Olivia's World

We had our baby girl--Olivia Rosalyn Nishi--on Monday, April 4th at 7:51pm! She was exactly 7 pounds and was 19.5 inches long. It was crazy because when I was thinking before she was born about how big I'd make her if I could choose, I was hoping for 7 pounds, 20 inches. With her hair standing up straight, she was right on target! She looks a lot like Mike in my opinion, except she has a pouty little girl mouth and my ears. I already get sad thinking about some boy wanting to kiss her lips because they are so adorable. I told Mike that I don't want to give her away to some stupid boy when she gets bigger! But he reassured me that we have plenty of time to worry about that...

The day she was born was my first day of maternity leave. I woke up early that morning, but decided to go back to sleep. I figured just in case I went into labor, I'd be glad for a few more hours (and I was). I got out of bed around 10:30 and went to take a shower. I felt completely fine and normal until around 11:00 when I got out of the shower and started feeling contractions. The contractions quickly got extremely intense and I texted Mike to come home. I still wasn't sure I was in labor, but I was in enough pain to at least need help moving around. I called the doctor and she told me to come to the office for a labor check at 1:30. Mike got home around 12:30. We finished packing our bags and I picked up the house between contractions because I didn't want her to come home to a messy house (evidently pain makes you crazy). The contractions had evened out by this point and actually were farther apart than they had been, so I started to worry this was a false alarm. We went to the doctor anyway and it was a good thing we did because she gasped when she checked me-- I was already 7 centimeters (out of 10). She told me to go to the hospital immediately-- do not pass go, do not stop!

When we got to the hospital, there were nurses waiting in the hallway for us, welcoming us by name. It was great! I must have looked pretty pathetic because three people tried to give me a wheelchair on the way to the OB wing, but I insisted on walking. When I got settled in I was at 8 centimeters and told them I was ready for an epidural. They got my IV in and the epidural was next. It wasn't as painful as expected (maybe just compared to the contractions) and once it was in, I was in heaven--other than being itchy from the narcotics. I still hadn't eaten since dinner the night before, but you can't eat in labor, so they gave me a Popsicle and I was an extremely happy camper. By now it was about 3pm and we decided to start calling/texting people. Everything was looking good so the nurses basically let us be and we hung out with Beth, Heather, Daniel, my mom and her husband. I didn't want the TV or anything, so we all just chatted and I made everyone listen to stories about when I was born.

Around 5pm, they came to check me again and said I was at 10 centimeters! They said I could start pushing or I could wait for the doctor. My water still hadn't broken and I figured it would make pushing quicker to give the baby more time to drop lower, so I decided to wait. At 7pm the doctor came in and broke my water and then we started pushing about 30 minutes later. Luckily this easy baby wanted out ASAP. I only pushed five times, for about 20 minutes, and she was born! Labor had lasted about eight hours. Unfortunately, there was quite a bit of thick meconium (baby poo) in the amniotic fluid, so they had to take her to the warmer right away and pump it all out of her. I have a phobia of choking and I couldn't believe she was already choking the minute she was born! Everything turned out okay, though. They got her suctioned and then brought her to me. I was so scared I couldn't stop shaking. I felt like she was going to break! Soon, family and friends came in for a "meet and greet." There were lots of pictures and everyone passed her around for about 15 minutes before we said goodbye so we could start feeding. Feeding went well, we transferred to our new room and got settled in for the next two nights.

The nurses at the hospital were amazing and I would definitely recommend Exempla Good Samaritan. There was so much support and they were all like friends. Two nurses told us to have another kid right away so they could see us again and a third nurse came in to see me at the end of her shift because she wanted to give me a goodbye hug. Everyone was also gaga over Olivia. Our nurse brought in another nurse from the department so she could see the adorable baby her coworkers had been talking about and another couldn't believe she wasn't a c-section baby because of her perfect little head. Turns out you can subsist on a diet of mexican food and pizza for your entire pregnancy and still have a kid that turns out okay. Who knew! Speaking of food, the hospital had great food and sent us home with a full lasagna meal when we left. Ahh... I miss the hospital...

Since then, things have been going pretty well, though. We got home on Wednesday night and tried to get settled in with a new set up. We've had some trouble with feedings and a lot of things about the whole process have been very very painful, so I'm trying to work through that. Today I'm feeling better, though, and am trying to feel human again by getting up and around the house a bit. I've probably only slept about six hours since Sunday night, mostly because Olivia's been "cluster feeding," which means she wants to eat about every hour. Since eating takes about 30-45 minutes from start to finish, that doesn't leave much time for anything else.

