The Dosses

2010-04-12T09:28:00.001-07:00

Christmas Spirit

2009-12-16T17:10:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning and needed to throw some clothes in the dryer (like I am gonna iron them lol). On my out to the laundry area in the kitchen, I see Magic all curled up on a Christmas present! I love this time of year :)

The picture is much clearer with the flash, but I like the look of the Christmas lights in the dark in the blurrier picture.

Christmas is just around the corner.....

It's been awhile...

2009-12-10T15:41:00.000-08:00

So yeah, it has been a long time since I have posted on here. It is hard to believe it has already been 3 months! What can I say, I have been enjoying my time back home in Lakewood with Cody and our kitties. I am now designing 6 miles of Bear Lake Road in Estes Park, CO and couldn't be happier with the job I was given.

The reason I am posting, you ask? My mother-in-law sent me these pictures, and I had to add to the collection of Cody's school pictures.

Cody's 2nd grade picture

Cody's 3rd grade picture

I especially like his 2nd grade pic. He is 2nd row, 4th in from the right (the one making the funky face). That pic is the best because not only did he ruin his pic, but 3 other kids as well. Note the boy beside him looking at him like "is he really gonna do it?!!!" Then there is the girl in the lavender shirt on the far left in the top row laughing at him and the girl next to her laughing at her. Good stuff! He said his 3rd grade pic was his Frankenstein face, but I don't think that one is too bad (he is 2nd row on the far right).

Labor Day

2009-09-09T16:27:00.000-07:00

Hope you all had a relaxing Labor Day! I missed the family reunion in Lakewood, but still had fun. I went shooting with some friends. These were the first rounds I have shot in my entire life, and I loved it so much I shot 500 rounds!

Karrie watching me shoot :)

We shot 22 caliber rifles of all kinds, 30 caliber shotguns, and a 44 caliber desert eagle! That on hurt the wrists, I only shot it once.

We had to take Jerry's truck, which kept dying. He had to to get a back up battery because it kept dying out and wouldn't restart. He has a new truck, dunno why we didn't take that, but w made it all the same. We also did some 4wheeling on the ATV. A great Labor Day!

Best work trip so far.....part 2

2009-09-09T15:30:00.000-07:00

Aside from my class, D.C. was a blast! Cody and I did a ton of touring.............which he hated lol. Everywhere was so packed because it was the last weekend of summer. First, we hit the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Just like all of the others, this museum was huge and we only saw a very tiny portion of it.

Meteors.....I had never seen one before. It looks like a machine has etched them, but it is their natural composition.

They had a lot of jewelry on display, this one was one of my faves. Amongst other things, they had Napoleon's diamond necklace, Marie Antoinette's earrings (HUGE diamonds), and the Oppenheimer diamond (253.7 carats).

The famous Hope Diamond! It was gorgeous, I wish there was a way to capture all of the colors. It was near impossible to get this pic will the huge crowd there.

This is the "mall." It is a very long walk end to end, and all of the museums, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln memorial, the capital, etc. are all around here. Of course, here is the capital bldg.

I love this pic, it is a little deceiving, the light dwarfs the monument. The clouds were definitely full of water. We were still dry at this point.

Right about here it started dumping on us. It was a warm rain, and we had fun in it. Naturally, we didn't bring an umbrella, so we got soaked through all of our clothes. Cody's funky shoes came in handy then..........while I ruined my Birkenstocks.

And we finally arrived at the Lincoln Memorial (soaking wet). That is one hell of a walk from the Monument to the memorial, but it looks like it would be a short walk.

Once we finally got back to the hotel after the Lincoln Memorial, we decided to lay low the rest of the evening while it poured. We went out to dinner and had a few drinks, and saved more fun for Sunday. When we finally got up around 11 on Sunday, we first went to this tower. At the very top is the best 360 view of DC (thx babe for the cool idea)!

We also went to the National Archives. The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Magna Carta, and many other original documents are displayed here. It was really cool to see, but difficult to photograph due to the lack of light.

Cody checking out the bathtub President Taft got stuck in LOL.

We were staying in Chinatown, so all of the signs were in Chinese and English. Cool!

1 block from Chinatown

The last museum we went to was the International Spy Museum. It was so cool! It had all the Bond gadgets, and actual gadgets used by spies around the world. Even the really old stuff! I liked the lipstick gun, and the ring gun.

We did a lot of touring and saw a ton. It was a great trip, and I am glad Cody could join me :)

Best work trip so far

2009-08-21T17:53:00.001-07:00

I was selected by leadership in my building to attend Leadership Training in Washington, D.C. for 11 days. :) I arrived on Sunday August 16th, and will leave Wednesday August 26. I flew in via United and had a layover in Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Of course, it was storming there, and my plane got delayed 3 hrs! There was a cool dinosaur in the airport I had to get a pic of.

When I finally arrived in D.C., it was 9:30 p.m. D.C. time. I made the foolish mistake of taking the metro to my hotel, and walking from the station. Picture this, I was walking with one suitcase in each hand, plus a laptop bag and a purse over one of my shoulders. I also had no clue where I was going and I ended up lost in Chinatown. DUMB!!!!! I almost got mugged, a hobo I passed was sitting on the side of the road drinking, saw me and laughed and got up to follow me. Thank God for the policeman around the corner, who I stopped and got directions from.

I made it to Hotel Monaco eventually. They put us up in a very nice hotel, across the street from one of the Smithsonian Art museums.

The hotel is very trendy, and even has a complimentary wine tasting every evening.

I apparently got the largest room the hotel has. Most are tiny, as in you have no room for luggage. I really lucked out.

The training is held in a room on the top floor of the hotel. This building is historic, and actually used to be the postal building until 2002 when it got converted to the hotel.

After class, I have started to explore downtown Washington, D.C. I am fortunate enough to have all the major museums, the monument, the archive building, and the capitol within walking distance. First, I explored a sculpture garden.

The sculptures were ok....... they are nothing compared to the quality you see in Loveland, CO. However, the gardens throughout were superb (probably because of the insane humidity).

I also toured an art museum. I could not believe the quality of art they had there. It was free admission, which was shocking!

First off, I saw an original Da Vinci painting!!!

Here is the back of the painting, beautiful!

Next, a sculpture of Jon the Baptist completed in 1460!

The building was made of solid marble!

This divine altar piece came from Abruzzo, Italy. It is on loan to the United States because we were the first to come to their aide when a devastating earthquake nearly destroyed their town in April, 2009. This piece came from a museum there that is now condemned. It is called the Beffi Triptych.

Here is yet another unique painting of whaling in the 1500's.

Of course you all know, this is a Monet. They had 5 on display, all equally astonishing.

One of my favorite parts was the private armor collection from the 1500's on display.

It was so immaculate. I could not believe how detailed it was, could you imagine how long it would take someone to make this?! This was all royal armor. I wish I had some kind of scale for you to see how small they are. The full suits of armor would fit a 10-year old in today's world.

There will be plenty more pictures to come. Cody is flying in as I type, and we are going to tour all weekend! He wasn't going to come originally, but when he heard how scared I was on Sunday, he bought plane tickets for Friday through Wednesday. This will be a new experience for both of us, especially since the furthest East Cody has been is Omaha, NE. We are going to have a ton of fun!

New truck!

2009-08-08T16:38:00.000-07:00

After months of saving, we finally bought a new truck today! We bought an '09 Toyota Tacoma with the TRD Offroad Package. It is a V6, 4WD, shortbed that seats 4 people comfortably. I absolutely LOVE it, and so does Cody. It will be nice to have two vehicles again.

It came with XM radio, and bluetooth. We can sync our phones with the truck and there are buttons on the steering wheel that allow you to talk on your phone hands free as you drive.

Other than buying a new vehicle, we really haven't been up to much lately. A few weekends ago, we went to Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, CO to people watch and buy these funky shoes. These are like toe socks with soles, and Cody wears them all the time. It looks really weird, but I can't believe no one thought of these things sooner!

Here is what we normally do, kick back and relax! Have a good weekend!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2009-08-05T14:55:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Mom! Enjoy your day,make sure to eat lots of green chiles and birthday cake, and RELAX! We love you!

4th of July

2009-07-06T19:22:00.000-07:00

For the 4th, Cody drove out to Vegas to pick me up so we could take a much needed road trip to Las Cruces. We left on Wednesday at 3:30 pm (after I got off work) for what should have been an 11 hour drive. Of course, we got stuck in construction traffic, and 160 miles into the trip we got a flat in the middle of nowhere.

Cody had to change the tire 6" from traffic coming from both directions going 65+ mph. I was standing in front of him to warn traffic he was there so he wouldn't get hit. From that point on, we had to go 60 mph because of the spare tire. We lost so much time, we decided to stay the night in Phoenix and just get new tires in the morning. We eventually made it to Las Cruces Thursday evening, and started the trip with a visit to Burger Time for some rolled tacos and cheese fries smothered in green chiles! Yummy

We ate tons of mexican food, and shot off fireworks on the 4th.

Poor Joey (my mother-in-laws' cute little boston terrier) needed consoling pretty much all evening, he was scared of the fireworks!

Her is Aunt Judy and her friend, Gene. We were all hanging out watching the chaos at the park unfold. My mother and father-in-laws' backyard faces the park where the city fireworks are shot off, and it was absolutely packed.

Hanging out in the backyard by the fire after eating hamburgers and hotdogs.

Some of the Las Cruces fireworks. I actually went up on the roof this year to watch the fireworks (with a little persuasion from Cody), and I am so glad I did! That was an awesome view!

We had some mortars that were really loud................. poor Joey!

*giggle* *giggle* :) This is what the fourth of July is all about. We had to fill out a permit to buy these, but the permit was in a different city where these fireworks are legal. Cody didn't even sign the permit or give them the full address, and we still somehow got them. These were louder and better fireworks than mortars we have bought previously. This year, we figured we only get to blow our money up once a year, so why not do it right?!

Cody and Kyle got a system going where they lit off two mortars at the same time, here are some green and white ones.

