Today I am grateful...

I am grateful for eternal love!

I am grateful for silly love!

I am grateful for dragon love!

I am grateful for reminders of love!




I am grateful for our love!

Happy Anniversary Husband! 1 year down... eternity to go! YES!

How did we celebrate this wonderful occasion?

Fun love decor around the house!

Flowers!

Dinner at Morton's Steakhouse!

Blog book to remember all the wonderful adventures of the year!

A night at the Hyatt in downtown Denver!

Juror #5

So roll the clock back about a month ago... I receive a notice in the mail letting me know that I have been officially summoned. Yes I received my call to duty... jury duty! I laugh when I receive the letter, "I wont have to go," I say. I stick the note on the fridge and go on with my everyday life. Well the evening of February 3 rolls around and I remember that I must call in to see if my number has been chosen for duty the following day. I think, "There is no way I will have to go in." I am even praying that is the case because I have made no preparations for taking off a day of work. For a teacher to take off work isn't exactly easy. I have to find a sub and then I have to make sub plans! Sub plans are my least favorite thing about teaching. I think that is what keeps me from ever taking off a day of work.

I am juror number 3415 so I call into the automated system to see what numbers need to report. I hear the following, "On Wednesday, February 4 at 8:30 at 1437 Bannock St. the following jurors need to report: 1000 - 3614!" What?! I panic! I hang up and dial again. Yep, the same message plays again. I pull out my sub list and start dialing. I guess it is true that the third time is a charm. The third sub I call is available. I then head back to school at 8:00 p.m. to get everything ready for the sub. 2 hours after I arrive at school I am good to go.

I wake up Thursday morning excited that I might have the afternoon off to get some things done. I am still in denial that I may be selected as a juror. I am sure I would't be put on a case. I figure I will wait around for a few hours, my name won't be called, and I will head out to do some seriously needed grocery shopping.

Here is what my day actually looked like:

8:15- Leave house- Hey at least I got to sleep in a little!

8:30- I have parked and checked in. Luckily I live down the street from the court house.

8:32- I start grading papers, in a room with 300 people, while we all wait and wait!

9:00- We watch a cheesy video on how great is is to serve on a jury.

10:30- I make it through the first round of numbers without mine being called... yes!

10:40- I hear "3415". Dang it! I shout "Here!" I pack up my bag and head into the hall with the other 21 people that were called to the same case. But I still have hope that I won't be out on a case.

11:00- Head into court room where jury selection begins.

11:15- 4 jurors are sent home. I am not one of them!

11:45- 3 more jurors are sent home. I am still not one of them. Now it is time to get personal. Yes I am asked everything from my mom's occupation to what type of music I listen to. Basically, if you have ever seen "Runaway Jury" with John Cusack, you know how this works.

12:15- Everyone is sent home except the final 6 jurors. I am a chosen one! I went from being Juror #3415 to Juror #5.

12:30- Recess

1:30- It begins- opening statements and the DA brings in his 3 witnesses. I try to keep an open mind. We are told that the defendant is innocent until proven guilty. I try to keep that in mind for as long as possible. Unfortunately, it doesn't take long for my outlook to change. Too soon is he proven guilty and I find myself fighting to look for something that might prove him innocent.

3:30- Recess

4:00- It begins again- The defense brings in their witnesses- all friends of the man being charged, one was even a felon. You can imagine how reliable we think these testimonies are. Also, the defense attorney is annoying! He keeps talking and talking. Later I find out this is a tactic to confuse the jury so hopefully the jury will mistake that confusion for reasonable doubt. Too bad for him it really just hurts his cause. None of us are buying what he has to say.

5:30- Recess

6:00- Closing statements

6:30- It's our time to decide! We head to the jury room to deliberate. My fellow jury members are pretty cool. We get right to business. We pick a jury foreperson. We look at the issues and the evidence. We all feel the same way. There really isn't any arguing.

7:30- Back in court room. The judge reads the verdict. The man on trial is found guilty on three accounts. 1. He is found guilty of an illegal lane change. 2. He is found guilty of driving while having a blood alcohol level of .137 3. He is found guilty of driving while ability impaired(DWAI). Unfortunately, we couldn't find him guilty of a DUI because he was a pretty good drunk driver.

I don't know what will happen to this man that we convicted, but I am sure by the look on the lawyers face when we read the verdict that it will not be good. It is scary to think that I had such an impact on a person's liberty.

All in all it was a good day- although not the day that I had expected. I am glad that I had this experience. It was interesting to be a part of the judicial process.

