Two posts in one month! :)

I told you we had a little catching up to do.  Drew is outside washing the truck in this seasonably warm November weather, and I've had my fill of reading/catnapping on the front porch in the sun.  Time to share a little bit of what I left out last week in my monster post.

Back in late September we decided to take a last minute weekend camping trip up into the mountains and catch the prime colors in the aspen trees.  We chose a good weekend (not that it was balmy, especially at night and in the morning, but nice and clear and crisp) and the weekend after it snowed!  Talk about good timing.

We camped near Leadville at Turquoise Lake and then day hopped over to Twin Lakes.  Dad says Twin Lakes is where Jason and I ate fish cheeks (eww) but I can't remember much about the lake or the campsite.  The fish cheeks?  Yes, I remember those.  :)

Check out our adventure!  (And two videos of Loui being a weird dog - apparently he doesn't like sandy dummies...)

 (Our very own beach - after canoeing across the smaller Twin Lake.)

(I love how Loui looks when his fur is wet...and those very intense eyes!)

(Almost caught one with some mighty pull!)

(How Loui suffers through the canoe ride - his favorite part of any boat ride is the end.)

Better late than never...

Let's just say 2012 has not been the year for blogging.  I don't know if it's just the pace at work, or getting involved in more things, but Drew and I (who am I kidding, it's all "I") have not made more than a peep on here since we broke the news that Jenn and Jason were engaged - back in JUNE.  Wow.  Sorry, folks.  Perhaps I should try a "Five for Friday" as I've seen others do, or maybe a calendar reminder on my phone.  Blogging just hasn't been what it used to be for me - an outlet.  Then again I haven't been painting, either.  Time to get back on the horse.

It's been a whirlwind since June - not like there's nothing to talk about.  We've been everywhere from Iowa to Montana to Connecticut to Tennessee.  And we've had visitors, too!  The Killian family headed to Glacier National Park (who am I kidding, that needs it's own post), Swanson's headed back to Iowa for a memorial and a wedding, and then we celebrated family in Tennessee.  Connecticut was for work - that doesn't count.  I'm not high on work travel, let's just say that.  :)

I can't do it justice in one post, but how about a "picture says a thousand words and makes up for lackluster posting by this girl" attempt?  Let's try it.

A Father's Day Short Story - Playing golf with Drew on Father's Day weekend I lost three balls in a row.  Reached into my bag and pulled out a sleeve of balls without even looking - they were in a box that Grandma had given to Drew last time we visited.  The sleeve still had a Christmas tag on it from likely 1986 or so, since it was in Mom's handwriting that it said "To Grandpa, From Brandy".  The balls were marked "Special Grandfather".  I showed Drew - he said, "You really want to play with those?  What if you lose one?"  I said, "If I do, then Grandpa's got a great view."  But I didn't lose another ball that round...

There was Glacier National Park - land of glaciers (duh), mountain goats and sheep, moose and bear, and engagement pictures for Jenn and Jason.  

There was Iowa - land of all things Swanson, a memorial for Grandma (Mary Frances) Murphy, and a wedding in Ames (is it acceptable that I actually enjoyed myself in Cyclone territory?).

 Followed up by Tom and Mary Janet coming to Denver to see us kids and enjoy some relaxing.

A 5K thrown in the mix (anniversary tradition for Drew and me).  We both won our age group - which tells you how little the race was.  :)

And a trip to Tennessee for Grandma Killian's 90th birthday - spunky woman that she is she planned a fantastic weekend complete with food, lots of champagne and a trip or two out on the martini boat.  :)  And would you believe it, I saw cousins and second cousins I haven't seen in over 20 years!

 And there's more, but I'm afraid that if I type one more word this post might implode on me.  Better save some for next week.  That's right, I said it.  :)  Loui videos, fishing adventures, canoeing and camping on Turquoise and Twin Lakes.

It's a good thing our anniversary hot air balloon ride has to wait until next year or you'd never get to the end of this post...