Sorry for the blurriness, my camera doesn't make a very good video camera.

Eventually, we had to leave. I had to take an airplane home, and Cody had to drive to Denver. On the way to the El Paso, TX airport, we drove within half a mile of Juarez, Mexico. I saw the Rio Grande river, for some reason I didn't get it it one photo. You can definitely see the difference, the homes over there are shacks. There have already been over 800 murders there this year alone!

I made it home safely, and so did Cody. We had a great time in Las Cruces (as always). We loved the newest member of the Doss family (Joey, the boston terrier), and were so happy we have kept the annual 4th of July celebration in Las Cruces going!

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T19:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day to you both! I wish we could have been there, and I hope you both had a relaxing and fun day.

Celebration

2009-06-17T15:37:00.000-07:00

To celebrate our first anniversary, I took a plane home after work on Friday. So of course, Cody got called in to work the entire weekend. This was the first weekend he had to work almost the entire time (Fri. night, 11 hrs Sat.), and I have a feeling it will happen more often now. Red Rocks is now open, and Cody works almost every show that comes in there. I went up on Saturday, and it was gorgeous! Everything was so green from all the rain out there lately.

Cody works in the dark red part of the stage (in the lower right corner of the picture). He hangs lights, or rigs points to hang trusses from.

While Cody was working, I went and picked up our 1 year anniversary cake. The place that made our cake (above) gave us a free wedding cake on our anniversary. I asked them to decorate it the same, and this is what I got:

LOL, the frosting was lumpy in appearance. But it didn't matter too much, the cake and frosting tasted great!

Maybe our next anniversary, we can actually go do something (like camp!!)

1 year ago............

2009-06-17T15:12:00.000-07:00

(on June 12th), Cody and I were married! Happy Anniversary sweetheart!

The Tapestry House truly was an amazing place to be married at. I love you baby!

Aerobics

2009-06-01T20:44:00.001-07:00

Barb (my boss) and I started an aerobics class last week called Low Impact with Weights. It definitely showed me the areas I need to work on (my abs!!!!!), and it has helped me to relax. We do yoga at the end of each session to cool down, which is so calming.

Here is my 'before' picture. Hopefully I can tighten those abs in the next 5 weeks! Our instructor is great, she must be at least 40 with everything she has done, but she looks my age (maybe even younger!) I would post Barb's 'before' picture, but she only wants me to post it at the end of the 5 weeks. I know we will have great results, how could you not after doing 200 sit ups (ouch), yoga, aerobics, and strength training 2 times a week?

Side note: Here is a pic of my job site today. It actually rained, and there was a double rainbow peaking out behind the hills at the end of the job. So pretty!

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-31T14:40:00.001-07:00

Over Memorial Day weekend, I took Friday off and went home to see Cody! It was a great weekend of lounging around, enjoying eachothers company. It is rare that we spend more than one day a weekend together. The weather was in the mid 70's, even though it was raining pretty much the entire time. The bunnies were out and about (see above), and it definitely looked like spring/ the beginning of summer. I really wanted to get to Fort Collins to visit friends, but ended up staying in Denver. We ended up going out one night to Blake Street Tavern with another couple we are friends with. We had a few beers, and it was nice to get out. We were supposed to go to a brew fest at Arapahoe Basin for the last day of the season they were open for snowboarding, but the rain nixed that idea, thus we ended up at the bar. All in all, it was a great weekend. I can't wait to be back home (only four more months)!

Boating in Vegas

2009-05-30T18:41:00.001-07:00

A few weekends ago, my boss, her husband, and her two dogs and I went boating on Lake Mead in their pontoon boat. It was so much fun! Bear (the golden colored dog) and Jack (the other dog) were in heaven on that boat. It was so cute.

They were actually crazy enough to let me drive the boat!

We were attempting to troll for fish the majority of the time using sardines. Jerry caught the only fish of the day, an 18" striper.

Of course, we had to make a stop at the bathroom... hilariously dubbed the 'Gloryhole'. One nasty thing, it was infested with mice. How in the heck do you get a mouse infestation in a floating bathroom in the middle of the lake?

On the shore close to the 'Gloryhole' were a bunch of mules aka burrows. These are ancestors of the burrows that were there in the mining days. This is the only place in the park I have seen them.

Have you ever seen two cuter dogs? Bear loves to sit on the tube and have someone push him out and pull him back. He would sit there all day if you let him. Bear also loves the water and to swim. Jack on the other hand is terrified of the water, he won't go near it. It' s pretty surprising he got on the tube with Bear.

The day of boating was awesome! I had found out that morning that one of our neighbors in Denver put a huge dent down the side of our Honda (the new car we bought a year ago) when it was parked and Cody was sleeping. Of course, there was no note, and no one would confess (even though it is assigned parking and only one person parks in each spot). I guess that's the way it goes. Boating really helped alleviate stress. I am so excited to go again soon before it gets too hot!

New laptop!

2009-05-14T18:40:00.000-07:00

My new laptop arrived via mail today! I absolutely love it! It is quick and cute, and we got a great deal on it. We got an ASUS N50. It has a 320 GB hard drive, 4 GB RAM, 1 GB video card, and all for under $1000!

I know I haven't posted in awhile....I haven't had a computer I could use for blogging since just after Easter. I have TONS to blog about, and all kinds of pictures I wanted to post. So naturally, I ended up leaving the adapter for my camera at home in Denver. I will go find some other adapter soon so I can share the pics :) I am so happy to have a computer back! I missed checking everyones' blogs, and doing my shockwave daily jigsaw puzzle (which btw is much easier to do now that I have a larger screen).

Time for a new computer

2009-05-09T08:51:00.000-07:00

Hello all. I know it has been awhile since I have last posted..............My laptop died and I am waiting for a replacement. I will post more this weekend, but right now it is time to go clothes shopping for my birthday. Yay! :)

Happy Birthday Carol, and Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T07:54:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday little sis! Have fun today, and chow down on some birthday cake (along with your Easter feast).

Happy Easter everyone! I found this cute picture on Cake Wrecks, a hilarious blog about one of my favorite things, cakes! Enjoy the holiday, and don't forget why we are celebrating.

Pier Caps

2009-04-07T17:08:00.000-07:00

Lately at work, I have been inspecting rebar and forms for our pier caps. These are what go on top of the columns, and the girders will be placed on the pier caps so we can build the bridge deck. It may not look to high up in the air, but it is over 35 feet high! The ladder I was climbing was actually two tall ladders connected. It wasn't tied off to anything, and either was I. Being scared of heights, this was a new challenge for me.

I needed to climb over the forms once I reached the top of the ladder so I could look inside and check the rebar for proper clearance and spacing.

Once up there, I did not let go of a railing once. But it has definitely helped me start getting over my fear of heights. I like this picture because you can tell where the bridge will go. In the far right and back, there is the abutment cap, and then the columns in front of it, and then where I am standing (on more columns) in the very front. Slowly but surely, this bridge is making progress!

Talon Trouble

2009-04-07T16:58:00.000-07:00

So it finally happened, the Talon I have had since highschool died. :( Cody was driving home from work a week or so ago, he was going 65 mph on the highway, and he said all of a sudden it just died. He had to try and steer it off the highway (with no power and it is AWD) during rush hour. He somehow made it to a parking lot. Once it was towed to our mechanic, we learned the next day that the timing belt had jumped just a little bit, but it was enough to throw the pistons into the valves in cylinders 1 and 4. So, no more Talon. It's a bummer too, because those cars are rare, and even with it being as old as it is, I could have gotten $5000 for it on the street. Oh well, too late now. We ended up selling it to a junkyard for a few hundred dollars.

For the moment, I drove the Honda to Cody and he is now driving that every day. I, on the other hand, only have my government vehicle to get to and from work. I have no vehicle to run errands in, but I will make it work for now. We are working on saving up for a new car. It is definitely a buyers market right now, so maybe we can find some good deals.

2009-03-23T12:02:00.000-07:00

I went home to Denver this weekend to visit Cody. Some of our friends, Andy and Alicia, came up from Fort Collins adnd rented a very nice 2 room suite near the Denver Tech Center. We all went out for dinner and drinks at Dave and Busters. For those who don't know, Dave and Busters is a restaurant and video game arcade. We played all kinds of games. We raced in a Daytona game where the seat moved if you hit something or made a turn (which Cody beat us all at, of course), we played shooting games, skeeball, basketball, and a few other games. In the end, we were all so terrible, we only had enough tickets combined to get a cheap plastic toy. LOL. After that, we ended up going back o the hotel and watching movies for the rest of evening. It was nice to get out and see some friends and have some fun.

Yesterday, my flight out of Denver was delayed for a long time due to high winds in Las Vegas. When my plane finally got in to Vegas, we had to sit on the plane and wait because there were no gates available for us! So many planes came in at the same time, the airport was so crowded! Also, it is Spring Break so the airport had that many more people. I eventually made it home safe and sound, and in the end that is all that matters! As always, I miss you Cody and can't wait to see you soon!

Spring is here...

2009-03-18T17:57:00.000-07:00

Spring is here.....but it feels like summer in the desert! We have had temperatures in the mid 80's this week, and it is only going to get warmer. With the heat, though, beautiful flowers have started blooming everywhere.

This it the bear-paw poppy, it is an endangered species and only grows in soil with gypsum in it. I hadn't ever see one bloom until today! :)

A desert tortoise decided to crawl through our job site this afternoon. This too is an endangered species, and it had to be babysat until the Park Resource person could get there. This tortoise is an old one, it is very large (about the size of a hard hat).

The Park lady asked us to paint an orange dot on the tortoise's back so he could be identified in the future. I didn't like the fact we were spraying the tortoise with spray paint....I don't think it liked it either because it went into its shell and didn't come out after that!

Girder Inspections

2009-03-03T19:30:00.000-08:00

Today, my boss and I flew to Salt Lake City, UT to inspect the girders for our bridge as they were being fabricated. To begin, the workers place and tension steel cables that will be cemented into the girder (seen above).

