Colorado or Bust
Things I've learned from writing this post
1. Colorado is awesome
2. Family is awesome
3. I take SO MANY pictures (but it's worth it)
4. My HDR setting on my phone takes awesome pictures!
4. This is a long post
5. Crap... there's two 4s. I'm done.
We left for Utah Tuesday on our way to Colorado. We made it into a two day trip to see some people in Provo. On our way out from Boise we stopped off at Krispy Kreme. Dan has had 6 of these free doughnut coupons that are from 2007 so we finally used them! We walked out with a half dozen doughnuts for free. It was kind of our brunch.
1. Colorado is awesome
2. Family is awesome
3. I take SO MANY pictures (but it's worth it)
4. My HDR setting on my phone takes awesome pictures!
4. This is a long post
5. Crap... there's two 4s. I'm done.
We left for Utah Tuesday on our way to Colorado. We made it into a two day trip to see some people in Provo. On our way out from Boise we stopped off at Krispy Kreme. Dan has had 6 of these free doughnut coupons that are from 2007 so we finally used them! We walked out with a half dozen doughnuts for free. It was kind of our brunch.
In Provo Dan was able to spend the evening with some of his closest friends that he hasn't seen in a year or longer, and I was able to spend some time with my brother Ryan and his fiance Kate. Dan and his friends went out boating and it sounded like they had an awesome time. Ryan, Kate and I went to some stores to get some ideas for the wedding. We were hungry so we went to the delicious California Pizza Kitchen. We picked up dessert on the way home from Gloria Little Italy's and at it at home. Mmmm is was so delicious.
random Branbury parking lot art
Funny story. I forgot I was in single territory. I'm so used to being in married territory. Word to the wise - look at the left hand before you started making eyes at a girl! Bahaha.
That night we crashed on Dan's friends' couch. I'm so glad Dan has such great friends that are so nice to give us a place to crash! They're pretty great guys and they're pretty welcoming to me as well.
Wednesday
The next morning we got up and left to make our drive to Colorado. The drive was pretty uneventful, but lots prettier than driving in Idaho that's for sure! We got there and got to say hi to all the family and I got to meet our new niece! Dan met her when he went to Texas but I hadn't yet. She is the CUTEST thing. Seriously so cute. Some babies really have to grow into being cute, but this girl kills you with cuteness. It took her about a day to warm up to us but now we're buds.
Thursday
Dan and I started out the day going to a bike shop to look at ideas for Dan's future road bike. Then the rest of us hung out while Dan went to his dentist appointment. It's awesome hanging out with the family. Jenny and Phil have the cutest kids.
For lunch we went to Casa Bonita for lunch which is like the Mayan in Utah. It's huge and has a great atmosphere. It's like a jungle in there and they have cliff divers every so often. I was thinking good thing I don't work there because I would get lost!
We got some tokens to take Alex to the arcade and he loved! We really had to explain that you roll the balls... not throw them haha :)
I think his favorite was racing cars though!
While they were doing that I went and played a simple game to get Alex more tickets so we could get a cool prize but I accidentally won the jackpot!! So I got 50 more tickets for him.
We ended up with 111 but the nice guy at the counter let us round up to 120 so we could get a pinwheel. Alex has just always loved fans! It's like his thing so he was pretty excited to get another 'fan'.
After we came home from lunch we relaxed and hung out for a bit. Later we went to the Rec Center to swim! The closest thing we have to a rec center in Boise is the YMCA. It's pretty much the same thing but this one was super nice. We went swimming, went down the water slides, floated in the mini lazy river and sat in the hot tub. When we came home we ended the night with ice cream and root beet floats!
For lunch we went to Casa Bonita for lunch which is like the Mayan in Utah. It's huge and has a great atmosphere. It's like a jungle in there and they have cliff divers every so often. I was thinking good thing I don't work there because I would get lost!
We got some tokens to take Alex to the arcade and he loved! We really had to explain that you roll the balls... not throw them haha :)
I think his favorite was racing cars though!
