Knitting Party in Denver

My time in Denver last month was not without its knitting focus. After all, what would a vacation be if I wasn't Googling "yarn stores, Denver" for addresses and yarn store reviews. Of course, we went to Michael's where I got Tiana her first set of knitting needles (that Niki has claimed as her own, I'm afraid!) and other supplies, but we also went to Knitting Habitat, a very nice yarn store. The woman there let us hold up yarn to Max's face to find a color that worked (purple works so much better than pink for her!). Also, Tiana got to play with a little dog there. Anyway, here we are outside the store.


We had a "girls" BBQ and knitting party one night at Niki and Walter's place. Here are Tiana and Abbey (her cousin) out in the back yard.


Beautiful tofu/veggie kabobs. Ann said, "This is what happens when girls grill."

Here's Ann, Erica (Niki's sister-in-law/mother to Abbey), and Niki knitting away. I had a great time teaching them. Erica did fine, despite the cocktails. And Niki was such a fast learner! I hope she'll keep trying to do some easy projects and not get frustrated with herself. (Niki--remember that it's supposed to be relaxing, and the results aren't always the important thing!)

Tiana and I lounged in the hammock outside.
Here's me, Abbey, Erica, and Tiana. Notice the knitting needles. And, yes Dad, that is a skull on my shirt, but it's for The Venture Bros. Go Team Venture!

Fun Times in Denver

Once again, I'm way behind in my blogging, but I had to post a few things about my trip last month to Denver to see Niki, Tiana, and new baby Max (and Walter, too, but I didn't see him all that much). We had a great time, but we were a bit rushed. I hadn't seen any of them since the wedding in Dec. 2005, which is far too long. I'm hoping they'll come to LA next month. I've been making a list in my head of all the cool kid things I want to do!

Here's Tiana standing outside her classroom. She had just started Kindergarten the week I was there, so I got to share in some of her firsts. I just can't believe how grown-up she is. It doesn't seem so long ago that Niki was pregnant with her (only 6 years!). I have great hope that Tiana will be a super student. She's already reading up a storm.

Here's Max in her car seat, communing with the animals hanging from the handle. She looks so happy.

Three generations of Boultinghouse women--Ann, Niki, and Max.

We went to Armadillo's, a chain Mexican restaurant that I somehow always eat at when I'm in Denver. Tiana made tortilla sculpture while Max sacked out and drooled in my arms.

My last day there, we went to the Denver Children's Museum. They had a great room where kids could dress up as animals (here's a very serious Tiana as a turkey) and crawl around a nature playscape. She didn't want to leave!

And this was a dress-up room with a big mirror and more costumes. Tiana and her best friend Presley twirled with the best of them.

Niki also posted some pictures (including some I planned to use--she beat me to them), so check out her blog, too.