Two Weeks in Colorado

A few days ago, Patrick and I returned to Pasadena from two weeks of fun in Colorado. We stayed with our great friends, Pat and Lindsay, who we always celebrate Thanksgiving with. In the weeks before Thanksgiving, we had a blast. We went to The Cheeky Monk, a great Belgian beer pub, for happy hour one afternoon. We also walked around downtown Denver and walked through the historic hotel, The Brown Palace. Pat and Lindsay showed us around their neighborhood and we got to hang out in the evenings after the guys got home from work.

This year, our Thanksgiving celebration was better than ever. On the day of, we went for a run in the morning, got coffee at a local cafe and watched some of the Macy's day parade on TV. It was such a warm, beautiful day in Denver that the guys decided to smoke the turkey in the backyard for an hour before putting it in the oven to cook. They sat outside, around the smoker, drinking beers in the sun. After transferring the turkey to the oven, we had snacks outside on the patio and then played a couple games of washers.

That evening, we sat around their dining table to give thanks and stuff ourselves on the wonderful meal Pat and Lindsay had made. It was our first Thanksgiving at a dining table since we started this tradition (we have always eaten Thanksgiving dinner at a coffee table before because neither of us has had room for an actual dining table in our apartments). Just one sign of moving up in the world! We had a lot to be thankful for this year, not the least of which was the fact that we have been able to continue this tradition for 8 years now. Wherever we have been, we have always made it a priority to be together on Thanksgiving. This year, however, it wasn't a sad farewell when it was time to leave since we will be returning for good in just a couple weeks. Here are a few photos of our time in Denver:

Pat and Linds enjoying happy hour at the Cheeky Monk

All the mugs/glasses were specific to the beer. This one was really weird but the beer was delicious!

Visiting The Brown Palace

Smoked turkey mission complete

Our traditional picture with the 4 of us and the turkey. One of the best photos and best turkeys yet.

Colorado

Well, we've been pretty quiet on the blog front and that's because things have been pretty crazy for us lately. Patrick has been working with his company to get them to send him to the Colorado office for a while now and it is OFFICIAL. Patrick will start his first day of work at the Boulder office on December 14th. We are so thrilled!

During all of these negotiations, we had a trip already planned to go to CO for Patrick's cousin's wedding and then stay with our friends in Denver through Thanksgiving. The original plan was to drive our car out to CO and then drive home after Thanksgiving, pack up all our stuff and either tow the car behind the moving truck or each drive a vehicle. However, we hit so much snow on our drive into Denver that we decided it would be best to leave our car here and fly back to Pasadena. That way we could drive together in the moving truck and not worry about towing the car in snow.

On our drive to CO, we stopped in Las Vegas for about 3 hours and walked the strip. We didn't gamble, eat or see any shows. Patrick is very proud of the fact that we didn't give that city a dime. To be honest, there is plenty to see as you walk the strip and since we were only going to be there a few hours we didn't want to be holed up in a casino. It was a very interesting experience and I'm not sure we will ever feel the need to return... Maybe if we are passing by again someday.

We drove to Colorado Springs for the wedding and got to see lots of Patrick's family. It was really nice to see everyone since we won't be able to go home for Christmas this year. Then we drove up to Denver to stay with our friends that we celebrate Thanksgiving with every year. We decided it would be a good time, over the first few days in town, to look for a place to live. We looked all day yesterday and think we may have found something (more details on that when it becomes official) that's about 20 minutes away from Patrick's work and 20 minutes away from Denver. We hope it goes through, so send good wishes our way.

Patrick is working from the Boulder office while we are here so he doesn't have to take a lot of vacation time. We are having a great time and feel right at home since we lived in CO for undergrad. Actually, on the drive into town, the closer we got the more we felt that we were coming home. We've never moved anywhere that we already had friends and knew the area. We feel so lucky and blessed to be able to move here. As we drive around town, I can't stop thinking how right it feels to be back in CO.

