Happy Holidays!
I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas! Mike and I enjoyed celebrating our first Christmas yesterday, though we have yet to figure out the finer nuances of juggling essentially four families.
Christmas Eve we went to church at Calvary, which was nice because even though its not our normal church, we saw a bunch of people we knew and of course we were able to sit with Mike’s family, so that was nice. Afterward, we went to my mom’s for dinner and dessert. The best part of the night, though was when we got home and opened one of our presents! I got some PJs (which is my favorite thing to get on Christmas eve) and Mike opened Guitar Hero World Tour.
Christmas Day we woke up and went downstairs to open our presents to each other. The highlights were an iPod shuffle for me and Resistence 2 for Mike. Around 10, we headed to Mike’s parents house for breakfast and more presents there! It was great to spend Christmas with so many people since I’m used to very small Christmas celebrations. We especially enjoyed watching Mike’s niece, Brianna, enjoy the day. That afternoon we went over to my mom’s house to spend some time with her. Mike was very excited to get a sleeping bag that he’d been wanting and I got a bunch of work clothes. Finally, that evening we went to my dad’s for dinner. The prime rib was delicious and we did the final gift exchange of the day. By the time we got home we were totally exhausted. By the time we unloaded the car, I only had enough energy to stare blankly at the television in a Christmas coma.
Today I’m at work, sadly, and Mike is at home playing with his video games and such that he got. This weekend we plan to spend time with some friends that are in town for the holiday and hopefully get some rest to recover from the season :)
Friday, December 26, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Playing with Pictures
Here is a picture of Justin and me at the Parade of Lights a couple of weeks ago-- it was a great time, especially since it wasn't nearly as cold as last year!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Our Christmas Letter
Seasons Greetings!
We hope this letter reaches you well and that the Lord is blessing you abundantly this holiday season. For me and Mike, 2008 was an exciting year full of changes and new beginnings.
Our 9-month engagement leading up to the wedding in March was harried and stressful, but culminated in one absolutely amazing day. Mike and I were married on March 1st, in a perfect Colorado setting. It was such a gorgeous day, in fact, that a reporter from the CU campus newspaper put our picture in the paper alongside a story about the unseasonably good weather for March! The wedding itself was more fun than we could have possibly imagined—we enjoyed ourselves immensely as we danced the night away surrounded by loving friends and family. Of course, looking back we both wish we had more time to spend with those of you we hadn’t seen in so long, but were honored that we got to share our big day with you! All in all it was a great night that we will always remember fondly. After spending the wedding night at Boulder’s new St. Julien hotel, we left the following Monday for a nine-day honeymoon in Costa Rica!
Costa Rica was amazing. We would very highly recommend visiting if you haven’t been already. The scenery was gorgeous, the people were friendly, and the diversity of the landscape is unbelievable. We stayed in four different places while we were there: In the capital city of San Jose, on the beach by the Pacific Ocean, at the base of the most active volcano in Costa Rica, and in the middle of the lush rainforest. Our room by the ocean even came with our own butler and our rainforest room had a balcony overlooking the rainforest canopy, two private hot tubs, and our own waterfall in the bathroom—beautiful! We couldn’t have asked for a better honeymoon!
However, we eventually had to transition back to real life. . . so when we got back we returned to our home in Erie (Mike already owned a townhome there so I just moved my stuff in right before the wedding) and got back into the swing of things by throwing Mike a “candy and video games” party for his 26th birthday.
In May we took a trip to visit the east coast—we went to DC and grabbed some of our friends there and took a bus up to NYC to visit some others (as well as our friend Tony who joined us from San Francisco). It was so much fun to get everyone together and check out NYC. We had never been there before and felt a bit like a country mouse in the city, but we absolutely loved it! While we were there we went to the top of Rockfeller Center and walked the streets—seeing Times Square, Wall St., and all the other famous New York sights. We returned to DC and spent a couple of days there before heading back. Overall it was a weekend to remember!