While they were doing that I went and played a simple game to get Alex more tickets so we could get a cool prize but I accidentally won the jackpot!! So I got 50 more tickets for him.
We ended up with 111 but the nice guy at the counter let us round up to 120 so we could get a pinwheel. Alex has just always loved fans! It's like his thing so he was pretty excited to get another 'fan'.
After we came home from lunch we relaxed and hung out for a bit. Later we went to the Rec Center to swim! The closest thing we have to a rec center in Boise is the YMCA. It's pretty much the same thing but this one was super nice. We went swimming, went down the water slides, floated in the mini lazy river and sat in the hot tub. When we came home we ended the night with ice cream and root beet floats!
Friday
We drove out to Colorado Springs to spend the day there! First we went to Garden of the Gods and it was BEAUTIFUL! It was actually a great day to go because there were very light scattered showers that kept us cool. It was so pretty though. We ate lunch and then hiked around and saw all the beautiful rocks. It's one of those times when you look around you and are just amazed at God's creations.
After Garden of the Gods we went to the Olympic Training Center. Okay this was seriously so cool! And I had no idea that it was there! There are 3 OTC - California, New York and Colorado. Too bad all the women's gymnastics train in Texas or other places though. Anyways it was super cool and we took a tour of the whole facilities. Athletes can come live here and then just train all day every day. Their chefs and catering beat out the Ritz Carlton. Man can you imagine trying to feed anywhere from 50-500 athletes 3 meals a day when they eat over 6,000 calories a day? That's a lot of food. We got to see the gyms, the pools, men's gymnastics and the shooting range.
Alex had way too much fun ;)
took this picture for my Dad!
In case you needed a closer look at Alex :)
For dinner we looked up on Urbanspoon and the best place to eat in Colorado Spring is apparently Bird Dog BBQ so we went! It's wasn't quite a hole in the wall but it was more casual and it was delicious! We got tons of brisket and it was so darn good! By this time a really nasty storm rolled into Colorado Springs so luckily we were all done with out outside adventures.
Before bed Alex wanted to play a game so we had a family game of hide and go seek. It was hilarious because Dan was a king at hiding. We were trying to get Alex to find him but it was so dark under that desk the Alex couldn't see him. It was pretty hilarious. Who knew Dan was so good at hide and seek.
After the kidlets went to bed we played Settlers of Catan and Dan the man won. It was a pretty hilarious game. It seemed like there was only 4 numbers rolled the whole time and one of them was seven. For those catan players out there, you know what that means.
Before bed Alex wanted to play a game so we had a family game of hide and go seek. It was hilarious because Dan was a king at hiding. We were trying to get Alex to find him but it was so dark under that desk the Alex couldn't see him. It was pretty hilarious. Who knew Dan was so good at hide and seek.
After the kidlets went to bed we played Settlers of Catan and Dan the man won. It was a pretty hilarious game. It seemed like there was only 4 numbers rolled the whole time and one of them was seven. For those catan players out there, you know what that means.
Saturday
For some reason I woke up with a killer sore throat. I basically woke up dying for water like I've been in the Sahara for three days. So that was weird. Through out the day I was constantly snacking on cough drops to ease the soreness.
The first stop of the day was Red Rock Amphitheater. The name is pretty self explanatory but holy cow is it beautiful. They have tons of concerts there and pretty much everyone you can think of has preformed there. It has also become the hot spot to work out as well there were tons of people getting their fitness on in the beauty of nature. Yoga classes, running, strength training, running the millions of stairs. I got tired just watching them.
We went and had lunch at a park before we headed to the Colorado Railroad Museum. We went to the Railroad Museum because Alex LOVES trains. It was pretty neat too! They even had a train ride.
After a day in the sun we all decided we were ready for slurpees. Dan put in 7-Eleven in his gps and we were off to the closest one. We didn't realize until we actually got there that it accidentally brought him to a residential area with the street number 711... haha... oops. Luckily we found an actual one not too far away!
