Love Life. Run.

Surprise Kellen! We're going to LA for your birthday!

2011-05-03T20:33:00.000-04:00

Kellen was extremely surprised when I drove him to the airport at 5am on his birthday. He had no idea what was coming!

Except that's false. He found out the day after I booked the trip to LA that we were visiting our friend's Meghan and Aaron for the weekend. Let it just be known that I have a horrible poker face :/.

The trip was action packed- we probably covered 1-2 weeks worth of stops in three days (2 and 1/2 really). Either way, we had a blast, and are very thankful to our wonderful host and hostess!

Venice Beach: Stop #1

Malibu Beach- had a strong urge to learn how to surf here. If only we had more time...

Excited to see each other, I guess. :)

I found the cast of Harry Potter. Kinda addicted since I read all 7 books between Jan. and the end of March, this year!

Will Smith has pretty big feet!

Do you see the Hollywood sign in the background?

Thai food in Hollywood for Kellen's Birthday. The Ruby's neighbors joined us- but I don't have any pics :(
Free dessert #1 of the weekend. We also got free chocolate covered strawberries and champagne in the hotel room!

San Diego
About to eat the world's best burrito. Now who wouldn't smile at that thought?

We took about thirty of these and this is the closest we got to all doing something neat. Although my favorite is a tie between the one where Kellen looks like he is stuck on the toilet or the one where Aaron's feet are glued to the ground. ....They have to forgive me for posting this one instead of those two :)

3rd Free Dessert of the Weekend

Full circle back to Venice! These pictures are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what we did this weekend.

Birthday Boy Celebration= Free Meals!

2011-05-03T19:19:00.000-04:00

Kellen and I sign up for different "fan clubs" of local restaurants. As a reward they send you free meals on your birthday- or during your birthday week. We lovingly name the week free birthday meal week. I think it turned into free birthday meal month this year- we got so many! Red Robin is always a favorite though.

Beautiful night for a birthday celebration dinner!

Kellen wasn't too happy when I ate his whole burger...

Alright, I didn't, but I wanted to!

Pretty sky- I think a storm was moving in this night...

Spring Has Sprung! Yippeee!!

2011-05-03T19:02:00.000-04:00

Kyle and Natalie are in Town!!!

2011-05-03T18:50:00.000-04:00

One of Kellen's old roommates and groomman, Kyle, and his lovely wife, Natalie came to visit the Rocky Mountains- and us!- in March

Beautiful rock formations

Hiking buddies for the day!

Hello Bambi! The deer along the path seemed to have no fear of us.

On our way up Pike's Peak on the Cog Railway

We didnt make it to the top- too cold up here still. Too much snow in the way, stopped us from seeing the Big Horned Sheep :(

The tracks kind of disappear, the incline was very steep at a few points.

Heading back down...

Our second National Park (Rocky Mountain was first)

"Garden of the Gods"
Incase we get kicked out of our apartment, we have a new home :)

"Garden of the Gods"
Wishing I had, had my new camera here- but if you look closely you can see Pike's Peak in the background.

Amazing view...

Balanced Rock

A Little Behind... (Mike comes to visit!!)

2011-05-03T18:36:00.000-04:00

Hello Pike's Peak!

Once upon a time in February, Michael came to visit...

We did a little snowboarding at Loveland!

Took a side trip to Red Rocks- ended up coming to the amiptheatre via a back road. Sweet new view!

Visited the U.S. Olympic training center. Michael and Kellen attended tryouts for the bobsled team. We are still waiting to see if they made the team...

Enjoyed the fine cuisine at the amazing Casa Bonita- a Colorado Original. With cliff divers, live entertainment- basically anything you could imagine, it is probably here!