Then, they place rebar that will help prevent cracking in the concrete.

Finally, they place forms an pour the concrete, load after load until the form is full. They let it cure for a few days before stripping the forms and starting the process over with the next girder.

These girders look good from afar, and are structurally sound, but the outer appearance needed a LOT of help........

see what I mean?!!

This is the area in UT, it is beautiful, but is was sooooo windy. I actually got windburn from being outside all day in the 40 mph winds.

We got the opportunity to tour another girder plant in the area in the afternoon. This plant was larger and a much smoother operation.

This is what the surface of their girders looked like just stripped from the forms. Much nicer than the girders we have.

This is what their rebar and tensioned steel cable looked like. They have forms they can place all along the girder bed, so they can have 3 different girders going at the same time on one bed. At the other plant, they could only work on one girder at a time.

They use these trucks to pump concrete into the forms. They use self consolidated concrete which is very liquid, it has a slump of 12" (this means it is like soup).

All in all, our trip to UT went well. Our girders will need some finish work before they can be delivered, but it looks like the will be in alright shape.

We flew back at 5 pm (to Vegas), and I need to go to bed so I can get up for work in the morning. I just wanted to share a cool day at work with you all! Good night :)

Bizkit the Sleep Walking Dog

2009-03-02T19:09:00.000-08:00

I saw this on Dooce, and I could not stop laughing. I had to post this, LOL!

Happy Birthday Granny!

2009-02-27T18:26:00.000-08:00

We love you and hope to see you soon! I wish I would have known you were in Las Vegas, we could have had a small birthday celebration!

Girls Weekend in Vegas...Part 2

2009-02-23T18:09:00.001-08:00

This past weekend, a good friend of mine (Lauren) flew into Las Vegas from Colorado to come visit me (and to see the fantastic sights in Vegas). The fun began when I picked her up from the airport. The passenger pickup lane was basically deserted, except the one car stopped in front of me. I stopped behind that car, and Lauren and I happened to see each other then. She hurried over to the car and put her stuff in. The car in front of me started moving, but a cop (on foot) motioned for me to stop. He pointed out to me the fact that I was in a thru lane, and there was a sign that read "No Stopping in the Thru Lane." He then proceeded to tell me that it is a $100 fine for stopping in the thru lane. Fortunately, he thought we were "incredibly good looking" so he let us off with a warning and told us to have a good weekend. And don't worry, we did!

Friday night, we went to see Cirque du Soleil's O, which is an amazing show in the water.

Saturday, we explored the strip for a good 8 hours. We started off at Mandalay Bay, and walked all the way to Treasure Island (while detouring through casinos).

First stop: The Bellagio (where O was playing). There is a room off to the side of the main lobby that always has beautiful garden scenes. This time, there was a Japanese theme. Here is one of the beautiful plant sculptures.

We walked past the House of Blues, and I had to get a picture. There are so many random things cemented into the wall, it caught my attention.

As it started to get dark outside, we happened to be walking by the Bellagio. A group of guys asked us to take a picture of them, and then they snapped a picture of us in return.

We kept on walking and got a good spot to view the fountains. They are so beautiful, and I love how they sound like firecrackers.

This duck swam by as fast as he could in the beginning of the show. It was probably thinking the world was ending lol.

Next, we went to Caeser's Palace Forum Shops. Here is the entrance to FAO Schwartz toy store, a HUGE wooden horse whose head moves up and down when its eyes glow red.

A little further down in the Forum Shops, there is a mechanical show. This show has a huge fish tank built into it.

A stingray in the fish tank smiled at us!

And our last stop for the day was Treasure Island where we watched the show "The Sirens of T.I." It is always cool to see a ship sink......

.....and catch on fire!

*Note* I was recently told that my comments section would not allow most readers to post a comment. I have now fixed that glitch, so feel free to comment as you wish!

Girls weekend in Vegas...Part 1

2009-02-23T17:43:00.001-08:00

On Sunday, we took a tour of the Hoover Dam. It was really neat to learn the history of such an important piece in American culture.

In the middle of the Hoover Dam is the boundary between Arizona and Nevada, I am in two states in this picture!

In the background is the Hoover Dam Bypass, it is making some headway, but won't be completed for 2 more years.

In this photo, we are walking through tunnels in the Dam. I love how it looks like we are in a wormhole in the picture. Nice picture Lauren!

Here is the main powerhouse on the Nevada side. Those turbines are very big. In order to maintain them, they have to use 2 cranes at once to lift each one up so they can replace and look at inner parts.
In this photo, you can see a nail in the floor right in front of the toe of our tour guides shoe. A family of 7 brothers from Denver laid this floor. They say each brother hid a nail in the floor, only four nails have been found to this day.

We got an opportunity to look through a vent in the face of the Dam. Here is the view of the Hoover Dam Bypass.

Inside the dam, there is what they call the stairway to heaven. You can't see to the top or the bottom, and it is seven hundred something steps!

Thanks for coming out Lauren, I had a blast with you!

Valentine's Day 2009

2009-02-19T16:34:00.001-08:00

I hope everyone had a romantic and fun Valentine's Day weekend! Cody and I had a great weekend. He bought me a beautiful bouquet of lilys and snapdragons! I absolutely love them, and I wish I could have travelled back to Nevada with them [and Cody too ;)]. We ended up staying in and watching movies pretty much all day. We saw Madagascar 2, which was pretty good, and Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, which was a cute love story.... perfect for Valentine's Day!

I had President's Day off, so I got to spend a long weekend in Denver with Cody. It was very relaxing, and it was good to see some snow for a change!

Yet Another Flight

2009-02-12T18:41:00.000-08:00

Off I go on another flight today! I am going to Denver for a long Valentine's Day weekend. I can't wait to see you Cody!

New Lakewood Apartment

2009-02-12T18:30:00.000-08:00

First off, here is the new closet. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this closet, it is so big, it even has its own window! This is a bad pic of it, but I decided not to show you all the piles and piles of boxes in there :)

Here is the one and only bedroom, this is kind of blurry. The room isn't too big, but it does the job. Hmm, I should have made the bed...

Here is the living room. I can't believe we fit almost all of the furniture from a large 2 bedroom apartment in here. I love all the windows in this apartment!

This is the nice kitcken. I haven't ever had a kitchen island before! This will make baking a lot easier.

Here is the dining room, it is next to the living room.

Here is the view from the back patio. Cody said there are bunnies that are always hopping around back there. I didn't get to see them when I visited though.

These apartments look like houses, and this is a gated community. Cody found this great (and cheap) apartment. It is nicer than the apartment we just left in Belmar, and almost half the cost! Poor Cody had to move by himself. He managed to recruit one friend to help him move the furniture. I came and helped him unpack a couple weeks ago.

Hopefully we will be able to stay here until we buy a house.

2009-02-02T16:25:00.000-08:00

25 Random Things About Leslie

So, there is a thing going around on facebook: 25 things about me. I have been tagged by two friends to do this, and since I saw it on some blogs too, I figured I would share with you all. Here goes:

1. I am (and always have been) a perfectionist.

2. I am NOT a clean freak.

3. I love to do anything outdoors: camping, fishing, snowboarding.

4. I love to do girly things: get my hair done, get my nails done, etc.

5. I am a videogame-aholic! I love Team Fortress 2 and any first person shooter game, I also love my Wii and I play a lot of Super Mario on it.

6. I love to sing along to music in the car, or when I am at home in the shower. I sing really loud, only when I think no one is listening.....I have been embarrassed before when I got out of the shower only to discover someone was in the house listening.....and laughing.

7. I am deathly afraid of bees........I do a weird looking dance trying to dodge/ run away from them.

8. I have been with my husband since senior year in high school.

9. I love him more than words can express (and I miss him terribly right now).

10. I have 2 apartments in 2 states right now.

11. I love to read, currently I am re-reading the Twilight series for the 3rd time.....I just can't get into any other book at the moment.

12. I miss college, and can't wait to go back for my masters degree.

13. I am very liberal.

14. I love candles that smell like cinnamon apples............it is relaxing to me.

15. I don't want children until I am in my 30's, I don't feel like I could handle that right now.

16. I have been on way too many airplanes in the last 4 months (well over 20).

17. I don't like flying in airplanes, I would rather drive.

18. I love to bake! Lately, I have been making a lot of pumpkin bars and brownies.

19. I have two cats. One of them likes to bite me when he is happy.

20. I would much rather own a dog than a cat.

21. Family and friends are a necessity in my life, I keep them close.

22. I didn't always feel that way about my family and friends.

23. I am very stubborn.

24. I live life without regrets. If I made a poor choice ( and I have made many) I choose to learn from it and not repeat the mistake.

25. I am one of the few poeple that actually LOVES their mother-in-law. I have the coolest mother-in-law on the planet

26. I have moved 3 times in the last 12 months (sigh)

2009-01-22T16:14:00.000-08:00

A New Addition to the Family

Cortney and Jeff Rehnberg (my cousins) are pleased to present their daughter: Eva Sofia Rehnberg. She was born on December 23, and weighed 8 lbs. at birth. She is absolutely adorable!

Here is Eva with her proud daddy, Jeff. To prepare for the baby, Jeff sewed a bed skirt for her crib, and decorated a nursery for her! How cute!

Congratulations Cortney and Jeff!

2009-01-14T16:13:00.000-08:00

My mother and father in-law decided to get an adorable puppy recently! He is an 8 week old Boston terrier.....and sooooo cute!

There is no name for this cutie yet. Cody and I can't wait to meet him sometime soon!

Update: He has been named! This puppy's name is Joey.

