Is It Spring Yet???

From Mike:

Oh man, for some reason, I haven’t had time to write a blog! Well, actually, I’ve probably had more than enough time, just no energy…sorry! Anyway, this one may be a bit long, but here goes…

In January, we started reading through a book called Sacred Marriage with Heather and Daniel. The book is fantastic!! We both would highly recommend it to any and all married or engaged couples. The author looks at marriage from the standpoint of making you holy, rather than happy. It’s given us all a fresh perspective on how we approach various aspects of our marriages and it’s been really fun and enriching to read through and discuss it with such close friends. We get together (almost) every Thursday to go through the questions in the back of the book, and it’s been great!

On the 17th, Katey and Alex put together a Murder Mystery Dinner at their house in Centennial. It was great! Our particular mystery was called “Murder on the French Riviera.” We both got our character assignments and began putting together our costumes a few days before…I was the gardener, and Kelly was the hot young Scottish secretary who doesn't like wearing her glasses (that was actually in the character description the company gave us)! When all the guests had arrived, we immediately got into character and tried to show off our best French accent. The murder mystery was a bit confusing at first, but after awhile we got into the swing of things and the true story began to form in our minds. Unfortunately, the conclusion to the mystery was fairly anti-climactic, but we all seemed to enjoy ourselves, and decided that perhaps next time we would visit one of those professional murder mystery houses that host them for you.

Kelly also started working towards earning her second bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Studies in January. For now, she’s taking a Statistics class at Front Range (to fulfill a CSU core requirement), and a Human Development course at CSU, both are online. Aside from the math class, she seems to be enjoying herself and learning a lot, so hopefully that will continue as her course schedule gets more intensive!


Probably the most exciting thing that has happened since our last post is the engagement of my brother!! He had both my family and his (now fiancee) Amanda's family meet at Davidson Mesa (which has an amazing view of Boulder Valley) because that's where my parents got engaged. We tried to hide while he and Amanda arrived, but there is a serious lack of hiding spots up there! Anyway, he parked, walked her over to us, got down on one knee, and popped the question. It was great. We got the whole thing on video. Afterwards we took pictures and sipped champagne, then drove into Boulder for a celebratory lunch at the Olive Garden. Good show Bryan!

Later that night, we celebrated Carter’s birthday downtown with an Asian Fusion dinner at Ling & Louie’s, followed by dessert and drinks at The Tilted Kilt nearby. It’s always a good time when the whole gang gets together, and this was no exception. Though for some reason, most of my memories from that night involved watching Carter eat something with whipped cream on it…

Kelly and I started teaching the 5-year-old Sunday school class at church twice a month. It’s been so fun getting to know the regular kids and all their little quirks. I had never really worked with kids that age before, but it’s a great age! They rarely cry, they can talk, and they haven’t noticed the opposite sex yet…a far cry from most middle schoolers! :P

The first Sunday in February we went to Ben and Nicole’s annual Super Bowl party. Unfortunately, we were among the few people rooting for the Colts and drew a lot of jeers from the unusually large number of Saints fans there at the end. Oh well, it turned out to be a great game and we were happy to see the Saints win their first championship.

A few days later, we got the wheels moving on the next stop in our “Alphabetical Tour of the United States” by booking an Alaskan cruise! We’re planning to leave Seattle on Norwegian Cruise Lines in August for a 7-day cruise through Glacier Bay to various ports in Alaska…we can’t wait!

The following weekend I went to see “Wolfman” with Daniel and company for his birthday…the movie was actually a lot more entertaining than I was expecting! We went to Noodles for a bite to eat afterwards and then parted ways. It was a fun, but short, celebration followed by terrible misfortune. I went to my parent’s house to do our taxes afterwards and got some shocking news. Apparently, we made a lot of money last year, and the government didn’t take out enough from our paychecks…so now we owe a truckload of taxes! Suffice it to say, we’re cutting back on a few things over the next few months to save up the money to pay it all.

In light of our tax situation, we decided to celebrate Valentine’s Day at home a quiet, romantic fondue feast. Kelly had me watch her all-time, favorite romantic movie, “Up Close and Personal,” with Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer while we gorged ourselves on yummy cheese fondue, steak, chicken, and chocolate-dipped strawberries and other goodies. Overall, it was a great night and a whole lot cheaper than eating out and going to the theater!

