Skating for Myles

Last night Mike and I went to a fundraiser for Myles Krick, a little boy with a malignant brain tumor. I went along for the good cause, but wound up having a great time. The event started off with an open skate, dinner of grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, then a game between casually formed teams of RMGCSA vs. Fire/Police. Mike's a member of the Rocky Mountain Golf Course Superintendent Association, as is Myles father. I was amazed at the turnout, the place was packed. Usually watching Mike play hockey is a cold (VERY cold) and lonely event, but last night I met a delightful mother of four boys that kept me company. And if I hadn't met her, I wouldn't know that number 8 on the Fire/Police team was a 73 year old man named Johny Lightning. I hope Mike is still well enough to play hockey in his seventies.

It was really inspiring to see how many people turned out to help this little boy. If you're feeling generous today, you can make a donation at his webpage, myleskrick.com

I wish I had a picture of Mike in his hockey gear, but he took the camera with him when he left for the locker room. Shucks.

Nicki's Bachelorette Party!

Nicki's last night out as a single gal was a fun one. We started off with dinner at 8 Rivers for some yummy Caribbean food (I'll be going back there, and soon!). We wandered across the street to Rio, then had a dance party with ourselves at 24Karat, before finally heading over to Lannie's Clocktower Cabaret. The burlesque show was a lot of fun and Nicki outshone the other bachelor/bachelorettes up on the stage for the guest bit. Just click on the slideshow below to access all my pictures of the night. The last few crack me up, I guess I forgot how to take a picture right around the same time I forgot the rest of the night. Weee!

Water Dog

Looks like we're going to have to invest in a parks pass this year, because we have a water loving dog on our hands. Wish I could edit this down, but I don't have time to figure out how!




The finished product was a very wet Enzo:


After a leisurely day of obedience school, the dog park, cupcake making at Ivory's house (HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMMA!), and reading in the glorious Colorado sun (if you haven't read Outlander, I recommend it), it's time to hop in the shower and get ready for some fun. Tonight is Nicki's bachelorette party and I'm sure we'll have a great time. Hopefully tomorrow's hangover will not be too brutal, I'm going to try to remember to drink water. Happy Saturday!

Full Circle

A couple weekends ago - I know, I am so bad at keeping up - we met Ivory and Jamie for Denver Restaurant Week at Oceanaire. It turned out to be our favorite dinner of the week and it wasn't just due to the fun company. I you've never been there, I highly recommend it. The retro space was upscale yet very comfortable, the service was some of the best I can recall, and the food divine. After living in North Carolina for a year, I know what shrimp and grits should taste like and they nailed it. My favorite part was when the executive chef stopped at our table to check on the food....right while Ivory was administering the salt. They have the same sea salt I use at home, that enormous blue container, so it surely did not go unnoticed. Ivory was sheepish, but the chef didn't even blink, which earned another star in my book. I hate being scolded about salt overuse.

Then we went to P.S. Lounge and played @sshole the rest of the night. This evening was an almost perfect recreation of the night two years ago when Ivory and Jamie first met Mike. I wasn't sure about him at that point, but how well he got along with Ivory and Jamie that first evening was a big push in his favor.

Flash forward to today, and look how much has changed. Ivory and Jamie have a beautiful daughter and Mike and I are married. It sure doesn't take long. Just ask Drea, her life did a full 180 in less than six months! So when Mike and I went out to brunch with a certain blond friend the next day and saw how smitten she and her date were, I couldn't help but think hhhmmmm.

For the final DRW recap, here's the ranking:
1 - Oceanaire. 2 - Gabriel's. 3 - Solera. 4 - Elway's Downtown. 5 - Indulge. (very nice, cozy French place. great food, the meals were simply better at the top ranking restaurants) 6 - Restaurant Kevin Taylor (same menu as last year, hence the downgrade). 7 - Opus. 8 - Red Square. I won't go into review details, since DRW is long past and they will be of little value. And now we have to eat at home for all of March, because while we got the stuffed the wallet was starved.

February was Fun

Here I am, doing another recap of last month. I'm hoping to develop better blogging skills one day, but in the meantime I hope my friends will bear with my too-long posts.

February was action packed and so much fun. Mike and I were both traveling for business the first week, which meant we had to farm out the dogs. Two to Cook's house, Fly to Mike's co-worker, the puppy to the kennel. Mike was freezing in New Orleans, I was sunning in LA. Mike didn't get back until Saturday, so I had the house to myself a couple of days. Lots of cleaning, the house finally looks like grown-ups live here.

Speaking of grown-ups, I turned 30! Mike planned a lovely Valentine's Day / Birthday dinner and surprised me with a new camera...my 9 year old point and shoot is starting to show its age. My mom sent some money, so we decided to pony up the difference and upgrade to a real camera. I don't know how to use it well yet, but I am really looking forward to playing around with it and learning how to take good pictures. Tanya has inspired this, I hope to take pictures half as good as hers sometime soon. Mike took this great Marley action shot:

Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate at the joint b-day party! I had such a great time, it was wonderful to catch up with folks I don't see often. It's amazing to me how many old college friends are still in Denver with whom I rarely cross paths. It's one of my goals to have more large-scale social gatherings this spring/summer. And to take more pictures when I do go out. Turns out I was too busy talking to take pictures at the party.

Last weekend was Nicki's bridal shower, such a special day and a great time to boot. Nicki and I were housemates for several years during college and took some outrageous Caribbean trips together, it's funny to look back a decade and see how far we've come. It's also pretty crazy that we're marrying friends! Who would've guessed. At the end of March Nicki's going to marry a great guy who I know will make her very happy. Cheers!
It was also the first birthday celebration of Lauryn Wilkey, Mike's close friends' daughter. She's a cutie, wish I could've been there. Mike delivered birthday wishes on my behalf, then we met up at the DU hockey game. I honestly think DU hockey games are more fun than the Avs...every seat is great, parking is way easier, and the beer is cheaper. It was also one of our first dates, so I might be biased.