Two Blessed Folks

Boy how these past two weeks have flown by.  We have had two of the best weeks… time in Arkansas with all of our family and friends followed by time in Glenwood with David’s parents.  Here’s these two weeks in the best “nutshell” I can give…

Thursday, February 16, 2012: 

At last, we were headed Arkansas for my aunt Toni’s Saturday afternoon wedding.  We left out of Denver International at 6 am mountain time.  Landed in Houston, TX at 9:30 am central time.  Set to catch a plane about 9:40 am, putting us home at approximately 11:30 am (yay).  This would have been the perfect idea, if everything in travel always went accordingly.  Due to the low number of people (10) on that 9:40 flight – it was cancelled.  David spoke to an attendant, who assured us the luggage would arrive in Little Rock with our flight.  We were placed on stand-by for the 1:00 pm flight - flight full.  We didn’t make it on.  So all we could do was wait, and wait, and wait.  Do you really understand how little there is to do in an airport?  Now I love planes and I love flying…I’m pretty amused and in awe when I see a plane, but you can only stare outside at the planes so long.  Luckily, the Houston airport is very entertaining as it’s one of the busiest airports in the country (great place for people watching).  Finally, we left Houston at about 5:40 pm.  We make it to Little Rock about 7:00 pm.  Walk down to baggage claim, wait for our bag - nothing. What a loooonnnnng day.  On the bright side, we are in Arkansas! :0 (Our bag arrived the next morning…with everything).

Jeff and Melissa drove over to pick us up… how great it was to see their faces! That night, we stayed in the village with the family.  Mitchell and Marc were down that night, so we got to see that whole gang!  We enjoyed seeing everyone and getting to do some catching up.

Friday, Melissa and I spent the day together doing girly things…getting hair done, shopping, and tanning.  We had such a fun day!  That night David and I headed to rehearsal dinner.  I was so excited to see all of my family…it was so nice to be home!  We all sat down to a nice catered dinner and enjoyed catching up on everything new.

Saturday, all kinds of exciting things happened! 

Exciting thing #1: Toni is getting married!  We arrived at Christ Church in Mabelvale for the ceremony.  Everything was wonderful!  She was a beautiful bride, the church looked lovely, the weather was cooperative, and the cakes were amazing :0.  Everything went great!  I’m so happy for her and David and wish them all the happiness in the world.  We are so blessed to have gotten to share their special day with them.

Exciting thing #2: We finally got to meet Kyle’s girlfriend, Jordan! :0 She’s just great and the two of them are wonderful together!  David and I were able to spend the whole day with them, and then they joined us in the village that night.  We enjoyed getting to spend such good times with them.  Can’t wait ‘til next time!

Exciting thing #3:  Marc proposed to Jennifer Saturday night!  He planned a special evening for her in Memphis and proposed in such a romantic spot with a magnificent view.  Jennifer was excited and emotional, but of course said yes!  Happy wedding planning to both of you!  We are very excited for you!

Sadly, Sunday was the day for our return trip. Naturally, I was sad, and was not ready to leave.  We had most of the day to spend with all the brothers and friends.  We ate a late brunch and then drove to Little Rock to meet PaPa and NaNa for dinner.  We had a great dinner at ZaZa's with the two of them and Mitchell.  They dropped us off at the airport for our 615 flight.  We arrived back into Denver about 930, and boy was I glad after that shaky flight.

We had such an awesome weekend in Arkansas.  In no way was it long enough, as the time sure flew by.  It was so great getting to see all of my family at the wedding, seeing all of David’s family in the village, and getting to see all of our wonderful friends who came to see us.  We love and miss you all more than you know!

Monday, February 20, 2012:

David’s parents were waiting on us in Glenwood when we arrived back home.  After a little lunch, the two of them headed to Aspen for a few hours. They enjoyed the shops there and walking around the downtown area.  That night we were in the mood for a little Italian feast, so we checked out The Italian Underground. It has great atmosphere, pasta, and bread. (If you’re ever in Glenwood….go!). 

Tuesday, David took his parents to Rifle Falls & Rifle Gap.  They loved the waterfalls and enjoyed the short hike up behind the spouts. I had to work, but we all met up for dinner.  We enjoyed a night out at the Six89 restaurant in Carbondale.  I probably can’t say enough good things about this place.  The restaurant is in an old Victorian-style house.  It has such a great vibe and puts off an elegant feeling with its low candle lit dining and soft music – very classical.  Our friend Nikki now works at this restaurant and cooked up some outstanding food.  They use all locally grown and raised vegetables and meats. We loved every minute of it and can’t wait to take the rest of our visitors here!  (If you’re ever in Carbondale…go!)

Wednesday, David and Jana hit the slopes at Sunlight Ski Resort.  David says he has been bit by the “ski bug” and has really been itching to ski. They had a blast together that day and really enjoyed flying down the mountain for several hours.    

