Reunion participants missing from photo: Grandpa Woolley, Scot & the short timer, TedJuly 23 - After Matt, Suzanne and their family left for Utah this morning, Ethan and I loaded up
the Land Cruiser and headed up to Aspen to join the Madden Family Outing extravaganza already in process (Scot had already gone up a few days earlier). Man - what a party. Cara, Connor, Audrey and Ben were in town from Boston, which was a real treat (Ted and I must've passed eachother going opposite directions on the highway). Ethan got right in on the action with his cousins, who were playing ping pong and watching the Muppet Show dvd while I unpacked the car and got things settled.
Tuesday (July 24), Cara and I decided it would be fun to take the kids swimming at the Aspen Rec Center in lieu of driving the 45 minutes down to the Glenwood Springs "Hot Springs pool". At their ages, a pool is a pool - besides, we knew they had an indoor waterslide, lazy river etc. 
as do most of the Rec centers here in Colorado. We arrived and went to the cashiers to pay our entrance fee - OUCH...$98 for 2 adults and 4 kids (did I mention Ethan was FREE?). Apparently swimming is worth more in Aspen...it's a rec center people - not Raging Waters. 
Our wristbands were good for an entire day, so Cara and I decided we would spend a few hours there in the morning and then return again late in the afternoon. Ethan, though very unhappy in these post-evening swim photos, had a fabulous time with his cousins at the pool. (He was subtly expressing his frustration that we had to leave). 
outdoor adventure and picnic at Maroon Bells. Picture worthy? Absolutely. 
Check out those legs! I think Grandpa's got a future in front of the camera.
July 26 -The library in Aspen was doing a children's music & story time, so we loaded the kids into the car and headed downtown. Ethan fell asleep in the car, so we dropped everyone else off and went to fill the car up with gas and park (so that Ethan would at least get a snappy...i.e. a short nap). 
We made it to the library to meet up with the gang right as the music & storytime was ending - so we decided to walk to Ben and Jerry's to get an ice cream cone & take the kids to a toy store. There was the coolest park in the city center - Cara and I discussed how interesting it was that they were promoting rock climbing even for the youngest of Aspenians (that's not really what they call themselves, but that's what I call them). They had rock walls that the kids had to climb in order to get up to the hanging rope walk etc. Pretty cool really. They all had a great time, and it was easy to lure them from the playground when we mentioned a trip to the toy store. 
When we got back to the house, we turned on Ethan's favorite movie - My First Signs & all the kids watched it. Ethan absolutely LOVES his cousins and they are so good to play with him. Ethan climbed right up on this chair next to Connor - and from the looks of it, they both enjoyed the movie.
7/28 - After breakfast this morning, Ethan walked over and climbed up on the bench next to where Grandpa Madden was sitting. They hung out together for a while...Grandpa was even patient while Ethan took a call on his matchbox car phone.
We had a great time at the Madden Family outing...Thanks for all your hard work and planning Judie! I'd also like to thank Jo for the awards of recognition we received:
Kris - Best Vacuuming Rampage & Best Child Radar, Ethan - The kid with the oddest toys (the award was well merited, he spent quite a bit of time carrying around a ping pong paddle and an hourglass sand timer. Go figure) & Scot - The dad that looks most like his son. Cara got the award for sleeping in the most beds/bedrooms this year...I'm anxious to see if she'll be able to top her record next year. The anticipation is killing me. ( :
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