In June we spent some time at my dad and step-mother’s second home in Wyoming. While we were there we spent some time soaking up small town life in Saratoga, paying a visit to the local fish hatchery, and showing off our angling skills (well, mine anyway). I managed to catch two fish while sitting on the shore reading magazines, while Mike and my dad, all decked out in their fishing garb, didn’t have any luck standing waist-deep in the water in their waders—just goes to show that fishing is totally unpredictable!
Mike, our friend Beth, and I decided to take a road trip to Oregon in July. We visited our west coast friends Mariko and Colin and had a great time hanging out with them. We were there while the Olympic trials were going on, so we got to join in those festivities a little bit. We also went camping and did a great hike up to Monkey Face rock. Another of our friends, Jamila, met up with us while we were out there as well.
The DNC had Denver all a-buzz in August. While Mike never passes up an opportunity to indulge his inner introvert, I never pass up an opportunity to join in all the fun! Several friends of ours came out from DC to be a part of the convention, so while they were here we took a side trip to Breckenridge to celebrate my birthday. When we returned to Denver, I participated in several events, including a Young Democrats party, a free bowling event held at Lucky Strike lanes, and of course. . . the speech! I was lucky enough to be able to sit club level for Barack Obama’s acceptance speech and it was truly an amazing moment for me. Another highlight of the week was a close encounter with Hilary Clinton! I happened to be walking down the street with some friends when Hilary’s car pulled over, her secret service ushered us to the side, and she stepped out. Hilary stopped to chat with us for a minute before going inside. It was really cool to be that close to such a high-profile person. We all wrapped up the week by getting great seats to the CU-CSU game in the first and second rows on the 40 yard line. Even though the Rams were handed a crushing loss by the Buffs, we had a great time hanging out with our out-of-town friends one last time. (and Mike had a great time rubbing the loss in our faces while he proudly wore his black and gold)
Another fun part of our fall was our decision to join a kickball team! Well, actually Mike and I ended up as captains of the team, which we named Just for Kicks. We ended the season 4th out of 6 teams and had a blast meeting new people and displaying our kickball talents.
In September I made the difficult decision to leave my job with Pathways Church. Though I had been there for 2.5 years, I felt it was time for a change and that I was no longer the right person to take the Children’s Ministry to the next level. I accepted a position with MWH Constructors as a marketing writer. My office is located at Interlocken in Broomfield, so it’s closer to home. The job has been good so far, especially because I had worked with many of the people in the past, so it was an easy transition. The highlight has been the opportunity to travel and I’ve already gone on trips to San Francisco and Austin as part of the event planning aspect of the job. Mike is still with the Department of Defense and is very happy with his job, largely because he has wonderful co-workers with whom we both love spending time.
So, as you can see it’s been an exciting year full of travel, friends, and fun—our three favorite things! God has continued to richly bless our life together and we are looking forward to the new year! We hope and pray that God will pour many blessings on your family this year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Love,
Mike & Kelly
We hope this letter reaches you well and that the Lord is blessing you abundantly this holiday season. For me and Mike, 2008 was an exciting year full of changes and new beginnings.
Our 9-month engagement leading up to the wedding in March was harried and stressful, but culminated in one absolutely amazing day. Mike and I were married on March 1st, in a perfect Colorado setting. It was such a gorgeous day, in fact, that a reporter from the CU campus newspaper put our picture in the paper alongside a story about the unseasonably good weather for March! The wedding itself was more fun than we could have possibly imagined—we enjoyed ourselves immensely as we danced the night away surrounded by loving friends and family. Of course, looking back we both wish we had more time to spend with those of you we hadn’t seen in so long, but were honored that we got to share our big day with you! All in all it was a great night that we will always remember fondly. After spending the wedding night at Boulder’s new St. Julien hotel, we left the following Monday for a nine-day honeymoon in Costa Rica!
