From Mike:
Now that we’ve had time to readjust to daily life and have sufficiently come down from our vacation high (I know we went to Amsterdam, but I’m not speaking literally) it’s time for a not-so-exciting blog update!
Shockingly, (or maybe not) the week we returned from our trip already had a full schedule. The day after we returned home I had the day off. Kelly, however, wasn’t so lucky. While I stayed home and recovered from jet lag, Kelly begrudgingly played the role of the bread winner and spent the day at the office. The next day we returned to Blake Street Tavern for another round of trivia with James and Jamila. Unfortunately, we didn’t do as well as we had hoped, and since it got started late because of technical difficulties, we cut our losses and left after the second round; still feeling the effects of jet lag.
Friday night we went on a double date to Adventure Golf with Katey and Alex where we enjoyed a fun round of mini golf. Alex and I were also brave enough to try their new drag race attraction. We were essentially strapped into two adjacent cars, pulled backwards, and released like Wile E. Coyote in an ACME slingshot. Feeling the effects of 3.6 G-forces, we went from 0-60 miles per hour in 1 second! It was exhilarating, but short-lived. After our round of mini golf, we all went to the Olive Garden and enjoyed some great Italian food and a little lively conversation. Saturday morning, I met up with Daniel and one of my favorite students from my middle school volunteer days, David Gaskins (who is now a Junior in high school!), for a matinee showing of Terminator: Salvation.
Sunday morning we met up with Carter for church at Pathways. After the service, our friend Kenny asked if we were interested in going to the Rockies game that afternoon. After our initial decline, and subsequent acceptance (after some coaxing by Carter), we took the tickets, ate some sushi, and went to the game. The weather was gorgeous and the seats were even better! We were sitting 6 rows from the field along the first base line. Unfortunately, our good fortune didn’t last. The clouds rolled in around the 6th inning, and when the tornado sirens started going off, we knew it was time to leave. We ran through the rain back to the car and made a quick getaway before the exodus of drenched Rockies fans could clog the streets. We found out later that there was a funnel cloud over the Pepsi Center that day and that the evacuation of Coors Field had been on the national news.
Last Tuesday we celebrated my parents’ birthdays by inviting them over for a home-cooked meal and some European fare we had brought back with us. I managed to cook Kelly’s famous Taco Soup for dinner, along with green chili cornbread muffins, and some home-made chocolate ice cream. We also served the Gouda cheese we bought in Holland, Belgian beer, and topped off the dessert portion with an assortment of Belgian chocolates. We concluded the evening with a slideshow of the pictures we took during the trip.
Thursday night we went to see The Hangover with Carter and Justin Zuiker at the Denver Pavillions. I can honestly say that I haven’t laughed that hard in a movie theater in several years. The movie, while having its moments of complete inappropriate-ness, was great and we all left the theater with a smile on our face, quoting our favorite lines.
Friday night we returned to Coors field for yet another Rockies game. Before the game we went to happy hour and met up with our good friends Mike and Vince, who were visiting from DC, as well as Justin, Carter, and Bobby. Vince also brought his girlfriend, Saranga, whom we hadn’t seen since the Inaguration in January, but were delighted to catch up with, and his brother Max. After the game we all went to the Ginn Mill and chatted until Kelly and I were sufficiently exhausted. On the way home we were among the lucky cars to pass through a DUI checkpoint, where Kelly got through without a hitch, but apparently I was being shady, so they made me get out of the car and do a few field sobriety tests and take a breathalyzer. After proving my worth as an upstanding (and sober) citizen, they let me continue on my way.
Last Saturday, while Kelly went to a housewarming party for our friends Stephanie and Lloyd, I went camping with some buddies for Stephen Milburn’s bachelor party. We drove up to Allenspark, through some 4x4 terrain, to an area full of large climbing rocks. Stephen loves to rock climb, so he brought all his gear and set up a short course for us newbies to try. Four of us got up and down, but soon the clouds rolled in and we were all huddled under a make-shift shelter (which was really just the rain fly from a 2-man tent), trying to stay dry and not get struck by lightning. It was under that cozy “shelter” that Thomas, Stephen’s brother, realized that we forgot the rest of the tents. Luckily our old youth pastor, Jack, owns a cabin nearby so we packed up the gear, hopped in the cars, and made our way there. Jack was nice enough to let a bunch of rowdy guys stay there for the night. He even let us use the grill, dirty the dishes, sleep in the beds, and smoke cigars on the porch! We spent the rest of the evening drinking beer, smoking cigars, and giving Stephen questionable advice on how to be the perfect husband. It turned out to be a great night.
After I returned on Sunday, Kelly and I rode our bikes to my parent’s pool and spent the day lounging poolside, reading, and enjoying the sunny, warm weather. After awhile it started to get cloudy, so we rode home, changed, and returned to my parent’s house to celebrate father’s day with some family time and a few delicious grilled steaks.
Tuesday night was Kelly’s first bible study of the summer. They’re studying the book of Daniel, but that’s pretty much all I know about it…except that Kelly also gave up red meat because of it. Yesterday we stopped by Kelly’s Dad’s house to drop off his father’s day gift and see the house before they sell it and move to Wyoming. The house was completely bare inside, and I laughed when Kelly told me that her dad and Crystal have been sleeping on the pull-out sofa in the garage. Apparently that’s where they’ll be sleeping for the next six weeks!
That’s pretty much it for now…it’s been a busy few weeks, and it’s looking like that’s how it’ll be for the rest of the summer! We’re excited for all the warm days ahead that we get to enjoy, and hope you’re enjoying them as well. Until next time! God Bless!
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