California Girl

   I  am a California girl. 

   Here are a few pictures of my last weekend in Denver. 

    The truck was packed. 

    And the pod was filled. 

    I enjoyed a classy pizza & wine dinner....on the floor, no table, no chairs, no dishes...

   The Capitol dome has been under construction since I arrived. Only fitting that it was finally revealed     

   during my last weekend in Denver. 

   HERE I COME CALIFORNIA!

Sweetness

XOXO Isaac & Otis    

Eldora Mountain Resort

For only $5, I can take the bus from Denver, past Boulder and up to Eldora Mountain Resort.  

Here are a few pictures of my snowshoe trip. 

Breckenridge, CO

Today was my first time using the Colorado Mountain Express service.  I decided to take a day trip to Breckenridge, CO and loved having someone shuttle me to and from the mountains.  I spent the morning exploring some great artistic work from the 2014 Budweiser International SnowSculpture Championship.  Teams from all over the world (U.S., Finland, Italy, Spain, Germany, etc.) were given a 10x10 block of snow and 65 hours to create a sculpture using only hand tools.  Pretty amazing!  I then walked through the Breckenridge Ice Castle--icicles formed into walls and hallways, and even a cave.  After lunch, I did some fun shopping on Main St. (lots of arts & crafts) and came home with many craft projects in mind.  Ended the day reading a book at the Hyatt while waiting for the shuttle to pick me up.

Colorado Mountain Express

2014 Intl. Snow Sculpture Championship

Colorado

Germany

Mongolia 

France

Ice Castle

Icicles 

Garden of the Gods

I visited Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs today.  The Garden contains natural red rock formations that were created millions of years ago.  On the way home we stopped at a cafe in the small town of Manitou Springs (population 5,000) for lunch.  Quick trip but great to get out of Denver for the afternoon.

The day wouldn't be complete without seeing some wildlife...
3 deer

Jeff Brinkman

If you are ever in Colorado, Chautauqua Park in Boulder is a must visit.  My mom and I went to a concert at Chautauqua Auditorium when she was here in July and I thought it was such a great event.  This evening I went to a Jeff Brinkman concert at Chautauqua but it was held at the Park's Community House.  The Community House is a 1917 home that has been opened up to create a decent size (but still small/intimate) room for events.  The band was great but my favorite songs were definitely when it was just Jeff & his guitar.  You might recognize Jeff--he was on last seasons American Idol!

More of Whippany, NJ

Here are some family photos from this weekend!

Deb, Uncle Bob & I

Whippany, NJ

Spent a great weekend in Whippany, NJ filled with lots of laughter!  Uncle Bob is sending me some pictures we took so I can add them to this post.  Here is one that I took at our Saturday night dinner.

Uncle Bob & Deb

Wildernest Weekend

I just got home from a weekend trip to Wildernest, CO with the family I babysit for. 

Our home for the weekend.

My first snowshoe adventure.

Headed back to Denver with the twins.
Isaac on the left, Otis on the right.

Welcome 2014.

Downtown Denver fireworks

First Week Back in Denver

I spent Christmas day with a great group of people volunteering at the women's homeless shelter.  The amount of food and goodies that were donated for the ladies absolutely amazed me!

Lunch Buffet

On Friday evening, I visited the Dairy Center for the Arts in Boulder, CO.  After having a very lazy few days, I am happy I convinced myself to head to Boulder because the Dairy Center was definitely worth it!  First, I walked through the art gallery and saw the Bike Art exhibit that was on display.  Bike art!!!  It couldn't get much cooler than that!  I then bought a ticket for an evening movie that was showing in the Center's cinema.  The movie, Desert Runners, was a documentary about a group of non-professional runners that decided to compete in 4 ultra marathons in 4 different deserts around the world in a one year time span.  In total, the runners raced 600 miles in temperatures up to 115*F!!  Very inspiring film but definitely not something I would ever dream of participating in!

Yay!!  And (of course) the bike gallery would not
be complete without a section devoted to my favorite
place in the world--Copenhagen, Denmark! 

Happy!

Happy to be home!  Thank you Denver for welcoming me back with cold weather and snow!

SURPRISE!

Back in September, I booked a flight to California for Christmas.  

Best thing was my mom had NO idea.  It was a complete surprise!! 

My uncle was in on the secret.  He picked me up from
the airport and drove me to my mom's house.  My mom
thought she was spending the day with her favorite brother...
she would really be spending it with me! 

We had lunch at Chicago Fire with good friends Dana, Margaret, Kerri & Brian.

I then spent time with some of my favorite kids-
Tom....

Julie...

...and Zane! 

Ended my trip by spending some time with Grandpa.