World Cup watchings June 13-July 13

Please don't think that we weren't busy these last 30 days, but there really were more important things going on.  Specifically that magical event that happens every 4 years and causes Matt to lose most any productivity at work.  That's right sports fans, its the WORLD CUP!  (soccer, not quiddich, that's what happens when I type this while watching Harry Potter).

The buildup to the cup this year has been incredible, with the US getting stuck in the "Group of Death" - Germany(who eventually win the whole thing), Portugal(with the best player in the world), and Ghana(the team that knocked out the US the last 2 world cups).  Needless to say it was not expected that the US would do well.

We watched many games, and some great goals happened, but we really enjoyed rooting for the USA as they played some great games.  I think it captured the attention of many more people than expected, as it was great to see the national pride come out.  A great victory over Ghana that we watched at a bar(I had a very important "meeting" that made me have to leave work early), a gut wrenching tie to Portugal that I was able to watch at a bar in Estes Park while Karla stayed with Kathy & family at RMNP, and a loss to Germany that still allowed the US to advance to the knockout stage.

I have to say the buildup to the Belgium game was great, as it was a team we actually had a chance of beating(that said hindsight playing Brazil might have been the easy win).  While the US didn't win and truthfully didn't play well, the play of Tim Howard(Karla's favorite player) helped them stay in it until the end.

Today was the finals, and having watched Germany pull off the victory in extra time was a great way to cap off an exciting month of watching "football".  

And now back to your regularly scheduled programming...

Camping at Guanella Pass

This weekend we were rather outdoorsy.  After trying out as new restaurant on Friday night, we got up early and ran the stairs at Red Rocks, something we've been doing a lot lately.  After a great workout we met Jamie & Doug and the kids at Lair o the Bear park outside of Morrison.  It was fun to walk with the kids along the river and have them play and throw rocks in the creek.  After a lunch stop in Morrison at Willy's Wings, Karla and I headed up to camp at Guanella Pass, our go to spot.

We were able to set up the tent without a problem, but it wasn't too long before some rain came in.  We were able to grill some burgers but it wasn't to be for the campfire.  Due to rain we called it an early night.  But between a stomach ache for Karla and a headache for Matt it was a rough night.  The best sleep was between 5-7am, and then the morning was great with the sound of the birds and the creek in the background.

We packed up our very wet tent and headed down the hill.  Fortunately we were able to air out the gear at Naomi & Ryan's while we watched the world cup final.  All in all it was a nice weekend, but the lack of a campfire might mean we go back out next weekend and try again!

4th of July in Iowa

Karla's cousin Dane was getting married on the 5th of July in Iowa, so our plan was to spend the 4th of July there. The airlines had other ideas. Our flight on the 3rd was cancelled and the earliest we could get into Omaha was at 4:45pm on the 4th (via Minneapolis). We ended up missing a color run the morning of the 4th and riding in the Mapleton parade behind Kristin's John Deere 3020. We were so bummed! We did make it in time to see fireworks in Mapleton though - yay!

Dane's wedding was beautiful and the reception was quite fun! Matt made friends by being able to stream the World Cup on his phone during the start of the reception. Karla was kept busy because she and her sisters were in charge of cakes and punch. They surprised Dane by making and wearing St. Louis Rams aprons - the only time any of them will wear Rams gear!

On Sunday, we had a late lunch at Kathy's since she was having people over for a grad school graduation party (which included some delicious lemon raspberry cake). Then we headed back to Denver. A shorter weekend since our flight was cancelled, but it was fun to see everyone at the wedding!

Kathy, Jordan, Liv & Henry Visit

Kathy, Jordan, Liv, and Henry came to visit in late June. We spent the first two nights camping at Rocky Mountain National Park. When they arrived on Sunday, we set up our tents and went to the rangers station to get some Junior Ranger books for Liv and Henry. They immediately wanted to start searching for stuff in their books so it turned into a 30 minute hike around the ranger station!

On Monday, Matt and I took the Liv and Henry on a morning hike to Dream and Nymph lakes. We weren't sure how they'd do hiking at 10,000+ feet, but it didn't seem to phase them! What started as an hour hike turned into a two and a half hour hike because they were having so much fun. They were amazed to see snow in June, so we had to stop and play in it for a while.

