Our stay in Colorado has been a whirlwind, and we haven't had a chance to see so many people that we would have liked to have seen, but tonight we were lucky enough to have dinner with our dear friends Dawn and Steve. We have known them since our youngest daughters were three. We have been close friends and so have the girls for many years.
Both of the girls have had their own interests and their own group of friends through middle school and high school, but none the less, they love getting together any time they can. It just so happened that tonight was one of those opportunities. After dinner, we called both of the girls and asked them to meet us at a great little brewery in Arvada called New Terrain. It has a really nice indoor/outdoor feel and has some really nice beers on tap. So both of the girls dropped what they were doing and headed over to the brewery to meet us.
The rest was history. Great friends, great conversation and a chance to catch up.
We are so sad about all of the friends we missed while we were here, but also so thankful for the ones we were able to spend time with.
Our fun trip to Colorado is drawing to an end, and it is time to move our youngest daughter into her new apartment for her final year of college. After all the fun we've had, this is a bitter sweet day. Getting her all ready for her next year of school, but also knowing that she will be so busy that we won't see much of her for quite awhile. We're so proud of where she is in life and so excited for her future!
Two showers, three sinks and four girls. So far so good!
Steve's parents came along to help us move her in. What an unexpected treat!
It's a bit of a mess, but she calls it home!
When lunch time approached, we had her somewhat moved in, but we really needed to grab a bite to eat. So we headed out, and on the north side of town, they were having a down-pour!
We went to lunch at a little place called Zoe's Kitchen. It is a Meditterrean fast food chain that she has been wanting to try.
They had a very nice menu, but when Steve's parents took a look at it, they looked very confused as to what they should order. So we decided that a family meal would give us a nice variety and allow them a lot to choose from. We had chicken with grilled onions, braised beans, Greek salad, steamed vegetables, and hummus with cucumbers and bread. It was really good, and everything was gluten free except for the bread.
It was a great meal and we had lots of left overs for our daughter to enjoy later. After lunch we headed back to her apartment and finished moving her in. So glad we could be here to help her with this!
She'll still be able to stay with us for a few more days while she finishes up her internship, so for now we still get to enjoy her company.
Velorama is a street fair associated with the Colorado Classic Bike Race. It is held in the RiNo Art District of Denver hosts over 200 vendors, food trucks, and live concerts each night. I had the chance to go with all of the kids on Friday night, and I certainly wasn't going to pass up that opportunity.
We looked at a few vendor booths, but then realized that we were really hungry, so we headed out to find some dinner at one of the many food trucks at the festival.
Since our youngest daughter has to eat gluten free, it's always fun to see what we can find at an event like this. Often it ends up being a salad or a sandwich with out the bread, but today, we were fortunate enough to find a quinoa food truck.
We did a southwest quinoa with mango salsa served on a bed of lettuce. It was really good.
And we even found a place to sit while we ate.
Then back to the vendors for some more fun.
Of course there were a lot of bicycle vendors since it was associated with the Colorado Classic Bicycle Race. We all entered to win several free bikes, but no luck. We were never called.
Arrow Electronics was there with their Indy car, but we were sad to find out that it would be unveiled until noon tomorrow. I wanted to see it so bad!!!
Our oldest daughter signed up for the Maven (car share) app to get some free food.
So we let our youngest daughter pick out dessert.
and oh did she do well! So yummy!
So we found another place to sit and watched the Colorado Classic Bike Race events while we ate.
Our final stop of the night was the photo booth.
I love these kids so much! They make me so happy!
Today was our final day of landscaping, and we are proud of what we all accomplished while we were here.
I am done sifting through rocks, and am pleased to say that there is no longer any pea gravel in their rock.
And the boys finished their deck and really tied the back yard together. It looks so pretty! And even better than that, it is now really functional. You can get to the lower level of the yard very easily. Good job boys!
So to reward ourselves for all our hard work, we went to a little restaurant in downtown Colorado Springs, called Red Gravy. It is a really cute little Italian restaurant with a great happy hour! If you ever go, order the appetizers, they are great.
Our oldest daughter is back in town now, so she is joining us for dinner. Our youngest daughter isn't off work yet, so she'll be joining us soon.
All the appetizers are half price during happy hour, and they are a lot of food!
Bread and drinks to start...
And then once our youngest daughter joined us, it was time for some appetizers for dinner.
Red Gravy was a delicious reward for our hard work, and an even better way to spend our last day in Colorado Springs.
We got up early this morning to get back to our landscaping project. The boys completed the frame for the deck area they will be installing. And starting putting it into place.
I continued to sift through big rocks and little rocks.
And then, of course, it started raining. Not what we were hoping for, but I guess it gave us a much needed break.
Then after about 45 minutes, it was time to get back to work again. The boys starting laying out the decking on the frame and starting figuring out how the stairs would fit in. It is looking great!
Albert wasn't much help, but he looked cute and really enjoyed himself.
Another day of work, but we definitely making progress. Hopefully tomorrow will do it!