2009-01-03T09:05:00.000-08:00

2008 went by so fast! I had barely graduated and got engaged in the beginning of the year, so naturally we started the year with a snowboarding vacation in Steamboat with Adam, Zach (my cousins), Kyle, a couple of our friends, and us. We had a blast up there! Shortly after that, I started my job with the FHWA. The commute to and from work every day was very long, so we moved to Lakewood, CO shortly after I started my job. The move was difficult for me, that was my first time leaving Fort Collins in my entire life. While Cody and I adjusted to our new lives in Lakewood, I also was planning our wedding. After 6 months of planning (non-stop!), Cody and I got married at the Tapestry House in La Porte, CO on June 12, 2008. We had a fairy tale wedding, and I am so glad nearly all of our relatives were there! Shortly after the wedding, I was sent on my construction assignment... in Nevada.

So on September 23rd (my parents 25th wedding anniversary, and the day after Cody's birthday), I moved to Henderson, NV... alone! :(
Cody had to keep his job going in Denver (if he moved out here, he would lose all of his seniority and not get calls for work when he went back), and I had to keep my career going, and that's how it goes sometimes. The remainder of the year has flown by! I fly to Denver often to visit Cody, and he has come out here a few times as well. I also get plenty of visits from friends and family as they come to Las Vegas for vacation.

It is hard to believe how fast 2008 flew by, and how many wonderful things have happened in my life. With the good, comes the bad though. This year, the economy was the worst its been since the Great Depression! I am thankful Cody and I have great jobs, but I can see the effects on our family members. We can only hope for a better year with the first African American president ever, Barack Obama. Here is to a great 2009!

2009-01-03T08:55:00.000-08:00

New Year's day was the last day my parents were in Las Vegas, so we took them to the strip for some sightseeing. The strip was still extremely crowded, there were 300,000 people on the strip New Year's Eve, the 2nd largest crowd ever! Here is the tree in the M&M factory (above).

Near the Bellagio main entrance, there is always some kind of garden setup (depending on the time of year). Right now, there is a HUGE Christmas tree up, surrounded by large ornaments and presents. There was also a snowman made up of white flowers, there were reindeer hanging from the ceiling, and poinsettas and white flowers on the ground everywhere! It was beautiful! They even had a fake snow storm going by the snowman.

We had a great time with my parents, hope to see you both soon!

2008-12-31T17:36:00.000-08:00

On New Year's Eve, we all went to the Las Vegas Botanical Gardens. The Gardens are still under construction, the rest was all recently built. They did a beautiful job! There is even a little spring that runs throughout the gardens.

Here is a big lizard laying out on the hot rock.

There was also an exhibit about the natives in the area.

The cactus are still blooming in the middle of winter!

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T17:01:00.000-08:00

My parents, Linda and Roger, decided to come visit us in Las Vegas for the new year celebration. Their first day here, Dec. 30th, we all went to Lake Mead National Recreation Area. I showed them where I work, and we also saw a lot of nature. Above are the loons at the Overton Beach area (where my office trailer is located)

Next, we went to Roger's Spring, a natural spring in the middle of the desert. This sign was in front of the spring warning you not to get the water in your nose or you will get a deadly infection.

Here is my mom at Roger's Spring, enjoying herself.

Along with hundreds of spotted and striped fish (and even a few goldfish), we saw two turtles in the spring! I was absolutely amazed there were turtles in the water!

Here is Blue Point spring, a spring that is very close to Roger's spring. At first, we couldn't find the spring, but eventually we did and we even walked to where the spring bubbled out of the earth. Here are my dad and Cody walking back from the spring.

On the drive back, we saw a herd of bighorn sheep. These sheep were 5 feet from the car!!! We were so close! This is only a couple of them, we saw 7 total.

Here is a popular area of the park: Redstone. The holes in the rock are caused from wind erosion, it looks really neat. We hiked around here for a bit, before driving home to watch WALL-E. All in all, a fun day!

2008-12-31T16:56:00.003-08:00

On the way to Las Cruces for Christmas, we stayed in Florence, AZ at my grandparents winter home. When we got there, my grandma had made some delicious stew, and Christmas eve morning she made biscuits and gravy. yummy! We had a nice stay, and decided to come back in March so we can spend some more time with them.

In the picture above, they are standing next to the saguaro cactus they planted 2 years ago. Below is the rest of their cactus garden.

2008-12-27T15:37:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2008 was great! We started the day by going to a 12:30 pm movie: the Four Christmases, which was pretty good. We then had a turkey enchilada dinner (nice and cheesy), and opened presents. Here is a look at the tree!

Me handing the presents out.

Cody opening the first present (a set of dishes...which were free after spending a certain amount of money at the grocery store lol).

Kyle with his annual pair of funny Christmas boxers.

Alan opening a box of chocolates. yummy

Kelli opening a pair of earrings.

Aunt Judy opening a very soft blanket.

All in all, it was a Merry Christmas! It was great to be with the family and relax.

2008-12-24T20:49:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone!

The Historic Mesilla Plaza in Las Cruces, NM was beautifully lit with Christmas lights and luminarias. Santa Claus is coming to town....

Al's Garage

2008-12-21T10:42:00.000-08:00

Last night, Cody and I decided to try a new restaurant, so we looked for the best place to get a hamburger in Henderson. Cody gave me two choices, one choice in a bad part of town, the other choice was Al's Garage in The District. For those of you who don't know, The District is the newly built upscale part of town. I chose the restaurant in The District, thinking we were going to eat at some fancy restaurant..... hah! This is where we went, a biker bar where the menu is on the wall (kinda like Dick's Last Resort).

They had some awesome food, plus if you go there on Saturday night and show your tattoos, you get free beer (if you are a woman of course)!

Naughty Cody lol!

Go figure, you really can drink out of a bucket in the Las Vegas area! They call it the Grease Monkey, and they bring you vodka and assorted other alcohols in a bucket, lol. I am sure Kyle would have been all over this. :)

Snow.....in Vegas?

2008-12-18T08:18:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, there was a blizzard in Las Vegas and the surrounding areas. The blizzard started when I was at work, and I was not prepared at all to spend 9 hours outside in snow. Brrrrrrrr... Cody was at the Flamingo when I got off work, our plan was to go out to eat with the family but that was quickly nixed because Las Vegas does not have any snow plows. Kelli and Alan drove Cody back to our apartment through the nasty traffic and 4 inches of snow. The normally 10 minute drive took them 1 and a half hours! The drive back to the hotel took them 45 minutes.

My drive home from work was scary, there was 3 inches on the road, and the road is not designed for snow. Lots of hills and sharp curves, I was sliding everywhere when I was in 4 wheel drive going 25 mph in my SUV. It took me 2 hours to get home, when it normally takes a little less than an hour.

The snow total at our apartment this morning was 7 inches! It broke the record amount of snowfall. But of course, the warmth is back today, and a good portion of the snow is already gone. There was still enough snow for my boss to cancel driving to work today, so I am working from home. Kelli and Alan are driving home today, drive safe guys! We had fun, and can't wait to see you at Christmas!

Las Vegas

2008-12-18T07:56:00.001-08:00

While I was working this week, Cody and his parents explored the strip. From what I gather, there was a lot of walking and shopping involved. Kyle stayed out late every night, he didn't get back to the hotel until 6 am one day, and 10 am the next!

While they were enjoying themselves at Ceasar's palace, I was watching the equipment operators stack boulders (lol):

After work Tuesday, we went out to eat at the MGM Grand, where we ate these humongous two pound hamburgers. Alan got the Chile Burger, which was a chile relleno on top of a burger. The burger was almost a foot tall! It was quite entertaining to watch him attempt to eat it. After dinner, we went to see Ka. As always, the special effects were amazing!

Wasted away again in Margaritaville...

2008-12-18T07:52:00.000-08:00

Kyle, Alan and Kelli drove to Las Vegas to celebrate Kyle's 21st birthday! We all went to Margaritaville for his birthday dinner on Monday (even though his birthday is the 12th). Happy 21st birthday Kyle!

Breckenridge 12-12-08

2008-12-14T18:03:00.000-08:00

I flew to Denver this weekend to visit Cody, and of course, he wanted to o snowboarding :) I have been missing the mountains and the snow, but had been getting over a cold that had plagued me since Thanksgiving, so I went but decided to just hang around at the base of the mountains....

So, I watched all the skiers and drank a bloody mary. *grin* Not that the alcohol helped me get rid of my cold :) The day started out nice, but a storm came in and it snowed from noon on.

How sweet, Cody kept his hopes up that I would want to board when we got up to Breckenridge, so he brought all of my gear. How cute! But I still didn't feel like beating myself up once we were there.

Can you believe Cody has already been snowboarding six times this season?!!! He is really good now. I, however, am stuck back how he used to be..... falling and falling, and falling some more. I occassionally get a good run in (about half a mountain without falling), and I know I will get better when I go the next time. This was our first trip to Breckenridge, and Cody and our friends Casper and John who tagged along, said the mountain is a good one. I know we will be visiting Breckenridge again soon. Can't wait!

Black Friday

2008-11-30T09:09:00.001-08:00

Instead of participating in the shopping chaos that is Black Friday, Cody and I (with a few friends) went snowboarding at Copper Mountain! On the way up, we saw some big horn sheep (in the pic above). You might have to open the pic in a new window to see them clearly. They are a little below the middle of the pic.

Here I am in the parking lot getting ready for my first run of the year! They still had the snow makers going on the slope behind me.

Here is Austin, Kyle, and Cody getting ready. Casper came with us too, but he managed to get out of the picture.

The slopes are still pretty bare, but that night they got 6" - 13" of snow!

The drive home... in a bad snow storm. Saturday would have been a good time to snowboard, there would have been more powder and a lot less ice. I am pretty beat up from falling on the ice. But we had a blast, and I can't wait to go again in 2 weeks! I know Cody is ready to go again now, lol!

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-11-30T08:51:00.001-08:00

Cody and I spent Thanksgiving this year with my parents, my Aunt Clarice, and our friend Casper. We had tons of fun visiting and we ate lots of turkey and mashed potatoes. We missed my sister, Carol, who had to spend the day studying. We also missed the Sullivan clan a ton!!! It looks like you guys had a fun Thanksgiving, and ate lots of delicious food!