Costa Rica was amazing. We would very highly recommend visiting if you haven’t been already. The scenery was gorgeous, the people were friendly, and the diversity of the landscape is unbelievable. We stayed in four different places while we were there: In the capital city of San Jose, on the beach by the Pacific Ocean, at the base of the most active volcano in Costa Rica, and in the middle of the lush rainforest. Our room by the ocean even came with our own butler and our rainforest room had a balcony overlooking the rainforest canopy, two private hot tubs, and our own waterfall in the bathroom—beautiful! We couldn’t have asked for a better honeymoon!
However, we eventually had to transition back to real life. . . so when we got back we returned to our home in Erie (Mike already owned a townhome there so I just moved my stuff in right before the wedding) and got back into the swing of things by throwing Mike a “candy and video games” party for his 26th birthday.
In May we took a trip to visit the east coast—we went to DC and grabbed some of our friends there and took a bus up to NYC to visit some others (as well as our friend Tony who joined us from San Francisco). It was so much fun to get everyone together and check out NYC. We had never been there before and felt a bit like a country mouse in the city, but we absolutely loved it! While we were there we went to the top of Rockfeller Center and walked the streets—seeing Times Square, Wall St., and all the other famous New York sights. We returned to DC and spent a couple of days there before heading back. Overall it was a weekend to remember!
In June we spent some time at my dad and step-mother’s second home in Wyoming. While we were there we spent some time soaking up small town life in Saratoga, paying a visit to the local fish hatchery, and showing off our angling skills (well, mine anyway). I managed to catch two fish while sitting on the shore reading magazines, while Mike and my dad, all decked out in their fishing garb, didn’t have any luck standing waist-deep in the water in their waders—just goes to show that fishing is totally unpredictable!
Mike, our friend Beth, and I decided to take a road trip to Oregon in July. We visited our west coast friends Mariko and Colin and had a great time hanging out with them. We were there while the Olympic trials were going on, so we got to join in those festivities a little bit. We also went camping and did a great hike up to Monkey Face rock. Another of our friends, Jamila, met up with us while we were out there as well.
The DNC had Denver all a-buzz in August. While Mike never passes up an opportunity to indulge his inner introvert, I never pass up an opportunity to join in all the fun! Several friends of ours came out from DC to be a part of the convention, so while they were here we took a side trip to Breckenridge to celebrate my birthday. When we returned to Denver, I participated in several events, including a Young Democrats party, a free bowling event held at Lucky Strike lanes, and of course. . . the speech! I was lucky enough to be able to sit club level for Barack Obama’s acceptance speech and it was truly an amazing moment for me. Another highlight of the week was a close encounter with Hilary Clinton! I happened to be walking down the street with some friends when Hilary’s car pulled over, her secret service ushered us to the side, and she stepped out. Hilary stopped to chat with us for a minute before going inside. It was really cool to be that close to such a high-profile person. We all wrapped up the week by getting great seats to the CU-CSU game in the first and second rows on the 40 yard line. Even though the Rams were handed a crushing loss by the Buffs, we had a great time hanging out with our out-of-town friends one last time. (and Mike had a great time rubbing the loss in our faces while he proudly wore his black and gold)
Another fun part of our fall was our decision to join a kickball team! Well, actually Mike and I ended up as captains of the team, which we named Just for Kicks. We ended the season 4th out of 6 teams and had a blast meeting new people and displaying our kickball talents.
In September I made the difficult decision to leave my job with Pathways Church. Though I had been there for 2.5 years, I felt it was time for a change and that I was no longer the right person to take the Children’s Ministry to the next level. I accepted a position with MWH Constructors as a marketing writer. My office is located at Interlocken in Broomfield, so it’s closer to home. The job has been good so far, especially because I had worked with many of the people in the past, so it was an easy transition. The highlight has been the opportunity to travel and I’ve already gone on trips to San Francisco and Austin as part of the event planning aspect of the job. Mike is still with the Department of Defense and is very happy with his job, largely because he has wonderful co-workers with whom we both love spending time.
So, as you can see it’s been an exciting year full of travel, friends, and fun—our three favorite things! God has continued to richly bless our life together and we are looking forward to the new year! We hope and pray that God will pour many blessings on your family this year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Love,
Mike & Kelly
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