Anyway, that's Olivia's story so far! Overall, the pain and difficulty has been completely worth it to have such a beautiful, adorable, healthy girl. We feel incredibly blessed by God!

Busy, Busy, Busy…

From Mike:

As usual, Kelly and I closed out 2010 and began 2011 with a myriad of fun social activities. Here’s a recap of events that occurred after my brother’s wedding last month:

Keeping with our Christmas tradition, we attended the Milburn’s annual Christmas Movie Marathon the weekend before Christmas. Although it’s been sad to see the attendance at the marathon slowly decline over the years, I never get tired of watching those holiday classics…with the exception of flops like Jingle All the Way. Sorry Ah-nold fans, he and Sinbad just don’t get it done in that one.

Of course, no Christmas season would be complete without our annual Ugly Christmas Sweater Party! Several out-of-town friends were home for the holidays, so the house was packed, but that didn’t stop the hideousness from enduring late into the night. Beth managed to take 1st prize in the “found” sweater category with a tasteful, yet busy little number that looked like it came straight out of a catalog of grandma’s creations. She was also sporting an oversized-Flava-Flav-esque-clock-ornament-medallion…thing. Emily took home 1st prize in the “created” sweater category by sticking what seemed like hundreds of holiday-related stickers to her outfit. Well done, ladies! Although I will forever believe that my sweater was, by far, the ugliest one at the party.

We celebrated Christmas Eve with the Murphys by getting brunch at Mimi’s Café, followed by a movie. We saw The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which was actually quite good! After attending our church’s Christmas Eve service, we returned home for a quiet evening. Christmas day was spent at my parent’s house. The whole family was there to eat breakfast, open gifts, and enjoy each other’s company. Overall, it was a wonderful, relaxing day.

On New Years Eve, we drove to the Highlands in Denver for dinner at the Coral Room with a few close friends, took a quick, icy walk to Three Dog’s Tavern down the street, where we spent the remainder of the evening. The Tavern turned out to be a perfect place to celebrate with drinks, pool, shuffleboard, a little Buck Hunter arcade action, and a midnight champagne toast!

New Years Day was spent in our usual fashion at my Cousin Deb’s house in Berthoud. We stuffed ourselves, played games, watched football, and relaxed for a few hours before calling it quits and heading home for a long, and much-needed, winter’s nap.

The following weekend, a bunch of us headed up to Frisco for a ski trip. We rented a huge 5-bedroom house for the weekend and thoroughly enjoyed every minute we were there; whether it was playing pool, ping-pong, watching movies, or soaking in the hot tub, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. On Saturday, people scattered all over Summit County to spend the day at their favorite ski resort. A few people stayed behind and went shopping and relaxed at the house. We all headed home on Sunday morning, but not before stopping in Idaho Springs for some delicious Beau Jo’s Pizza!

The following weekend we began attending a new church in Denver called Eikon. Our close friends, Alex and Katey started the church and asked Kelly and me to be part of their core group, intended to help get it off the ground. We gladly accepted the invitation and have enjoyed being a part of such an amazing group of people! We’re excited about what Eikon is doing, and invite all of you to visit the website and see what it’s all about: http://denver.eikoncommunity.org. We’d love for each and every one of you to join us!

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to take a beginner’s photography class in Boulder. We met at Chatauqua Park, and the instructor taught us the basics of how to utilize our camera’s shutter speed, aperture, ISO, and several other features to help us take our DSLR cameras off the “Auto” setting and onto the “Manual” setting. It was very informative and I’m excited to begin taking pictures and actually know what I’m doing, and how to utilize the often unused features of this expensive piece of equipment we own. :)

On Tuesday, we met up with Amy, Beth, Todd, and Carter at Civic Center Park for the Denver Big Air event. The event brought professional skiers from around the world to compete in a ski-jump contest in the middle of downtown Denver. It was incredible! They built a huge multi-story ski jump right in front of the City and County building in Denver and brought in snow makers to cover the jump and landing area. Switchfoot played during the event and at the end of the night, it started snowing. Even though I couldn’t feel my toes at the end, it was awesome!

