First Half of June

 After preparing for the orientation in Pueblo the previous week, the first week of June was dedicated to training in the Pueblo crew. I worked very long days with that 2 hour commute! It was fun to get to know people on the crew and to see some of the plans I made in action! It was a little tedious at first, because now this was the third time I had been through the two days worth of paper work- once for my own orientation, once for the other three crews' orientation, and now for the Pueblo orientation. We made it through though, especially with the help from my ice breaker and team building games! There was lots of time for me to fill up with activities throughout the week, and it was nice having a little extra time to have some fun. 

On Friday night, the 9th, Bill and I somewhat secretly flew to Wisconsin! It was our cousin Jon's wedding. He and his wife Imane (E-man) are already married, but their ceremony was in Canada, and none of our family was able to make it. It was great to finally meet Imane- she is lots of fun and fits right into the family! The ceremony was on Saturday and we stayed until Sunday night. The weekend was filled with lots of fun, family, games, singing, and of course lots of food! It was so wonderful to see lots of family- many people I hadn't seen since our own wedding last year.

Aunt Becky, Imane, Jon, and Uncle Kirk

After flying into Denver late Sunday night, I had a very early morning heading to work! I had five days of camping ahead of me, I had to get to the office by 630 (leave by 515), and I didn't even know which crew I was going out with! Once I got to work, I found out I was going with the Hayman crew. This crew works exclusively in Pike National forest in the Hayman burn area- a forest fire that occurred ten years ago that was the largest in Colorado history. There are thousands of burned acres in the forest where there is now large amounts of erosion occurring because of the lack of trees and other plants to hold the soil onto the mountain. Our job was to cut down trees (our MHYC saw crew and another conservation group did the cutting) and cut up downed trees (all dead, burned, and crispy trees) and build erosion control structures called head cuts. 

Head cut in progress

Normally, there are more trees and plants to act as obstacles and to drink the water as it goes down. Without these plants, as water trickles down the mountainsides it comes together into big streams and cuts away the loose soil. This erosion can lead to many problems, such as filling in reservoirs with soil. Our job was to fill in these big stream ways to prevent the streams from forming, which in turn, reduces erosion. It was lots of hard work involving lots of heavy lifting of trees and logs and carrying buckets of soil, and also very dirty work- we got covered in ash and dirt every day!

One of the valleys we worked in, the head cuts are in the sides of the hills

 It was very fun to finally be out on a hitch and working with a great crew! I got to make lots of new friends with the MHYC Hayman crew I was with, the Americorps NCCC crew that we have been working alongside with, and it ended up that our saw crew was camping near us as well! I especially enjoyed meeting them because I knew I was heading out with them for ten days for my next hitch. It was hard being away from Ben for those days, especially because we were away the weekend before, too. And I knew how badly he'd been wanting to go camping all summer!

My tent in Pike National Forest

 After getting back from that hitch and taking a much needed shower, I didn't have too much time to rest! On Saturday, the 16th, we dedicated our day to shopping and getting ready for our big date night! We were headed to a 1940's ball in Boulder. First, we shopped for my dress. We went to a cool neighborhood in Denver and found lots of cool vintage shops. We found a neat vintage/resale shop and I tried on lots of dresses. Eventually we found an awesome red dress that we both loved. We weren't sure if it was quite the right style for the era, but we thought it was close enough! Then I realized I would need some sort of jacket to keep warm because the dance was outside. I reached into the sweater rack and first thing I pulled out was perfect! A little blue shrug with a gold military-style looking eagle stitched on the left. At the check out we found a great fedora for Ben and a flower clip for my hair. Then we had to head off to get to my hair appointment! I've never gotten my hair done professionally before, and it was very fun! I knew I wouldn't be able to pull off a 1940s style on my own, so I thought it would be a good idea to get it done for this special occasion! It was really fun to dress up and get pretty after camping and working for a week! I did feel a little under dressed because I was all banged up with scrapes and bruises from working! Luckily, wearing nylons helped cover some of that up!

After I got my hair done we went to pick out Ben's outfit at Macy's. We got him a nice new pair of black dress slacks. Finally we were able to go home, get ready, and head out to the dance!

We had lots of fun at the 1940s ball! We ate some food, had a couple drinks, and did lots of dancing! We saw lots of cool outfits- some people went all out on the 1940s theme! There were also lots of  old planes and cars around that we got take pictures by. And I got a some comments on how great my hair looked, which was awesome! There's bunch more pictures of the party on my facebook. We didn't stay as late as we would have liked because I was so tired from the week, but we still had a great time!

