Last Easter

So that's me and pop last easter. Like I said, that smile lights up a room.

Best girlfriend ever!

She's the best girlfriend ever, not the worst!! It was an accident... it's my fault I can't catch haha She is taking amazing care of me. It will be better before we know it. It seems very miniscule in the grand scheme of things. I talked to my Poppy today (my dad's dad) and he has decided to decline any further care for his health. Enough is enough. He has been through a lot in a past almost two years since his wife passed. Although it is painful and extremely sad to let him go, I can only be happy for him to reunite with his wife. My grandfather is one of the most amazing men I have ever known. His smile lights up the room and his sense of humor radiates no matter what the circumstance. He has love and cared for his family his entire life. He has taught me things that I will never forget. I would not be who I am today without his guidance. He fought the good fight but now it is time to go in peace. I wish more than anything that I could be with my family right now, but I know they will be ok. Trying to stay strong sitting home by myself all day. Thinking about them every second. Love you all. *Rach

worst girlfriend ever

So I know I'm supposed to tell you all about Tuesday. We went canoeing, to dinner at Joe's Crab Shack (it was really good!), and then went to Film on the Rocks and saw the Princess Bride in an ampitheater carved into a mountain with 10,000 other people. All very very fun and magical. And how do I pay back my girlfriend? By forcing her to play catch with me today. Even though I know she hates it and is scared of the ball sometimes. I made her play. The wind was too strong for frisbee so I made her play catch with the football. And what do you think happened? She jammed her finger after I threw it, probably, too hard. Her poor little thumb started swelling immediately. And she was so brave! She didn't cry or anything, she just held it and told me she heard it break. I sat her down and told her to hold my water canteen on it which was still a little cold. I rode my bike as fast as I could home and got the car and went back to the park to get her. We looked up an urgent care and took poor Rachie and her hippo thumb to get an x ray. It's not broken, just badly sprained but she's in so much pain and has to take a few days off work, which if you know Rach, is a BIG deal. She has the strongest work ethic of anyone I know and taking off work for an injury is NOT high on her list of things to do. My poor baby. Send your loving wishes. -lj

birthday week

My deepest apologies to those of you who read our blog on our daily adventures. I have not forgotten you. As all of you know, it was my birthday on the 12th and being the diva prince that I am, there were days of celebration, and I couldn't find time to blog. But here I am. Ready, again, to share our happiness with you. My birthday celebration started Friday night after work with a shot of 99 bananas with Rachel in the kitchen. 99 bananas is a 99 proof banana tasting poison that one get buy in the liquor store in a tiny, airline suitable bottle. We had seen an empty one carelessly discarded on the ground one morning while walking Beau and then coincidentally found ourselves in a liquor store later that day buying ingredients for mojitos. We saw the bottle and thought we'd like to try it. We saved the bottle for the stroke up midnight that marked my birthday beginnings. We filmed the moment and plan to share it with you. It was like swallowing fire that had been disguised as liquid banana by some evil force that likes to watch adults cry. But let me yell you, if you're looking for a quick buzz and don't have a lot of time.... this little bottle of liquid hell is an excellent route to go. My birthday morning we woke up at 7:30 to cold air and rain clouds. We were scheduled to volunteer at one of the gardens on the garden tour that was being sponsered by the Conflict Center that my pal Julie interns at. She was the volunteer coordinator and we had signed up for this way in advance. We drove to the conflict center to receive further instructions. Turns out, Julie assigned Rachel and I to the Children's Puppet Theatre in Denver. We were the only volunteers assigned to this specific garden. Our only job was to hang out there for three hours and say hello to people coming to visit the garden. Nice and simple. It was cold and rainy the whole time so Rachel and I spent three hours sitting in the little puppet store attached to theatre. For about forty five minutes our inner children/inner actors came to life and we played with all the puppets, giving them voices and personalities. This soon lost its charm and we sat on some steps and played the geography game. About five people probably walked through the garden all day. While we were there, we got a text from Rachel's boss Liz. The original plan of the night was that Rachel and I were going to work the private party at BOA. We'd get to be together and we'd get to make some money too. Liz texted Rachel to tell her that because of the weather, my help wouldn't be needed but if I wanted to come in around 8 or 9 I could just hang out. This put a damper on the rest of the day. I didn't want to just to stand around a party and watch Rachel work. I understood but it still made me sad and kind of put a damper on my mood for the rest of the time. After volunteering was over and the afternoon volunteer came to relieve us, we went to brunch and drank a bloody mary. Still in a bad mood and no sun to cheer me up, we went home and relaxed until Rachel had to leave for work. After she left I was pretty depressed. It was my birthday and my plans had changed last minute and I couldn't be with Rach on my big day. I was even too upset to call Julie to see what she was doing. It's a good thing I didn't because after only an hour Rach texted me to see if I could be at Boa at seven. Turns out they really did need that extra person. Well, I didn't have to be asked twice. I threw on a black button down, sprayed some good smells all over and was outa there! The party ended up being a blast. While Rach barteneded I floated around doing anything that needed to be done. I served, cleaned, bartended a bit, and spent a lot of time as the dishwasher which was actually really fun because I'm not used to being in the BOH (back of the house). Drinks for the staff started flowing a little before 10. By 2 am the party was still going but we had had enough and were free to leave. The party was so much fun, it felt like we were at a party rather than working one. I went home feeling satisfied with my birthday night. I still had more celebration to come though, Rachel promised. I had to wait until Tuesday though for our schedules to realign and for the sun to start to shine! I'll tell you about Tuesday tomorrow. Cross my heart. -lj