Marly and I have been friends for a LONG time. Marly is a great designer, both for knitting and crochet, and is currently the Creative Consultant for Bijou Basin Ranch.

She interviewed me for her podcast waaaay back when Fitted Knits first came out (2007) and we’ve been friends ever since. In “real” time three years isn’t that long, but in Blog Time, it’s an established friendship! She also recently interviewed me about my online classes. You can find marly’s podcast here, or on iTunes.

Marly is one of the friendliest, happiest, most outgoing people you are ever going to meet. She has a wonderful laugh and is just such a treat to be around. SO…when she offered to meet up with me and my kids and take us to Knit Knack, her local shop in Arvada, CO, I jumped at the chance. I was also really happy to meet her friend and expert knitter and photographer Karen (and her 3 kids), who met us for lunch before we went to the shop.

So Marly is a mom of three gorgeous, happy, boisterous, loveable kids. She drives around with the stereo up, singing and having a great time! When they pulled into the parking lot, they were blasting “Hey Ya” by Andre 3000. LOVE IT! Later, when we were following her to the shop, Mazie said, “Mom, my friends have a Rock -n- Roll car!” and they DO! Being with marly and her family was so encouraging…I can DO this! And I don’t have to be perfect at it…just have FUN. Have a rock -n- roll car! ENJOY it.

We just the BEST time, you guys! We ate lunch at a place where the kids could all play, and they were so sweet with Maize. We let them play for about an hour, and then drove over to Knit Knack. Knit Knack is situated in an older downtown area (if you’ve been to Arvada, you know what I’m talking about.)

The space is just perfect for a yarn shop…it’s got a split-level floor plan, with the class space in its own little area, and a really cool almost apothecary vibe to the fixtures. They also have an espresso bar! The yarn and pattern selection is really wide and covers almost anything you could think to knit OR crochet!

(Sorry, another phone pic, but it shows how the shop is laid out and how neat the fixtures are.)

If you’re a local, definitely stop in and say hi to Geri and Beth for me, and sign up for one of Marly’s classes while you’re at it…it’s a guaranteed good time!

Next stop: Downtown Aquarium, Denver

PS: There *might* have been a little Bijou Basin stash enhancement:

L-R…Lhasa Wilderness (yak and bamboo), Bijou Bliss (yak and cormo), Himalayan Trail (yak and merino.)

One of Mazie’s favorie creatures is the butterfly. When my sister, Tonya, suggested that we go visit the Butterfly Pavilion while in Denver, we knew we had to go!

The Butterfly Pavilion in Denver is the world’s first freestanding nonprofit insect museum. There ARE lots of butterflies, but also other bugs / animals as well.

Kids over 3 can hold a tarantula. Even though I know that this is safe, I was still glad that Mazie was not quite 3 years old. Some prehistoric part of me did NOT want her holding that spider! It’s always weird when the Mom gene kicks in and overrides the fearless woman gene!

Here Mazie’s saying, “I want a butterfly in my HAND.” And that might be a butterfly on the wall behind her, but this was taken on my phone, so I’m not sure. I didn’t carry my big camera much on this trip…just too much stuff to carry!

There were lots of activities aside from just looking at the insects, like this station where the kids could draw their own bugs.

And here’s just a pic of my sister looking beautiful against this ocean-scene wall:

Next stop: Knit Knack with Marly Bird and the Bird Kids