So that’s what’s been happening at the Nishi household. I ask the Lord’s blessing on each of you and pray that your 2011 is off to a great start! Until next time, keep us in your prayers, as we will keep each of you in ours.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We hope 2010 has been a great year for you. For us, it has been full of good memories and pleasant surprises. We celebrated the engagement and then wedding of Mike’s brother Bryan to Amanda Thompson, took a cruise to Alaska and, after many hard months of trying, we were ecstatic to find out that we are expecting a baby girl!

In March, we attended (and I was a bridesmaid in) Hannah and Simon’s wedding. The wedding was in Boulder, but there was no lack of Brits in attendance, which made it all the more fun! The following month, I had a business trip to Dallas, so Mike tagged along and we got to take a detour to see my mom’s hometown and visit my uncle Lynn. May was Brenda and Joe Sanchez’ wedding at the gorgeous Arrowhead Golf Course.
June brought us a visit from Colin and Mariko for James and Jamila Cox’s wedding ceremony and then we followed them back to Oregon for the reception. We had a ton of fun in Oregon, trying wines and fancy donuts and hanging out with the Blessings and the newlyweds. We spent July 4th with Mike Piel and Emma at Mike’s family’s place near Buffalo, WY. They have land up there with cabins and a clubhouse and plenty of hiking, fishing and open space—gorgeous! Later in the month, we took another trip to Wyoming to visit dad and Crystal in Saratoga. While we were in Saratoga, we went on a hike and did some fishing along the way. Another highlight of the summer was a rafting trip we took in the Royal Gorge. We also took a four-wheeling trip with the Cox’s later that month and Mike was introduced to his first true off-road experience.

We found out in July that we are expecting a baby! Mike was instantly really excited to get the news, but I think I am still in shock! I’m six months along now, due April 7th, and so far so good. I’ve been feeling fine, except for some back pain, and am thankful to have dodged many of the negative symptoms I heard so much about when I was first pregnant (so far).

In August, we attended my 10-year high school reunion (and Mike’s in November). It was crazy for both of us that it’s already been 10 years since we graduated! It was fun to see everyone and remember the old days of high school.

In September, we continued our tradition of visiting a new state every year by taking a cruise to Alaska. The trip was amazing! We saw whales up close, a bear, sea lions, dolphins and all kinds of other wildlife. We also enjoyed all the wonderful food, including a chocolate buffet one night. The shows onboard were another highlight and we saw a comedy show, dancers, trapeze artists, etc.

In the fall, I took a business trip to San Diego, which was great because I got to see Susan, who I hadn’t seen in far too long! When I got back, we took a weekend trip to Breckenridge with Carter and Ashleigh and another couple. The house we stayed in was lovely and we really enjoyed relaxing time with them. Shortly after we returned from Breckenridge, I took a business trip to Vegas and brought Anna, Beth and Carolyn with me, which made it all the more entertaining. In November, we took a trip to Washington, DC to surprise Nathan for his 30th birthday! The trip was great and he was definitely surprised. When we saw him for the first time, Nathan looked at me like I was crazy and he could quite figure out what the heck I was doing there. We finished off the year with two very important weddings—first, Lindsey and Anand got married at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, which was gorgeous! I was a bridesmaid and enjoyed learning all about the Indian traditions (and Indian dances) that were involved in the wedding. A few days later, Bryan and Amanda were married in Thornton. Mike was a groomsman and had a wonderful time seeing his younger brother get married and participating in the festivities (even though he says it’s a bit strange to see a ring on Bryan’s finger)!

Anyway, that’s what’s been going on around here! I hope you’ve had a wonderful year and that you’ll let us know what you’ve been up to.

What Boo-tiful Fall Weather We’re Having!

From Mike:

So here we are in October. Can you believe the holiday season is just around the corner? Where has the year gone?? Anyway, here’s what’s been happening at the Nishi household:

Big News Alert (for some of you, anyway): We’re Pregnant!!! That’s right, campers, we’re gonna be parents! Scary, huh? You’re telling me! Although we’re new to this whole pregnancy thing, we’re both really excited about the prospect of starting our family, and ask for your prayers to keep both Kelly and the baby healthy, happy and comfortable. We’re due on April 7th and should know the baby’s gender on November 16th, so we’ll keep you posted!

Now that you’re officially informed of the big news, let me take you back to August. Remember August? I sure don’t, but I’ll do my best to recall what we were up to. Where to start? Ah, yes…Alaska!

