So our last time to Copper was TWELVE years ago, when we were dating (and newly engaged?). OMG, how that makes us feel ANCIENT! It was half adults and half youth kids… Looking back, it’s hard to believe their parents let them come with us… :}

This trip it was just our little family of three but good times were still to be had.

We took a Lyft and picked up E from Chinese school (which he started going this year, one day a week). They had just had their V-Day exchange and he sported a heart-y headband he made.

Mr. Lovebug at the Lil’ Luv Lounge.

This of course happened right before landing. We let him sleep some more and waited ’til the very last minute to deplane.

Daddy was excited about renting the Silvercar (Audi) again and cruising up the mountain with it. The last time was in SF en route to Asia.

The sunset glow on the way up the mountains is always magical.

Only E needed rentals so we got him fitted and ready!

Then we went grocery shopping, had dinner and unpacked.

E was raring to go on the first day! We stopped in this little area for a snowmobile shuttle to take us to West Village for his snowboard lessons. He loved riding that thing. It was probably better than the regular shuttle with all the stops. The only thing was there is no schedule and the timing is kind of random. The one time we did have to wait awhile, we talked to a ski instructor who radioed them and they popped on over in no time.

No, he didn’t actually drive it but got to play driver while we waited.

We got him all registered and signed in for snowboard school. Then it was time for us to go shredding!!!

Around lunchtime, we rode down to his side and spied on the munchkin. :)

Then, back to the condo for provisions. Can’t complain about the location — it was even closer than last time. We literally walked out and there was the American Eagle lift.

More boarding… And before we knew it, ’twas time to pick him up at 3pm.

He wanted to practice a bit more so we did just that. :)

Then Mommy took E back for a nap while Daddy went back up for a few more runs.

Day #2 was pretty much the same… This was probably our best day on the mountain. We were warmed up but our legs/quads were still fairly fresh so we ventured out to some harder blues, some blacks and the bowl area.

E was still working hard.

Pow-wow with his groupie before being released.

Après lesson instruction from Daddy.

We remember these gigantic chairs!

There was a creperie right downstairs that wasn’t there last time so Daddy was itching to try it. We went in our jammies one evening after dinner.

Game face on!

Snow angel…

We discovered that we didn’t really need to spy on him… He seemed okay when he caught us watching him and in fact, he was happy to see us spectating and wanted to show off. Improvements from trips before where if he saw us he’d likely cry and want us to hold him.

His instructor on his third (and last) day of lessons spoke Mandarin. :) Her son was 1/3 Japanese and she was trying to teach him Chinese, too.

Snowball fight!

A family had left a few things in the lobby with a sign that said “FREE”. E picked up this snowball maker (which also doubled as a “gun”), some stickers and a wooden car.

We had been cooking every night for dinner but were running a little low on food so we supplemented with some tacos. Not bad for Colorado! E loved his kid’s meal.

On the last day, we let E take a breather and sent him to childcare. He told us he played lots of cool Star Wars and Batman toys. We picked him up a few hours earlier and took him to another magic carpet area for practice before… attempting to conquer the lift. :P He had been looking longingly at them everyday asking when he can go up with Mommy and Daddy. (He did do one last year, with his private instructor). We told him that he had to get better first before we could take him up.

Drills with Daddy. It was fairly warm the whole time we were there so Daddy went jacketless.

Rolled off the carpet like a pro.

We rode the snowmobile to the other side for the gentler Kokomo lift to a green while Daddy drove to the parking lot so we could load up our stuff easily later (and drive straight to Denver!). He’s pumped here.

… and then not so sure when we got in the lift line. :D

He got on!

And off…. with a little tumble. The operator usually slows it down for the tiny ones but someone had a fall right before them so guess he forgot. Daddy lifted E up and whoosh… Wasn’t too bad, though.

Let’s do this!

Daddy rode with him the entire way… We made several breaks to rest.

We did it!!!

He earned that sugar cookie with extra frosting (they actually made earlier in the day at childcare).