POWDER!

Until last weekend ski season 2009 had been pretty tame. The snow had been pretty choppy and icy. There definitely had not been any blog worthy days. So when we heard last Friday night that I-70 was closed due to an insane amount of snow fall, we knew we had to find a way up the mountain because we might actually get in a decent day of skiing!

At 10 pm Friday night, after they finally re-opened the roads, we made our way up to Keystone as fast as we could. Oh WOW, did we make the right choice! Saturday turned out to be the best ski day this season, by far! Only one word can explain how wonderful it was... POWDER! Those of you that have been skiing with me know that I am all about the speed, but not on powder days. These days I take my time and soak in every second!

Check out our pictures. They explain it all! Look at the snow covered trees and how you can't even see the sky due to the beautiful clouds dumping their glorious snow!

I LOVE POWDER DAYS!!!

Nuggets Week!

Besides tennis, basketball is my favorite sport to watch! I try watching football but I struggle and I usually nap while Aaron watches a game. But not basketball... I love it! I don't know where this love of watching basketball came from. The only thing that I can come up with is that it may have originated from my early cheerleading days.

Now I don't want you to confuse my love of watching for a love of playing. When I think back to my P.E. days I cannot ever recollect playing. I remember volleyball, flag football, soccer, swimming, floor hockey, rock climbing, gymnastics even kayaking and rollerblading but never basketball. I think there was a game of HORSE played once during 3rd grade, but I could have made that memory up. I did give the game a try in college when I joined an intramural basketball team. I loved running up and down the court but literally that is all I did, run up and down the court. If the ball ever touched my hands I went into panic mode. I remember one time just throwing the ball randomly to prevent hyperventilating and I hit my roommates fiance in the face which thus ended my basketball playing days. I still haven't given up watching though.



Luckily last week I was able to put my basketball watching passion back in action! Twice we were able to go and see our boys in their baby blue and white, crush their opponents on the court! Chauncey Billups, Chris (birdman) Anderson, and Nene rocked the house and we were lucky enough to see it live!

Game #1

I'll keep my comments short about this game because I have plenty to say about the next. Tuesday was the Nuggets vs. the Mavericks! Chris Anderson hit some sweet shots including a half court shot with 2 seconds left on the shot clock right before half time! Amazing! We didn't catch it on film but check it out on this youtube clip!



Aaron and I were able to attend the game with my mother and and brother! We had a blast. The nuggets won 99-97. They gave up their lead in the third and made us sweat it out till the end. But they prevailed and we went home satisfied.

Game #2

This was THE GAME! I really enjoy watching the Nuggets even if they don't win I still enjoy watching the team... that is until the SUNS come to town. Now I'll admit if I were to move back to Chicago I am sure I would enjoy the Bulls too. I am not partial to the Nuggets. But there is one team that I LOVE no matter where I am. That team is the Phoenix Suns. I am forever a fan. (I guess I shouldn't go that far because I am afraid that my love may be tested once Steve Nash is gone, but let's pray that never happens.)

So on Christmas morning when I opened a gift from Aaron of two tickets to the Suns vs. Nuggets game, which was cleverly disguised in a DVD case, I was brought to tears. Tears of joy! (Don't worry my family thought I was ridiculous, just like you are probably thinking right now.)

Now Aaron doesn't share this love of the Suns so we are always on opposite sides during these games. So it was ironic when we got to the game to see this couple sitting in front of us.




This little darling also happened to be sitting right in front of us!



Seriously who brings a newborn child to a professional basketball game! Now I have to point out three things about this picture. 1. The most obvious... he is crazy eyed. Probably a side effect of all the insanely loud screaming and whistling going on. 2. He is ever so slyly flipping us of with his little baby finger. 3. The seemingly emotionless newborn somehow managed to bust out a smirk at the exact millisecond that we took this picture. Wow what a talented child!

Now about the game, when I think back I can really only remember one thing... Steve Nash and his beautiful free throws. By the end of this game Nash had brought his recent free-throw total up to 48 straight free-throws. One word... WOW! Don't worry I'll stop my oohing and awwing there before I prevent you from ever coming back to read our blog. I guess there were some other cool things that happened too. Like a questionable foul to Chauncey Billups that sent the game into over-time. Which ended in a win for the Nuggets 119-113. Even though the Suns didn't win I still had a great time! And of course I have to give a shot out to Rocky for keeping the crowd pumped! Gotta love that mountain lion!