As many of you know, we visited the second state in our “Alphabetical Tour of the U.S.” by cruising to Alaska aboard the Norwegian Pearl. We sailed out of Seattle for seven days and visited Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, Victoria B.C., and sailed through the Inside Passage, and Glacier Bay. What a beautiful state! When we were ashore, we went whale watching (which was definitely a highlight!), rode a train into the mountains, took a double-decker bus tour, shopped, watched a lumberjack show, sampled the local fare and saw a myriad of wildlife including a hungry black bear, a few bald eagles and even a porcupine! In Glacier Bay, we got to see several spectacular glaciers, and watched and listened to them melt and break apart sending huge chunks of ice crashing into the ocean…it was incredible! The sound that glaciers make when they break apart, or “calve,” is awesome! It literally sounds like thunder! The ship itself was also quite a sight. When we weren’t ashore, we spent our time eating, watching live performers, playing bingo, bowling or simply relaxing in the lounge with a good book. Overall, the trip was fun and relaxing, and we both highly recommend a visit to Alaska.

In September, we attended yet another Milburn wedding…this time it was Joseph’s turn! The entire wedding took place in the backyard of a huge house that backed to a large pond and a golf course…it was very scenic and made an ideal setting for the occasion. We had a great time celebrating, eating, dancing and enjoying the company of close friends. Congratulations to Joe and Shelby!

The following Saturday, Kelly and a few girlfriends went on Banjo Billy’s Bus tour of Denver. I stayed home, because I am lame, and thought the tour would be equally as lame…boy, was I wrong. Kelly came back with amazing stories of Denver that would surprise any long-time Colorado resident! She also gave me the biggest guilt trip of my life. Admittedly, I missed out on a great time, and as a result, I have no awesome stories to tell. Sorry, you’ll just have to ask Kelly.

On September 25th, Kelly and I drove up to Estes Park for our annual Fall Colors Hike. This year, we decided to hike up Lily Mountain. Although, in her present state, Kelly decided not to attempt to reach the very top (mainly because it required monkey-like rock climbing skills), I managed to reach the top and snap a few photos of the incredible 360-degree views. It was stunning! However, fall must’ve come late this year, because there weren’t many “fall colors” to see…oh well, there’s always next year!

The following week I started working four 10-hour days; allowing me to take every Friday off. It’s been wonderful! I can’t imagine going back to a five-day work week now. The best part is that Kelly also has Fridays off, so we get to spend our three-day weekend together! :)

Kelly went to San Diego for a few days in early October for a conference, so I was home alone. While she was there she got to catch up with a friend, Susan, who is also pregnant. The second weekend in October we were fortunate enough to be invited to Breckenridge for a mountain getaway with Carter, his girlfriend Ashleigh, and Ashleigh’s friend Rhys and her boyfriend, Sam. Rhys’ dad’s firm owns a huge house up there, and was kind enough to let us use it for a few days! We spent the weekend cooking, eating, drinking, hiking, playing games, hot tubbing and watching football. It was unbelievably relaxing!

For a few months now, our friend Alex and I have been planning a Men’s Retreat. Now, when I say Alex and I, I really mean just Alex. :) Anyway, the retreat was last weekend up at Snow Mountain Ranch outside of Winter Park. We partnered with New Denver Church and got about 20 guys to join us in learning more about the things that men crave: money, sex and power. Alex, along with Norton, the pastor of New Denver, discussed biblical ways to satisfy your God-given cravings. It was a ridiculously good time of bonding, learning more about ourselves as Christian men, growing in faith and generally doing manly things. We hope this won’t be the last retreat we plan, so I’ll try to do a better job of advertising the next one.

While I was on my way home from the mountains, Kelly was on her way to Las Vegas for yet another conference…and a girl’s weekend. Anna, Beth and Carolyn met up with her to celebrate Anna’s birthday until Tuesday, when they returned to reality. Kelly still had the conference to wrap up, so she didn’t get home until last Wednesday. I still don’t really know the details of what happened there, but I’m sure everyone behaved. ;)

This past weekend we hosted a Broncos party and got to watch the Raiders utterly destroy any remaining dignity our beloved football team had before Sunday. We did, however, get to watch history in the making, as the Raiders set a franchise record for the most points scored in a single game: 59. Well done, Raiders. I still hate you. I will speak no more of it.

So, that’s it in a nutshell. Sorry for its tardiness! Hopefully the next one will be a bit timelier, and not as lengthy! Until next time, God bless and Happy Halloween!

