Slight delay in this post due to spotty internet. It is going extremely slow for some reason today and is frustrating me to no end.
But we had a great time this past weekend. I actually took off work on Saturday due to my LASIK enhancement being scheduled for last week Thursday (which didn’t happen since my eyes were still too dry), so we got to bum around together all day, yay! Side note: I am now officially getting my enhancement this Thursday, HOORAY! Finally! I’m soo excited because I was getting really anxious for two reasons – 1) after four months of recovery, I know it’s going to take just as long this second time around, and 2) I’m just SO ready to finally see 20/20 without correction! Still have some nerves to calm, but I’m definitely fully on board with this.
Anyway, back to our weekend. So our Saturday started bright and early with taking a look at some real estate with a nice broker named Chris. Yes, this sort of indicates we like it here and may stay for a while, but nothing is for sure – we are just checking out our options. I had gone with him earlier in the week to check out some homes in the Morrison/Littleton area and of the ones we saw, we’d narrowed it down to two that I wanted Ryan to look at over the weekend. Ryan also found a couple other ones to check out this second time around, so we looked at four all together. We really liked two of them and they are in really good condition for the price, but we still have a few things to think over before we’d even consider buying. Which likely means by the time we decide, the ones we like will be off the market. But that’s a chance we’re willing to take if it saves us money and stress in the long run. With things being uncertain on a few levels in our lives, it just doesn’t seem to make sense to rush into anything.
After that, we headed to Heritage Square (where Red Rock church is located) to take photos at a 1st year birthday party, the son of our friends and youth pastors, JB and Kristine. It was originally scheduled to be outside at a park which would have been a lot more fun, but due to unpredictable spring weather, we got rained out. Regardless, we had a great time eating all their food and taking some cute photos of their ridiculously adorable son, Grant. And the decorations were super cute, thanks to Kristine’s sister Cori, from this post. Speaking of which, we’ve been finding out that a lot of Red Rock peeps are related…but surprisingly, they are not Dutch. Weird.
So even though it was poor lighting and we didn’t have the proper equipment, I think we got some really great shots. I have yet to go through all of them to edit/make them perfect but below is an outdoor shot of the family we took when it was finally sunny, as well as the modeling session Ryan and I had after the party was over. Hey, we’d taken so many photos we thought it was our turn to have the spotlight. More of the birthday party will be featured on the Signify website soon.
Adorable little family, aren't they?
You can see the alpine slide in the background, beyond that handsome face. Totally going on that this summer.
And it all went downhill from there…
Since the day turned out to be super nice and everything is turning green – yay! – Ryan and I decided to take Barker for a bike ride from our place to downtown Golden so that we could walk along Clear Creek. We had a great time meandering about and enjoying the trees in bloom. Along the way, I of course got several double takes, the anticipated “Dorothy and Toto” comments and naturally some finger points followed by “aww” or a chuckle.
Heading across the bridge at our nearby park to get to the creek.
She loves her basket.
Trees in bloom!
By the historic settlement at Clear Creek History Park.
We came across a fine piece of machinery.
Loving the wagon.
And love the contrast!
But it was on our way back that we both realized a sad truth – we are not yet conditioned for any type of mountain biking. We had hiked in Apex Park earlier in the week and shared the trails with several mountain bikers which sort of got us inspired to try our hand at the sport. But reality set in as I struggled going back on the slightly inclined sidewalk (granted I had Sadie in my basket) while Ryan dared to venture on a somewhat sloped dirt bike path and struggled as well. We were both panting for breath when we met up in the park and slyly used Sadie’s thirst as an excuse to take a little break…needless to say, she wasn’t thirsty (she was in a basket, after all). So we both admitted to each other that we’re not quite cut out for anything remotely mountainous. At least we found out beforehand and didn’t embarrass ourselves.
For dinner, we met up with Greg and Meghan yet again – they have quickly become our good friends and while we’d commented that we should probably not hang out for the fourth weekend in a row, there’s really no need to stop a good thing. We brought steaks to grill, made some sweet potato fries and took advantage of the $.25 Blizzards at Dairy Queen for dessert. We also managed to create a giant heap of ash out of the horrible thorny sticks they’d trimmed off a bush out front that provided us with a lovely bonfire all evening.
Now Sunday morning was a thrilling morning indeed – it was Ryan’s video debut! Now that it’s no secret, I’ll inform you that after hearing JB’s idea to promote the youth talent show and some strong urging from this girl, five of the male youth leaders did a parody on the SNL parody with Justin Timberlake and Beyoncé. A parody of a parody if you will (and don’t worry parents, you don’t have to know who these people are). Take a look at this and imagine a slightly toned down version that only lasted for 30 seconds. And when I say toned down, that doesn’t necessarily eliminate guys in leotards, tights and high heels…I think you get the idea. Nice huh? Be proud of your son, friend and role model. Not to mention this was probably the service with the most raised hands for visitor attendance. Greaat…let’s just hope they decide to come back after that. But now remember, it was intended to encourage kids to participate in or at least attend the talent show this coming Friday – and I’m sure it got their attention! And maybe they actually inspired some visitors to find out more about this crazy church that encourages cross-dressing. In any case, it was hilarious and definitely got a positive reaction – hopefully this will help create an awesome turnout at the talent show.
After another great message and even better youth group where we got to have some deep, personal discussions with the kids, we grabbed Sadie, got in the car and headed 20 mins north to Boulder to wander around the town for the afternoon. Our original plan was to take advantage of the National Parks free week, but because of the recent rain and snow (ahh! i know…weird) we opted to stay local and save our visit for this summer.
We happened upon Earthfest, of course, seeing as it was Earth Day on Thursday and Boulder is basically the capital of green living. There we got to sample some delicious organic foods and drinks, listen to some bands as well as get roped into signing up for raffles. Well, that was all me…Ryan knows better, but don’t worry, I wrote very illegibly.
Now Boulder people are a breed all their own – and they all are way too cool for me. Though I didn’t feel out of place, you could definitely tell who was a local and who was visiting – the way they dress, walk and talk is kind of distinct. Not to mention their love of marijuana. Purely medicinal, though, of course. All of these observations are total stereotypes but for good reason. Then we walked down Pearl Street, a four-block pedestrian mall (kind of like 16th Street in Denver), to watch some crazy street performers and just take in the hippie vibe.
Checking out all the "green" tents.
Did you honestly think I'd pass this statue by?
Walking along Pearl Street.
Lots of tulips and a pretty little path through some trees. I love the downtowns of Colorado.
The dorky kid in me had a great time.
Sadie loves car rides.
Views on the way home – just some drive by shooting.
Later that night we went over to Brad and Sarah’s for dinner, fellowship, tv and video games. It was then that we learned not to touch a pregnant woman’s food craving – I thought the cupcakes Sarah made for herself looked delicious, but she kind of got crazy eyes when I mentioned trying one. Yikes. Moving on to games… Well, I never had video games when I was a kid and didn’t have any regrets…until now. I’m terrible! My hand-eye coordination is the worst and makes even the Wii a hard game for me. That’s not saying I didn’t have fun, it just means I’ll have to be fine with being the loser and accepting pitying looks most of the time. *shrug* Whatever.
So that was fun. A variety of events and social activities transpired this weekend and if we’re trying to become more known in the church community, I’m pretty sure Ryan got us covered.
What’s new with you?
- Laura