It was a very busy two weeks!

An Early Spring!

I suppose it might not be considered an early spring for Denver, but experiencing 60-80 degree weather in March is a wonderful change for me! I still keep expecting a freak snow storm or cold snap, which would be perfectly normal in the Midwest!

Although it has been warm, we haven't been doing too much more outdoor activity. This makes me sad! We have been pretty busy over the last month, which I guess is why I haven't posted lately! I keep reminding myself to do it, but somehow it never quite gets crossed off on the to-do list.

Let's see here... last time I posted was the end of February! Wow! ...Sorry. We have spent a lot of the last few weekends spending time with our friends Justin and Ashley. We have had lots of game nights. These usually involve a combination of board/card games, movies, beer, and cooking great food! We have also been helping (or tagging along) with some of their wedding planning errands. I've been helping Ashley pick out shoes, but we haven't found the right pair yet- even after some very long days of shopping! I keep telling her to just have no shoes like we did- it makes it so simple! ;)  Bill, Justin, Ashley, and I also looked at a bunch of tux options and made some decisions on styles and color combinations. They are going to look very sharp! Ashley and I also tried to narrow down some bridesmaid dress options- the trick is that we have to find the combination of the right color, style, fabric, and price! Very tricky.

We had a special night out at the beginning of the month with Justin and Ashley when they had some guests from college visit! There were 4 visitors, and 3 were foreign exchange students. They were getting a mini tour of America over their spring break! We just got to spend one night with them in downtown Denver, but it was very fun! They all had great personalities and were easy to get along with. They were very impressed with the half yards of beer and food at the Yardhouse! We were especially impressed with the service there when Ben accidentally knocked his half yard glass onto someones food and the restaurant didn't end up charging him for the first plate or his replacement dish either. We didn't end up staying out very late because they had to get on the road early to go skiing and then keep heading west!

Another special weekend we had was St. Patrick's day! The three of us dressed up in fun green clothes (and of course Ben was in his kilt) and went downtown. We met up with some friends at the Yardhouse to start out our night. We hung out with Joey and Tracey- Joey is an old friend of Ben's from high school who just moved to Denver to be with his girlfriend Tracey. Ben hadn't seen Joey in a few years and we were all meeting Tracey for the first time, and we all got along famously! It was really awesome to meet people that we got along with so well. We're hoping to spend more time with them soon! Anyway, at the Yardhouse our St. Paddy's day was complete with green beer and corned beef sandwiches (that were totally divine! I wish they weren't just a holiday item!). After the Yardhouse we tried to find another nice place to hang out without much luck. Even with a Denverite, Tracey, we weren't able to find a place that wasn't packed! Eventually we came across a bar called 1 UP, which piqued our interest. It was full of retro (and some newer) arcade games. There was a bit of a line, but we didn't feel like going anywhere else, so we didn't mind waiting for a bit. When we got to the front of the line we were still going to have to wait a little longer, but the bouncer really liked Ben's kilt so he let us in right away. Ben was very proud! We got a few drinks and spent lots of quarters playing games like pacman, pinball, and street fighter. I wasn't too skilled at the arcade games, but I found out that I am not terrible at skiball! We're hoping to go back there again soon and play some more games hopefully when it isn't so busy! After we spent all of our quarters we went home on the light rail. Tracey and Joey only live 6 stops away from us, so it won't be at all difficult to meet up in the future.