Thursday, we took a trip to Grand Junction, CO.  We drove through 26 miles of winding roads at the Colorado National Monument Park.  (If you’re ever in Colorado….go!) The park is absolutely breathtaking.  You will be humbled by God’s amazing work…it’s absolutely magical and so peaceful.  We snapped tons of pictures...there is so much to see and take in.  

Overlooking a small portion of the monument park

Independence Monument

Donnie and Jana with Independence Monument in the background

The Balancing Rock

~ Owen Trails sends you lots of love! ~

In awe of God's beauty

This weekend we spent our time hiking and exploring Colorado’s beautiful scenery.  Saturday, we spent the afternoon at Rifle Falls and Rifle Gap State Park.  Rifle Falls was beautiful to see!  There are 3 huge waterfalls flowing into a little lake with crystal clear water.  Several hiking trails surround the area.  We didn’t complete any of the trails here, but we were able to walk up above the waterfalls.  David and I didn’t go prepared to see wildlife, (and thankfully we didn’t) but I’ve been paranoid... so David got us a huge stick and I basically carried around a small tree.  :0 My other defense was whistling to keep the mountain lions scared enough to stay away. ha  We had a blast! At Rifle Gap State Park, there are camping spaces and a huge lake.  This time of the year it is frozen, so we just had to walk out and check it out.  Several others were there ice fishing, which was interesting to see.

The waterfalls

At Rifle Falls

   

Sunday, we spent a few hours hiking the Hanging Lake Trail, here in Glenwood.  This time of year, the trail is covered in ice and snow.  It’s absolutely beautiful...we felt like we were in the scene of a movie at times.  The trail is definitely not an easy one.  You hike for about a mile and a half and rise about 1,500 ft in elevation.  (I wore my monitor and burnt about 1000 calories:)) Once you get to the top, you see a small lake there with a few waterfalls.  Right now, you will see lots of icicles and blocks of ice there.  Going down was challenging, but much quicker than going up.  We thought we were prepared this time, but we definitely wore the wrong shoes.  I now know not to wear tennis shoes to this trail in the winter.  Boots or your Yak-tracks are a necessity for this trail in the wintertime.     

Lake at the top of the Trail

Snow and ice covering the trail

Behind the waterfalls

  

 Frozen stream on the Trail

Frozen block of ice in the lake

A little "cabin" on the trail

We got to see two of the most beautiful places this weekend…. God’s work is truly amazing.  Crazy to think of just how little we actually see of it.  Let the exploring continue!

Birthday Weekend

So last weekend was my birthday weekend.  We had a wonderful and eventful time with Charlyn and Jenni.  They drove in from Denver Friday afternoon.  David grilled some yummy chicken Friday night and made risotto.  

That night we enjoyed a late night dip in the Glenwood Hot Springs Pool.  The pool is the largest in the world, stretching over two blocks.  There are two pools; one with a temperature of 90° and the other is about 104°.  With the outdoor temperatures being about 30°, we definitely enjoyed the warmer water.  The pool was so relaxing and so steamy at times we couldn’t see each other.  The hardest part was getting out of the pool into such cold weather. 

Saturday was quite adventurous as well.  The four of us enjoyed a nice brunch at “Sacred Grounds” and then headed to the Winter X-Games in Aspen.  When we first arrived, we watched the men on the super pipe and later walked over to watch the snowboarding races.  The two events we saw were awesome, but made me anxious at times with all the flipping around they do!  However, they were so exciting...I am definitely looking forward to hitting the slopes now!  

Finish line of the snowboarding races

Super pipe on the right, behind the X-games tower

Charlyn and I outside the entrance

Enjoying being Coloradans  :0

David and I (and my yummy cake) at "The Pullman"

After the X-games, we enjoyed a nice evening out in Glenwood.  We ate at a new restaurant called “The Pullman,” where Charlyn and Jenni introduced us to a new friend, Nikki. She is a chef at the restaurant and introduced us some wonderful food.  This restaurant is the best I've had in town. (so good we followed up with brunch the next morning :0) We all shared some yummy appetizers, I had some yummy pasta, and then we tried several desserts to celebrate my birthday.  It was such an enjoyable day and evening to spend out with good ol’ friends. :0 


Monday-MY BiRTHDay!
I had to work Monday, but had a wonderful and productive day.  When I got home, a gift had arrived from my parents along with several birthday cards.  (Thank you all!) David was also preparing me a birthday meal.  He grilled veal burgers, cooked some sweet potato fries, and then had cake waiting for me.  The cake (called Tres Leche) was from a little restaurant in Carbondale called "Garcia's Cafe." This cake was featured on Food Network's "Best Thing I Ever Ate" by one of the chef's.  It was a yummy sponge cake with 3 kinds of milk and its own special sauce.  It was definitely one of the best things I have ever eaten too...good thing the restaurant is more than a few miles away. :0 

Yummy dinner & our beautiful china

"Tres Leche" Cake