The Las Vegas Strip

New York New York

The Excalibur. I couldn't believe this thing. Maybe just a tad over the top?

Patrick's joining the Sigfreid and Roy show... I don't know that he fits in very well.

Outside the Bellagio with free water in hand. Not a dime spent!

Welcome to Colorado!!!

Dodger Game

I decided it was time to experience a Dodger game since we've lived here for almost 3 years and I hadn't yet been to Dodger Stadium. So, we recently went to a Dodger/Rockies game. We were there early enough to watch the Rockies batting practice and shag balls that came our way. Patrick almost got one of the balls but decided to give up the fight once he saw he was going up against an old man. We got the famous Dodger Dogs for dinner (it was no Rem Dawg from Yawkey Way in Boston). It was a really great game, but the Dodgers ended up losing to the Rockies.

Apparently, whether they win or lose they light off fireworks every Friday night. Little did we know they were going to light them off right above our car. We went to go to our car after the game but couldn't get to it because it was roped off and the police wouldn't let us through. Everyone else could get in their cars and leave but our row wasn't allowed. There was a man with a hard hat standing right in front of our car and I kept thinking "that can't be a good sign for our car." Debris from the fireworks fell around Patrick and I and we were further back from the fireworks than our car was. The fireworks were pretty cool but even afterwards we had to wait for a firetruck to come and hose down the fireworks before they would let us out. All I'm saying is, how can they charge EVERYONE $15 to park if some of them can't leave after the game and their cars are rained on by fire???

Overall, though, our Dodger Stadium experience was a good one and hopefully we will be going back soon for a Dodger/Red Sox World Series. We would of course be cheering for our Red Sox.

Dodger Stadium Entrance Sign

Watching the Rockies batting practice

The fireworks raining down on our car. Our car is the black one in the middle and you can just see the guy with the hard hat standing directly in front of our car.

September

Well, I can't believe September is almost over. It has been a fun month for Patrick and I. We decided that we don't take advantage of where we live enough. So, in the last month we went to see Fred Armisen (guy who plays President Obama on SNL), Ed Helms (from The Office and the new movie The Hangover), a one-man-show in Beverly Hills and the beach for some boogie boarding. Oh, and in the middle of all that Patrick severely sprained his ankle and we had to take him to Urgent Care. It's been an exciting month.

Both the Fred Armisen and Ed Helms shows were held at the Largo in LA. It's a really intimate venue that seats about 60 people. So, for both shows we were really close to the stage. The exciting thing about the Largo is that you always know who the headliner is but you never know who else will be there to perform or just be in the audience. At the Armisen show we saw Margaret Cho in the lobby (I'm surprised I recognized her. We're not really huge Cho followers, but it was definitely her). Patrick and I both loved the Ed Helms show. No one in the audience wanted it to end. Two more cast members from The Office came that night to perform, along with Patrick's absolute favorite comedian Demetri Martin. We had no idea any of these other performers were going to be there and when Ed introduced Demetri Martin, I thought Patrick was going to pee himself from excitement. It was a really great night.

The one-man-show we went to was written and acted by a teacher that has worked in an urban LA school for the last 13 years. It was really excellent and got you thinking about the school system and how communities need to get involved (also a little depressing when you realize the magnatitude of issues schools face). Again, it was in a really small theater; I think it sat 20. On the website for the show it said you can dress casual. So, Patrick and I dressed casual: Patrick wore jeans and a nice shirt, I wore a dress and cowboy boots. Waiting in line to get into the show, however, we realized casual in Beverly Hills was on a whole other level. Oh, well...

This last weekend we decided to go to the beach because our A/C broke and the repair guy wouldn't be able to come out until the next morning. Well, it was going to be over 100 degrees that day and there was no way we were going to survive in our hot apartment. So, we thought it would be good to go to the beach where it is usually about 20 degrees cooler. When we got to the beach, it was still warm but there was also such a heavy marine layer (fog) that you couldn't even see the water or the end of the pier, even when you were standing on it. Once in a while the fog would lift and you could see a ton of surfers out in the water. Regardless of the fog, we swam in the waves and Patrick went boogie boarding. It was a weird day at the beach weather wise but lots of fun.