Summer Fun

From Kelly:
Holy cow! Have we seriously not posted a blog since MAY!?! What have all you faithful readers been doing with yourselves?!?! It must have been a dry and lonely summer for you. . . Well, good news is, we're back!! Since I can't update you on the WHOLE summer, here's a shot at getting you caught up on the past few weeks.

At the beginning of July, we took at trip with Mike Piel and his gf, Emma, to Mike's family's homestead near Buffalo Wyoming. Mike's family has had this land since the 1800s and they use it as a family retreat. It has about eight cabins plus a mess hall situated around a big green open space. There are creeks and mountains and hikes on their land. It's truly an oasis! While we were there, we did a lot of relaxing and playing ping pong. The boys also did some fly fishing, but weren't super successful (i.e. they didn't catch any fish). We also went for a couple of hikes. The longest hike turned out to be bushwacking up a mountain because we couldn't find the trail. We climbed over logs, through boulder fields, through brush and up loose dirt hills, but we finally made it to the top! The view was awesome up there and, happily, we found the trail for the journey back down.

The weekend after that, we headed to Oregon for James and Jamila's wedding reception! We stayed with Mariko and Colin and had fun seeing their new condo and hanging out with them and their two dogs-- Buster and Molly. The first day we arrived we went bowling (for some relief from the heat) and then went to dinner and a unique Eugene restaurant. The next day we checked out Saturday market and had donuts at legendary Voodoo Donuts. This donut shop has really unique flavors, like bacon, grape and fruit loop donuts. I got rainbow sprinkles because I'm boring, but Mike was more adventurous and tried the Tang flavor. Then, we headed to a gorgeous vineyard about an hour away. We wine tasted and then went back home to get ready for the party! Their reception was wonderful and everyone had a great time celebrating the newly married couple. A highlight for me was when Jamila told Mike to stop standing so close to the cake; I think she was worried he was going to sneak a bite! On Sunday we went and enjoyed the coast and then grilled at Mariko and Colin's place. Monday was spent shopping at the tax-free outlet mall and then catching a plane home!

The weekend after that, we made another trip to Wyoming. This time it was to visit my dad and Crystal at their house in Saratoga. Our trip had been rescheduled, so we didn't get to float the river as we had previously planned (the river was too low), but we did manage to go on a wonderful hike to a waterfall (well, more like a rocky river) and Mike had fun fishing in the North Platte all along the way. Mike caught quite a few brookie trout and broke in his new fishing pole. We also went to happy hour at the historic Wolf Hotel and enjoyed relaxing and watching movies with the family. Another highlight was going shooting at the gun range-- I am actually a decent shot! My dad is also building a new deck on their house, so Mike got some tips for when (if) the time comes to build our own.

Weekend after that, we headed down to Canon City to camp out at the local KOA before our rafting trip the next morning. The camping experience was pretty funny because it was definitely not camping as we know it-- there was a "live music hour" with a guy playing a guitar with an amp across from our site and a dessert social to go along with it. There was also a store about 200 yards from our tent! Oh well, it served its purpose and we woke up the next morning, packed up, and headed to the rafting site. Rafting was a ton of fun!! I always forget how much I love whitewater rafting until I do it again. We went through some class IV rapids (V is the highest), so there were definitely some scary parts (for me at least), but we had a great guide (from Nepal) who navigated us through all the hard parts well. The only incident we had was Mike falling out of the boat! We were in a rough patch and he slid off the back of the raft, but luckily he was holding on the whole time and, as soon as I convinced her to stop laughing, our friend Amy pulled him back in the boat.

The last weekend in July, we went camping again. This time we went with James, Jamila, Anna and Beth to one of our favorite spots-- Camp Dick in Peaceful Valley (right outside of Jamestown). I like this spot because it's close to Boulder and it's gorgeous. We had a wonderful campsite away from all the other campers and we spent the weekend relaxing and eating as much traditional camp food as possible (hamburgers, hot dogs, s'mores, etc.). The rest of the group took James' Jeep up four-wheeling to a reservoir and a lake, but I had to catch up on schoolwork, so I hung out at camp and read. James had some other friends come meet up from Denver so there were other vehicles to go four-wheeling with and, from what I hear, it was an awesome trip!