I know we’re not Catholic, but Kelly and I kept with tradition and gave up a few things for Lent. I gave up candy and watching “Family Guy,” and Kelly gave up tortilla chips and using the computer after work. I have a feeling this may be tough for both of us, but hopefully we’ll use the next 40 days to better ourselves physically, mentally, and spiritually. Please pray that we use this time wisely, and to the glory of our Creator!

Last week Nathan and Emily flew into town to see family, which meant Kelly monopolized a lot of their free time. It began Wednesday night with a CSU basketball game in Fort Collins, lunch on Thursday, dinner at Sushi Hai and drinks at Fado on Friday, and ice skating on Saturday. The ice skating was probably the most fun part of the weekend. Nathan, Emily, Beth, Carter, Lynnette, Kelly and I drove up to Evergreen because Kelly had heard from a coworker that you can skate on Lake Evergreen in the winter. It was awesome! The entire frozen lake was full of kids and families skating, playing hockey and broomball, and even a few ice fishermen! I got to show off my serious lack of balance and coordination while slowly sliding around the ice; desperately trying not to fall and humiliate myself. It was a blast, and afterwards we all drove into town for lunch at Beau Jo’s. Yum!

Tuesday night we had Kacy and Tara over for dinner. Believe it or not, it was the first time they had been to our house! Much to Zora’s dismay, they brought their two awesome dogs, Stewie and Champ, who are just about the cutest, sweetest, most well-behaved King Charles Spaniels you have ever seen! Kacy and Tara put on a show to demonstrate how well-trained the dogs are. It was so cool to watch them sit, stay, lay down, bow, shake, roll-over, and even do figure 8’s around Kacy’s legs…and they’re still only puppies!

Tonight we are going over to Brian and Angela's for dinner to meet her brother Brian and Brandi's new baby-- Bree. We are also gearing up for Hannah and Simon's wedding next week, which should be a great celebration!

I think that about covers it. I hope you all are blessed and well. I don’t know about you, but I’m glad spring is just around the corner! Until next time!

Starting Things off Right

From Kelly:
Well for us, 2010 is already off to a great start!

For NYE, we stared off the night with a Hibachi dinner at Mt. Fuji and then headed to party at Onyx and Audrey's house. It was such a fun party with delicious snacks and even party favors and champagne at midnight. The best part, though was that there was a really cool fireworks show at midnight, which I won't go into too much detail about, but it was awesome! After the party we headed back to Beth/Anna/Jamila's house where we had a big slumber party and played some games.



New Year's day we spent at Mike's cousin's house for the annual Japanese new year celebration. It was sad not to have bachan there to administer the annual Saki blessing, but it was a fun day nonetheless. We spent a lot of time eating and playing games and watching football.

The weekend after NYE, we were lucky enough to get to go to the Broncos-Chiefs game. Carter and Adam each offered us a free ticket, so Mike sat with Adam and I sat with Carter until the very end of the game when we met up with Mike in his super sweet "section 106" tickets. Unfortunately the Broncos couldn't pull out a win, but it was nice to wrap up the season by getting to see a live game!

This last weekend we went on a trip to Winter Park with some friends (there were 13 of us). We rented a house with a pool table, flat screen TVs, hot tub-- the works. It was a pretty awesome set up. When we arrived on Friday, we decided to do some snowshoeing with Carter and his dog, Chloe. It actually worked out really well (considering we had no idea where we were going) and we came upon a place that rented snowshoes for $8 with a trail right next door. Perfect! We hiked a little ways down the trail and saw some beautiful winter landscapes-- mountains, rivers, bridges, etc. It was gorgeous! When we were done we headed to the house to meet the rest of the group. Once everyone had assembled (minus one carload), we headed out to dinner at Smokin' Mo's BBQ. James had found this place and it was a great find-- delicious BBQ and a fun atmosphere. It was a good opportunity for everyone to get to sit down and talk as we got the weekend kicked off.



Saturday, most of the group headed off to the slopes to ski and snowboard, but Matt and Linnea went snowshoeing and the rest of us (me, Beth, Anna) lounged around the house reading and taking the dog for walks; we also went to lunch and checked out the stores and then came back and played pool/wii while we waited for the group to get back. That night Matt and Linnea made a fabulous lasagna dinner and we had a house guest-- Christy-- who was in town volunteering. Later we spent time playing games and hanging out in the hot tub. Some people even took the plunge of jumping in the snow and then back into the hot tub. In fact, I was the only person in the hot tub who didn't take that challenge. I consider myself the smart one!