The weekdays, I'm sorry to say, have been far less interesting than the weekends. Ben and Bill have been keeping busy at work and I have been doing a lot of reading (Swamplandia, Rook, and the Percy Jackson series- I recommend all of these! ), watching Queer Eye on netflix, and of course applying for lots and lots of jobs. I have only heard rejections so far :( . Ben and I ended up making a deal that if I could apply for 10 jobs in 1 day that we would go look at dogs together. I accomplished that goal, and we had a fun day of going to some dog shelters around Denver. We went to the Denver city shelter, Max Fund shelter, and the Dumb Friends League (which has a silly name, but is a very cool place!). We saw lots of dogs (and cats!) that we liked, but we couldn't decide on one to take home. I did have a dog in mind that was at the Denver shelter but it was being adopted when we got there! We looked at lots more, but we have very different tastes in dogs and we didn't see any that seemed like the right match for us. Ben likes black lab mix dogs, and I like Australian Shepherd/border collie dogs or other similar kinds with longer fur. Another problem is that we should probably get a smaller dog than either of those kinds so that it will fit in our apartment and won't need as much exercise. We both really love huge dogs (we saw a really cool great dane!), and don't really know what to think of medium sized and smaller breeds.
Some slightly more exciting things have going on in the apartment though. A few days ago we had the fire alarm go off and lots and lots of fire trucks came to the building! It was very noisy and exciting, and luckily nothing major happened. I think there was just a little kitchen fire in the building adjacent to ours. I guess other than that things have been pretty quiet. We got some new neighbors with some barky dogs that we have yet to meet. Our lobby, mail area, and exercise room just got repainted and they look pretty snazzy!

Since we recently filed our taxes, we got our return money back! Most of the money went to paying off bills, but we saved so me to spend on ourselves. Ben bought a new video game, Mass Effect 3. I went on a little shopping spree at Kohl's and Target and bought some spring clothes! I got a blue purse, a pair of stripey slip-on shoes, a yellow skirt with paisley stitched on the bottom, an off white lacey dress, and a fun multicolored stripey dress. Unfortunately, it hasn't quite warmed up enough for me to wear them yet (although my standards for wearing shorts/dresses is pretty high), but I have been getting lots of use out of the purse and I totally love it!

This past weekend we had an extra special adventure! On Tuesday night, Ben's uncle was in town on a mini business trip. He took us out for drinks and snacks at Earl's and we had a really great time! It was fun to catch up with him and also have some really good conversation. Ben's mom and sister came drove to visit us and take a vacation! They got here on Wednesday night. Ben's uncle was still in town and we had a big dinner planned, so it worked out fabulously that everyone was able to come to our apartment and have a big shrimp scampi feast! I don't know how we are going to eat all those leftovers! On Thursday, the three ladies drove to Idaho Springs to go to the cabin that the Little family rented. The town was very cute, the woods and mountains were beautiful, and the cabin was perfect! I hope we can go back soon! Here's the link to the place we stayed: http://www.vrbo.com/290592 . If you're planning on a visit I highly recommend it! We had a ton of great adventures hiking and exploring in on the property, the national forest, and the town of Idaho Springs. We also had a great time playing lots of games together, cuddling up in blankets, reading  books,  and making and eating lots of wonderful food. We also visited the Tommyknocker brewery that is located in Idaho Springs- Ben was very jealous that we went there without him because they make some of his favorite kinds of beer! Ben drove out to the cabin on Friday night after he got done with work, and Bill came out on Saturday morning, too! We played more games and did lots more hiking and exploring with the guys! We found a river on the cabin property and Bill found some fools gold in the water. It was pretty cool to see all the sparkly gold water, and our boots were still sparkling after we got back! The Littles left early Sunday morning to head back to Minnesota. After we finished packing up the cabin, Bill, Ben, and I went into town to do a little more exploring and to get breakfast. Bill headed home on the freeway, and Ben and I took the top off the Jeep and took the back roads home. It was very nice out, but it was still a bit cold in the mountains! The ride was very beautiful! Once we got home, however, we noticed how sunburned we had gotten! On our way back we stopped at Ben's work. They had just finished moving into their new office on Friday night and I was seeing it for the first time. It is very cool and huge- several  times bigger than their old office! Ben has a big desk and shares an office with 1 other guy who I haven't met yet. Bill has a big corner office that he shares with 2 other people that he works with. There is still a lot of organizing left to do there, but everyone is very excited to finally have enough office and work space for everyone!

