Colorado part II - Our Cabin & Creede

Ryan and I stayed in a cute little cabin at Cottonwood Cove. We stayed in cabin #25.

I took this photo from inside our cabin. The light was shining in on Ryan's fishing poles. I thought it was a pretty picture.

This is the view from right outside our cabin door. This is where Ryan and I played several games or horseshoes. I whooped him.

And this is the view just behind our cabin. This is the beautiful Rio Grande River.

Creede was just a short 10 minute drive from our cabin.

Downtown Creede

Colorado part I - Great Sand Dunes

We just returned this evening from our wonderful vacation to Colorado! The six-day trip including: visiting the Great Sand Dunes, rafting, fishing, Jeep trails, horseback riding and good food. Did I mention the temperature? While my friends and family were sweltering in 100 degree temps back home, we enjoyed highs in the lower 70s.

I took more than 400 pictures so I decided I would blog from each adventure so I can share all my favorite photos and videos. Enjoy!

Wednesday, June 24 -- Great Sand Dunes


The spring snow melt at the Great Sand Dunes creates this beautiful watershed called, Medano Creek. It was only about 1/2 foot deep but was so refreshing and fun. The dogs loved it and so did we.

I thought this little boy was so cute!

Darbi thought it would be a good idea to roll around in the sand. Don't ask me. She's weird.

Darbi and her Frisbee

This is Darbi trying to pick up the plastic Frisbee off the tile floor. I hope you find it as funny as I do.

Happy Anniversary

Today is our four-year wedding anniversary! It seems like just yesterday I was getting my hair and makeup done for our wedding. Time has truly flown by. Since that time, a lot has changed. We bought a house. We now have our two precious dogs. We've gone on many vacations -- mostly skiing. I graduated college and got my first "big girl" job. Ryan finally has a Jeep again! And he was promoted to assistant manager at Crosstrainers. Life is pretty sweet.

Here are so photos from our special day - June 18, 2005.

Look how small Ashton was!

Next week we leave for beautiful Colorado to celebrate our anniversary. We are staying in a cabin just off the Rio Grande somewhere between Creede and Southfork. We plan on renting a Jeep, fishing, rafting, hiking, horseback riding and just taking it easy. I will take a million pictures, so don't you worry. Oh, did I mention we are taking Dax and Darbi? This should be a very interesting trip.

Irony at Bark at the Park

Dax and I recently participated in the annual Bark at the Park dog show sponsored by Yukon Park's and Recreation! My good pal Sarah and her fiance, Chad, also came out with their dogs, Scout and Hagen.

It was a free dog show and everyone with a dog was encouraged to participate. There were 19 dogs total. The categories the dogs were judged on include: Best Trick, Best Costume, Owner/Dog Look Alike, Best Bark, Most Well-Behaved and Best in Show. Sarah and I were definitely in. Sarah brought Scout in a grass skirt and lei. I felt pretty confident in the Owner/Dog Look Alike category. Even Chad participated with Hagen, much against his will. I believe his words were, "He doesn't do anything."

We all walked around a circle then stopped to show our tricks. The judges deliberated and much to our surprise, we all won first prize is some category -- even Chad and Hagen.

Chad & Hagen: First Place, Best in Show
Sarah & Scout: First Place, Best Costume

Me & Dax: First Place, Most Well-Behaved (*Read below to understand the irony part)
Second Place, Best Trick

I titled this blog Irony at Bark at the Park for two reasons: 1) Chad & Hagen won Best in Show and he didn't even want to participate! 2) Even though Dax got Most Well-Behaved, she managed to jump into the pond after I took her off the leash to play Frisbee. I had to pull a Hercules to get her out. I almost stripped her of our trophy after that incident.

Following the dog show was a pretty sweet concert. These concerts take place at the Gazebo every Thursday. I didn't realize they had such a following! Overall it was a wonderful evening with my pals and my (un-Most Well-Behaved dog), Dax.

my weekend in photos

1. My co-worker, Adrianne, had her first baby! Here is the some of the Saxum team oooing and awing over Ethan after work on Friday.


2. I always love babysitting my nieces. Friday night Ashton stayed the night with us! The evening consisted of shopping at Target, KFC and cuddling on the couch. What more could you ask for?

3. As Greater Grads Summer Internship Program (SIP) committee member, I volunteered to take photos of the new summer interns. They were a little surprised to find out their headshot more resembled a mugshot. Here is one of Saxum's awesome summer interns, Mindy.

4. Immediately after taking photos at the SIP, I got to babysit my good pal Tracey's cute baby, Charlie. She only needed someone to watch him for an hour while she went downtown to take some photos. She told me he would probably sleep the entire time. So I brought a book and chilled out on the couch until I heard Charlie in his room. For a moment there I thought Tracey was playing a funny joke on me and there was really no baby in the house. I got Charlie out of his crib (he greeted me with a big ol' smile) and we played for about 10 minutes until his mom came home. I wish I had a real photo of Charlie b/c they don't come much cuter. (I didn't do this - but would like to try.)

5. Saturday evening was very special - Christina/CJ/LP/BL (inside jokes) got married. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding at Kite Park in Nichols Hills followed by a reception at her mother's house. It was more of a party than a reception, actually. There was an awesome band, Banana Seat, delicious food catered by Eichen's and Interurban, and of course an open bar. We danced until about 11:30 p.m. before heading back home. After we left, Ryan said, "Now that's a wedding." Overall, the night was perfect.

Ryan and I at Julie's house before going to the wedding.

Julie's cat, Verden. One of the few cats I actually like.

Part of the Saxum team + Larry Nichols.

And the bride and groom as they were pelted with birdseed.

6. After the wedding Ryan and I made a spontaneous decision to go to IHOP at midnight. It was a blast.

I had an omlet if you were curious.

7. On Sunday, I attended my good pal Sarah's lingerie shower. I did not take any photos at the shower because that would just be mean. But here she is the morning of the half marathon. She's getting married on July 11 and I can't wait!