Red Rocks Amphitheater

2011-01-20T21:03:00.000-05:00

Kellen found out he had a mandatory day off- after the holidays were over....so we went hiking and made a stop at Red Rocks Amphitheater. Beautiful 45-50 degree, middle of the winter day here in Colorado. Yes, I am enjoying rubbing in how amazing the weather has been here. We have had about 5-6 inches of snow a few times, but it melts so fast (they aren't lying about that out here!). None of that yucky brown stuff lining the sides of the roads. At least not for long, anyhow. Don't worry Michigan- your winters are missed. In a weird, I wish I was still in school type of convoluted way.

Red Rocks in the distance

Pretending we belong here...

2011-01-20T19:46:00.000-05:00

A lot of native Coloradans have a bumper sticker that says "Native" on it. Kellen found one that worked for us...

We found the sticker in Bolder, the town that has convinced me to become a hippie. Minus getting high. (Really felt like I had to put that disclaimer in there...). Bolder is really cute though, kind of like Ann Arbor in a way. Made me miss home! The afternoon in Bolder was spent after exploring the Celestial Seasonings Tea Factory. We forgot our camera, so no pictures of that. It was delightful though, I drank so much free tea- and then couldn't fall asleep for days.

My husband works hard at his job...

2011-01-20T19:39:00.000-05:00

Yes, yes he does. Actually he was a part of the committee that brought recycling to Saint Anthony North- the "Green Team" if you will. It is all in honor of his birthday- which happens to be Earth Day!

DU wins! We get free Qudoba!

2011-01-06T11:21:00.000-05:00

We had a good time at the DU double header basketball games. The women's game was close, but not as close as the men's game- it was exciting down to the last second.

Literally.

The score was 59-57, DU winning with 4 seconds to go. We were hoping they'd win- and reach 60 points. 60 points meant: Free Qudoba.

Delicious, mouthwatering Qudoba.

...so with 4 seconds left a DU player got fouled and BAM, two free throw shots. The first one went in and there was a mad dash to get the Qudoba tickets, because apparently there were very limited quantities. No worries though, we were inching our way out and secured our tickets.

The verdict? Amazing.

(Can you tell I love Qudoba?)

Smiley Potato

2011-01-06T11:15:00.000-05:00

Kellen is very proud to have found this in our bag of potatoes...

It was a pretty delicious potato too. :)

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T12:39:00.000-05:00

I think my tailbone has finally healed from snowboarding. I was already to go back out this weekend, but then we got dumped on with some nasty weather. I was beginning to think Denver didn't get snow! (I live in a fantasy world, I know!) We got about 5", so not a ton, but it got cold out- high of 9 degrees yesterday (Just like on Kellen and my wedding day!) and it was bone chilling. The cold weather hurt just standing outside, so the snowboarding adventure was put on hold for now!

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The day I learned to snowboard....

2010-12-28T10:34:00.000-05:00

I've been skiing before, but I let Kellen talk me into snowboarding on Sunday 12/26. It was a gorgeous day and to roads were great. I-70 was actually very clear- most likely because people were still away for the holidays. After a short drive from Denver, a stop at a lil' ski/snowboard rental place- and we were on our way to Loveland.

And we are off...

Merry Christmas to All!

2010-12-28T10:25:00.000-05:00

We totally got spoiled :)

Yeap- that is our "Christmas Tree"- we left our three artificial ones in Michigan!

Is that snow that I see?

2010-12-15T22:47:00.000-05:00

Maybe. Not yet anyhow.

This bear is probably my favorite thing downtown Denver. At least my favorite so far- I haven't explored the whole place yet. Isn't he cute?

Downtown Denver 16th Street Mall

2010-12-14T20:02:00.000-05:00

Adventures in Denver continue on the 16th Street Mall....

Partially outdoor shopping mall in the heart of Denver
(With a two story Forever 21 :))

After seeing the two story Forever 21...
Isn't Kel just tooo excited?

Christmas Carolers!

Random Cow- sure it has some meaning besides taking pictures with...

These pianos are all over the "mall". They remind me like the ones at ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, MI. I wonder if it is the same artist?