So to sum up, Nuggets week was a success! Husband, thanks for the awesome Christmas present! You sure know how to win over this girls heart!

Christmas 2008!

There is one day every year where I know exactly what will happen every second of the day! It is the one day a year that my dad takes it slow, but my brother can't sit still! It is the one day a year where wearing new pajamas is the latest fashion and mom doesn't complain that you haven't gotten dressed even though it is 5 in the afternoon. It is the one day a year when ripped wrapping paper and a sea of bows strewn across the house is a beautiful sight and far from what would normally be considered a gigantic mess. That one day a year is Christmas! Quite possibly my favorite day of the year!

Christmas is a wonderful opportunity to spend time with family and to honor the Savior, whose life and death mean so much to us. Allow me a moment to highlight some family Christmas day traditions.

Growing up we stuck to a very strict routine, one that we still adhere to. Christmas Eve we get into our new pajamas and all the siblings head to the basement to watch a Christmas movie, where we all fall asleep together. Sometime around midnight my father rings some bells and yells "ho, ho, ho!" outside the downstairs window. You can imagine as little children how exciting that must have been, but now when he does it we just roll over and go back to bed. We always complain the next morning about how we are too old and dad plays the "I don't know what you are talking about" card. We all roll our eyes but secretly love it.

When we wake up Christmas morning it is because my brother, Jeff, has been jumping on us for several minutes. Jeff has already been through his stocking and counted the presents to make sure that we all got the same amount and tried to guess what is inside each one prior to the jumping. We all take our time getting up just because we know that it drives Jeff crazy. When we finally head upstairs, we each take our turn going through our stockings. My dad, who has one of those ginormous stockings that 12 baby Kates could fit in, with room to spare, takes his time. Of course my mom makes sure that his stocking is completely full to the brim and usually overflowing with things like giant 2lb beef sticks and the mandatory pistachios. But even though his stocking is generally the same, with minor variations every year, he still takes his time because he gets the biggest kick out of watching Jeff squirm with anticipation for the day to start. After the stockings we each open just one present. We take turns opening our presents while everyone else watches. That is key, if everyone is not watching then we wait until they are.

After that we take a break to have breakfast, which usually includes cinnamon rolls and always includes chocolate milk! When we finally head back to opening the rest of our "Santa" presents, taking turns one at a time, we make sure to save the biggest and best presents for last. My dad again always taking the longest to open and then admire his presents! He loves to make Christmas last as long as possible and it usually does. We generally start at 8 and don't end until noon. And that is just the morning. After a few hours napping, playing with our morning "Santa" presents, nibbling on cocktail weenies and coconut shrimp, we all reconvene around the tree about 6 p.m. to finish off the day with sibling and other family gifts!

I love Christmas, but most of all I love spending Christmas with my family! Now that Aaron and I are married I am sure things will change a little but I am still grateful for a dad that made Christmas such a wonderful and memorable time for our family and for a wonderful mom who lets my dad have it his way just one day a year!

Another successful Christmas has come and gone! Check out Christmas morning with my family.

The Before

The After

Baby Kate had a blast on her first Christmas! She even enjoyed opening her first present, with Grandpa's help. Although, I am pretty sure she enjoyed eating the shiny ribbon more than opening presents. I adore this child!

Here we are enjoying a few of our gifts! Whitney's husband, Phil, got her the Disney Princess Easy Bake Oven... I was so jealous!!! We will never be too old to enjoy this!

Here is Aaron enjoying the new laptop that he got me!

And yes my husband bought me the Grey's Anatomy DVDs, seasons 1-3. Wow he really must love me, or was he trying to make up for last year when he got me a bib?

Merry Christmas!

It finally feels like Christmas around the house! We got our very first Christmas tree!

It is a candy tree!

My favorite ornaments are the cupcakes!

Thanks to Ryan and Honey for the tree! Thanks to my mom for all of the ornaments! Someday we will get our own... but for now we are just grateful to have a little Christmas spirit around the house!

Warren Miller!

Winter has officially arrived here in Denver and although the snow makes for a tough commute to work I can handle it knowing what wonderful things await me in the mountains! Last Saturday was our first ski day up in the mountains and it was wonderful, but I will blog about that later!

Every year, to get pumped up for the ski season, Aaron likes to catch the new Warren Miller film. I enjoy the movies and have happened to go to quite a few of the films over the years but Aaron loves to go every year!

