"epic"

It is very rare with my job that I actually get a Saturday off, so when that occurred this past weekend I definitely made the most of it!

First off, I hiked my very first 2 14ers. For those of you not hip with the Colorado lingo, a 14er is a mountain that is higher than 14,000 feet above sea level. There are 58 14ers in Colorado. I hiked Grays and Torres, 2 14ers that are connected by a small saddle in between them. The hike went well. I went with Joel Baker, a friend from Calvin, and his older sister Ginni who moved out to Denver with my sister Sara. Ginni and Joel are both much faster hikers than I am, but since the trail was crowded, I did not feel "left behind". They would pause and wait for me at intervals on the way up too! The day was, as one of our fellow hikers put it, "epic". Not a cloud in the sky, the weather was perfect. I felt good after the hike - the altitude made my heart beat faster and faster as I climbed, and the way down was WAY longer than I felt it should be, but I'm so proud of myself for this accomplishment!

After the hike we stopped at Beau Jos for some great Colorado pizza. When I got back to Denver I was exhausted, but had a message that my sister and her fiancee were going to meet my brother and his friends for dinner. My brother had been in Denver from Chicago for about a week and I hadn't seen him yet, so I took a quick shower and met them. Turns out my brother's friend had an extra ticket to the Cubs/Rockies game that night, so I ended up joining them. What a great game it was! It was the only good Cubs game of the series, and it definitely made up for the horrible baseball that the Cubs had played while I was at the game Friday night. (Nothing can easily make up for Sunday and Monday's horrible games, but at least I wasn't sitting through them at the field.) The game Saturday was made all the more fun by the abundance of Cubs fans in the seats. At the end of the game we were able to sing "Hey Chicago, whadda say, the Cubs are gonna win today. Go Cubs go!" at the top of our lungs. It was such a great Cubs moment! Cubs fans are some of my favorite people ever :)

Now this week the family has begun arriving in town. My sister Sara gets married on Saturday here in Denver. Good times!

Life is an adventure (and an exciting one at that!)

I'm getting better these days at making life about more than just work. I do enjoy my work, but 40 hours a week should not define your whole life! I have fallen into a constant schedule the past few weeks. I've been working the 3-11 shift, but I've been getting better at waking up at 9 or 10 to get the day started before I have to go to work! Though without many friends who are free on weekday mornings, I have done some exploring without going too far from home :) My roommate Rachel and I both bought summer passes to Elitch Gardens, the downtown amusement and water park, so we've been there 3 times already! It's nice to just go for a few hours before or after work. Last Saturday morning was free day at the Denver Art Museum, so Rachel and I went there for the morning! Then at church Sunday I ran into my college friend Joel Baker. He's in Denver for the month of August and unemployed, so last night I called him and we ended up going for a bike ride on the Platte River trail this morning! It's so nice to have such a productive and enjoyable day even before I have to get going to work! Ginni, Joel, and I all went out for lunch after our bike ride. Even when I can't hang out at night, there are still people I can spend my days with, and it's nice to find more of those people!

I am looking forward to having my family in town for my sister's wedding in a week and a half. That will definitely keep me busy! Sara and I get together to do wedding things (make invitations, programs, etc.) usually about one morning a week. Just one more way to stay busy, and it's nice to have the time with my sister too! The summer is just going by so quickly. I can't believe it's August already. Luckily, I may get to hike a 14er yet... Joel and Ginni are planning a trip sometime soon - maybe this Saturday? I hope so! This will be my first Saturday off in a long time, and what a great way that would be to spend it! Also this weekend - Cubs game Friday night at Coors Field! Whoo hoo - I can't wait!