Sunday we picked up the house and headed out to go tubing in Fraser. If you have never been snow tubing, I would highly recommend it! It was very scary (for me), but also really really fun. We had only paid for 45 minutes, but afterward everyone agreed that we could have gone for twice as long. On the way home we stopped at Beau Jo's for some delicious Colorado-style pizza and then headed back to reality at home. Overall it was an awesome weekend and I was so happy that everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and one another's company.

Other than that, things have been going pretty much as normal for us. I am starting my part-time schedule this week (so I'm off on Tuesdays and Thursday) and yesterday had a wonderful day of running errands and getting stuff done on my to do list. It was also a bonus that the weather was so nice! Another exciting part of yesterday was finding out that I'd had a quote published in my favorite magazine-- Real Simple. They do a monthly question for readers to answer and then they pick some of the answers to publish. I had answered a couple of the questions one day when I was web surfing and sure enough one of them got picked! I was so excited because I've been reading that magazine for years!



I guess that's it for us this round, let us know what's been going on in your neck of the woods!

Wrapping Up 2009

From Mike:
Overall it’s been a whirlwind holiday season for us. It seems like Thanksgiving was only a couple of weeks ago! Well, here we are…on the brink of ringing in the New Year. I hope, for you all, 2009 has been full of God’s blessing. I know Kelly and I have definitely felt God’s hand working in each of us, and am so thankful for the lives he has so graciously and abundantly blessed us with. Anyway, here’s the skinny on the past month or so at our house.

A week or so before Thanksgiving, we bought a new car. Although we didn’t really need a new one, all the quirks of my base model Honda Civic were starting to get to me; and since I spend so much time sitting in traffic during my commute to work everyday, well, it was time for an upgrade. Anyway, it’s a 2005 Acura TL (silver with black interior) and it is awesome. It’s got all the bells and whistles one might need to make for a smooth, comfy ride all the way to work and back.

We spent Thanksgiving with my family at my parents’ house just hanging out, watching football, enjoying each other’s company, and doting on Carolyn’s new son—Mason. The day after, when most people do their Christmas shopping, we took Zora to the vet for a checkup, which both of us had feared for awhile. As most of you know, Zora is not the friendliest cat, and we didn’t know how she would react to a stranger poking and prodding her. However, to our pleasant surprise, she was very well behaved and only hissed once despite having to get two shots! The vet also told us that her weight is no longer a major issue and she could only stand to lose another pound or so…great news!

The following week, Kelly was fortunate enough to get jury duty. Despite faithfully fulfilling her civic duty by driving all the way up to Greeley in the snow, she was promptly turned away and sent back home. That same week, we started reading a book called Sacred Marriage with our good friends Heather and Daniel and they came over to discuss the first chapter. That Friday, we drove to downtown Denver to have dinner with friends and watch the Parade of Lights. We finished our dinner a little late, but still got to see several floats, a few balloons, and of course, Santa Claus. Kelly also ran into her friend Rachel, who was in the parade with her show dog. The next evening we made an appearance at a Christmas cocktail party put on by our friends Chad and Kelli.

On December 10th, we drove to south Denver to help celebrate the birthday of our friend Alex, who decided to partake of the all-you-can-eat crab feast at Landry’s Seafood House. He managed to get through an eye-popping 13 plates of crab legs before declaring that he was about to explode. (And that his hands were too raw to crack open any more shells) The following Saturday night we drove back down to Denver for Kelly’s company Christmas party held at the Hyatt Regency downtown. The highlight of the evening was when they started giving away door prizes. Kelly managed to win another bright blue MWH fleece-lined jacket; a duplicated of the one hanging, unused, in our closet at home.

The next day, we got to see our good friend, Carter, get baptized by Alex! It has been such a blessing and an answer to prayer to see Carter growing in his faith. To watch him make an open and outward declaration of his faith in Christ was indescribable and stirred up such overwhelming joy that it brought tears to my eyes. Kelly had been praying for Carter for years and was so excited that she couldn’t wait for him to dry off before giving him a big, wet hug. Afterward, Carter, Beth, Alex, his wife Katey, Kelly and I had brunch at Racine’s and toasted Carter with a celebratory mimosa. That evening, Kelly met up with some girls for happy hour at Hotel Teatro and went to see the play Spring Awakening at the Denver Performing Arts Center. Friday, my office had their Christmas party at Dave & Buster’s, and that evening I hosted a poker night at my house. I managed to win and take away a $35 pot…not something to sniff at if you ask me! On Saturday we went to Heather and Daniel’s for the 11th annual Christmas Movie Marathon. It’s hard to believe that we’ve been doing that for 11 years! Things have changed a bit (we no longer stay up all night), but it’s still a great time and despite Kelly’s inability to sit in front of the TV for extended periods of time, she managed to go four whole hours without a distraction before pulling out her computer and her cross-stitching!

