Forty-Eight Hours in Colorado

2-6-15

3:15 am: Alarm goes off. Yung immediately gets up and starts dancing. He's pumped to be going to Colorado.

4:30 am: Arrive at the airport. Take a selfie.

6:00 am: Waiting to board the airplane.

7:15 am: Arrive in Denver. Adjust to the altitude. Eat breakfast.

11:00 am: Meet Leta. Go hiking in South Valley Park. It was unexpectedly warm, muddy, and a little slushy from left over snow.

11:30 am: All of us either got a tan or got burned. I left with a sweet ankle tan from my leggings. 

11:45 am: Photo op with this guy.

12:00 pm: Head back to the car.

2:00 pm: Meet the rest of our group. Eat lunch at Ted's Montana Grill in downtown Denver.

3:00 pm: Say goodbye to Leta. Now awake for 12 hours on 3 hours of sleep. My eyes were straining to stay open. 

3:30 pm: Stop in Freshcraft while the rest of the party committee ran an important errand.

5:00 pm: Grocery shop for 14 adults.

6:00 pm: Spot a frozen lake and several ice fishermen.

6:10 pm: Arrive at our house in Georgetown, CO.

6:30 pm: The great debate: Can you taste the difference in the different colored Skittles with your eyes closed?

6:45 pm: The great discussion: Hot Cheetos followed by Skittles are the bomb.

7:00 pm: Watch Jonny cook macaroni and cheese with hotdogs.

7:15 pm: And the serving assembly line starts.

9:00 pm: Start getting ready for bed. It was a long day.

2-7-15:

7:00 am: Wake up. Yung immediately starts dancing again. It is hiking day!

8:00 am: Watch the boys make breakfast tacos.

8:30 am: 14 sandwiches for the crew.

10:00 am: Another frozen lake. 

10:30 am: Quick shot before our trek to Silver Dollar Lake.

11:00 am: The snow is up the Griffin's knees. Kevin is trying to swim in the snow. No big deal.

11:10 am: Peace. Love. Snow.

11:30 am: We saw several dogs on our journey to the lake.

12:00 pm: Walkie talkie-ing it up. These were a life saver. FYI: no cell reception in the mountains.

12:15 pm: "Will you please take a picture of me holding some snow?"

1:00 pm: We made it to Silver Dollar Lake. It was cold and windy, but as you can see, worth it.

1:30 pm: Sandwich break.

1:45 pm: Typical. Yung posing nicely, while I'm making a terrible duck face. Thanks for the shot, Ben. 

2:00 pm: "Take another picture of me with the snow!"

3:00 pm: Letting the boots dry out.

4:00 pm: Selfie along the Mount Evans scenic drive.

6:00 pm: Burgers on the grill.

8:00 pm: The puzzle.

9:00 pm: The fire.

10:00 pm: Look at the stars. We found Orion's belt, Jupiter (the PLANET!), big/little dipper, Seven Sisters. Thanks star gazing app.

2-8-15:

3:45 am: Wake up. There was no dancing this morning.

6:00 am: Arrive at the airport, say good bye to Colorado for the time being, fly back to Texas.

10:30 am: Arrive in Texas. Say good bye to our friends.

1:00 pm: Eat our feelings away at Dallas Grilled Cheese Co. (We highly recommend it!) and wondering why Texas is so flat. 

3:00 pm: Take a nap and return back to the real world.

Thankful for the opportunity to travel with new friends. Catch you on the flip side, Colorado.  

Oh Hey, January

I have been told recently that as we get older, time appears to pass by quicker. I'm beginning to think this sentiment is very true. First of all...

• January is cold. For those of you that don't believe Texas is cold, it is. I live in North Texas. Sometimes it feels like I live in North Dakota. Yes, I have been to North Dakota. It is absolutely frigid there. I have been so thankful we have had no ice yet this winter. I'm waiting for you, Spring. My tank tops are ready and my toes are painted.

• I tried a new class at the gym called Grit Plyo aka push yourself until you feel like hurling. My favorite kinds of classes.  It is also my favorite when I workout next to a man that appears to be 75 years old, and he is keeping up better than I am. And he turns to me afterwards and says "We did it!" Grit Plyo is a high intensity interval class, and I fully intend to go back. (Btw, the Les Mills classes are totally the bomb. I've been a fan for the last 3+ years.) 

• Last Tuesday, the Dallas/Ft. Worth area experienced a multitude of earthquakes. I felt two of them. One was around 3:10pm-3:12pm. I think it lasted a few seconds. I was actually laying down on my couch half asleep, and I woke up to my house shaking and saw Professor on his feet losing his balance. I was SO confused for a few moments. Professor then ran upstairs to hide, so I knew something was up. The second one occured that evening around the 8pm hour. The water in my glass began quivering and I felt like I was in Jurassic Park. I hope that was the last of our earthquakes for a while. 

• Yung and I went to Fort Worth last weekend.  We picked the coldest and rainiest day to venture one hour west. Our first stop was the Water Gardens. Some of the fountains were frozen over, so I don't think we got the full effect of the gardens. My favorite part of the afternoon was sitting in front of the fire place at the Omni, and relaxing for a few minutes before we walked around in the rain downtown. We had an early dinner at Bird Cafe, which is somewhat of a tapas style restaurant, and tried several unique dishes. Our favorite was the shrimp & grits with a jalapeno gravy.  Our activity for the evening consisted of attending a show at Four Day Weekend comedy theater. It featured a comedy group (6-8 men) performing different improv acts. They collected suggestions from the audience, and it is similar to Who's Line is it Anyway? As someone who is terrible at thinking on her feet, I admire those who can conjure monologues on the spot while simultaneously rhyming and being funny. Afterwards, we may or may not have gotten a second dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (get the tiramisu cheesecake, ya'll!!). And we may or may not have gone to The Golden Corral for dinner the next night. It was my very first time there, and I enjoyed everything I tried. I mean, where else can you get cotton candy, pizza, salad, and chocolate fondue all in one place? Win win win for all. 

I realize I did not get the memo about eating clean and starting on a fresh new diet for the new year, but at least I have joined the crowds and made it to the gym most days. It's a start. Gotta work for the king cake :)