On Monday afternoon Ben came home early after starting work early. It was great to see him, but unfortunately he was mostly home just to pack up for a work trip to southern California. He'll be gone at least a week and he's very busy so I haven't been able to talk to him much so far. Hopefully everything goes well so he doesn't have to be gone longer!
On Tuesday, yesterday, I biked to the dentist. I had an appointment for an exam and xrays because I hadn't been to the dentist in a while. It turned out to be a 3.5 hour appointment because 2 of my fillings had to be replaced! Luckily, my teeth were otherwise in great shape- the dentist was very impressed that I came in without a problem and that my teeth were doing so well! The appointment was of course very long and painful, but it wasn't too bad overall because the dentist was basically the nicest and most caring person I have ever met! She was actually really fun to be around and made the whole experience a lot better. Oh yeah, and my replacement fillings are made of porcelain! They took 3d pictures of my teeth and a machine carved my fillings with diamond drills so that they fit into my teeth perfectly. Pretty spiffy! Once I finally got out of the appointment, though, I was so exhausted, hungry, in pain, and numbed that I didn't feel well enough to drive home so I had Bill pick me up! I felt much better after eating some (soft) dinner (I had an early breakfast and skipped lunch because of my appointment) and taking some pain killers!
After dinner Bill and I ventured out to the Denver REI. It was huge! It is a (the?)  flagship store, and it was way cool! It was locate in a giant old International Harvester warehouse- I definitely got lost a few times! Bill picked out some sandals, a water bottles, and bike lights, and we had fun looking at lots of other stuff! I'm excited to take Ben there when he gets back, but I'm afraid we'll never be able to leave! After the REI, Bill remembered that there was a really cool ice cream place nearby. We walked across a huge bridge to get there. It is called Littleman Ice Cream and it is just a little hut (shaped like a giant milk can) with 2 guys serving a huge line of people through the windows. All the dining space was outdoors. The ice cream was incredibly delicious and they had very unique flavors! We got served by a guy who looked exactly like Jude Law. I asked him if he was Jude Law, but he denied that he was (I'm convinced he was lying). We ordered 1 serving of lemon creamsicle to share and we got a huge serving that I don't know how 1 person would be able to eat!  I'm hoping to go back again soon to try some of the other flavors like oatmeal cookie and salty oreo.

Phew! That basically catches us up to today! I'll try to post more so the entries don't get so long!!
Thanks for reading!

White Dresses and White Snow

This weekend was nice- it was good to finally get to see the guys! They even both got back early/ at a reasonable time on Friday! Our original plan for Saturday was to go downtown (and see it in daylight for once) to go shopping and see the holiday lights parade- and find out what a holiday lights parade is as well. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait until next year to solve the mystery. I ended up getting a call from my friend Ashley to go wedding dress shopping with her and Alex. We had a nice girls day out! First, we went out for sushi. I haven't had sushi in probably 5 years, and didn't know if I would even like it. But, I wanted to make a good impression so my plan was to fake it even if I hated it. The descriptions of the rolls sounded odd, but I trusted the two other girls to pick something good. Luckily, I did end up enjoying it! We got two different kinds of rolls and ended up sharing them. Now I that I know I like sushi, I might even be a little more adventurous with what I order in the future! After sushi we went to look at wedding dresses. It was a little odd being the youngest person and the only married one, and I tried to give the best advice I could about dress shopping. We only ended up looking at one store because another one we were going to check out was closed. Alex and I had fun picking out dresses for Ashley to try on and Ashley eventually came around to enjoying trying them on. After a long afternoon at the shop, we narrowed it down to two that we all liked the best. They are so different that we couldn't decide which one we liked better. Another weekend we are going to try to look at some other stores to look at other options.
It was really nice to get out of the house and spend time with some other people for once!

Over the past week we had lots of snow falling! Some has been falling about every other day. The temperatures have been fluctuating a bit though, so some days it is above freezing and the snow melts. Today, on the other hand is the coldest I have seen here so far: 0 degrees! It is interesting to see how the mountains affect the weather. I can feel the cold coming down from the mountains sometimes! The snow is also a lot drier and more powdery here. Very unlike lake-effect snow in Cedarburg. Considering the typically small amounts of snow that fall at a time here and the fact that it usually doesn't stick around, there is not much plowing or salting on the roads. On Saturday morning I had to have Ben drive me in the 4wd jeep to Ashley's house because there was so much snow on the roads. It snowed about 4 inches over Friday night and Saturday, and apparently that is a lot here! People were driving very slowly and swerving all over the place! The freeway was covered in a layer of snow and slush, even around noon. We even spun out once on the freeway in front of a semi! Everyone was driving slowly enough to stop in time and let us turn back around. Normally people just wait for the snow to melt- there aren't even that many plows in the city fleet. They also rarely salt roads around here either- to protect the wildlife and ecosystem. I like the idea, but it makes driving very scary and dangerous!

Today I baked a pumpkin pie, did dishes, and did laundry. And today our debit and credit cards finally came in the mail. Looks like I'll be doing lots of Christmas shopping this week!