Last weekend we actually stayed home (shocking, I know), but we still had some excitement-- We bought a new car!! Well, actually an SUV. We weren't sure exactly what we wanted when we headed out, but as we started looking at the options and test driving, we decided that we definitely wanted a CR-V, which meant all it came down to was the color. I wasn't seeing anything I liked until finally at a dealership down south, they had THREE green ones, which was just what I was looking for. We ended up with a 2007 CR-V with a green exterior and tan, leather interior. It has 39,000 miles on it so it should last us a really long time! I hope so at least because I really hate car shopping! I would post a picture, but I can't find my camera right now. . . so pictures to come soon. After we bought the car, we went to Lindsey Gardner's housewarming party, which turned into Lindsey and Anand's ENGAGEMENT party!! We were super excited to hear the news! They are a great couple and we definitely wish them all the best :)

This Monday we went to dinner at one of our favorite places--Buffalo Wild Wings--to celebrate Bryan's birthday (Happy Birthday, Bryan!) and then spent some QT with the Milburns on Tuesday night. Tonight, we are headed to the end of the season kickball party and then tomorrow night is my high school reunion. I can't BELIEVE it's been ten years already!! I also can't believe summer is winding down, with kickball being over and no more camping trips, it's definitely feeling like fall is just around the corner. But, fall means football and snow, so that's okay with me!! I hope summer is going well for you too and let us know what you've been up to!

April Showers. . .

From Mike:

So, what is the deal with this crazy Colorado weather?? I should be used to it by now, but every once in awhile, God throws me for a loop and proves to me that he really is capable of making it rain, snow, and shine all in the same day! Incredible! Anyway, here’s what’s been going on in our neck of the woods.


We concluded our trip to Texas at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center, which epitomized the phrase “Everything is bigger in Texas.” This hotel is HUGE!! The hotel rooms surround a massive 4.5 acre indoor atrium complete with a river walk, a miniature train, and more natural flora and fauna than I care to list. The hotel also has eight restaurants and cafes, a shopping center, two pools, a vineyard and over 1,600 rooms…absolutely ridiculous. Anyway, despite Kelly having to work, we enjoyed most of the amenities the hotel had to offer, without leaving the grounds. While Kelly was playing breadwinner, I was lounging by the pool reading and lazing around in the room. It was great! The weather didn’t really cooperate much while we were there, so it was nice to have an indoor sanctuary to keep us dry.

The following Saturday we got to babysit the wonderful, the fabulous, Miss Miriam Milburn! We drove over to Casa de Milburn and spent the evening being entertained by one of the most people-oriented one and a half year-olds we know so Heather and Daniel could have a date night. We played, colored, and watched Veggie Tales until it was time for dinner. For those of you who don’t already know, Kelly has a deeply seeded fear that every child she feeds will choke and die, so aside from preparing the meal, I took over most of the feeding duties. Miriam is getting acquainted with using silverware, so I would scoop up a little food and hand her the fork so she could do the rest. Although Kelly watched with trepidation as Miriam stuffed the fork into her mouth, we all survived dinner (despite falling victim to one of the largest accidental water spills I have ever experienced – caused by Kelly I might add). We stayed up for a bit afterwards, put Miriam to bed, and the rest of the night went off without a hitch!

The next day after church we drove to Denver to have brunch at Snooze with the usual crowd. After waiting over an hour for a table, all seven of us squished into a table built for four and we dined on some of the most delightful breakfast foods you could imagine…well worth the wait. If you ever get the opportunity to visit Snooze, order the pineapple upside down cake pancakes. They are amazing. And get a bellini while you’re at it…equally as amazing. 

Last Friday night I held another poker night. I actually managed to pull off a win this time! Although there were only four of us, it turned out to be a great night that ended with me taking everyone’s money. You can’t beat that, can you? Poor Kelly spent the whole evening upstairs studying for her Statistics final.

On Saturday, Kelly did some last minute cramming, and then drove to Longmont to take her Statistics final. Although she’s worried about how well she did, she’s happy to be done with the only math class she’s required to take for her second degree! Congrats, honey! Afterwards, we met up with Kelly’s mom for lunch at Baker Street Tavern for a delicious meal.

Sunday after church Kelly drove to Denver for Brenda Dorrance’s bridal shower and in the afternoon I drove down to meet her for the first gathering of our new church/bible study/huddle thing. We’re not really sure what to call it, but we’re really excited to be a part of a small group of believers who want to grow in faith and friendship. For some time now, we have been talking to our friends Alex and Katey about possibly starting a church of some sort. Not a church in the traditional sense, but a group of believers who gather to fellowship and study God’s Word together. If God decides to turn our little group into something bigger, we’re all open to the challenge.