Christmas started on the 22nd for us when Kelly’s dad and step mom drove down from Wyoming to close on their house in Louisville (Kelly would like it noted how sad she is that her childhood home is now officially sold). We went to a local restaurant for dinner and came back to our house afterward to open gifts. Kelly’s dad recently bought a Playstation 3, so we bought them Guitar Hero 5. We showed them how to play on our Wii; and think, with practice, they’ll be shredding the frets in no time. We spent the next day preparing the house for our Third Annual Ugly Christmas Sweater Party. Unfortunately for us, it snowed several inches that night and we only had about half the people that we expected, but it was still a blast and we had some really ugly sweaters! Beth managed to win the title this year with her bright red, half-mohair cardigan. Second place went to Ben Vinson, who was dressed as a Christmas superhero in Grinch footie pajamas and red dinosaur cape. Justin Zuiker came in third wearing a fuzzy red and green tree-skirt, complete with a huge silver poinsettia pinned on the front.

On Christmas Eve, we met up with my family and the Murphys for brunch at the Huckleberry in Louisville. Sadly, on the way there we witnessed a car accident and had to wait for the police to show up to give them our account. Afterwards, we went to see A Christmas Carol, which was actually quite frightening. A mom and her two kids actually left during the movie! That evening, we were supposed to have dinner with Kelly’s mom, but she came down with a sudden illness, so we spent a quiet evening alone at home. We attended our church’s Christmas eve candlelight service at 11pm and managed to make it home and into bed by 1am.

Christmas day started at 9am with breakfast at my parent’s house. We ate; opened stockings and gifts; played with our niece and nephew; and were at Sharon’s house by 3:00. There, we snacked on leftovers from our party, opened gifts, and by then I was thoroughly spent. I had to take a quick nap before we set out in the new car to view the neighborhood Christmas lights. We drove around ooo-ing and ahh-ing at some of the light displays; scoffing at the ugly inflatable Santas and snowmen. After awhile we came home, had a light dinner, and spent the rest of the night enjoying our new gifts.

Last Saturday, we met up with a few friends in Denver for dinner at the Wazee Supper Club. After enjoying some of the best pizza in town, we went and saw Up In The Air at the Pavilions. After church on Sunday, I watched my fantasy football team lose terribly in the championship game, and the Broncos’ chances of making the playoffs slip even further away.

Well, that about wraps it up for 2009. We’ll see you again in 2010. God bless and Happy New Year!!

Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas!!

From our family to yours, we hope this holiday season is fun, memorable (in a good way), and full of reminders of how blessed we truly are. For us, 2009 was marked by a whirlwind of activity and, as always, a ridiculous amount of travelling!

We started off the year by participating in the historical inauguration of Barack Obama as our 44th president! Well, Mike didn’t actually participate in the inauguration, but he was there to enjoy a bunch of the inauguration festivities, including a great concert held at the Lincoln memorial, before leaving for home on the big day. Kelly toughed out the freezing cold with Tony (from San Francisco) and, after we fought our way through the biggest crowd we had ever seen, we had a pretty good spot to see Mr. Obama take the presidency. That night, Tony and Kelly went to the NJ inaugural ball and saw a few celebrities throughout the day.

In February, we spent the weekend at the Garden of the Gods to celebrate Valentine’s Day and our first anniversary. We also played in a dodgeball league and celebrated Mike’s 27th birthday in March with a party at the Rio in Boulder.

We were fortunate enough to attend a bunch of fun wedding celebrations throughout the year, which is one of our favorite things to do! We celebrated with Katey (Weaver) and Alex Johnson (Denver) in January, Misty (Rogers) and Greg Giunto (Denver)/Susan (Trieu) and Kris Norenberg (Wichita) in April, Monica (Kremer) and Stephen Milburn (Lafayette) in June, Nicole (Biondi) and Ben Vinson (San Jose) in July, and Lindsay (Parrish) and Boris Krupa (Denver) in August.