We came home and relaxed for a bit. The plan for dinner was Cinzetti's. Most of you have probably never heard of it because there's only 2 in the US; Colorado and Kansas. It is an all you can eat Italian buffet. It was basically heaven for me because I love Italian food. There were 10 different types of salads, sea food, 5 different types of chicken, bread, 6 different pizzas and pastas, soup, crepes, and plenty of dessert. Cannolis, cream puffs, cobbler, ice cream, bread pudding, chocolate souffle, fruit tarts- I could just go on and on. Are you hungry yet? With all buffets there were some things I didn't like but a majority of it was super tasty. I definitely ate too much.
That night we watched some comedy acts by Jim Gaffigan. He is pretty funny but both Dan and I were in a carb coma haha. I passed out so fast and ended up going to bed early. Sleep was seriously the best thing right then!
For some reason I woke up with a killer sore throat. I basically woke up dying for water like I've been in the Sahara for three days. So that was weird. Through out the day I was constantly snacking on cough drops to ease the soreness.
The first stop of the day was Red Rock Amphitheater. The name is pretty self explanatory but holy cow is it beautiful. They have tons of concerts there and pretty much everyone you can think of has preformed there. It has also become the hot spot to work out as well there were tons of people getting their fitness on in the beauty of nature. Yoga classes, running, strength training, running the millions of stairs. I got tired just watching them.
We went and had lunch at a park before we headed to the Colorado Railroad Museum. We went to the Railroad Museum because Alex LOVES trains. It was pretty neat too! They even had a train ride.
After a day in the sun we all decided we were ready for slurpees. Dan put in 7-Eleven in his gps and we were off to the closest one. We didn't realize until we actually got there that it accidentally brought him to a residential area with the street number 711... haha... oops. Luckily we found an actual one not too far away!
We came home and relaxed for a bit. The plan for dinner was Cinzetti's. Most of you have probably never heard of it because there's only 2 in the US; Colorado and Kansas. It is an all you can eat Italian buffet. It was basically heaven for me because I love Italian food. There were 10 different types of salads, sea food, 5 different types of chicken, bread, 6 different pizzas and pastas, soup, crepes, and plenty of dessert. Cannolis, cream puffs, cobbler, ice cream, bread pudding, chocolate souffle, fruit tarts- I could just go on and on. Are you hungry yet? With all buffets there were some things I didn't like but a majority of it was super tasty. I definitely ate too much.
That night we watched some comedy acts by Jim Gaffigan. He is pretty funny but both Dan and I were in a carb coma haha. I passed out so fast and ended up going to bed early. Sleep was seriously the best thing right then!
Sunday
We went to church! Surprising? Haha no. It was good though. It's been such a nice change to to to Sunday School and Relief Society again (loved nursery but it's fun to go to class too). I have always been that person that goes to church to learn something. I like going to sunday school and listening to the lessons, which I understand isn't everyone's cup of tea but that's one thing I have missed while teaching kiddos. It was refreshing to be back. I had no idea we were studying the D&C this year! Hahah... now I know.
For dinner we had some amazing dutch oven! BBQ chicken which was delicious. For dessert was cherry chocolate cake and caramel apple cake. It was pretty delicious. Why so things from the crockput just taste better?
After the kiddos went to bed we played Times Up. It's kind of like charades but better. It was pretty funny and Dan and I actually did pretty well at it!
Monday
In the morning we went to see Planes. Alex loves planes and he totally loved this movie. It was actually a lot better than the previews made it out to be, I was surprised. When guys went to go play golf and the rest of us took that as an invitation to relax I think! I watched Pretty Little Liars which I still love. This show kind of helps me deal with the fact that I finished Lost. Okay side note! I heard a song from lost today and I was freaking hit in the back of the head with nostalgia! Man I loved that show. I felt like I actually knew the characters and was so invested in it (shout out to my roommate Megan who encouraged me to watch it!). Anyways...
We went and ran some errands to get Tbcy (because when isn't a good time to get tcby?) and to pick up snacks and water for the baseball game (little did we know we wouldn't need water! Hahah... it's funny because it rained).