That’s about it! God bless you, friends…until next time!

Hello from the Lone Star State

Have you ever noticed how sometimes one task leads you to another until you find yourself embarking on a complete project on a Sunday night, usually originally motivated by boredom? Well tonight we are sitting in a hotel in Dallas watching the World Poker Tour and I started thinking how I should start working on our 2010 photo album until I realized that I need to put blogs in the photo album if I'm going to do it right, but that in order to put in a blog, I needed to actually write one! So, here's what we've been up to!

For our second anniversary, we kept it pretty low key since I was getting sick and we had Hannah's wedding coming up. We decided to use a gift card to go to Carrabba's for their Denver restaurant week special. We feasted on Italian food and couldn't believe it has already been two years!!

One of the biggest things we've done since last we blogged was being involved with Simon and Hannah's wedding! We had a great time with them leading up to the even, including a bridal shower at Hannah's godmother's house. On the Friday before the wedding we went out with the bride/groom for their bachelor/bachelorette parties. Hannah's party started at Cinzetti's and then we headed to Sing Sing where Danny gave the rest of the party the dares he had created for her. There were some pretty funny dares-- including finding people with driver's licenses from five different states and arranging a group of guys in order of height without talking. Later in the night, Hannah broke her heel, so in good bridesmaid fashion, I swapped shoes with her and the bride was on her way again. Later in the night we accidentally ran into the boys!! While it was fun to see them, Hannah wanted nothing to do with the bachelor party, so we kicked them out and continued the party on our own.

The night before the wedding, after the rehearsal dinner, we took the visiting brits to The Rio where we introduced them to their particular brand of margaritas (which they loved) and sopapillas (which they weren't too sure about, so Jenny and I ate extra). On Sunday, they held the wedding at the Rembrandt Yard, which is a great art gallery in Boulder. It was a gorgeous affair and we had a ton of fun celebrating and the dancing the night away to all our favorite songs.

The following week I wasn't feeling so great and had a bunch of school work to do, so we laid pretty low. School is going well-- I'm taking a statistics class and a child development class. Of course I like the child development class more, but I keep reminding myself that I just have to get through the statistics class too. . .

For St. Patrick's Day, we went over to Beth/Anna/Jamila's house for a wonderful corned beef and cabbage dinner, as well as some green wine and beer. That weekend, Suzanne treated Carolyn, Amanda and me to dinner and a play in Denver. We Nishi girls-- past, present and future-- saw For Girls Only at the Denver Performing Arts complex and then had lunch at Maggiano's. It was a fun day of spending time together!

The following week was Mike's birthday. To celebrate, we went out on the day of with his family and my mom to Rock Bottom and then headed back home for an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. The next night, we met up with some friends at Happy Sumo and then had everyone over for cupcakes and to watch March Madness. I had decided to make Mike some strawberry cupcakes, but it turns out strawberry cupcakes are pink! So, it looked more like a sweet 16 than a 28th birthday party! Oh well. . . They were still yummy.

For Easter, we started out the morning by helping with the kids at Northern Hills. Of course the kids were wild and it was a pretty crazy day, but we survived. Then, we went to brunch with my mom in Brighton at a place called MoJo's. They had some really delicious cinnamon rolls! That evening, we headed to the Nishis', where Brianna greeted us all decked out in her swimsuit and snowsuit-- ready for whatever the Colorado weather might bring! We had a good meal with everyone (even though I had killed my appetite by eating too many chips and jalapenos now that Lent was over).

The group for which Mike is a board member, www.builtontherockeducation.org, had a fundraiser concert and silent auction. It was a wonderful event and helped spread their vision to build a school in Africa even further.

On Saturday, we left for Texas! I needed to come to Dallas for a business trip Mon-Wed and so Mike decided to tag along for the weekend so we could go visit my uncle Lynn, whom he had never met. Yesterday we drove to my mom's hometown, Sulphur Springs, where we drove around to see the sights (like my granny's house and the courthouse downtown) and then went to a delicious catfish dinner out in the country. Today, we headed over to my uncle's to meet and visit with him a bit before we headed to the cemetery to visit my grandparents' grave. Then, we drove to Dallas and checked into a new hotel where we are staying tonight. Tomorrow, we go to the Gaylord Texan for the conference and that place looks really nice, so I'm pretty excited to stay there!

Alrighty, I think you are now officially updated. I hope you are all doing well and let me know how you are when you get a chance! Now about that photo book. . .