Now before I continue with the rest of the story, I have to make a confession, I lied in the last post. The night we went to Coldplay, we weren't just going to have our regular Friday night, we were supposed to go see this year's Warren Miller film. It was our only free night to go see the movie while it was in town, but because my husband is so sweet he sacrificed to make me happy instead. (Not that he was at all opposed to going to the concert... I think he may even have wanted to go more than me.)

Well I had to make it up to him and I had an idea! Last week I had a day off of work. This gave me time to work out a surprise. The first part of my plan was to transform our house into a winter wonderland. I put snowflakes everywhere! Snowflakes covered the windows, the floors, and the tables. I even hung snowflakes from the ceiling. My next step was to hang up signs giving him a few hints to what would await him in our living room. I hung a sign on the back door saying "Are you ready?" He then would open the back door into our kitchen to find another sign saying, "Get Excited!"... followed by another sign saying,"For Ski Season 2009!!"

This was all leading him to our living room where I set up our own Warren Miller movie night, complete with sponsors, Ski magazines, and even free ski coupons! I also threw in a few treats for us to watch the movie with. It was almost like the real thing (minus the other 300 people watching the movie with us.)

Let the ski season begin!

Best Husband Surprise Ever!

What do the answers to these questions have in common?

Clue 1: If you needed to find a plumber, where would you find one to call?

Clue 2: This is a common pirate phrase: “______ me timbers!”

Clue 3: What item can all of these words describe? Grandfather, Wall, Antique, Cuckoo

Clue 4: Can you fill in the blank for this 80’s movie starring Kurt Douglas? “Big _________ in Little China”

Clue 5: A true handyman might be called “Mr. ____- it”.

That is the riddle that I received in an email from Aaron on Friday afternoon leading me to the best surprise ever!

WARNING: Long story! Skip to the pics if you just want the answer.

But before I explain the surprise let's start back a few weeks ago when this all got started. I listen to a radio show everyday on my way home from work. It is the Slacker and Steve show on Alice 105.9. I love it... when it is appropriate. Starting about two weeks ago everyday at 5:30 they would have a competition. Each day they would give a story idea, whether it be a good hoarding story, an embarrassing crying story, a boycotting story or a high maintenance story and which ever caller had the best story would win a certain concert ticket. Every day I would call Aaron with the premise of the story and we would try to come up with the funniest story we could and then call in to the radio station in hopes of winning these tickets. Everyday for two weeks we would call in and either get a busy signal or they would put us on hold and then run out of time for our story. One day Aaron actually made it on the radio about boycotting Rainbow Mallows. I'll spare you why he is boycotting but needless to say we didn't win.

Well Thursday rolled around, the day before the concert and I was so bummed that we hadn't won tickets. We looked into buying tickets but were concerned about the cost being a little high. We decided to not purchase tickets and have our typical Friday night of eating out and watching Numb3rs and a movie.

I went to school Friday thinking it was going to be another usual day, but oh was I wrong. Around lunch time I got an email from Aaron asking me to answer the questions listed above. I thought to myself, "I don't have time for this, I have to teach." But I hurried and answered the questions and then decided to type all of the answers in google to see if the riddle would pop up.

The answers were "yellow" pages, shiver, clocks, trouble and fix. What do they have in common? They are all Coldplay songs! Every hit that popped up had to do with Coldplay. "Duh!" I thought, "of course these are all Coldplay songs!" I hurried and emailed him back wondering why he was teasing me so, this was the exact band that we weren't going to see. Right then my lunch break was over and the kids started piling in. I started class but was anxiously waiting for Aaron's response. I kept glancing over at my computer every 30 seconds until he finally responded. I casually walked on over to my computer still leading the class discussion. I clicked on his email and a big picture of Coldplay popped up with the words... You are cordially invited to the Coldplay concert! (My sweet husband had found a sweet deal on sweet tickets!) I immediately got a huge smile on my face and completely forgot what I was talking about. My students thought that I had gone crazy. I almost just shouted out "I am going to COLDPLAY!" Instead, I just causally said "Excuse me, but what were we talking about?" At least it gave them a good laugh.

The concert was so fun! We had floor seats and sat 25 rows away from the stage. They sang all of their hits, Viva la Vida, Fix You, Violet Hill, The Hardest Part, Politik, and my favorite: The Scientist! At one point during one of their new songs titled "Lovers in Japan"they let thousands of confetti butterflies fall from the ceiling. It was incredible! Check out some of our photos below! There is even a video with some highlights from the concert. Heads up it is about 4 minutes... I couldn't bear to cut it down!