Oh, yeah, we also celebrated our 2 year anniversary this month. Patrick baked me cookies (which was really cute because I'm always the one that bakes) and I made us a picinic to take to the park. It was nice and relaxing and some good quality time together. It was great to have such a low-key anniversary since the rest of the month has been so hectic. Happy 2 years to us!

Grandma

Since I was in Oregon for girl's weekend, I made it an extended stay so I could visit with my family. My mom, sister and I took 4 days to go to Canada and visit my grandma. My grandma lives on Salt Spring Island in British Columbia and growing up, my family would drive up to the island once or twice a year to see Grandma and Grandpa.

Our main goal was to spend time with Grandma, but I was also really looking forward to being on the island. It had been 5 years since I was last on the island, which is way too long when you are used to visiting at least once a year. Salt Spring is an incredible place. Too many wonderful things to list, but some of my favorite memories of the island are swimming in the lakes on warm summer days, walking down to the wharf (which I always called the dwarf) to see starfish clinging to the pillars and the clams spitting, playing in the snow one Christmas out front of my grandparent's house, driving around the island to look for deer early in the morning, picking ripe berries out of the neighbor's garden... Once again, too many wonderful memories to list them all.

My grandpa's been gone for 10 years and my grandma now lives in a apartment complex for senior citizens. A couple of years after my grandpa died, my grandma sold the house that my grandpa had built and moved into the apartment. It was a good decision because the house and yard were just too much work, but it definitely feels different to not stay at the house. I have so many memories of that house and when you drive by it now it doesn't even seem like the same place. There used to be a driftwood sign out front announcing the Armstrong residence and a beautifully manicured lawn to greet you. I remember there always being homemade chocolate chip cookies, the freezer filled with homemade jam and my grandpa's amazing pancakes that were only complete once spread with grandma's homemade tayberry jam. I remember the crystal bowl that was unfailingly filled with mint chocolates (still has that at the apartment, thank goodness). I remember sleeping on the cot and snuggling down into Grandpa's WWII sleeping bag, inevitably waking up with feathers all over me. I remember watching for families of quail and deer that would roam through my grandparent's backyard. I remember sitting on the sunroom floor, looking through the slides from when my mom was a kid. I remember laying on the shag carpet, playing cards with my sister or having my grandma teach me a new card game or sitting at the yellow kitchen table putting a puzzle together with my grandma.

A lot of these things have gone by the wayside, but spending time with my grandma is still so special. She is one of the funniest people I know and extremely stubborn too. Whenever my mom would look at us and roll her eyes because Grandma was being obstinate, we would just tell my mom to remember this when she was Grandma's age and being stubborn!

While visiting, we just spent some great quality time together. Grandma is 85 years old and is still doing her logic puzzles and reading. She also puts together jigsaw puzzles with some of the other residents, plays ping-pong every week, and has wine and crackers with her neighbor every evening. The apartment complex has a gardener, but my grandma loves to go out and pull weeds and this year she planted a tomato plant among the flowers. Her hearing is not good, her hand did not heal properly from when she broke it playing ping-pong and she has troubles using her opposite arm but her mind is still really sharp and when she laughs she looks so young. I'm so thankful for the time I got to spend with her this summer and I hope I can go up to the island again next summer to spend some more time with Grandma!

My sister and I on the ferry. Her hair blowing over my forehead looks hilarious.

The Armstrong/MacInnis girls

My sister teaching my grandma about technology

View from the inter-island ferry

Grandma is the one who taught me all the card games I know, how to shuffle and how to back shuffle. At 85, she got down on the floor and played cards with me. I was so proud of her. She hasn't played cards in a long time because she has a hard time with her hands, but she shuffled and dealt her own cards. This was the highlight of my time with Grandma.

