Jacqelyn's Birthday Weekend

I made Jacquelyn's birthday cake from scratch. I wasn't worried it would come out bad at all...

Gretchen didn't get any cake.

John helped.

She liked it. Two layers, hand whipped cream and fruit.

Aaron and Ethan. This apartment was a bit small for two sugar infused kids.

Jacquelyn, Krista and I went downtown and had some champagne by the river.

Then a walk on South Table.

Gretchen was glad to run.

Denver in the background.

View of downtown Golden and the Coors factory.

Well once again we have failed to keep up with this blog of sorts. Until now all of our photos have been taken off of my cell phone, but I got Jacquelyn a nice camera for her birthday, so this will become more of a photo blog.

Here is the lovely replanting our plants because we don't have a yard to do it in.

We took Gretchen for a walk on South Table when a storm hit Golden to the west of us and a fire was burning to the north near Boulder

 The storm on the left and the fire on the right.

 The smoke was being blown all the way into Denver.

Three Months Later...

Jacquelyn here moonlighting as the blogger du jour! Just a few photos to share of the last few weeks.

We've discovered a trail leading from our apartment to Green Mountain, much to Gretchen's delight.

Sarah-Sally came to Denver for a week and we kicked it off with a dinner at the apt with Neesa and Miles. (Menu: unintentionally crispy veggie lasagna, homemade bread with butter, and apple galette with vanilla ice cream.)

Mary seems less than pleased!

 Matt took these photos during a dog walk. First, Golden to the northwest:

 And downtown Denver to the east.

This is an old photo from the largest snowfall in January that Denver has seen a long time. Apparently we're to expect a lot more snow in March, which melts as quickly as it falls.

 Above you see the view from the top of the main lift at Loveland Ski Area. Pretty breathtaking. Below you see me and the green K2 Skyla which is the first snowboard I've ever owned! Whenever I get tired of the daily grind lately I remind myself that I have my own snowboard and then life doesn't seem so bad.

Sally and I on Shadow Mountain outside Evergreen:

The following photo was not staged... honestly.

Gretchen is crazy about bounding through snow drifts! Sometimes I forget to look at the scenery on hikes because it's so entertaining just watching her frolic around.

Standing on the cliff above Maxwell Falls.

Sally and Gretchen, sittin in a tree... k-i-s-s-i-n-g...

 The rocks you see on the left have lots of cool nooks and crannies which we explore in the next photo.

It's a little rock house! This is 'cave' made from a cluster of boulders leaning against each other.

I'm about to attempt to squeeze through a child-sized tunnel leading back out into the open... don't worry I made it. Sally and Matt both squeezed through later without incident.

 Post-hike naptime enjoying the futon John and Kristin gave us... Gretchen perhaps enjoying it most of all!

Our little poop machine. She loves to cuddle.

That's all for now--lots of hiking and Gretchen pics seem to be the norm! Stay tuned for pics of Matt's second attempt at homemade bread, which he is dutifully mixing this very moment. Love you all and see you soon!

WE HAVE INTERNET / Time to Catch Up

Well, we finally have the internet set up so it is back to blogging. A lot has happened since we were last able to post. Spending time with family and friends for the holidays was fantastic. We had a lot of fun seeing everyone and wish it could have been a longer visit. Maybe next time… After Christmas Jacquelyn’s father Mike offered to drive out with his truck and haul some of our belongings back to Denver with us. We were extremely excited to once again sleep on our own bed. We also brought our dog Gretchen and kitty Mary back as well. Mary wasn’t all that happy about it. 

 

With Mike’s help we were finally able to get the apartment into a livable space. We even went and got a nice dining room table and chairs for super cheap off craigslist. Once Mike went back to St. Louis the party was over and it was back to work for the both of us. I accepted a position at a local paint retailer for the time being. The work is easy and the owners are very nice. Plus, I get a nice view of the Front Range out the windows. The bike ride to the shop is only 5 miles each way and I am getting used to the climbs. The downside to both of us working now is we only have Sundays off together. So those days have become our “get out and do something” days.

Our apartment is right at the base of Green Mountain, which has some excellent hiking trails and views of the city below. This is our frequent walk if the weather is good and there isn’t much snow melt. The trails can become quite muddy. It will be awesome to bike once the mud is all dry. Some nice descents.

 Jacquelyn is a better photographer than me, obviously. 

Ronald and John came up for a weekend as well. I had to work on Saturday so I wasn’t able to spend as much time with them as I would have liked, but they entertained my fiancé and themselves at the REI flagship store. They brought up more of our things and more firewood to add to our stack. Through my brother’s excellent driving skills we finally were able to go further into the mountains and made it up and over Loveland Pass on Sunday morning. We saw hitchhiking skiers and snowboarders being taken up the mountain pass by passing cars, and then dropped off at the top for a free day of skiing. We then hung around downtown Frisco to eat and saw the hotel where John asked his lovely wife Kristin to marry him. It was a great time but sadly I have no pictures of it. Father needs to email me a few.

Last Sunday Jacquelyn and I went snowboarding at Loveland Ski Area. We left at 6:40AM in clear weather but once we hit I-70 traffic was moving at 20MPH and in almost blizzard conditions. At the exit to Loveland the little car of ours wasn’t able to make it up the mountain to the parking lot of the ski area. Luckily, a Police Officer drove by and saw us stopped with the cars behind us giving up and turning around to head back to Denver. They were afraid to face the storm but we were not going to give up so easily and continued to attempt the icy hill.  The Officer flipped on his lights and was nice enough to give our car a push with his vehicle up into the parking lot of the ski area. Having made it safely we faced the 40mph winds and snow and laced up our boots. Being my first time snowboarding and getting off the lift into 2 feet of powder made for a slow morning. After Jacquelyn’s tips and watching her flow smoothly down the mountain through trees and the occasional jumps, I eventually was able to catch on. By the end of the day the weather cleared and we were doing mostly blue runs trying to find secret runs in the ski area. Loveland was amazing. It seems like the best place to avoid tourists, crowds and that resort feel of many ski mountains. We headed home around 3 and ate plenty of Tai food. Best day yet. … The next day was the most sore my body has been in my adult life. I am still recovering from what I like to call Lactic Acid Poisoning. I can’t wait to go again!

 Kind of a bad flat spot we found while exploring the area. We had to take off the boards and walk a bit. That is Jacquelyn in the distance.

RANDOM PICTURE TIME!!!

On a lookout on a hike in Evergreen, CO

Becoming a mountain dog.

Gretchen likes to climb.

Jacquelyn hard at work at ProDIP.

Our festive apartment. 

Wizard Baby with red magic box!

She sure is strong!

New posts to come.