A Visit from Dad

I am so happy that I got to spend my first holiday out here with family. My dad got here last Monday and spent the whole week out here with me. All the tech savvy stuff that needed to be done had been saved for this very visitor. It was kind of funny that by the end of that first night we already had a TV and DVD player for my place. It only took about an hour or 2 with his help to mount it on the wall and hook up all the necessary cables. Now I can invite people over for a movie night and not expect them to snuggle up with me to watch it on my laptop. I have recently joined the 24hr Fitness here in town and thought it would be rude of me to go and workout in the mornings without him...so I snagged him a free week pass so he could suffer and sweat with me! Great bonding strategy right? I drove him around town, showed him around my lovely neighborhood, and took him to my new church. The week was off to a great start and the rest is as follows.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving day without all the cooking and the work? Can it be any fun? My dad and I learned that it may simply be the best way to do it! On Wed morning my dad went for his morning coffee and was asking around for a good place to eat out for Thanksgiving dinner. The waitress suggested we try a place called The Fresh Fish Market. They were having a Thanksgiving buffet with all the Thanksgiving fixins and then some. So we book are reservations and spent the day(the one that would normally be filled with cleaning the house and cooking) getting our workout in, returning previously purchased items to Walmart, seeing the movie Four Christmas', and just chillin.

We were a little worried when we showed up to the place and they had us sitting in a warming tent until our table was ready. Especially since this was no cheap meal!

But we soon found ourselves in awe of all the delicious food they had to offer!

Not to mention the drinks and desserts.

Belt loops did need to be loosened and naps taken...but hey that's part of Thanksgiving right?

Avoiding Black Friday!

Once the fog and haze lifted and the sun came out, we had one of the most beautiful days down in Colorado Springs. I was 1. determined to get my dad out hiking, and 2. show him one of the most beautiful places ever. After walking some of the trails we decided to follow a very red dirt road up. And up. By the time we got to the top I think my dads knuckles were white...or was it on the way down? We worked up an appetite and headed on in to the "Old CO Town" just a few blocks away for lunch...and dessert

This is one way to get my dad to eat a piece of fruit.

Table Complete

So I decided I needed a bigger kitchen table, and I just happened to stumble upon one at a thrift store half off of course. It kept getting put off and put off but finally it is sitting complete in my dining room! Now...I need to find 2 more chairs!

Before...

After...

Off to the Petersons...

The Birthday Boy

After getting a good nights sleep Monday night I made the drive up to Winter Park to spend a couple of days with the Petersons. It was Chases Birthday on Wednesday, he turned 4 and we had to celebrate. He is so funny because he couldn't decide whether he liked Disney's "Cars" or "Monsters Inc." better so he decided he should have a "Cars Monsters Inc" party. We made Sully Cars out of cardboard boxes which the boys loved. Chase jumped out of his bath and was running through the house nude in it =) Family and friends came over Wednesday night to celebrate. We has a great dinner and tons of fun, a great way to spend time with "family".


Court and Chase in their cars...

Amy cooking up dinner!

Last Monday...

I think last Monday is one of those days the qualifies as a loooong day! I worked on Sunday night and was invited to go for a hike in the mountains on Monday...I couldn't pass up an offer like this even if it meant going on no sleep. My friend Dustin that I met at my new church New Life had to use up some of his days off, before the years end. Being an avid hiker himself, I think he felt like showing a newbie like me what the mountains really have to offer. So he pick me up Monday morning with my coffee in hand (I figured this would be the only way I would survive the day) and we drove about an hour outside of Boulder, CO. Now I can't exactly tell you what mountain we climbed, but I do know my lungs and entire body knew I was a new guy! We made it to the top only to face what felt like a WI winter! The Storm was rolling in on our way back down, and the beggings of what might be feet of snow began to fall. I realized at the top that I get caught up in the Denver "city" and often forget about the Denver "MT's" just a hop skip and jump away!

The trail up...

A view from the top...

Storm rolling in...

Freezing!

Beat!

Bedding Complete!

The hours of sewing up my bedding have finally come to an end! This project was a lot of fun but also a lot of learning! Thank goodness that "measure twice cut once" method really works!
So here it is...who would have thought I would want so much pink in my room??

This is the bed side tables that my mom and I found...I just sprayed a coat of green paint on it.

Another Item that just needed a little paint, and tada it matches!