At the beginning of June, we took a trip with Beth to see Simon and Hannah in England, then on to see Kacy and Tara in Belgium, and finished up with some sightseeing in Amsterdam. The trip was great except that right before we left, Kelly got sick with bronchitis and was pretty ill for the first part of the journey. Despite the coughing, though, it was great to see everyone and Mike enjoyed his first trip to Europe (at least the first that wasn’t just a layover). One of our favorite things that we did was go punting down the Thames River in Oxford, England. We also enjoyed sampling chocolate and beer in Belgium. While in the Netherlands, we took a nice scenic bus ride and got to see windmills, a cheese farm, and a wooden shoe maker. It was also fun to see how our friends live overseas and spend time together.

For the Fourth of July, we went to my dad’s house in Wyoming. We floated down the river, went fishing at a nearby lake, and watched fireworks from a nice overlook on the edge of town. Dad and Crystal have since sold their house in Louisville and retired full-time to their house in Wyoming, where they are enjoying their free time.

We took a bunch of camping trips this summer and the highlight of those trips was one on which we had a visit from a bear! In the middle of the night Matt, a friend of ours in another tent, heard footsteps and then looked up to see the outline of a bear just as it took a swipe at his tent. Matt shouted as loud as he could and the bear ran away. Luckily we hadn’t left any food out, but it did take some bites at our water jug.

This summer we also captained a kickball team—Just for Kicks—and while we did not have a winning season, it was a fun to get outside and play.

We celebrated my 27th birthday in August with a trip to Vegas and had a great time checking out all the flashy sights and fancy hotels. Kelly also took a business trip to DC and got to spend some time with friends there during my visit.

In September, we started what will be a yearly tradition for us—to visit every US state (in alphabetical order). Of course, the first state is Alabama, so we headed down to Gulf Shores for a wonderful beach weekend. While we were there, we went on a sunset cruise where we saw several dolphins swimming alongside, and jumping around in, the wake of the boat. We also relaxed on the beach and did some shopping.

We rounded out the year with some more business trips (to Orlando, DC and Tulsa for Kelly; Ohio, DC, Alabama and San Diego for Mike). We also had some friends from DC in town and Kelly went with them to the CSU homecoming game. We volunteered with the March of Dimes for their annual Chef’s event and celebrated Halloween in Denver dressed as hippies.

The end of the year has also brought the joy of new babies! In November, Thomas and Kristen Milburn had baby Katin, Brian and Brandy Moody had baby Bree, Stephanie and Lloyd Rochester had baby Rylan, and, closest to our hearts, Mike’s sister Carolyn and her husband Adam had baby Mason.

Overall, it’s been a wonderful, busy year in which we’ve seen God working in many ways and which was guided all along the way by love. We are grateful that both of us still have jobs (Mike is still with the Department of Defense and Kelly is still working with MWH Constructors) and we are grateful to be living in Erie, which has grown into quite a nice little community. We hope that you are doing well also and that you are taking the time to see God’s hand in your life.

God bless and Merry Christmas!

Ghouls, Ghosts, Goblins and Snow?

From Mike:
Well, it's been a typical Colorado fall lately. At first I was worried that we would go straight from warm summer days to frigid cold winter ones, but the mild weather that I love so much finally decided to show up.

Kelly was in beautiful, sunny Orlando for a conference last week, but she got a cold, snowy blast of wintery horribleness when she returned last Tuesday night from a wicked storm blowing through the state and blanketing everything in that powdery white substance we know so well. (and no, I don't mean drugs, you weirdos!) When all was said and done, Erie got about 16 inches of snow! Luckily Kelly made it home before we got the worst of it, and had the next day off. We spent the rest of the week staying warm and working from home. Well, Kelly worked anyway. My office was closed, so I basically got two days off! The snow days were nice, until we realized we had no food. The sun came out that Friday and melted most of the snow so Kelly went back to the office and I finally changed out of my sweat pants, shaved my "snow day beard," showered and miraculously transformed back into a fully functioning member of society.

On Saturday, we celebrated Halloween in the typical fashion-- driving all over creation to various gatherings and parties donning our latest costumes. This year, we were dressed as a couple of hippies. I wore a bright yellow CU t-shirt, so some (mainly CSU fans) lovingly referred to me as a "dirty hippie." That afternoon, our church was hosting a HarvestFest celebration where kids could come and play games, get sugared up on candy, jump around in a giant inflatable bouncy castle, throw up the aforementioned candy, and have a "sugar crash" before dinnertime. It was fantastic. Kelly and I ran one of the games where you swung a tennis ball at a stack of blocks and tried to get the letters W-I-N to face upwards after knocking the blocks down. As you can imagine, it was riotous fun and we basically handed out an entire crate full of candy by the time our shift was over. Adam and Carolyn brought Brianna, who was adorably dressed in a 1950's sock hop costume, complete with a little pink poodle skirt, polka-dot ascot, wing-tipped mary janes, and horn-rimmed glasses. I realize that I'm a little biased, but she was by far the cutest kid there!