We went to the Rockies game and it was awesome! I've been to 4 baseball games now and I finally understand it enough to be able to get into it and know what's going on. And c'mon... nothing is better than baseball hotdogs am I right? Sydney was so cute as well. She was smilin' and flirting with all the people behind us. I'm pretty sure she won over every one in our section.
The Rockies were destroying the Padres and then it started to rain. Well it sprinkled for like 20 minutes and then it poured. We all got pretty wet but I actually wasn't too cold. Some of us left and the rest of us stayed until the 7th inning. It was clear by then the Rockies would win so we headed out. We all got wayyyy more wet walking to the car but it was actually pretty fun. When we got home I smelled like a wet dog and my hair looked like dreads. But I had such a fun time! So worth it!
A hot shower was definitely called for and it felt amazing. Not too bad for a Monday huh?
Nothing was planned for Tuesday because we were all just packing up and leaving. There was some beautiful views on our drive though! We went through a big rainstorm which left a beautiful rainbow.
We went to church! Surprising? Haha no. It was good though. It's been such a nice change to to to Sunday School and Relief Society again (loved nursery but it's fun to go to class too). I have always been that person that goes to church to learn something. I like going to sunday school and listening to the lessons, which I understand isn't everyone's cup of tea but that's one thing I have missed while teaching kiddos. It was refreshing to be back. I had no idea we were studying the D&C this year! Hahah... now I know.
For dinner we had some amazing dutch oven! BBQ chicken which was delicious. For dessert was cherry chocolate cake and caramel apple cake. It was pretty delicious. Why so things from the crockput just taste better?
After the kiddos went to bed we played Times Up. It's kind of like charades but better. It was pretty funny and Dan and I actually did pretty well at it!
Monday
In the morning we went to see Planes. Alex loves planes and he totally loved this movie. It was actually a lot better than the previews made it out to be, I was surprised. When guys went to go play golf and the rest of us took that as an invitation to relax I think! I watched Pretty Little Liars which I still love. This show kind of helps me deal with the fact that I finished Lost. Okay side note! I heard a song from lost today and I was freaking hit in the back of the head with nostalgia! Man I loved that show. I felt like I actually knew the characters and was so invested in it (shout out to my roommate Megan who encouraged me to watch it!). Anyways...
We went and ran some errands to get Tbcy (because when isn't a good time to get tcby?) and to pick up snacks and water for the baseball game (little did we know we wouldn't need water! Hahah... it's funny because it rained).
We went to the Rockies game and it was awesome! I've been to 4 baseball games now and I finally understand it enough to be able to get into it and know what's going on. And c'mon... nothing is better than baseball hotdogs am I right? Sydney was so cute as well. She was smilin' and flirting with all the people behind us. I'm pretty sure she won over every one in our section.
The Rockies were destroying the Padres and then it started to rain. Well it sprinkled for like 20 minutes and then it poured. We all got pretty wet but I actually wasn't too cold. Some of us left and the rest of us stayed until the 7th inning. It was clear by then the Rockies would win so we headed out. We all got wayyyy more wet walking to the car but it was actually pretty fun. When we got home I smelled like a wet dog and my hair looked like dreads. But I had such a fun time! So worth it!
A hot shower was definitely called for and it felt amazing. Not too bad for a Monday huh?
Nothing was planned for Tuesday because we were all just packing up and leaving. There was some beautiful views on our drive though! We went through a big rainstorm which left a beautiful rainbow.
and a beautiful sunset
We stayed that night at Dan's Aunt's house in Lehi. They had the cutest dogs!
can I have one?
A million thanks to Colleen and Paul for letting us stay with them for a night! It was a much needed rest before driving the rest of the way the next day. We are now home before we go off camping. But I've been able to have a job interview (crossing my fingers!!) and go to lunch with my friend Brookee who was in town. Good thing I didn't really unpack yet haha
There is so much love in my heart for all the family and friends I've been able to see and spend time with in the last week! I am so lucky to be apart of such an awesome family on both sides! I feel so blessed and so loved.
Comments
Post a Comment