Report from Colorado

I'm in Colorado now, and have been since Friday morning. I came out to spend some quality time with my best friend from college. I love having a job with so much vacation time. It's good to come out and soak up some mountain air, see the beauty and grandeur of God's handiwork and sleep in a lot. Here's what I've been up to so far....

Friday: Niki and daughter Zoe picked me up at the airport. We relaxed around the house Friday, as Niki was babysitting all day. I had a very early flight, so I got to rest during the day in Niki's newly reorganized office. My bed, which Benny refers to as a "Redneck Murphy bed" was a mattress set oh so cleverly tucked away behind a curtain in what used to be the closet. Pretty nice set up actually. And Niki loves books, so there's lots of browsing to be done before bed each night. That night we participated in a Nowell ritual: ate popcorn while we watched "Who Wants to be a Superhero". All 3 of the kids were in their superhero costumes. Should have taken a picture. The Nowell kids are very imaginative and artistic. Here's the sign on the front door of their house....With 3 resident superheroes and a sign like this, who wouldn't feel safe here.

Saturday: After sleeping in, I got to engage in one of Niki's favorite pastimes with her. We went to several ARC thrift stores and I got to see what all the fuss was about. I got several pair of shoes, books, and a big bag to haul it all back in. That night we celebrated Niki's birthday with some of her girlfriends. It was great to meet people I've heard so much about. We ate at Carabba's and then headed downtown to the 12th Street Mall for the Cheesecake Factory. It was so crowded we took our desserts to go and ate out in the open air. It was a beautiful night.

Niki and some of her girlfriends.

Paula and Heather

This is Rebecca, who is actually one of my friends too. We all went to York College together and sang in Choir.

Downtown Denver...12th Street Mall.

Sunday: This was actually Niki's birthday. We went to church and then had a Birthday lunch of Benny's famous pancakes and sausage. Yum. We napped and then had her family Birthday party.

Then Niki and I headed to downtown Denver to snap some photos. She wanted some she could give as a gift to her hubby. Here are my 2 favorites. And one of me in front of the Denver skyline. Afterwards, we met Niki's friend Heather for dinner at PF Chang's.

Monday: Benny watched the kids so Niki and i could have a day out to go to Colorado Springs.
We went to the zoo, which included a drive up to the Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun. We weren't interested in the whole shrine to the sun aspect, but it was a great view, and I recommend taking the short drive up there. After the zoo, we saw the Helen Hunt waterfall (not named after the actress in case you're wondering). Then we headed to dinner and then Garden of the Gods. That was a beautiful place and we got there as the sun was setting. It made for some beautiful vistas.

Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun

Helen Hunt falls

Niki in front of the "Kissing Camels"

PS: I don't know what's up with Blogger, I can't get rid of the underlining in my post. No I am not a fanatic underliner.