After HarvestFest, we came home and got ready for our big kid parties. We drove to Denver, met up with Anna and Beth, and carpooled to our friends Paige and Micah's house downtown. We greeted Paige and Micah, then spent the rest of our time talking amongst ourselves while devouring the delicious food they had set out. After a while, we returned to the car and drove to the Argyll in Cherry Creek for party #2. This was the annual Halloween party thrown by our friends Greg and Misty and, as usual, it did not disappoint. We danced the night away with our friends Carter (dressed as Nuggets player Chris "Birdman" Andersen), Justin and his girlfriend Bridget (all in green, connected at the hip, and going as two peas in a pod), Beth (the Guitar Hero, sporting a custom-made cape and a familiar guitar-shaped Wii controller), Anna, (in a flowing white gown and gold headband, dressed as Athena the goddess of war) and Amy (mysteriously dressed as a fortune teller; complete with a sparkly crystal ball). Overall, it was a fun, eventful day and we're looking forward to next year!

I spent Sunday watching football and monitoring my fantasy football team as they secured their 7th win of the season. (I happen to be first place in my league at the moment with a 7-1 record) Kelly spent that time taking down the Halloween decorations and packing for her trip the next day. That afternoon Beth came over and took pictures of us for our Christmas card, which I'm sure you'll all see soon.

As previously mentioned, Kelly is out of town on business this week. She spent Monday-Wednesday in Tulsa and is now in DC until Sunday. Meanwhile, I have reverted back to bachelorhood and consequently, have not eaten well or taken care of myself since Kelly left. Suffice it to say, I'm looking forward to her return.

That's it for now. I hope you all are well. Until next time!

Dolphins Rock!

From Kelly:
Wow, I am really awful about updating the blog. I'm sorry! I will just give you a brief overview of the highlights from the past month (yikes! has it been that long??)

At the end of September we took a trip to Alabama. This was the first of our 50-state tour (to be completed one a year, in order, for the next 50 years of marriage). The concept is that every state has some type of natural beauty or a fun thing to do or a cool thing to see. Alabama definitely lived up to this idea. We visited Orange Beach/Gulf Shores, AL and it was a great trip! We ate lots of southern cooking (fried okra, hush puppies, cornbread, green beans, black-eyed peas, etc.) at a variety of fun eateries. One of them was owned by Jimmy Buffet's sister, so it was quite a party. They had live music and it was indoor/outdoor with volleyball courts and an outdoor movie playing and all kinds of fun stuff. We also ate at a place that served Mike a full rack of ribs in a frying pan and the staff literally threw rolls at you. They also played practical jokes on me the whole time (fake mustard on my shirt, fake vermin in the stew, etc.) and I obliged by falling for it every time. On Saturday we heard it was supposed to rain (it didnt) so we spent the day seeing an old fort and doing some outlet shopping. The deals we found we amazing! I was having so much fun snatching up the super cheap clothes. On Monday, we layed on the beach that was out the back door of our hotel and swam a bit in the pool. Lounging and reading time was welcome and I even made it out pretty far into the ocean, though I was freaking out about jelly fish the whole time. The best thing we did, though, was a sunset cruise around the bay to see dolphins. I couldn't believe how close they were to the boat! They like to ride in the wake the boat creates (like body sufing), so they were flipping and jumping and doing all sorts of tricks for us. We even saw a mom and baby. So, all in all we had a wonderful time in the gulf and would highly recommend it for a cheap beach vacation!

Since we got back, we've been trying to slow down our hectic pace and have a more relaxed fall. A few of the highlights of the first couple weeks were: a celebration dinner with James and Jamila (newly engaged), baby showers for Stephanie and Brandy, a fall colors hike and dinner at Kacy and Tara's to meet their (adorable) new puppy, Stewie! Last weekend was pretty fun because Vince, Mike P and Nathan flew in from DC to go to the CSU homecoming game and also to participate in the Abby's Voice run/walk. Though it was great to have everyone together (Matt and Carter came to the game with us), it was also REALLY cold! The temperature for the game was around 17 degrees. After the game we met up with Amy and Lindsey M and I was very relieved to have some girls around after spending the day with five boys. It's amazing the grody stories they tell when they all get together. . .

