The end of June!

It was nice to have a weekend with "nothing" to do! :) This past weekend I got together with Kari, Kathy, Cherie, and Natanee for lunch. We toasted to babies on the way for Kari and Natanee and to our friendship! I am so lucky to have such strong and wonderful women as friends!!

This week was very busy for me at work with trying to tie things up before leaving this Thursday for our CA trip. Chuck ended up working both days this weekend for the same reason - yuck!

We are excited to see friends and family while out on the West coast. There is a lot of driving on the schedule - Reno to Mammoth, Mammoth through Yosemite, Oakhurst to the Bay Area, lots of driving in the Bay Area (is there any other way??), and back up to Tahoe! Whew!! I used $4.50 for our gas budget...that may be wishful thinking!! This will be my first time to Mammoth Lakes - we'll be working for Uncle Kirby as part of the crew for two fireworks shows...I am but nervous but really excited, too! Look for photos and a post telling of all of our fun when we get back!

Back to laundry for the trip I go...

Last night at band....

Nope, not band camp, but (with a bit of gentle encouragement from my husband) I took a chance and practiced with the Denver Concert Band last night. The band is in need of associate members (semi-permanent fill in types) for the Summer Concert Series in the percussion section, and I was recruited by our friend, Tricia. I had a great time and even managed to read some rhythms accurately! Reading music for mallets will take more time to dig that skill out of my head (I haven't read music since my freshman year of college...some 13 years ago...and rhythms since my junior year). I also have no chops, but hopefully it will come. The best part is that they welcomed me back and it appears I am "in" for the summer concerts in late July and August! Thank you to Chuck to pushing me - I don't think I realized how much I would enjoy playing (albeit not too well yet) again. More to come on this newest adventure! :)

Happy Father's Day!

We had a good week. The suite at the Rockies game was awesome (minus the working part) and the Blake Street Bombers even won! This weekend was busy with Carrie's baby shower (that Baby girl Garioto is going to be spoiled, but she's worth it) and having Dad/Suanne and Natanee stay the night on Saturday. The cat wasn't as thrilled about the house guests, but he'll get over it! We ate too much and our fridge is so full I am wondering if anyone actually ate anything! We spent the afternoon at the Parker Country Festival - it was a beautiful (but really hot!) day in Colorado.

On another note - I find the passing of Tim Russert just very sad. I am not one to love the media, but he seemed a true journalist...well studied, well spoken, and he asked the hard questions with class and dignity. An unfortunate reminder to cherish each day.

Hugs and kisses to all the Dads!!

Colorado livin'

We spent the weekend up in Eagle with Natanee and Matt and had a great time!! We made the hike up (1,000 feet up in 1.2 miles to be exact) to Hanging Lake - you can't tell the richness of the colors in our photo, so we recommend you make the trip! This hike is well worth getting up early to beat the crowds and also worth the hard work of the climb up and down! The high level of run off made for amazing waterfalls! It is amazing that beauty like this is just a few hours from home!!

We also introduced the Spencers to the Wii and Guitar Hero. Here is a video of them rocking out....check out the under-bites. I think Natanee was trying to rock Baby Spencer to sleep with her wicked head bob move!

The rest of the photos from the weekend are posted HERE.

This week is busy! I have several work events and one includes a box at the Rockies game vs. the Giants, so I am looking forward to getting out from behind my computer and having some fun with clients! This week also marks a few happy birthdays - happy day Kandi and Jacob! (and a late happy birthday to Laura). Cheers!

Walking with deer....

How it is Sunday evening already? We had a good weekend - starting with seeing the new Indiana Jones movie...entertaining and a bit cheese-ball, but enjoyable. Harrison Ford still has it! This weekend was gorgeous here in sunny Colorado - we spent Saturday up in Bailey at Dad and Suanne's visiting with my aunt and uncle, Toni and John, in town from California. I earned the name "she who walks with deer"....you had to be there! Hey Suanne....light's on.

This week will be busy with celebrating Dick's birthday (a bit early!) and celebrating Chuck's birthday (a bit late!) with Mom and Dick before they go out to Tahoe for the summer. Next week we spend more time in the mountains visiting our friends Matt and Natanee. We forgot our camera this weekend, but will take it next weekend! :) Happy June everyone!

Check our our new band....The Bailey Bottle Rockers!

Happy Birthday to my hubby!

Happy birthday to my wonderful (and handsome) hubby!!

We had a great BBQ to celebrate (and also celebrate Alex's birthday too...she has a zero in this one!!). May is a big birthday month...Natanee, Suanne, Chuck, Alex, and Agnes. :) One more to the list - a coworker welcomed her daughter this morning!! Happy birthday to all!

Catching up and a look at our handywork

Our a tad bit neglected deck before.....

Our newly less neglected deck! :)

There are also some flower pots and some furniture to go with now, too! This project took a day of woodworking (a few new main deck boards and some new stairs) and two full days of staining....we had the sore backs and hamstrings to prove it. The house will also be changing color this summer, but we'll be writing a check to get that done!

Since I have been neglecting the blog, there is a lot of stuff to share...The past few weeks have been busy and fun (outside of the less than fun project above)!

May 9th marked the 3rd Annual (and we heard a rumor of final..) 88th & Wadsworth Bar Crawl. Yes, seriously. Check out the photos HERE. We had a great time and thankfully had booked a room at the Garioto Villa for the evening! That weekend we celebrated Mother's Day with both of our wonderful mothers, Maddie's mother, our future niece's mother, and my god mother! It was a wonderful, motherly day! :) Here are a few photos!

On that next Wednesday we finally got together with our friends Josh and Lara - folks that we have to plan our time together literally months in advance! We "toured" Italy with some wonderful wines and some yummy cheese from the rest of the globe. Later that week, we took in a Rockies game courtesy of our favorite real estate broker, Brad Snyders (Brad is very busy - yes, even in this market...so perhaps he isn't just our favorite!) for the Prestige Real Estate Group evening at the ballpark. The weather was great (minus a few sprinkles during the bottom of the eighth)....the Rockies play was not as great, but the company made it perfect!! :)

This weekend is a nice long weekend and we will also be celebrating Chuck's birthday (we're having his family over on Sunday, so the deck had to be done!). He rings in his 31st year on Tuesday, but lucky for him he gets a long weekend for his day!

Brendan Liam Mikuliza celebrated his actual birth-day on May 7th - congratulations to new parents Briget and Mark!!

Whew...maybe I do need to do this more often! :)