We returned rentals and were on our way back to the city. It took less than 2 hours but boy, were we ready to shower. After a quick wash up, it was off to dinner ‘cuz we were starving like nobody’s business! Y said that last run was probably where he exerted the most effort the entire trip.

We went to a Cantonese restaurant we thought we had visited from a past trip but it turned out we had wanted to but it was closed at the time or something. Mommy was craving jellyfish and E said he could eat several plates… We ordered double and what do you know… He didn’t want to each much of it. ;\ All in all, pretty good food, though.

A hotel breakfast must for him: waffles! Mommy waited in line for a mad long time to get a turn at the machine.

We really liked the hotel and would stay there again next time we’re in town.

Our flight wasn’t until late afternoon so we decided to hang out for a bit at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Daddy had never been but Mommy and E went several times when he was playing at his tourneys.

First stop was the Space Odyssey exhibit. We never caught this space demo and Q&A in past visits. E seemed really intrigued by it all.

Daddy, let’s race!

Next stop: Prehistory Journey.

Observed a paleontologist at work! She was using putty to fill in cracks in the fossils and bones.

A lesson on different animals’ teeth.

An extreme weather tornado intercept vehicle was on display outside.

Nice to see you again, Mr. Bronto. :)

We showed Daddy the nice City Park beyond where in the summer there was a splash pad.

We shall meet next time, old friend.

We’re baaaaaaaaack. Oh yes, could not resist a visit to SNOWLAB before heading to the airport.

Mommy and Son shared the Big Bowl while we banished Daddy to his own little cup cuz his throat was hurting a bit.

It was difficult to snag bites from this one.

After every last drop in that bad boy, he asked for just one more. :)) What the heck, we won’t be back for awhile, right? Tried the Sesame flavor which was interesting but not as delicious as our faves: Taro and Green Tea.

Then it was off to return the car and DEN for our flight home… to EIGHTY degree weather. ;P

The new year has been a blur so far but photos remind us of the richness (in friends, family, moments) of life.

Counted down to noon on New Year’s Eve at the library.

Yearly meet-up with the Jao’s. Hey, there’s a Safari Run ’round your parts. And yes, every year we tell you it’ll be our last in Texas. ;-P

Always making new amigos!

Beautiful day at the zoo for their “Penguin Days”.

Shortly after this photo, another gorilla walked up to this one, punched him and then banged on the window glass. Soooo wished we had caught it on video!

The Lam’s met up with us — with their two K’s. :) E immediately got along well with Karis — apparently two extroverts.

Raking branches. Yes, it’s the thing now. :P

The gift shop occupied them for quite awhile, giving the parents time to chitchat.

K2 didn’t quite make the group pic — she was napping in her stroller.

We say ’til next time upside down. (K2 made an appearance in this shot!
Look in the background, haha.)

This one will never pass up on a Lego event. That night was like brrrrr freeeeeeeezing and quite a crowd still came out.

Batman forever.

Got to catch a really neat Mars Experience at Perot — simulation of riding through the planet.

Rocket launching before getting on the bus.

We landed!

Played a little.

Then good friends Emmanuel and JJ showed up so we did the Mars ride again!

Wow, we travel there and back in record time. :)

Another Star Wars party.

Lotsa characters this time!

Patiently awaiting pizza and cake with Maddox at Trevin’s B-Day party.

E’s school rented out Jump Mania one evening and the kids did not want to leave. Perfect indoor activity for what turned out to be a pouring, thunderous night!

And then it’s been warm enough for park play dates.

Can you spot E?

Luke, stop hiding!

“‘Sploring” at Spring Creek Nature Area with Daddy.

He calls this “Batman training”.

IMax #2 — about birds. We were flying. He enjoyed it as much as the first.

Back to being a dinosaur.

Tall tower at Lego Day at the library.

Circuit circus on a Sunday afternoon.

EE Daddy was all over this!