Mike's grandmother (Bachan, his dad's mom) passed away on Friday, October 2nd. She was 92 years old and died at home, which really isn't a bad way to go. The services were held last Monday with a private ceremony and then we went to lunch afterward at her favorite restaurant. That afternoon we spent at Mike's aunt's house looking at old pictures and telling stories, which is always the best part of a funeral in my opinion. I enjoyed learning more about Mike's family and seeing pictures of his history, which is now mine as well. Bachan will be missed, but I think the services were just what she would have wanted--family getting together and reconnecting.

Last Thursday we volunteered for Chef's Event, which we love to do every year. It's an event where they invite all the top chef's from around Boulder (they also have a Denver one) and you get to sample all of their tasty treats. There was everything from ceviche to "sin bars" as well as beer and wine and chocolate bars and a silent auction. So much fun! Saturday we celebrated Anna's 30th birthday with a potluck party at her house of everyone's favorite dishes. Sunday we went to the Murphy's for pumpkin carving, which was a good time although I realized that I really just don't like carving pumpkins-- it's too much work! So maybe next year I'll let Mike carve mine for me :)

As far as travel goes, Mike was in Ohio last week, next week I'm in Orlando and the week after I'm in Tulsa and DC-- all work trips.

Whew! I think that about covers it! I hope you are all doing well-- send me an update of what's been going on with you when you get a chance!

Birthday Tomfoolery

From Mike:
This past week or so has been full of birthday celebration! It all started with our trip to Las Vegas. We got to the airport on Friday afternoon and promptly ran into our travelling companions: Beth, Carter, Jamila and James. The fun had begun. We spent the time waiting for the plane to board chatting about our plans for lounging by the pool and winning the jackpot, and were soon on our way to see the bright lights of the Las Vegas Strip. We arrived around dusk, got a couple of taxis to our hotel, and met up with our fifth and final Vegas buddy, Mike, who had arrived earlier that day. Poor Mike was already a little bitter, having already handed over a large portion of his gambling budget to the various casinos around town. Despite that, we were all ready for a night on the town.

We checked into our (dated) hotel room at the Tropicana and promptly set out towards our first stop of the evening: the MGM Grand Casino. We made a quick stop by the bar for a drink, and roamed between the slot machines and card tables until we found a spot at one of the blackjack tables. Kelly spent a few minutes playing, while I eyed the roulette table across the way. After our luck ran out, we decided to tempt our fates in a different locale, so we headed to the Planet Hollywood. We spent some time playing the slot machines and many of us soon decided to give up gambling for the night and visit a nightclub. So we stopped at the Hawaiian Tropic Zone because it was Ladies’ Night and they got free drinks. It was a nice, warm evening, so we sat out on the patio soaking up the neon light, chatting, and listening to people attempt to sing karaoke. After awhile we were all getting tired and hungry, so we made our way back down the Strip, stopping by the Paris, Bellagio, and Monte Carlo hotels on the way, and eventually landed in the Tropicana’s all-night restaurant for a midnight snack of nachos and grilled cheese. We managed to make it to bed, exhausted and bleary-eyed, around 4am.

We began the next day relaxing by the hotel’s massive 5-acre pool. We soaked up the hot sun while reading, snacking, sipping pina coladas and daquiris, and taking quick dips in the water to cool off. We tried to take advantage of the swim-up blackjack tables, but they were full, so we were content to return to our lounge chairs. After spending a few hours outside, it was time to explore more of the Strip. We all got cleaned up, pressed, and dressed, and took a taxi to the Treasure Island Casino in search of the city’s best dinner buffet. The cabbie recommended the buffet at the Wynn Hotel, so that’s where we headed next. We entered the Wynn and wandered through a corridor full of high-end stores, through the lavish casino, to the buffet. We stood in line for about 45 minutes and by the time we got to the food, we were ravenous. We piled our plates high with, among other things, crab legs, prime rib, lamb, veal rib tips, shrimp, sushi, and ceviche, and devoured it until we were ready to burst. Did I mention that the buffet also had an entire room devoted to desserts? This glorious addition to the meal had pretty much every dessert you could dream of, including: strawberry shortcake, crème brulee, mint chocolate mousse, pudding, ice cream, a crepe station, and about 20 others that have names that I can’t pronounce. We all heaved our bellies away from the table, raving that we had never eaten so much amazing food in one sitting. It was definitely a major highlight of the trip.

