Long Hot Summer

First things first, congratulations to Josh & Cole on their engagement!  So stoked for the them!

July has been a super hectic month and this is actually the first time I feel like I've had some down time to recap what we've been up to, and being the lucky lady that I am, I sit here (drinking wine, of course) while Nick is making a farm fresh salad and grilling up some steaks tonight as we prepare to watch the Olympic opening ceremonies.  Nick was on the road the past couple of weeks and now that he's back home we thought we'd stay in, relax and enjoy each others company since tomorrow we've got another busy day with golf, Cole's baby shower and then going to watch Phil coach his Special Olympics team at the Rapids stadium.  

Let me back up to two weekends ago when we went to support Courtney @ the Bachelor (yes, THE bachelor) auditions...maybe the cattiest event I've ever been to in my life, but no doubt us ladies made a fun day out of it.  

Robyn & I

Court's application & vini

 A few of my favorite ladies - Kels, Court & Robyn after spending 6 hours at the auditions

Last weekend we drove up to Cheyenne, Wyoming for Cheyenne Frontier Days to see Zach Brown Band.  I loved every second of it.  We were there for probably less than 12 hours, but I feel like I could talk about how great the weekend was for 12 years.  Cheyenne is about an hour and a half outside of Denver so the drive is easy, we pitched some tents and tailgated before we got our tickets ride some rides, play some carnie games, hit the petting zoo, devour fried oreos, funnel cakes and drink miller lights like a cowboy.  Brittany and I managed to convince one of the carnies to let us ride 'The Sizzler' 3 times in a row and although I laughed so hard I cried on it - I forgot that unlike Nick I'm not built like Gumby so I came home with an awesome neck ache that lasted about 5 days.  After all our canival fun we made our way into the concert which I would put up there in the top 3 shows I've ever seen.  So good that we even turned the country-hater Nick into a believer.  

Nick's t-shirt score at the Johnson Center Truck Stop.

 Petting Zoo!

 Photo Finish

 Hey ladies...how long will ya be there fur?  This picture gets me everytime.  I really wish Zach would have splurged on this coat.

 Petting zoo... there was a camel there but I couldn't get him to strike a pose with me.  I had to settle with the turtle, ha!

 First ride of the day.  Awful.

We came back Saturday to celebrate Court's birthday @ Linger.  Nothing like a rooftop on a beautiful night!  By the way, say goodbye to this ginger baby hair color I've been sporting all summer - next time you see me I'll be a tad bit darker :)

I want to end this post with a message about the horrific tragedy in Aurora, Colorado a week ago.  What happened last Friday was devastating to not just Colorado but all over the world.  It's sickens me to the core.  This Wednesday, Nick, Elliot, Brittany and I went to the memorial to pay our respects to the ones who were lost as well as to pray for the 50-something victims that are still in critical condition.  As we arrived a caravan of about 30 Harley riders pulled up with 12 orange, white and black (Harley colored) balloons for each of those who were killed.  They gathered in a circle, said a prayer for a loved one they had lost and then released the balloons into the sky which floated right above and over the Century 16 theater across the street.  My emotions at that point were all over the place:  sad, moved, angry, you name it.  It still seems surreal that such tragedy happens so close to home and it is nothing but a reminder of how special life really is, how important friends and family are and how unfair things happen to good people everyday.  I feel so blessed to have the life that I have and the people that I am surrounded with on a daily basis.  

Thankfully, the Colorado hospitals are taking care of the victims hospital bills outside of what insurance will cover, but if you feel inclined to give just a little something extra, visit:  Givingfirst.org -- Givingfirst.org provides an easy way to donate to a range of professional groups assisting in the ongoing care of these victims because the wake of this particular tragedy is going to stretch very, very long.