After the hike, we had lunch at the campground and then took off for a drive on Trail Ridge Road (which goes above treeline). We drove above treeline, got out to look at the view, and stopped to see some waterfalls. On our way down, we saw a bunch of cars pulled off (which always means there's wildlife around somewhere). To our surprise, it wasn't deer or elk, but two bull moose! After parking, we all sprinted out of the car and hoped the moose didn't wander away. Instead, they moved closer to where we were so we were able to spend 10 minutes observing them.

Our campsite was near a meadow, so we had some "friends" visit a lot. Here's a pic of Henry being really quiet while looking at our "friend".

On Tuesday, we broke camp, Henry and Liv got their Junior Ranger badges (yay!) and we headed to Denver. We were all ready to shower by then since RMNP has bathrooms, but no showers.

Tuesday night we went to the Rockies game. Liv made it to the 6th inning and Henry made it the whole game!

On Wednesday, Matt had to work, so the rest of us headed out to Heritage Square in Golden to play. Matt and I had been there a few times to ride the alpine sled, but didn't really know what else was there. Apparently, it's a really great spot for kids because we spent all day there! It had kid-sized rides - Scrambler, roller coaster, bumper boats, paddle boats, etc. We could barely get Henry off of the go carts and Liv had fun riding in the go-kart with Kathy (she was too short to drive her own - maybe next time!). Henry, Kathy, and I also did a zip line. Henry was a little hesitant and had to be practically pulled off of the stand to start, but loved it once he got going!

We ended the night with a movie night - Frozen. Olivia kept telling Kathy to stop singing along, but then ended up singing along herself. It was a cute movie!

We had a lot of fun with them and can't wait for them to come back!

Matt's Long Road to Recovery

This summer has been a trying one for me.  Having had shoulder surgery in April to repair a torn labrum has sidelined me for 6 months.  I'm getting better, but its a slow road, and as a result our crazy adventures have been a little muted the last 90 days or so.  I got the ok to start biking again, and I've been able to run for 30 days or so.  No golfing or volleyball have made it a tougher summer than usual, plus PT 2 days a week have reminded me how active I was prior to surgery.  Hoping for a good recovery, and so far on track.

Karla's Birthday & Kristin's Visit

For Karla's birthday weekend her sister Kristin flew into town to help celebrate.  Friday night(her birthday was officially on Saturday) we had a very nice dinner at Solera Restaraunt.  Since Matt knew the owner, he let us bring our own dessert - a Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake!  Karla was unaware until the waitress brought out our "special dessert".  Admittedly probably not as good as the creme brulee would have been, but Karla got her favorite for her birthday!

Saturday morning we took a nice hike to Red Rocks, since Kristin had never been there.  But before we left for the hike we made the decision to buy Zac Brown tickets for their Wrigley Field show in September, a nice way to start the morning!  On the way back to town from Red Rocks we stopped by the Colorado Cider Co, and enjoyed some delicious Colorado ciders.  Since we hadn't had enough to drink, we then met a lot of friends at the Lowery Beer Garden and enjoyed more drinks, and of course, a ton of pretzels, which were life altering.  Pretty sure we ruined every ballpark pretzel for Kristin. We finished the night with beers at Great Divide and some slices of pizza at a new place nearby.

It was great to have Kristin in town for the weekend -- it made for a memorable weekend!

Memorial Day & Final Angelfire thoughts

This Memorial Day, like many before, Karla and I were going down to the house in Angel Fire.  This trip, however, was bittersweet.  After 13+ years it was decided that it was time to sell the house.  It sold much faster than expected, and as a result the house was sold a week or so before Memorial Day.  We were fortunate that the new owners didn't mind us using it one last time.  Ken, Nancy, us & even Karla's parents came for the weekend.  Lowell & Judy flew in to Denver and drove down with us, and we met my parents there.

Since I couldn't golf, and there was still snow on wheeler, it was a rather relaxing weekend.  Also the fact that we had a nice snowstorm in the afternoon didn't make the hiking any easier.  Some good food, some good wine, and a watching of the Indy 500 did make it a nice trip.  It was very sad to leave the house for the last time, but it created some wonderful memories(bears on the porch, "teaching" Karla to ski, carbles games, sledding down the driveway, and mountain lion sightings just to name a few) and its time to move on to the next adventure!