New car!

We got a new car and the dogs love it. Thank god for hatchbacks. Their little heads fit perfectly out of the back. And thank god for two cars in the family! Now we can go wherever our hearts desire!

New car!

Wyoming sunset in my rearview

Wyoming sunset in my rearview

Snowy snowy September

This was the snowy view from our neighborhood on Monday. I was so mad. That was the last day of summer. They couldn't give me one more day?! Eh, whatever. It'll probably be 85 by next week knowing Colorado weather.

Snowy snowy September

I'm on a boat, I'm on a boat...

Did you know that sometimes sushi comes in a boat?!?! We tried it! It was amazing! So much better in a boat. ("I got my flippy floppies...")

I'm on a boat, I'm on a boat...

Tiny nature is weird

This was the tiniest snake I've ever seen in my life. Just a baby garter. The tomato he is next to in this photo is a cherry tomato so that gives you some perspective...

Tiny nature is weird

Oh deer.

The other day we had a giant buck in our front yard (about a dozen more showed up later the next night). The deer come to eat the apples on the crabapple tree in our yard and it's so fun to watch. The dogs and I got a little surprised by this one so they were very vocal. But the deer didn't seem to mind. He went about his own business. He really was huge:



Here is how Lucy felt about it. See the hackles? She was pissed!


Here is the hullabaloo the dogs caused over this deer. Watch for me tripping over the back of the couch at the end. Smooooooove.

Oh deer.

Labor Day labors

During Labor Day weekend, the little town of Elko, Nev., celebrates the end of summer with a county fair, horse races and general merriment. I'd never been to Elko during this time of year and really wanted to see the true meaning of Americana. J's parents were nice enough to buy us a plane ticket to come out to see them for the weekend. What a treat!

So we were all prepared to fly out on Friday on Southwest Airlines. But when the end of the work day on Thursday came around, I got home and greeted my pups and realized that not only did I want them to come with us, but I wanted to go NOW. So I called J and he laughed at my spontaneity but got home quick and packed up with me.

We packed the car up with what we needed and got on the road that night at 8 p.m., making it to Grand Junction before midnight. The hotel was hilarious with two people and two dogs all packed in (they refused to stay on the floor), but it was comfy. We drove another 8 hours the next day from Grand Junction, up through southern Utah and into Salt Lake City. We switched to a rental car (damn Hotwire and their no-refund policy!) and did the last three hours from SLC to Elko. It was beautiful and long and new for me.

On the way, we saw amazing rock formations in Utah...

And stopped a lot so the dogs would stop whining about their ears and so we could stretch our legs. I believe this was in Helper, Utah. Yes, that is the name of the town. And I thought it was adorable.

After getting our rental car we hit the salt flats outside of SLC. The dogs were not quite sure what to think but we made them pose for a pretty picture. Can you tell how much Lucy hates staying in one place for her picture to be taken?

After making it out to Elko, we got to see J's family and our good friends, the Pierces. They have an adorable little daughter named Ellie and another one on the way. They took some time out from parenthood to have a beer with us and sing karaoke. And this time, no one got puked on. Grand fun. Here's Jared and J.

Here's Jen, Amber, Jared and J. (J Crew plus one.)

I even got a picture with Jen and Amber. Lots of waters in front of us for the preggers lady and for me, the tired wuss.

After the races and the parties and the great dinners and the great company, we got back in the car and headed out. It was a little more of a drag on the way home than it was on the way there, but not too bad. The dogs were actually pretty patient. I really thought Wyoming was beautiful. There were these long stretches of road, like the one below, that felt like they went on forever. This hill had hundreds of giant wind machines.

We hit Lymon, Wyoming, for some Taco Bell (we didn't have it in Cali and don't have it in CO either). Across the street was this old OLD OLD one-screen movie theatre called the Valley Theatre. It kind of made us feel like staying for a movie. Such a nice, inviting reminder of older facets of American culture.

Midway through the trip, the clouds started to gather on an otherwise clear day and we started to get worried.

After a huge show of lightning and torrential rain, we pulled into Golden as exhausted as we ever thought we could be. (13 hours that day to get home) I don't think I'd do the drive in one day again, but it certainly was fun to see those new places for the first time. Goodbye summer! Hello fall...

Labor Day labors

Bowling for birthdays

My parents came to visit for my birthday (yay!) since my husband decided to ditch me for my 29th. (I must be getting too old.) And for some reason, even though they were here for almost a week, the only pictures I got were of us bowling. Go figure. Here is my dad's awesome form:

Here I am killing them with my strikes. I think I got a 170. What-what!

And here is my mom inexplicably making out with a bowling ball. I told her to Scope after this. You never know what kind of germs live in bowling alleys. :)

Bowling for birthdays

Been too long

Ok, so we got really busy there for a few weeks, er, maybe a month. But I'm back up and running now and ready to document my life exhaustively for whomever gives half a crap. You do?! Great! Here we go. It's been a really fun summer but it's become really clear that summer has come to an end and fall is here. What tipped me off? Uh, snow. In mid-September. But let's back up and recount some things from August.

We went camping back in August and had a blast. We ditched Golden and packed up the dogs and way too much stuff and headed out to Turquoise Lake, which is just beyond Leadville (apparently the birthplace of one of Jim's relatives, who knew). It was beautiful out there. All sunsets and lake views and beautiful pole pines. Here is Jim cooking dinner:

Here is the view of the lake from the campground.

We cooked a great dinner over the fire and enjoyed playing some games with our doggers tied up nearby. Took a lot of walks and watched Lucy idiotically jump into the ice cold mountain lake. She was cold, but she had fun.

And that wasn't the end of the cold. I was much too optimistic that the high-80s Denver temps would bleed up into the mountains and I was incorrect. By the time the sun set, I was freezing and didn't bring enough clothes. It was so cold, in fact, that the dogs were shivering for the entire night and had to crawl into the sleeping bag with us to stop their hypothermia. I felt so bad for them. I felt bad for myself too! Chilly and no sleep. Here we are being chilly:

We didn't stay long in the morning after breakfast, but the drive was beautiful as well. When we pulled over to let the dogs pee, we came across an old shack buried back in the trees. Someone obviously lives there, but it's also the creepiest thing I've ever seen. Whomever lives there hung an animal skeleton on the door in an effort, I'm assuming, to ward off unwanted visitors. Like us. We're lucky we made it out alive....

That's the recount of the camping trip. Next time, I'm bringing my down jacket and thickest long underwear. And buying the dogs their own jackets and sleeping bags! :)

Been too long