Catching Up

Okay obviously I have been slacking in my blogging and I'm going to do a quick update to get me back on track and to stop procrastinating.  

This year we spent Thanksgiving in Brady with Mark's parents.  On Tuesday before Thanksgiving we flew into Dallas, drove to Stephenville and had a quick lunch with Henley and Katherine Day (who has moved there) before heading out to Brady with Henley in tow. Henley's boyfriend Blaine met us in Brady and spent the holiday with us as well. (We opted to fly in early because we didn't want to have to deal with the Wednesday crush of humanity at the airport)  We had a very nice, relaxing trip and we were glad that we were able to spend the holiday with his parents.  His sister Kelly, her hubby Reggie and their daughter Hannah joined us on Friday evening so we were able to spend a little time with them before we left on Saturday.  

On Saturday, we drove back to Dallas to fly back to Denver and were able to meet up with Joyce and Paul who were visiting Megan in Ft Worth.  We were dying for some good Mexican food so we all met up in Fort Worth at Joe T. Garcia's and ate till we almost popped.  Katherine was able to join us again which was a nice surprise for Joyce and Paul since they hadn't seen her since she moved to Stephenville.  It was too short of a visit but sure beats not seeing them at all.  

At Joe T Garcia's 

 So after we got back to Denver we decided to do the touristy stuff that everyone needs to do the first year that you live in a new area.  So we went downtown to look at the Christmas lights and saw the Christmas parade.  

 Henley came home from college the 10th of December for Christmas break.  My friend Polly came for a weeks visit right after Thanksgiving and we did a bunch of going-going-going while she was here.  We did Golden, Vail, 16th Street mall, Colorado Springs and did a bunch of shopping too.  

Delaney came to Denver on the 19th and spent until the 28th with us.  Mark had taken some vacation time around the holidays so we 4 did several trips to see the sights while they were here.  One of the places we went was Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs.  

We spent the day hiking the trails and soaking up the sun.  It was a balmy 55 degrees the day we were there and we couldn't have asked for better weather.

One of the other days we went to Red Rocks Amphitheater and went ice skating on Evergreen Lake.

Red Rocks Amphitheater

 Evergreen Lake Lodge

Evergreen Lake

Mom, Dad, Rob, Zoe, August and Zach (Delaney's boyfriend) all arrived on the 23rd so we had a full house Christmas and through the weekend.  Rob and the kids had to leave on Saturday.  

While Mom, Dad, Zach and Delaney were still here, we were able to do some fun touristy things.  We went to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs and saw the facilities as well as the famous chapel.  It really is quite impressive.  There was a wedding scheduled that afternoon so we only were able to see it for just a short time but we were glad we were able to see it. 

One of the neatest things we did while they were here was we went to see the Cartier exhibit at the Denver Art Museum.  The jewels, jewelry, accessories, watches, etc. were beyond description and we were so happy we took the time to go see it. 

Delaney and Zach had to leave on the 28th to get back to work.  Mom and Dad ended up leaving on the 28th as well because we were expecting heavy snow and bad weather for the upcoming week and they wanted to get back to The Ranch before it all hit.  So by noon Sunday, things were pretty quiet around our house again. 


The rodeo came to Denver the first week of January and every year they have a parade to kick off the festivities.  Mark told me to come downtown to see it and believe it or not, they herded about 75 head of longhorn cattle down the streets just like they have since the rodeo started.  It was an odd sight to say the least. 

My friend Joyce came to visit me last week!  I was so happy that she was able to come see me and do some sightseeing while she was here.  Unfortunately, we had some bad weather but she has promised to come back and see some more things the next time around. 


And we have a new family member!  Meet Peanut.  Henley adopted him right after Christmas break.  He is a german shepherd/blue heeler mix and he is quite adorable if I do say so myself.