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Our Colorado Trip

Our Colorado trip in July was a lot of fun. Mommy and Buddy

We met up with grandparents in the airport in Seattle and then met them again on the other side.  The boys had to wear their Penang shirts.

Meeting with Grandparents at airport

This was a sort of working vacation for Phil, so the boys and I did a lot of excursions around Colorado Springs on our own or with Grandma.  One of the places we went to go visit was the headquarters for Compassion International.  We've been supporting a little boy in Bangladesh through them for a couple of years who is N's age, and since we've been home, we've started supporting a boy from Haiti that is Z's age.  We just absolutely love this organization.

The headquarters had a lot of fun things to see including their welcome center that had a larger than life sculpture of Jesus that the kids could climb up on.

Hanging out with Jesus at Compassion International

We saw what a typical home looks like in a Third World culture.

Typical 3rd World Home at Compassion

Finally, we got to join a group that was skyping with a class in Columbia.  It was fun to have all the kids singing songs to Jesus in Spanish together across continents.

Skyping with kids in Columbia at Compassion International

Another day, we visited the little Fire Museum.  After all the fires that have happened there recently, it seemed particularly relevant.

Fire Museum

We also visited Palmer Park on an extremely dry day.  We didn't stay out too long for fear of dehydration (no drinking fountains!), but we got some beautiful views of Pike's Peak.  The boys were excited to see cactus, and likes climbing around on the rocks.

Palmer Park

Palmer Park

Going to Focus on the Family was a highlight of our trip.  Their welcome center is like an amazing children's museum with an Adventures in Odyssey theme.  The boys loved it.  Oh, and it was FREE.  We had such a great time!

Focus on the Family

Focus on the Family

Focus on the Family

Focus on the Family

Daddy turned 30 while we were there too.  The boys thought we needed party hats, so we were creative.

Daddy's Birthday Hat Boy's birthday hats

For his birthday, we went to Garden of the Gods.  It was a gorgeous day, and the boys loved climbing all over the rocks.

Garden of the Gods

Garden of the Gods

Garden of the Gods

Garden of the Gods

We finished the day with dinner at Mimi's Cafe which is one of our favorite restaurants that we don't have in Washington.

Hagelberg Boys!

We also went to see the Cliff Dwellings in Manitou Springs.  It was neat to see how people lived hundreds of years ago.

Manitou Spring Cliff Dwellings

Manitou Spring Cliff Dwellings

We weren't at the cliff dwellings long, so we stopped at Bear Creek Nature Center before coming home.  This place was great.  Lots of hands on activities and a little hike that was perfect for the kids especially since we had already been on one outing that day.

Bear Creek Nature Center

Bear Creek Nature Center

Bear Creek Nature Center

Overall, it was a good trip although pretty tiring.  It was nice to spend some time with Phil's family and for me to visit a state I hadn't yet been to.

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