cuddle at bed time, and when we agree, he likes to told made-up stories. He says he is going to be a scientist when he grows up.

Favorite Movies: Destroy All Monsters, anything with Godzilla
Favorite Toys: rocket ship, the "whypod" (this is actually an accessory from another toy that Quentin has turned into a toy in its own right. He named it himself. Apparently it knows the answer to every question), dragons, little plastic aliens.
Favorite TV Shows: Sid the Science Kid, Superwhy, Dinosaur Train.