Under that green siran wrap was pumpkin bars. They were soooooo good (that's why they are almost all gone...before the turkey was ready!) lol

Cody and I, waiting to eat. :)

The Thanksgiving table setup. That centerpiece was gorgeous!

After all these years, Cody and I (and Casper too) are still stuck at the kids table! LOL

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Happy Veteran's Day

2008-11-11T08:49:00.000-08:00

In Loving Memory

2008-11-10T18:00:00.000-08:00

Oliver Doss

Here's to the loving slobber machine that greeted us at the door every time we came to visit, and wouldn't stop slobbering on us until he realized we were staying for a few days. :)
Here's to your cute puppy dog face, with your tongue always hanging out to one side.
And your cute whimpers if we stopped petting you to pet Pepper.
You were definitely one of the goofiest dogs I have ever met, but you were also one of the sweetest. All you ever wanted was to be loved, and you were (very much so). You will be missed, and we know you are guarding us all from puppy dog heaven.

I am sorry for your loss Kelli and Alan. Remember, when god closes one door, he opens another one.

2008-11-08T08:57:00.000-08:00

No, it is not our wedding anniversary yet (we have only been married for 5 months), but it is the anniversary of when we started dating! 7 years ago today, Cody and I started dating! It has been a wonderful journey together. I miss you sweetie, and I love you!

Cody's New Job, and my career

2008-10-27T19:40:00.000-07:00

While Cody was visiting, he tried to find work in Vegas so I wouldn't have to be alone here until next June. Fortunately, the local union here is really hurting for experienced riggers. He had an interview today, and got a job with the union here from December to June. He really lucked out, the union here has 3000 people!!!!

Before Cody came out here, he made it to Arapahoe Basin with his friends for opening day. The only run that was open was the run behind him in this pic. Notice the grass everywhere else but the run. Cody was telling me he was falling and falling, and having a tough time getting used to it. He noticed about halfway through the day that the run was a blue (instead of the bunny hills designated as green that we are used to boarding). He was pretty sore for a few days, but he said it was well worth it.

Although Cody would rather be snowboarding in Colorado, he is a great husband and was more than happy to be here with me now that he has a job. The good thing is, he can have a union card here and in Denver. Denver slows down in January until April, so things are working out great for him. :)

As for me, I have been working a lot (over 50 hours last week, not including the drive). I love being an inspector on the construction site, I truly feel that this is the job for me. I would love to stay in construction...as long as they keep putting me on Nevada jobs (highly unlikely, but possible). The only thing is, it is very difficult to be away from Cody and my family and friends. It is also difficult to keep relocating all the time. In the past year, Cody and I have lived in 3 different apartments!!! That is a lot of moving. I have some serious career decisions I need to make, and soon. My boss is awaiting my answer as to whether I want to be a designer or stay in construction for awhile. I am hoping the answer will be clear to me soon.

Thanks for stopping by, and hopefully I will get back to a regular blog schedule soon!

Before and After...

2008-10-27T19:22:00.000-07:00

Sorry...it's been awhile since I have posted. As usual, I have been busy working a ton. Also, Cody has been visiting for about a week and a half. When Cody got here, he was amazed at how I had been getting by with just a 10" tv. and a couch. and thats it.

The first night he was here, I decided to inflate the air mattress so we wouldn't have to share the couch. Little did I know, the cats had popped the mattress with their claws, so we were sleeping on the floor after the first couple hours. Then we were trying to share the couch. then sleep on the floor. then back to the couch... you get the idea

The next morning, we got dressed and immediately bought a mattress. A much needed improvement. :)

When it came time for me to work on Monday, Cody got restless and needed something to do. What better to do in the Vegas area but shop? Needless to say, I called him about halfway into my day and asked him what he was up to. He said "Oh nothing, just playing Mario Kart." I was thinking, hmmmm, we don't have anything to play MarioKart with. So I asked him how he was doing that? "Oh," he says, "I bought a Wii." (like it was nothing)

Then I got to thinking even more, and there were no hookups for a Wii in that 10" tv. So of course, he bought a 40" flatscreen while I was at work. LOL

I guess I can't complain, it is a Sony Bravia 1080p tv, and we needed a new tv anyway. So scroll down to see what the apartment looked like before Cody got here. Here are the 'after' pictures.

The Sealy mattress we bought, we got a great deal on it.

The couch. As you can tell, I love blankets :) And the mess? That goes with working 12+ hours a day.

The sweet tv and tv stand we bought. A fantastic improvement :)
We had to buy the tv stand, when I came home the day Cody bought the tv, he had it sitting on that little wooden end table that the 10" tv had been sitting on (scroll down to previous post to see what I am talking about). Just slightly unstable lol

Here is the kitty ledge so the cats can look out the window (as you can tell, Magic loves it so much, he prefers the carpet lol). This is their birthday present, the kitties turn 7 this Friday!

The apartment feels more like home now, and it won't be so bad when Cody goes back to Denver this weekend. Now if only I could get the yappy dog downstairs to quit barking 16 hours a day/night.

Life in Nevada

2008-10-05T18:15:00.000-07:00

I finally got to try an In-N-Out burger, there is one about 2 miles from the apartment. Honestly, I don't know what all the hype is about. It tasted better than McDonalds, but I think Culvers is better.

Here is my fancy setup, lol. I have a tiny tv and the blue chair now serves as the DVD Player table.

Here is the bathroom, it is HUGE. I know Magic will love it because there is tons of counter space, and he loves to sit on the counter while I get ready in the morning.

Obviously, this is the kitchen (don't mind the crap laying everywhere). This place has a lot of cabinet space, which we will need once all of our stuff is moved out here.

And here is the living room. Check out the couch we are in the process of paying off. It is really squishy and comfortable, but I am not the biggest fan of the color. I was originally planning on just renting it, but by the time we head back to Denver, it will be one payment from being paid off. So we figure, why not keep it?

Here is the apartment complex. It is beautiful. Notice how green the grass is? I was wondering how they keep it so manicured because I haven't seen sprinklers come on, or seen any lawnmowers. I found out yesterday when I got the mail.... it's astroturf! That's very smart seeing as how they have a huge water crisis here. Lake Mead is extremely low, and that is where the Las Vegas area gets their water from.

Every time I park my vehicle anywhere, the second I park, a dragonfly always lands on the antennae. I don't know why. Anyone know why they are so attracted to car antennae?

Here is my drive to work. I get up at 4:30 am every day I work, and on my drive in to work I always see the sunrise with mountains in the background and water in the foreground. There are some breathtaking sunrises here. Thought I would share one with you :)

Adapting

2008-10-03T17:21:00.000-07:00

So far so good in Nevada. It has been really hot here in the past few weeks (reaching 102 every day), until yesterday. It has been overcast the past couple days, and barely reaching 90, PERFECT! It is supposed to stay like that for the next week, which is great because I will be outside inspecting for about 8 hours a day. The contractor decided to go with four 10 hour days a week, so I get every Friday off. I definitely need that day off though, because I have to get up at 4:30 every day now, and I am not a morning person. The drive to work takes an hour, so my days are pretty long. I usually have just enough time to come home and eat dinner and talk with Cody before I go to bed.

I finally went to a Casino today: Green Valley Ranch. It is really nice, I love the atmosphere there. I am keeping out of trouble though, and not gambling too much. :)

I am so excited for my first trip back to Denver! I am leaving next Friday, and I will be picking up the kitties and moving them out here. It will be nice to have some company in my apartment.

Thats all for now!

The Big Move

2008-09-23T19:24:00.000-07:00

The day came, I am in Henderson, NV now until the end of next June. My new apartment is really nice, and very large. It was just carpeted, and there is laminate floors in the kitchen and bathroom. The apartment complex is gated, and I feel safe here. The only thing missing is Cody :(
It was unimaginably difficult to pack my bags, and move a couple states over from my husband and cats (not to mention most of my family). Saying that goodbye was not easy. I will be back in Denver within a couple of weeks so I can visit Cody for a couple of days.

I will start working Thursday, I have tomorrow to get situated in the apartment. I am planning on renting some furniture so the apartment won't be so empty.

I can't wait to start working so I can get my mind off missing Cody so much. I love you babe!

Happy Birthday!!

2008-09-22T09:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Cody! I love you more than anything!

Nevada Pictures

2008-09-15T18:43:00.001-07:00

I promised you all I would post pics of my recent trip to Nevada, so here goes. First off we have:

SLOT MACHINES!! YAY!!

Here is the inside of a casino near Green Valley Ranch, it is called Sunset Station. This is the ceiling above the card tables. While I was at Sunset Station, I was waiting to meet my boss for lunch and I put a dollar in a slot machine. I won $25 on my first pull and cashed out.. it bought me lunch :) FYI I will be living very close to Green Valley Ranch and Sunset Station.

Remember how I said there was a bunch of Fords passing us as we drove the job site? Here is one of them zooming by.

This is my drive to work every day, a view of Lake Mead and desert.

This is Green Valley Ranch, a brand new casino.

Here is the strip mall that is across the street from Green Valley Ranch.

Moving to Nevada will definitely be an adjustment, thankfully only temporary. Nevada, here I come!

P.S. Sorry the pics are blurry, I took them with my phone.

Nevada

2008-09-11T21:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I arrived in Las Vegas, NV. As most of you know, I will be in Nevada for the next nine months inspecting a large construction project on North Shore Road of lake Mead. I actually went to the job site today, and saw the desert that will be my home away from home. It actually reminds me of Ratone Pass in New Mexico. The road curves a lot, and there are a lot of rock hills (I can't quite call them mountains, but they are pretty large).

Today must have been a test drive day or something, because we saw at least 20 Ford GT40's speed by us. They were all race ready, and going 75+ on the 50 mph road.

I also got to visit the Hoover Dam Bypass job site today. You think the Hoover Dam is high off the ground, this bridge is 800 feet above it. I stood on the edge of the bridge, and the river is 3000 feet below!! I was shaking (I am terrified of heights), but it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to see.

I will be back in Denver tomorrow, and I will be there for one more week before moving here until the project is done. I will post pics from this trip as soon as I can.