Not going to lie, it was really nice to walk around in a dress during the middle of December at night. We enjoyed the shops, the beautiful Christmas decorations and the Christmas tunes. A quick bite to eat at the Paramount Cafe and it was a pretty relaxing- but fun- night in downtown.

2 years ago...

2010-12-14T19:50:00.000-05:00

Wow. It has almost been two years since it was a record breaking cold day in Michigan on the 21st of December. It also happens to be the day Kel and I got married. Time sure flies...

To celebrate we went to go see Blue Man Group in downtown Denver on Sunday. The show was pretty cool! Definitely very neat to see.

We took a quick pic, no one caught us :)

Oh 60 Degree Weather in December!

2010-12-14T17:01:00.002-05:00

Denver, you and I are on good terms today. Thank you!

The "pond" across the street

Enjoying the warm weather with a run around the neighborhood. Although I miss the mitten, not too envious of all the snow it has gotten lately. Although Denver's may be coming!

Hi Monkey Face.

2010-12-14T17:01:00.001-05:00

A free adventure day at the Denver Zoo! Enjoying a crisp afternoon with my hubby.

Lil' Green Steps: Warm Up

2010-12-14T17:01:00.000-05:00

Keeping you and your home warm in the winter and your pockets a little heavier!

Quick and easy steps :)

1. Turn down the thermostat during the night and when you are away all day. A little chilly? Throw on a sweater :)

2. Line your windows to add a little extra insulation, keeping that warm air in. A kit can easily be found at a home improvement store.

3. Make a "rice pal" or "oatmeal packet". Fill an old sock with rice or oatmeal, and tie each end off. Warm it for a few minutes in the microwave and 'ta da'- an instant bed warmer to slip between the covers. I also like to make fancier one by taking a few squares of fabric, sewing them together and add a little scent: like lavender! These make wonderful homemade gifts! My husband calls them heat pals.

* Don't leave unattended in the microwave as these have been known to catch on fire. We have never had a problem, but just a heads up!

Av's Game

2010-12-14T17:00:00.004-05:00

This game and its free tickets caused a quiet the dilemma:

Happy Halloween!

2010-12-14T17:00:00.002-05:00

A spooky celebration indeed! Tons of fun at the party the Ruby's ...one of our numerous sets of Ruby friends. haha. :) invited us to, can you tell what we are supposed to be? I made Kellen and my costume.

Lil' Green Steps: Agua

2010-12-14T17:00:00.001-05:00

Green Challenge: Water Conservation!

Ways to cut back on household water use that are simple and take very little effort.

Lil' Green Steps: Use the Whole Thing!

2010-12-14T17:00:00.000-05:00

So often we run out to buy a new product because we are almost done with the old one.

Think toothpaste, makeup, that last little bit of barbeque sauce

This is great, because it is good to be prepared. Yet, when the new container comes home and sits so nicely on the bathroom shelf in all its glory- that old, almost empty, seen better days tube of toothpaste gets neglected. Or even worse it gets thrown away!!!

Yep, that's garbage in a river near the Vatican

Viva Las Vegas

2010-12-14T16:59:00.002-05:00

So there is a surprise party being planned for my Uncle Johnny in Las Vegas. Las Vegas just so happens to be a few hours from Denver via plane. At the time, I didn't have a full-time job due to just moving out here and I knew we weren't going to be able to make it home for Christmas. So Kel and I figured there was no reason for me not to join up with my family- and surprise my Meme at the MGM Grand. The visit and surprise (all of them!) were a success.

Just a Few of Us: Meme, Me, Mom and Dad. It was a very sunny day!

Lil' Green Steps: Reusing Magazines

2010-12-14T16:15:00.000-05:00

Turn old magazines or flyers into shredded paper, and ta da:

1. Instant gift bag stuffing

2. A filler for items being shipped

3.Easter basket filler

4. Hamster bedding

5. Christmas ornament storage cushion

Can you think of any other uses for this shredded paper?