Mom and Dad in Denver...

This past weekend Mom and Dad (Killian) and Duster graced us with their presence after nearly two weeks on the road (and in the tent - good for them!) touring the national and state parks in the southwest. From Grand Canyon to Bryce, Canyonlands to Kodachrome - they saw it all, and more red rock than their eyes could appreciate. I believe I heard dad say, "I think I'd like to see a mountain that looks like a mountain!" So that's what they came to see in Colorado - well, that, and us.

We toured the house and the neighborhood, took the dogs out to the Colorado Hills (and off lead dog park and hiking trails - Duster didn't know what to do with himself) and hung out in Old Towne Arvada for ice cream. We made more food than any of us could ever eat, mom and I found hanging baskets (that the neighbors are oohing over)and garden starters, and watched a sunset in Majestic View park. And then on Sunday we took them to the one thing they'd seen enough of - the red rocks of the Garden of the Gods! Just kidding, it was beautiful and surrounded by mountains that dad could register - and mom had a blast studying the geology of everything to figure out how such red spires could come to live in the middle of Colorado.

Sunday night we were also surprised by a visit from Grandpa and Gerry - passing through on their way back to Michigan from Arizona! We had a great night, a great fire in the fireplace, and enjoyed ourselves on the last (please!?) snowy evening in Denver for the season.

So here's the pictures - and since Dad said he and I didn't have enough pictures together, there's plenty of those. :)

In loving memory...

I don't think I can do Angie and James justice in any sense, but I felt I needed to put this out into the universe as a tribute to a beautiful man and wife. Angie, with the heaviest of hearts, informed us today that James passed away early Wednesday morning from complications related to a recent illness. Please hold your loved ones extra close today, tomorrow, and in the days to come - and send a prayer out there into the world for Angie and her family. Angie was a good friend from graduate school, and my only thanks are that she has a wonderful family, an incredible group of friends, and a cohort sending their love from all over the country (make that the world).

Love you, Angie.

Stahls, photo credit goes to you...

Royal Arch at Red Rocks!

So we're a little out of order, but I thought I would share. A few weekends back we hiked to the Royal Arch at Red Rocks, starting out right in Boulder. A beautiful trail, though a little too popular (and by that I mean populated!) for me. I like to look around and think quietly when hiking, not listen to the hikers in front me carry on a conversation about work, their model photo shoot, or divorce proceedings. Yes, we heard all three...Boulder, land of the busy, beautiful, and newly single? I don't know, I'm just making that last one up. Perhaps I'm a hiking snob, but it's akin to church for me on the weekends, so I'm a little particular. ;)

We reached the top along with a whole congregation of other people and took these shots. Enjoy!

One of these days I'll come see you...

I've said that to my brother so many times, it seemed I'd never make good on my promise. But I finally did last weekend with Drew - and we had a blast!

I had been checking out the GymHawks post-season run, and it just so happened that they were going to be attending the NCAA Regional in Corvallis, Oregon where Jason and his girlfriend, Jenn, live. :) I immediately sent Jenn a note (thinking Jason might still be struggling with gymnastics overkills from our youth) telling her she should go to the meet and convince Jason, too. I would even send along some Hawkeye gear if they wanted! And then it hit me...why couldn't Drew and I go make an appearance?

We booked tickets (relatively cheap, I might add!) and called it an early birthday present for me. I even managed to get in touch with my old coach and she put us on the pass list for the meet, which was awfully nice of her. Drew got a day or two off work, and off we went a week later! Thankfully Jason and Jenn 1) were in town that weekend, 2) don't mind surprise guests and 3) were sorta into the whole gymnastics thing and willing to indulge me.

Once out there, we even had great weather (which is quite a thing to say about Oregon in spring). Sun, green landscape, a quick peak of Mary's Peak, etc. We had a homemade dinner (Thanks, Jason!) went out for gelato and drinks, went to the farmer's market, played at the wavelab, made it out to the coast for a day, and even got in a run or two while we were there (or if your name is Jenn - you got in volunteering for a triathlon, a 13 mile bike ride, a 3.5 mile run, baking brownies, a trip to the coast, a quick stint at playing counselor, and who knows what else you busy girl!). And while the GymHawks didn't have a stellar night on Saturday, we still got to see some great gymnastics, and Jason and Jenn's OSU Beaver's won the night and earned a bid to Nationals.

All in all, a wonderful weekend. Thanks for playing host and hostess, Jason and Jenn! Let's do it again, soon! And now here's the weekend in pictures, as promised. I'm a little light on good ones and appear to have only taken pictures on Sunday - but a sunny weekend at the coast prompted me to investigate some camera filters...and more camera equipment is NEVER a bad thing. Enjoy!

Latest painting...

Well, I should be painting more...but I haven't been. Time to get my butt in gear. Here's one I pulled out in an hour or so, a la Bob Ross. Another one in progress... :)

Sorry the pictures of the painting aren't the best - you'll just have to come visit us to see it in real life!

Frozen Dead Guy Days

I'm sorry it's been awhile since I last posted. I've been deep into interviews and "real world" work finding - but to no avail, yet. I figure I might as well let my creative side out to play and show you all what we've been up to lately.

Well, it was early March so it's been a few weeks, but this is the excitement we've been up to these days. Frozen Dead Guy Days. Yup, you heard me right. Only in small town Colorado (Nederland to be exact) would they invent a weekend long festival deadicated (hehe...I mean dedicated) to the frozen grandpa out back in the Tuff Shed.

Long story short, a gentleman was cryogenically frozen overseas and sent back to relatives in Nederland for safe keeping...breaking several international customs rules along the way I imagine. He is now in the care of his grandson, who hires people to re-pack him in dry ice monthly, and even accommodates tours every now and then.

Festival activities include a hearse parade, polar plunge, coffin races, and even frozen turkey bowling. ;) My camera batteries were low so I just captured the coffin races - probably the most entertaining of activities. Enjoy - we did!!!!

Liam's Countdown...

It's March, everyone! The sun is shining here in Denver and I've dusted off the running shoes so Loui and I can enjoy the beautiful weather. They say March comes in like a lion, and out like a lamb. If what I know about Denver rings true, though, we'll come in like a lamb and skate out on snow and ice like a lion...Denver is just backwards sometimes!

"In like a lion", though - that really makes me think of one little boy's journey here in the first few days of the month. "Out like a lamb" is what I'd love to see on the other side, too. Of course, this little one is Liam, my good friend Dawn's little boy who has battled a rare form of cancer for the last several months. He's set for surgery on March 9th, coincidentally his first birthday, too.

The hope is that this surgery will remove the remainder of a tumor that has dogged this little one since Thanksgiving and kept him from some of those timeless benchmarks of the first year - crawling, walking, etc. Please check out their full story at http://briananddawnfudge.blogspot.com and keep them in your thoughts this month!