Amy's Adventure

2008-09-07T10:15:00.000-07:00

My sister's (and our family's) good friend of many years, Amy, recently went hiking with her dad and brother. They had been hiking to the same place before, but nothing like this had ever happened. Read the newspaper article from The Coloradoan:

September 2, 2008

Rescuers come to aid of suddenly ill hiker

BY TREVOR HUGHES
TrevorHughes @coloradoan.com

Editor's note: Coloradoan reporter Trevor Hughes and two companions witnessed portions of Richards' rescue. The following story is based on multiple interviews and personal observations.

Six miles from her car, Amy Richards felt herself growing weak.

Carrying a backpack with several days' worth of food and clothing up the Camp Lake trail in the Rawah Wilderness, she started to feel like she couldn't go on.

And then she fell down.

She got back up, but could barely walk.

"I fell down once, and started getting more tired than I had ever been," said Richards, 22. "I could take about five steps at a time. I could barely walk."

Camp Lake

The 76,000-acre Rawah Wilderness is one of the five original designated wilderness areas in Colorado. Located at the southern end of the Medicine Bow Mountains, the Rawah is named for an American Indian word for "wild place," according to the U.S. Forest Service, which manages the area.

The most popular access to the Rawah Wilderness is off the Poudre Canyon, about 60 miles west of Fort Collins.

From the parking lot, hikers head west into the wilderness, eventually choosing between the West Branch and the Camp Lake trails.

The Rawah is popular with backpackers because it's possible to do a loop of about 20 miles, up and over Grassy Pass, at 11, 200 feet.

Taking the route clockwise, hikers gain altitude slowly. Walking counterclockwise up the Camp Lake trail, hikers gain altitude much faster, then walk much of the way to Camp Lake along an abandoned irrigation ditch.

It was along the Camp Lake trail where Richards fell ill on that Friday evening, July 25.

Supported by her brother and her father, she managed to stumble close to where they had planned to camp for the night and collapsed in the tent.

She barely slept and felt even worse in the morning when they got up to keep going to Camp Lake.

The final mile to the lake on the trail requires going over a small hill, and that weekend, the ground was soaked. The area is crisscrossed by streams and swampy areas and teeming with mosquitoes.

"I fell in a bog. I got a little hypothermic. I couldn't even stand up," said Richards, a CSU senior and lifelong Fort Collins resident.

At that point, her father and brother decided they would go for help. But they didn't want to leave her alone.

Scouts to the rescue

Enter Boy Scout Troop 342 from Lakewood.

The boys and their scoutmasters were fishing at Camp Lake when Richards, her father and her brother finally arrived.

The scouts dropped their fishing poles and built a litter out of tree

branches, tarps and duct tape, Richards said, carrying her down the trail 1.5 miles to a spot both drier and less swarmed by mosquitoes.

"They seemed pretty happy about it. They didn't complain," she said. "They dropped everything and started building a litter."

Her father and brother left to get help Saturday afternoon, and the scouts stayed to watch over her, keeping her warm, if not particularly comfortable.

"I was miserable. I felt like I had the flu," Richards said.

Posse to the rescue

Sunday morning brought the arrival of two riders and three horses from the Larimer County Sheriff's posse.

Richards' father and brother stayed in the trailhead parking lot with emergency workers.

The posse is a volunteer group of reserve and regular deputies who patrol the county on horseback. While most often seen at CSU football games or during the county fair, the posse also helps with search-and-rescue efforts.

And in wilderness areas, where motorized travel is prohibited, horses are the natural choice for evacuations.

But Richards was too ill to ride, even assisted by posse members.

"I couldn't even move at that point. I couldn't even roll onto my side," she said. "That's when they called the helicopter."

Chopper to the rescue

Communicating with a county emergency services worker in the West Branch parking lot, the posse ordered a helicopter to evacuate Richards.

Rescuers contacted the North Colorado Med Evac service, and a chopper headed out.

Leaving the ground, the chopper carried a pilot and two flight nurses plus a full load of fuel.

Arriving over Richards' location about 10,000 feet above sea level, the helicopter's pilot realized that he wouldn't have the power to lift back off with the additional weight.

The pilot flew back to the nearby Rawah Ranch and dropped off one of the flight nurses, then returned for Richards, leaving behind the second flight nurse.

The pilot then dropped Richards off at the ranch, went back for the second flight nurse, collected the other two from the ground, and headed down to Poudre Valley Hospi-tal.

It was Richards' first ride in a helicopter.

Richards spent 17 days in PVH. Her kidneys had shut down, and she needed dialysis.

"They tested for everything under the sun. Nothing. They still don't know what happened to me," she said.

Back to normal

Today, Richards is getting things back on track. She's back at work at her part-time cashier job and back at Colorado State University for her final year as a sociology student.

She's feeling much better but still struggles with weakness and has a little trouble walking.

And she's thankful to all the people who helped with her rescue.

"Everybody was great," Richards said. "The Boy Scouts were great, and the posse was very, very competent. It was handled extremely well by everyone."

Richards said she's excited about getting back into Colorado's backcountry, and her recent experience hasn't de-terred her.

"I'll take it slow. I don't want to get sick again," she said.

"But I'm perfectly willing to do it again."

Richards hikes a trail at Horsetooth Reservoir. (V. Richard Haro/The Coloradoan)

Amy Richards, 22, a senior at CSU majoring in political science and sociology, poses Friday at Horsetooth Reservoir. In July, Richards became ill while backpacking with her father and brother. Boy Scouts, the Larimer County sheriff’s posse and North Colorado Med Evac helped rescue her when she was unable to hike out of the Rawah WIlderness. (V. Richard Haro /The Coloradoan)

Amy, we are so glad you are back in good health! Good luck with your classes this semester!

Democratic National Convention 2008

2008-08-24T15:02:00.001-07:00

On Friday Aug 22, my friend Lauren drove to Lakewood and went to the Pepsi Center Democratic National Convention Open House with me. I entered to get two tickets, and was selected to go. Only 5000 people got tickets. :) When we got there, they only let us in if we had a group of 40 people. Above is a look at how many people were waiting to enter the main hall.

This is Lauren and I outside of the Pepsi Center.

They only let us go inside for a couple of minutes. I only got 3 good pictures of the inside. Those panels that curve and cover part of the ceiling are all video panels. There are lights everywhere! Notice the broadcasters in front of it all.

These are podiums that sink into the stage .

Here are the broadcasters close up. This was really cool to see. Cody is working the entire show as spotlight, so he gets to see all of the speeches in the Pepsi Center :) Apparently, Cody was already on Channel 9 news, they showed him hooking up lights, and my mom and grandma both saw him!

Brrrr

2008-08-17T12:17:00.000-07:00

This weekend, it has done nothing but rain here. We really need the moisture, but this storm brought in some seriously cold weather (even for Colorado).We did all of our errands yesterday..... with a high outside of 45 degrees! Brrrrrrr. The mountains actually got snow yesterday! It is still August... it isn't supposed to be cold until October. Warm weather, please come back!

Happy Birthday Kelli!

2008-08-05T12:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Kelli! We wish we could be there to celebrate with you :) Enjoy it, and don't forget the birthday cake!

One of my favorite wedding pics

2008-07-25T12:06:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who took pics at our wedding!! Alicia took this picture, and the lighting is PERFECT! I absolutely love this pic!

Rio Update: Rio is acting almost normal now, but he can't seem to get rid of the watery diarrhea, even with his medication. I hope he recovers completely soon!

Rio ..... Day 2

2008-07-21T17:25:00.001-07:00

This morning, Rio was leaking fluid out of his behind, so after another trip to the vet and another fluid sac Rio seems to be doing better. He is alert and trying to eat food now. Hopefully the meds will work and this will pass.

Rio and the vet

2008-07-20T17:31:00.000-07:00

This weekend, my parents decided to come down on Saturday and stay the night with us. We had a great time last night, we watched the Spiderwick Chronicles and went out to dinner. It was nice to spend some quality time with them. Our original plan was to take my parents to the Denver Botanic Gardens today, but....

When we all woke up this morning, Rio (one of our cats) was howling in pain. He was throwing up foam and had liquid diarrhea. He was trying to defecate everywhere BUT in his litter box, and there was some blood in it. We immediately took him to the vet to see what was wrong. After a blood test and an exam, the vet is not sure what's wrong or what he could have eaten to cause this. Rio was really dehydrated, so they put put a fluid sac between his skin and muscles so he could get hydrated. The fluid sac makes him look like he has a growth coming out of his left shoulder. They also put him on a few meds.

It is now evening, and Rio seems to be doing better (aside from accidentally pooping on Cody). He is actually eating now, but he is really tired. We have to keep a close eye on him for the next few days. Hopefully, whatever he ate will pass and he will go back to normal.

4th of July

2008-07-15T17:19:00.001-07:00

Happy belated 4th of July.................. 11 days belated :)

For the 4th, we drove to Las Cruces, NM to hang out with Cody's parents and brother. Cody's parents live right next to the City Park where the city's fireworks are shot off. When I say next to, I mean their backyard is facing the park. They have front row seats and don't have to go anywhere!

These pictures are really dark, I know..... I'll see if I can get Cody to photoshop them and make them lighter. Basically, these pictures are of the parks field taken from the backyard. In the picture below, any spec of light you see is someone lighting a firework.
It is crazy there on the 4th! Fireworks are completely illegal, but that law is not enforced at all. We went and bought some mortars, some bottle rockets, those spinning tanks I love so much, and a bunch of other stuff. The mortars we bought were incredible! They were REALLY loud too.

The city's fireworks show was the best I had ever seen. The grand finale had tons of fireworks!

Plus, we had Kelli's (Cody's mom) outstanding cooking when we were there as well as all the queso we could eat! I can't wait to go back next year :)

Our Honeymoon

2008-07-15T16:43:00.000-07:00

For our honeymoon, we travelled to San Antonio, TX and stayed in a 4-star hotel on the Riverwalk. The hotel we stayed at was called Omni La Mansion Del Rio, it was a nice historic hotel. We had decided to save a few hundred and not opt for a room with a balcony over the riverwalk, but when we got there we ended up with a balcony over the riverwalk! We lucked out!

