The Train Adventure of March 2018!

A few Fridays ago, it was a normal morning. The boys were doing something silly, and I was exhausted.

 They had, on their own, poured out toys from their little colored bins to use as stepstools, and were "doing dishes." I love these boys. They make me proud every day, especially when they try and mimic the chores I do.
But when I'm exhausted, there's only one cure. We have to go. Somewhere. Anywhere. It was a nice enough day. So I piled the boys into the car, and we started driving. Ten minutes into the aimless drive, Crash Boy fell asleep. So I drove by Cherry Creek reservoir, so DanPar could look at the boats floating by. Hell if I know how I got there, but it was a nice drive. After passing back and forth over the reservoir, the little guy woke up, and we went home.
Except I was lost, and when it comes to South Parker and North Parker Road, I have no idea where I'm going. So I took... well, the wrong one. I still don't know the right choice. And so I tried to do a U-turn, but couldn't, and so I found myself pulling into Nine Mile station.
And, well, I know I'm lazy, but doggone it, I know when I stumble into an adventure. So I bought a round trip train ticket, and we were off!

Yes indeed, nothing quite as stressful as entertaining two young, mobile children in between TWO RAILROAD TRACKS.

He isn't wearing socks. However, he is wearing "mittens"!

Wearing his biggest smile!

Two things in this story say "I don't know what I'm doing" very clearly. My first chosen stop is number one. The Denver University campus. My thinking was, "I had fun in college, I bet my kids will love it!"
As it turns out, they did, but these sweet boys would have enjoyed an abandoned warehouse. It wasn't MY alma mater, so it wasn't like I had any real sense of nostalgia, and it wasn't like I had any right poking my nose into these buildings. Besides, it was a Friday morning in March. It wasn't like college kids were practicing cheerleading or throwing a frisbee. Finally, we got to the Ritchie Center. I've been a few times, all graduations, and so, somehow, I felt a little better going inside. Of course, there wasn't anything for kids to enjoy. (Not that I thought.) We just used the bathroom. But DanPar and Crash had a BLAST. There were displays of old DU athletes that Daniel asked about, and I expertly read the captions. And then there was a little ramp. And there was a hill. And there was a tree. And my sweet boys, full of the joy of being alive in a world where everything is new, loved it all.

Wandering around campus!

The belltower!

Going down the hill!

And now we come to the second "clueless" moment. It was noon, their naptime was soon, and we were just leaving the campus. We still had to go to the train, take it back to Nine Mile, and drive home. Not only that, we hadn't even had lunch yet! I figured I'd microwave some chicken nuggets or something. Buuuuuuuuuuuuut, I was a little busy taking pictures of my sweet boys, and talking to some talkative stranger about aquaponics... and I missed our stop.

Hard to pay attention with these guys!

Everything's new on the train!

We missed our stop, then took a different train to a whole other place, with a fountain! (They didn't care. I thought it was neat.)

Dad packs PREPARED. Uncrustables! Oh, and we got a pizza from a corner deli place.

So cheesy!!! (But I wouldn't recommend it. Pizza is never bad, but it was unspiced. Even the mass of cheese on top can't make up for a missing dash of garlic and oregano. Luckily, the kids didn't mind.)

Finally on our way back!

We, eventually, after four train rides, made it back to Nine Mile. Both kids EXHAUSTED, but happy. DanPar and I worked together to keep Crash Boy awake, which in turn kept DanPar awake.
I'm not sure how the rest of the day happened. More than likely, I was beat, the boys had a crappy nap, and their bedtime was all weird for one day.
But that's just it. I don't remember that at all. It's probably what happened, but it's not what matters now. In the permanent record, all I have are the smiles of my sweet children, pictures of them sliding down a hill, and the pride of having an adventure even when it wasn't easy.