A Perfect Day!!

One of the big things I learned about myself on our vacation this summer is that I am a planner. Not that I didn't already know that, but I realized to what level I live this way. When I go to bed at night, I want to know exactly what my day will look like the next day. I'm not real good at "winging" it or being spontaneous. Spontaneity actually stresses me a bit because I have this thought that if I prepare for something, it will go more smoothly.

Yesterday, was a test of my spontaneity, and it turned out to be a great day!! We woke up with absolutely nothing on the calendar. That is rare in this house. We knew we would sleep in and have a big breakfast, but beyond that, the day was wide open.

After breakfast, we decided that we all wanted to do something summery, preferably involving water. I hate CO for the lack of outdoor pools and water activities. We talked about all kinds of things. Then, all of a sudden, I remembered Pirate's Cove in Denver. Here is where my planner personality kicked in. "We can't do that. It is already noon. We have missed out on 2 hours of it being open already. Also, I don't have food planned for that. What if we get there and it is too busy or the weather gets bad? I want to get the most for our money. Is it really worth all the effort?" You get the picture of the various thoughts that run through my head.

I am so glad we did not succumb to those concerns. We got ready, loaded everyone up, and headed to Denver. We got there at 2 and shut the place down at 6:30!! Not to mention with all the discounts I found for us, we got in for less than $40!! Score!!

Rick and Sam

This place was perfect for our fam. They had stuff for everybody, and I did all of it with the kids!!

This is the drop you in midair slide

Kid's play area

The Lazy River was definitely my favorite. I put Laila in my lap, Rick put Isaiah in his and off we floated. We stayed in that thing for several laps. It was fabulous.

Lazy River

All 3 big water slides

Isaiah's favorite part was the huge sand box and the ability to spray water into buckets, pour it out and do it all over again. He never gets free reign over water like that around our house.

Even in a side pic, you can see the delight on his face!

Laila liked the sand, too. And, yes, she had it ALL in her hair!

Abby spent a lot of time in the sand.

She created this little river.

Lauren and Cody spent most of the time on the various water slides and diving boards.

I think they were surprised that I went on all of them with them.

Hangin' with the pirate

Another pirate shot

Afterwards, we did a drive through ordering dollar menu items and fed our whole family for under $20!! That is unheard of for eating out for us. They ate on the drive back from Denver, and then all went straight to bed when we got home. After putting them to bed, Rick and watched a movie. It really was a perfect day. In a way it was kind of bittersweet because it reminded me that summer is technically over. That makes me really sad. I am glad we could end it on a good note with a day in the water and soaking up the rays.