For the first few days, we decided to walk the entire length of the Riverwalk area. The river walk isn't too big:and there are flowers and man-made waterfalls everywhere! It was hot and very humid, but the breeze coming off the water surface made it tolerable.
We also walked to the Alamo. It was cool to see such a historic place and to remember those who fought.
The second day we were there, we went to this place called "Dick's Last Resort". For those who haven't heard of it, Dick's is not a place you go if you want your waiter/waitress to be nice. First off, they either give you paper to make your own hat (which will say something hilarious/offensive), or they make a hat for you (which is even more hilarious). Here's mine:
If you can't read it, it says: "My 'toy' uses a car battery" That was a good one!
When you are dining at this particular Dick's, they seat you at these long cafeteria style tables with benches.... so you are sitting with complete strangers.
We were sitting with two different groups. A girl with one of the groups got a hat that said "Richard Simmons makes me HOT", and the elderly people at the end of the table got hats that said "I was a waiter at the Last Supper"

I dug around, and found this picture of Cody from when we were at the "Dick's Last Resort" in Las Vegas.

LOL!!!

To finish our trip, we went to Sea World. I hadn't ever been, it was amazing to see the tricks they taught to "Shamu", dolphins, walrus, and all kinds of animals.
San Antonio was definitely a trip we will always remember!

To View Wedding Photos.......

2008-07-15T16:41:00.000-07:00

Thank you all for making our wedding day so beautiful. If you would like to see photos from the photographer (and I somehow missed your email), go to:

www.eventpix.com
event name: leslie
password: leslie

They will only be posted there until the middle of August...

New Posts....

2008-07-15T11:16:00.000-07:00

Hello All!

Sorry it's been awhile since I have updated the blog, but don't worry I am still here (just extremely busy). Check in tonight, I will post pics from our honeymoon and from the 4th of July.

Mr. and Mrs. Cody Doss

2008-06-19T16:47:00.000-07:00

We finally got married on June 12, 2008 at the Tapestry House in La Porte, CO. Thanks to all that came, it was the perfect day! We love you all!

Dinosaurs

2008-06-05T19:26:00.001-07:00

Today I got back from Vernal, UT where I was looking at the structural aspects of all the roads in Dinosaur National Monument. While there, I got a tour of the condemned visitors center. Here is a taste of all of the dinosaurs there.

Just in case you thought these bones were small, this is the average sized femur along the wall.

Maybe a pterodactyl (above)?

bones EVERYWHERE! It was really neat to see, but the building is condemned for a reason...
No you are not hallucinating... that door is really crooked.
The Park Service employees said they have had exploding 2 x 4's in the walls lately. These 2 x 4's leave large bumps and they have blown a large chalkboard to 4 feet away from where it was hanging on the wall.
These cracks are on the outside, notice the size by looking at the person on the left.And the walls are held together and supported with foam. really safe. NOT. That's why I had to wear a hard hat.

Cats

2008-06-02T19:51:00.001-07:00

For those who haven't experienced the joy of cats.....
Here is what it's like trying to sleep with cats in the house.
Funny Cat
The only thing the artist missed (in my experience) is the "cold nose". Magic will put his cold, wet nose on my cheek as a last resort to wake me up. For those who have cats, is there anything else your cats do to wake you up?

Tornado

2008-05-23T05:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, 8 tornadoes hit Fort Collins, Windsor, and Longmont. Everyone is ok, thankfully. The school my mom works at went on lockdown. My bridesmaid and her husband lost power at their house and her husband was working in Windsor at the time (his truck got damaged from the large hail), but they are ok. The scary thing is, they almost bought a house last week in the area of Windsor that got destroyed by the tornadoes. Hopefully, there won't be anymore bad weather (at least until after the wedding)! :)

2008-05-11T09:02:00.000-07:00

Cody's mom, Kelli, emailed Cody this picture of him in 3rd grade. Guess which one he is, lol! He couldn't be the one with his tongue sticking out... Apparently, he did that in most of his pictures throughout school. :)

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-11T08:57:00.001-07:00

We miss you both! We hope you have a wonderful day, and we love you!

Monday

2008-05-05T06:42:00.001-07:00

Good morning!

This past weekend was great, relaxing with family and going shopping to Cherry Creek. Now it is Monday, and it was tough to get out of bed after such a relaxing weekend. At work, I was working on Mesa Verde still, but now most projects are designed and ready to be constructed so we are running short on work. The meeting I had this morning (which was the only thing I had to do today) just got cancelled and I have to find some work now. Not sure what I am going to do, all the lead designers are out of work...

This is a picture of Mesa Verde taken a few weeks ago when we did a field review. It really is a gorgeous place.

Earth Day

2008-04-22T16:49:00.000-07:00

Happy Earth Day! Earth Day is always a good time of year: flowers are blooming, and birds are chirping as the weather gets warmer. The Earth is so beautiful, especially this time of year. That is why we must strive to take care of it. On my drive home, I noticed loads and loads of trash just laying in the ditch on the side of the road. It amazes me how people take for granted their beautiful surroundings and are always in a hurry to rid of their waste whichever way is quickest. Because of this, I challenge you to do something good for the Earth today (and any time you think about it). I picked up trash in my apartment complex parking lot today to try and help out. Now I notice the blooming flowers, not the candy wrapper stuck on the stem. Every little bit counts. Make every day Earth Day.

Carol's Birthday

2008-04-13T18:54:00.000-07:00

Carols birthday was Saturday! She turned 22, and is still as obnoxious as ever. Her boyfriend decided to give her gifts that were hidden in a box full of small pieces of confetti. After she had opened her gifts, she thought it would be funny to throw the confetti all over the front patio and driveway... and my mom. Towards the end of the video, you can see the confetti fight that ensued between my sister and my mom. Just another day at the DeWitt family residence. :)
Hope you had a great birthday Carol (and sorry grandma that Cody took video of you while you were picking your nose)!

So much for the snow...

2008-04-11T06:43:00.000-07:00

It snowed hard for half the day yesterday, but it was the wet slushy snow. We probably got 4 inches total, but it was so warm outside that it was all melted by the time I got off of work. We got the moisture we needed, and now the flowers can bloom.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

2008-04-09T15:42:00.000-07:00

Forecast for tonight: 6-12"
I am hoping there is a lot of snow tonight, maybe I will get a snow day from work. *grin*The Denver Federal Center and my building actually have snow days the same time as schools in the area. The designers had a meeting yesterday where we were told we are supposed to telecommute 1 day a week, starting as soon as possible. So of course everyone decided to telecommute tomorrow so they wouldn't have to deal with all of the snow. I, however, am not eligible to telecommute (because I am technically an intern) so all I can do is pray for a snow day! I'll keep you posted (the whole 3 readers i have). :)

Cody at Work

2008-04-04T12:23:00.001-07:00

One of Codys coworkers at the Budweiser Events Center took a camera to work one day and got great pictures of what they do. For those who don't know, Cody is a high steel rigger, which means he walks around on I-beams (with a harness on) so he can hang motors that will hold up truss for lighting. Here is Cody leaving the catwalk and stepping on an I-beam.
Here he is trying to climb back to the catwalk, he had just finished hanging a point (pulling up a 5 foot piece of steel cable with 2 shackles and hanging it from the I-beam). The motor connects to the shackles by a long piece of chain. Notice the chairs far below him. He is reallllly high up in the air, balancing.
Here he is trying to hang a point (the canvas bag, the steel cable, and the shackles). Notice he never looks happy, he says because he is always almost going to fall off because his safety equipment gets in the way. They are 40 feet in the air, but it looks a lot higher than that.

Here is what it look like when he looks down. Thats a long fall! I can't ever watch him rig because he is just walking around on a bunch of balancing beams carrying heavy equipment, but he loves it!

Happy Birthday Dad!

2008-03-24T15:39:00.001-07:00

In honor of my dad (who LOVES the Farside cartoons) I decided to post this cartoon. I was trying to find the cartoon from March 24, 2006 but no luck.

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday dear dad!

Happy Birthday to you!

My dear dad turns 58 today! I hope he has a great birthday (even though he had to work)!

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T18:08:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter everyone! Cody and I are just relaxing at home and preparing for our friend Austin to come stay with us for a week. Cody has been working Finding Nemo on ice all week (even today) so we haven't been doing too much. I actually went to see Finding Nemo on ice yesterday, and it was great show! I absolutely loved it. It followed the movie very closely, but you can only do so much on ice so some stuff was left out.

Wedding update: We got the bridesmaids dresses, YAY!!! They aren't the black ones pictured a few posts ago, but they are similar. It is a navy blue dress with a satin bow around the waist. They are gorgeous!! I also brought my wedding dress in to get it altered, but it turns out no alterations were needed (sigh of relief), so they are just going to steam clean it for me to get the wrinkles out. Less than 3 months to go!

Relaxation

2008-03-16T11:22:00.000-07:00

Every year in Chicago, the river is dyed a brilliant green on Saint Patrick's Day. This green river flows all the way into the Atlantic Ocean to Ireland, marking a green trail as it goes. I would love to go see the river being dyed some time, that's a neat St. Patty's Day tradition.

This weekend, we took a break from all of the wedding planning and just stayed home. It was a nice break and we can't wait to celebrate St. patty's Day with some green beer!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Bridesmaids

2008-03-08T18:51:00.001-08:00

Here are my bridesmaids wearing the dresses they will be wearing on the wedding day. I am still not sure if they will wear black with blue ribbons around the waist. If I can get the dresses in a blue that would be ideal. Either way, Lauren and Carol both look great in that dress (Carol looks soooo happy in that picture...NOT)!
I also got to try on my wedding gown today! It came in the mail a few days ago, but I drove it to Fort Collins for storage and got to try it on! I LOVE it! It needs a little altering, but it is the perfect dress. The flower girl and ring bearer are the only ones left... :) Only 3 more months (wow time flies). Can't wait!