Girl's Weekend

Every year since high school graduation, a group of us girls get together for a girl's weekend at the Oregon coast. Some of us have been friends since kindergarten and others since high school, but the number of years doesn't seem to matter when it comes to the strength of our friendships. We've been together through the loss of loved ones, the excitement of our weddings and the joy of starting families, not to mention the memories of growing up together.

This year's girl's weekend fell in the first week of August and I was so ready to spend 3 days with my girls. We had a small baby with us at the beach because one of the girls had just had her first baby 6 weeks prior to girl's weekend. It was such a joy to spend so much time with my good friend's baby girl since I don't live in the area and won't see her again until she is about 6 months old!

Every girl's weekend seems to always be filled with eating, shopping and lots and lots of talking. We always end up in the kitchen, eating and talking and we continue talking into the early hours of the morning. Even when we get into bed, with the intentions of sleeping, we continue to talk for another hour at least.

I don't know what I would do without these weekends or without these wonderful girls. I am so thankful to have these amazing women in my life!

Kristin, Me, Kimmy and Alycia enjoying the local coffee shop.

Kimmy, I am so thankful you sat next to me in freshman math. I can't imagine it any other way!

We've been friends so long I can't remember life without Kristin.

I don't have a pic of all 8 of us, but here are 5 out of 8. Megan, Kristin, Me, Erin (& Lilli) and Kim.

Thanks, Erin, for the pictures!

Big Sur, Carmel & Monterey

The last week in July, Patrick's mom flew down from Oregon to visit us. We had been looking forward to the visit for a while. Not only was Patrick's mom in town, but it was also a great vacation for all 3 of us.

For five days we traveled up the coast to see the sights. We stayed 2 nights in Big Sur and 3 in Monterey, stopping to see Carmel-by-the-Sea on the way. In Big Sur, we did some short hikes, enjoyed the scenery, went to open mic night at the Henry Miller Library (the only time in my life I think I will see a sitar player and a violinist jam together) and relaxed on the beaches. We stayed at Deetjen's in Big Sur, which was built by a Danish man in the early 2oth century. It was rough around the edges, but all 3 of us loved it. It had charachter, and adding to that charachter was the shower arrangement. Check out the picture below!

On the way up to Monterey, we stopped in Carmel. We walked the town, had lunch and relaxed on the beach. That afternoon, we had some great wine on the patio of the Mission Ranch, which is owned by Clint Eastwood. This was one of my favorite places on our whole trip. The grounds were absolutely beautiful. Sitting on the patio, with wine glass in hand, you could see the ocean in the distance, while the fluffy grass before you was being cropped by a herd of sheep. Who knew there was something so relaxing about sheep. Wait, maybe that's why you are supposed to count them when you can't sleep?

During the 3 days we had in Monterey, we walked Cannery Row, went to some wine tasting rooms, saw the Monterey Bay Aquarium, ate our way down Fisherman's Wharf, and drove into Carmel-in-the-Valley for a day of wine tasting. On the drive back to Pasadena, we made a pit stop at the Madonna Inn, a place Patrick and I had seen online. It was just as over the top in person as it appeared online. There were buses full of tourists taking pictures of the craziness; so we joined right in...

Overall, on the trip we saw seals, sea lions, pelicans, elephant seals, jelly fish and otters. We did some short hikes and lots of walking around town. We enjoyed the sights and drank some great wine. The concensus between the three of us was that Big Sur was our favorite area and that wine tasting and open mic at the Henry Miller Library were our favorite activities.

Elephant Seals battling it out

Our first great view of the Big Sur coastline

Mom and son

Gorgeous Big Sur coastline

McWay Falls

Deetjen's

Window at crotch height and a shower that only washes your chest. Who thought this was a great idea for a shower???

Playing at the beach

Carmel Mission

Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey

View from Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey

Madonna Inn