The Denver Song.

My entire family (Mom, Dad, Cory, Rachel, Addison, Finn, Jessica, Jared, Baby "M", and I) were all at the beach on Sunday evening... we were all sprawled out on our blankets and chairs, jumping into the water every few minutes to cool off and laughing at Addie's antics. At one point she looked up at and saw the bluffs that run along the Lake Michigan coast and for some reason connected it to the pictures she's seen of the mountains in Denver. As if she discovered something amazing, she said with enthusiasm "Look!! There are mountains! Like in Denver, where Katie lives!!" We all agreed, yes they do look like the mountains in Denver where Katie lives... well... sort of. :) She was so excited! About a half hour later, Cor and Rach tried to sneak away for a walk down the beach, as their families grow, their time together, just the two of them is rare. Addie caught on and insisted on going, so we all tried frantically to distract her while not letting her feel rejected. She seems to be extra sensitive to that ever since her 5 week old baby brother arrived. I suggested we go for our own walk the other way, towards "Denver". She latched onto the idea with exuberance and we trudged off to Denver towards the mountains. We picked up lots of seashells and special treasures along the way, we threw sticks into the water - seeing how far out we could get them. We sang the Denver song, which consisted of saying Denver over and over again in a sing-song fashion. We watched the sunset go down over the lake and stomped our footprints into the sand. She reached up and held onto my hand, especially when she got a little too close to the water and the waves splashed up onto her ankles. She insisted I carry her when her little legs would get tired. I venture we walked probably 1/2 mile at least down the beach before I finally realized she might just keep walking forever and ever... so I had to break the bad news to her. That Denver is really really far away and we probably can't walk there tonight. She told me I should just carry her... oh dear! I explained to her she has to ride in a car or an airplane and she can come visit me and see the mountains. She conceded it might be too late to go that night, so we headed back, seashells, sunset and hand holding all the way back...

a special evening I'll never forget. Love you Addie-boo!