Atomic Blue

2008-02-27T16:55:00.000-08:00

Monday, Cody and I went car shopping. The first placed we went, the sales guy was showing us some ok hondas that were used. He sent us on a test drive and when we got back, he was nowhere to be found. We walked around the lot for 30 minutes (being completely ignored) before we finally left. So off we went, feeling let down and hoping the next place would have more of a selection. Ralph Schomp Honda is where we ended up, and not only did they have a HUGE selection of Honda's but they also had Mini Coopers, Acura's, and BMW's. We chose to look around the lot before finding a sales person. We stumbled upon 2 new atomic blue Hondas that had sticker prices $3000 less than the other dealership. We had done our research so when we saw the prices were listed at blue book we knew we could get a great deal. And we did!! After endless hours of paperwork, we now own a 2008 Honda Civic LX, which has a whopping 10 miles on it (well, had... its now up to 30). We desperately needed this car, and are so thankful we can afford it! More pics to come soon...

2008-02-24T08:29:00.001-08:00

Well, I got my car fixed and am glad to have it back. The mechanic even washed it for me (it really needed a bath). But, we decided it is time for a new car. We are going to keep the Talon (my car) still but we are going to get a new Honda or Mazda. We are going car shopping this week, wish us luck as we scout for deals!

This week, Cody is excited about getting out of the house and going to work. Staying home all of the time was driving him crazy! He was getting so bored out of work, that he decided to sign up for classes at the community college near us. He is going to start classes in May, and work towards an Associates Degree in science.

Rio (our yellow cat) was acting a little crazy yesterday (I think he found a little stash of catnip). I had got them new cat toys the other day that were made from rabbit fur, which Rio loves to destroy. I gave them each a toy, but left two of them in a small bag with heavy duty handles. Rio, as curious as he is, found this bag but somehow stuck his head through the handle of the bag to get the toys and got stuck!!! I heard rustling of plastic and loud meows as he came tearing down the hallway. He tore around the house a few times before Cody caught him and got the bag off his head. LOL!! Now I can't find the toys, they fell out of the bag as Rio was running around the house.

2008-02-18T07:20:00.000-08:00

Well, today is President's Day and fortunately I have it off of work. Unfortunately, my car broke down so i am stuck trying to get it fixed today and hopefully I won't have to rent a car for work. At least I was able to get my wedding dress before my car broke down!

Happy Birthday Kristie!

2008-02-18T07:12:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday Kristie! Enjoy yourself today, and remember no birthday is complete unless you pig out on some cake! We miss you and can't wait to see you soon!

2008-02-13T19:09:00.001-08:00

I sent out my "Save the Date" cards for the wedding today! Cody did a great job designing them. I had tried to make some other cards by hand, but they didn't turn out very well. Cody just used photo shop and one picture of flowers that will be at the wedding, and he made this beautiful card! It took him less than an hour, and most of that time was spent finding that font. Be looking for these in your mail!

Over this past weekend, Cody and I went to Schmidt's bakery to a cake show/ open house to pick out our wedding cake. Linda and Roger (my parents) met us there, and we happened to run into my bridesmaid Lauren and her husband! It was a great surprise to see them there. During the open house, we got to try cake and decided to go with a vanilla and chocolate marble cake with fudge in the center and buttercream icing. Yummy! The cake is a square stacked cake, with 3 layers. It will be so gorgeous and delicious, I can't wait. The wedding is coming fast!

The Change

2008-02-06T15:43:00.000-08:00

Well, the move to another city, a new job, and being engaged have all finally set in. I can now see changes are tough and they take some adjusting and adapting if I want them to work. It is quite a struggle for me to be away from our friends in Fort Collins and the friends I made in Loveland at work. While the people at my work are friendly, it just isn't the same. Most of the people aren't my age. But, the variety of people is great because they come from all over the world. My job started out great, but as I am getting tougher and tougher assignments as I learn, the adjustment to my new job gets more difficult.
Cody is having a difficult time adjusting as well. His big move happened when he moved to Fort Collins, and he did not want to leave. I am glad he did. :)
I know God and our families will help us through these tough times.

The Big Move

2008-02-04T15:44:00.000-08:00

Well, we finally got all of our stuff moved to Lakewood. Almost everything is in boxes, but we got the furniture set to where we wanted it. The new place is bigger than our last place, and much much nicer! (Pictures soon to come)

Cody has been struggling to find work in Denver for the time being, but he knows there will be work from March on. Looks like he gets to take the month off!

The kitties have been trying to adjust to the new place, and they are doing fine. The first night they hid, but after that they have been following us around and meowing a lot. They don't seem to miss the backyard from the old place because they now have a deck (on the second floor)where they can watch all the neighbors walk their dogs without being attacked by the dogs.

The training at work for me has mostly ended, so i am doing more and more with CADD drawings. I just found out today that I get to go to Vancouver, Washington for a 3 day training course in March. When they initially told me I was going to Vancouver, I was thinking British Columbia! They said the last person they sent to Vancouver accidentally booked tickets for British Columbia and ended up missing the training course on accident! lol

2008-01-27T10:24:00.001-08:00

Our engagement announcement was finally in the Coloradoan (a newspaper)! :)
The paper ended up printing more blurry copies than clear ones, so it was difficult to
find a legible copy.

The weekend went by so fast! I was trying to finish my save the date cards for the wedding, but I got sidetracked from that because the place we bought our rings from went out of business. I had to go in and pay for the rings in order to get them out of layaway. Codys ring was sized, but mine is way too small so I have to go get it sized soon. On Saturday, my mom and I went to pick out flowers for the wedding. We ended up with mini calla lilies, white roses, blue hydrangea, blue echinops, blue tweedia, and royal blue delphinium. Our flowers will be different shades of blue mixed with white. It will be so gorgeous! Well.... back to making save the date cards and packing for the move!

White roses

Calla Lily

Tweedia

Blue Hydrangea

Blue Echinops

2008-01-22T10:53:00.000-08:00

This weekend, Cody and I began the move to Lakewood. I am staying in Lakewood during the week and coming home to see Cody on the weekends. We are getting used to it, but it is strange being apart.

At work, they now have me doing my own drawings from different completed survey drawings. What I have been creating are drawings of roads in the plan view and the profile view. I am getting used to the programs we use, and my drawings aren't coming out half bad (but they do need some work). Hopefully soon they will actually teach me how to design a section of road.

I have also been doing a lot of training. For instance, last Friday I had training on how to properly mitigate erosion on construction sites. It was really interesting and I will actually be able to apply what I learned on the construction site.

Work

2008-01-15T10:40:00.000-08:00

Now that I am starting to get used to the FHWA, I can finally tell you all what I am working on. I am currently correcting red lines on MicroStation (similar to AutoCAD) drawings for the Mesa Verde project. My design team has been working on redesigning the Main Entrance road and adding new roads and lookout points and different turn around areas to a Cultural Center that is being built. It is a very interesting project, and I am learning a ton about standards and how to design using GEOPack. All of the projects that CFL (Central Federal Lands) has are interesting and in scenic places (a lot are in the middle of nowhere). It is completely different than I thought it would be, as most of the roads we design have an ADT of less than 200. All of the projects we have are on the CFLHD website. The next project I could possibly be working on is Guenella Pass (in the Rockies).

This week, I have been meeting with some Project Engineers, and we are deciding on where my first construction assignment will be located. They are thinking they will send me to Lake Mead North Shore (NOT Hoover Dam) where they are reconstructing roads and small bridges. I would probably be leaving in July and not getting back until December.

That's all for now!

Yeah! It's the weekend!

2008-01-13T07:18:00.000-08:00

The weekend went by so fast! Cody and I have been relaxing at home, getting over a nasty head cold we both caught from my office. Today, I will be seeing some good friends, Lauren and Alicia. We will probably go watch a movie or go shopping or something of the sort. Cody and I are also going over to my parents house today for lunch to eat some excellent home cooking: fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and bratwurst (my dad is not a fan of fried chicken). What a great way to end a weekend!

2008-01-09T11:10:00.000-08:00

Wedding update: I still haven't decided on a bridesmaid dress or a wedding gown yet, but I have a few more to try on. This weekend I will be ordering a wedding cake from Schmidts bakery (delicious)!

Work update: I finally started my job at the Federal Highway Administration as a highway engineer. For now, I am in design working on CADD drawings. All of my coworkers are nice and helpful. The only bad part is the commute which is terrible in rush hour. I-25 gets packed! The commute will be done shortly though, so I can tough it out!

2008-01-04T19:15:00.000-08:00

Today, I booked our caterer for the wedding. My mom, my sister, and I also went shopping for wedding dresses and bridesmaid gowns. That was really exciting! If you would like to see the dresses I am choosing from, email me and I will send you the pictures.

2008-01-02T11:55:00.001-08:00

I hope everyone had a happy new year! I can't believe it is 2008. On New Year's Eve, Cody and I went apartment shopping and we found a great place to live in the Belmar district of Lakewood. Here is the living room of the new place.

We found a two bedroom two bathroom apartment (each with a bathtub and shower) with walk-in closets and a huge balcony that can be accessed from the guest room or the living room. It has a kitchen with brand new appliances, and an attached garage with extra storage space. This place is next to a new shopping center, and very close to Colorado Mills mall. We are moving there on February 1st, and are excited!

http://www.onebelmarplace.com/flats.htm

There is the website, we got the Capra if you would like to see the layout.

As far as New year's resolutions: I am just hoping I will be able to handle moving to Denver, starting a new job, and getting married without collapsing!

2007-12-30T11:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, my neighbors across the street utilized a massive amount of snow and
built a ramp complete with a rail at the end so they could snowboard on their
driveway. Cody and I went over there for awhile and Cody tried to snowboard on the rail,

but ended up falling. This ramp will provide entertainment all winter (when we can't go to the mountains)!

Kyle doing a 180 off the rail

At least Cody tried!