After dinner we wandered around the casino, walked to the adjacent Encore hotel, and eventually made our way back to Treasure Island in time for their famed live outdoor pirate show, complete with dancing sirens, scurvy pirates, and lots of fire. It was great, but short-lived, and we were soon making our way through the dense crowd back into the casino. We visited three more hotels and casinos before returning to ours: the Venetian, the Palazzo, and finally New York New York. We later found out that Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher and a number of other celebs were at the Tao Nightclub in the Venetian to celebrate Rumer Willis’ 21st birthday. We didn’t see anyone famous, but I managed to win back a lot of the money I had lost the previous day; however the poor birthday girl wasn’t so lucky.

The next day Kelly, Carter and I woke up in time to take advantage of the breakfast buffet at our hotel. It couldn’t compare to the Wynn, but we left full and satisfied, and returned to our room to pack and check out. Our flight didn’t leave until 6 that evening, so we had time to explore. We walked across the Strip through the Excalibur to the Luxor hotel. After stopping in a couple of shops and winning a few rounds of roulette, we decided to brave the 100-degree heat and walk to the Bellagio to catch a glimpse of their famous fountain show. We entered the welcomed air conditioning in the hotel and had a few minutes to kill before the next fountain show, so we walked around the hotel’s atrium which was decorated with sculptures made from fresh flowers, jumping fountains, and even had a small aviary full of colorful birds. Afterwards, we grabbed a drink at the bar and sat and watched golf, played video poker, and headed outside in time for the show. After a delightful display of dancing streams of water, we returned to the hotel to pick up our bags and head to the airport, but not before making a quick stop by In-N-Out to grab dinner, which was deliciously artery-clogging.

The Tuesday night after we got back from Vegas, we drove up to Morrison to meet up with Carter and his friend Kerri for dinner. We initially intended to go to Film on the Rocks afterward, but the idea of getting home at 1am on a work night dissuaded us. We sat on the roof of the Morrison Inn and enjoyed Mexican food until our bellies were full, and then headed home. Wednesday night was our last regular-season kickball game. Despite playing against the worst team in the league, we only managed to tie them, 10-10. However, everyone makes it into at least one playoff game, so we’re not done yet!

Thursday was Kelly’s birthday, so she took the day off and celebrated by sleeping in, getting a 90-minute massage, having lunch with her mom, and going out for dinner at Sushi Zan Mai with me, my parents, and Beth. Unfortunately, I had to work that day, but I did manage to put together a delicious home-made ice cream cake before heading to the restaurant. After stuffing our faces full of delicious sushi we all came back to the house to meet up with Beth’s parents, open gifts, and enjoy the cake. Friday after work we met up with a group of friends for happy hour at the Downtown Tavern and then went to the Rockies game afterwards. Even though they lost to the Giants, we all had a great time.

Saturday was spent preparing for Kelly’s birthday party that evening. We decided it would be fun to have a picnic in the park, complete with food, games, and beer. So we packed the coolers, grabbed the lawn games, and headed to Washington Park in Denver. When we arrived, we found a nice shady spot under a large tree and set up camp. After people started arriving, we ate and played several rousing games of bocce ball, badminton, volleyball, and ladderball, and before we knew it, the sun was setting. We scrambled to get everything packed up and put into the car before we couldn’t see anymore, then we all drove to the Wash Park Tavern for a few drinks, some lively conversation, and to catch the end of the Broncos’ and Rockies’ games. Overall, it was a fun end to a busy week, and the birthday girl said it was one of the best birthdays she had ever had!

Sunday morning we decided to try a new church that Kelly’s co-worker attends. It’s called Northern Hills and it’s only 15 minutes away from our house! The church holds two services simultaneously; one being more edgy than the other. We decided to try the edgy one this week, so we ventured into what is appropriately referred to as “the garage,” and found a couple of open seats. The worship service was definitely edgy and seemed more like a rock concert than anything, but the band had a lot of talent and we were both impressed. The speaker was articulate and genuine, and his sermon was peppered with bible passages and sound theological teachings, and Kelly and I left with every intention of returning soon. That afternoon Kelly had a hair appointment with my sister, so I went with her to my parent’s house, hung out, and watched as Kelly went from being a blonde to a brunette in a matter of hours. Afterwards we drove to the Murphy’s to celebrate Cindy’s birthday. Yesterday was Kelly’s mom’s birthday, so we celebrated by first going to Sharon’s house to open gifts, then going to dinner at Rock Bottom Brewery.

Whew, that’s it! Until next time!