Batman Lego movie event at B&N.

They didn’t build real Batman Lego sets, though. It was just regular Legos and you attempt to build something related to Batman. His take was the Batman copter.

CNY dinner at a new-ish resto. We ordered a lot and ate a lot!

Full and happy.

Here’s to the Year of the Rooster!

Happy 2017!

Finally getting to a recap of our HOU trip… Y’s car was taken to the shop — he had gotten sideswiped (on E’s side) by a dude that jumped three lanes. Thankfully, with a SUV, nobody was seriously hurt but the vehicle was not in good shape. They gave us a rental car so we thought a road trip would be a good getaway.

We headed out in the afternoon around E’s nap and drove straight to Chinatown for Singaporean food.

Banana Leaf! The place was pretty cramped but Y thought it was fairly legit.

Then, dessert! This one ate MOST of that bowl. Well, we paid for it by him tossing and turning ’til like 2AM! He informed us the next day, “I think so I had too much sugar.” :D

Daddy HAD to bring this durian smoothie back to the hotel. :P

We woke E up minutes before the breakfast closed down. Knew he would want his waffle — Texas-sized and shaped here. :)

Then, off to the Houston Children’s Museum. Another complimentary entry score…

This play structure was intense and extremely challenging, especially for adults. Daddy didn’t even dare try cuz his legs would’ve gotten stuck.

Of course, the stop at the LEGO build area was a long one…

Mommy made E a purse while waiting.

There was seriously so much to do there. Every time we thought we had just about seen everything, we’d stumble on another room or space.

Happy to see an old fave, discovered in SD. He was at this table for quite awhile, just throwing out rings.

More outside! It was literally in the 80’s and sticky as Houston can be…

Vegetarian place + the smooooooothest dou hwa for lunch.

Nap and Taiwanese food for dinner. Yes, it was also a culinary trip of sorts. ;-)

The next day, we went to NASA. It was a whole lot different than what we remembered it to be when we went as kiddies long ago.

We pre-scheduled a tram tour online. Good thing because for drop-ins, it was a crazy line.

We chose to tour the astronaut training facility which was massive.

Proud that he can wink and Mommy cannot.

Then they took us to another building to see some space shuttles.

Marveling at all the tiny pieces and electronics that go into the making.

After the tram tour, we took a short lunch break (with goodies bought from Chinatown the night before), and then went for our other pre-booked tour of shuttle replica Independence, which is actually mounted on top of an airplane!

Yes, son, we know you can wink. ;-)

We got to go inside the aircraft as well.

Then we went back inside for more exhibits and demonstrations.

Infrared boy. :)

We stayed ’til late in the afternoon and E was wiped out!

Before sunset, we made it to Kemah Boardwalk along the Gulf Coast.

Some sting ray petting went down after enjoying a walk by the water. :)

They are slippery and velvety.

E totally zonked out in the car while we drove to Sugar Land to eat at a particular Singapore Cafe…

Reunited with the Lion City Uncle! Hehe. So we knew he had moved here to be closer to his family but later found out he decided to open a resto here. The food tasted a tad different but Daddy was happy to see his go-to dishes.

We had planned to drive out to Galveston the next day but the weather was showing really strong winds at like 40mph+ so we decided to skip it this time. The 3D short film we tried to see at the natural science museum was sold out but we found a show at the planetarium for a slightly later time. We leisurely strolled through Hermann Park while waiting. The winds had actually cooled down the weather so it was actually nice outside.

After a spiral climb to the top of the mount, it gave us good views of the Centennial Gardens and beyond.

Then it was a race down!

First planetarium show. He enjoyed the 3D flick at Perot more as this one might’ve been a bit too dry and scientific for his age.

After the show, we walked around some more to explore the rest of the park.

He found a playground… and did not want to leave! But we wanted to pick up a few more things at Chinatown before hitting the road home. After running into some friends there (loitering a tad too long) and coming up on some traffic as a result, we made it back to the Big D safely.