Viva Mexico!

For Spring Break this year Aaron and I headed to back to Mexico, but this time we hit up the Atlantic side- Cancun to be exact! Here is a little of what we were up to.

Pool time!

Beach time!

Hammock time!

Snorkel time!

The weather was sunny and warm but very windy for most of our week so our plans to snorkel in the ocean in Puerto Morelos had to be canceled. We ended up going to a fresh water lagoon that flows into the ocean, where the wind was not an issue. Tons of fish!

Tennis time!

History time!- Chichen Itza

We booked an LDS tour guide to get a unique perspective on the Mayan ruins (gracias Carlos!). We cannot be certain that Mayan beliefs had roots in Book of Mormon times; but it was interesting to see how certain Mayan symbols could be viewed as having Christian ties, although their original meaning would have been obscured by years of apostacy. Regardless of origin, it was amazing to see the remains of what was once a significant civilization.





Cliff diving into a sink hole time!

Sushi time!

Even in Mexico! I can't say that we would recommend it - we're pretty sure this appetizer came from Costco. But we certainly enjoyed lots of tacos, nachos, and virgin pina coladas.

We had a blast! What made it even more sweet was knowing that we had conveniently missed two blizzards while we were gone! Perfect timing!

Viva Mexico!

Treasure Hunt!

Aaron and I headed up to the mountains this past weekend. We really wanted to get in a few more runs on the ski slope before the season is over. Well seeing how no one could remember the last time it had actually snowed up at Keystone, you can only imagine how exciting the skiing was.

We looked around the resort for some other form of entertainment. Tubing crossed our mind, maybe ice skating we thought, but something else entirely caught our attention! The Keystone GEO Cache experience. (Mostly this caught our eye because it was the only free activity.)

We borrowed a GPS unit, typed in a pre-determined GPS coordinate, and we were on our way!

It was a couple miles of walking along snow covered hiking and biking trails.

We ended up tracking two destination points.

Point #1

Point #2

Apparently the whole GEO Cahce thing is pretty popular around the world. Although it was neat to try, I am not sure that we will try our hand at this again anytime soon. We mostly just enjoyed walking together on a beautiful mountain day.

25!

This past Wednesday, I turned a quarter of a century! 25 years old! And I was spoiled all day long!

First by my family...

My mother made me a scrapbook of all of my years at home. It documents my life from the time of my birth until I graduated from High School. It is amazing! I have spent hours looking at it. (Picture to come soon!)

Second by my students...

My students decorated my classroom with streamers and Happy Birthday signs. When I walked into class they all jumped out and yelled SURPRISE! I was almost in tears that they would remember and take the time to decorate and surprise me. Then to top it off they made me a cake and a giant birthday card!



Finally by my husband...

First I had to go on a scavenger hunt around the house to find my present.

Clue #1

Clue #2

All clues were leading me to this website...

Clue #3

www.tinyurl.com/aepbhl



He got me the black North Face fleece that I have been wanting for years!

Then he decorated the house. He got lucky that it happened to be my parents' 25th anniversary not too long ago and we had a few decorations left over from their party that fit this day very well!

Then he did the rope! This is a tradition from my family. Every birthday you wake up to a rope that leads you all over the house! It has little treats hanging on it. He made sure to fill the rope with my favorite Easter candy! Side note- Easter candy is the best kind of candy!

He got so creative this year. I happened to take our rope to school for a lesson one day and have yet to bring it home. To improvise he used the cord from our vacuum. (By the time I had taken these pictures I had taken off most of the treats. I promise the rope is cooler than it appears.)

Here is what I found at the end of the rope...



Upon opening up the movie case, I found two tickets to Phantom of the Opera!



So we headed out for a sushi dinner and a night at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts! So fun! John Cudia played the Phantom. He is the only man to have ever played both the Phantom and Jean Valjean from Les Miserables on Broadway. The show was amazing!



It was a great birthday! I felt so loved all day! Thanks for all of the cards, emails, phone calls, and even the personalized poem! They all meant so much! Thank you! Thank you! 25 is going to be a good year!

We Moved!

We had been keeping our eyes open for a new place for a while. We figured it wouldn't hurt to save some money this year. We hadn't found anything worth moving for until last month. At the end of February, we found a great deal on a pretty great apartment. We were so excited! We called our landlord to let him know we were moving at the end of the month. We started packing and slowly moving into our new apartment a few boxes at a time. About two weeks after we had contacted our landlord, the day after we had signed the lease AND paid the deposit at our new place, he informs us that he would like us to stay so he would be willing to reduce our rent by $200 a month. Needless to say our excitement definitely dwindled. Even though we would still be saving more at our new place, it was a bummer to realize that the savings really wouldn't be much, taking into consideration the costs of moving and furnishing our new place. Then came the real kicker, in a conversation we had with our old landloard after the move, he admitted that he should have just absorbed the deposit at the new place since he would be losing a month without a renter anyway. All in all, we wouldn't have had to move, lose any money, and we would have saved money!


Well after all of the drama, here we are a few weeks after our move and we are loving it. There are a few things that I still miss about our old place like...

My old kitchen! It was beautiful and perfect!



Here is my new kitchen. Aaron and I can barely fit in it at the same time!



But the new place has its perks. Check out my closets! Yes, CLOSETS! I have 5 huge, beautiful closets.



Check out my old closet... or should I say lack of closet! Yea, I am not sad about leaving that behind!



All in all it has been a good change. If things go as planned you may be hearing about another move soon. Hopefully we will be getting a HOME of our very own sometime in the near future!

5280

We love Denver! One of the perks of living in Denver is 5280 week. We get to eat at sweet, normally ludicrously priced restaurants for $52.80 per couple! This year we both decided to pick a restaurant to eat at.


Aaron's Pick:



ZENGO! Your modern Mexican restaurant. Basically it's Latin-Asian fusion. The food was good and the flavors were interesting. Towards the end of the evening we saw an entertaining appetizer that we are dying to go back and try. It was raw kobe beef served with a fire heated rock for table side cooking. It looked so cool! Here is what we had to eat:

She had-

angry zengo roll- spicy yellowfin tuna / cucumber / wasabi tobiko / sesame chipotle rouille

chicken tandoori- masala-achiote grilled chicken breast / naan / black bean dal / cilantro & mango salsas

churros- trio of dipping sauces - chai custard / spicy chocolate / berry

He had-

angry zengo roll- spicy yellowfin tuna / cucumber / wasabi tobiko / sesame chipotle rouille

tamarind bbq flat iron steak- grilled asparagus / curry-olive oil hollandaise

cajeta flan- ginger-prickly pear sauce / fresh berries

Angela's Pick:



THE MELTING POT! The most fabulous fondue restaurant. This was AMAZING!!! It was the funnest restaurant I have been to in a long time! It might possibly be my new favorite restaurant! Here is what we ate during our two hour feast:

We had-

Boston Lager Cheddar Cheese Fondue- Aged cheddar cheeses blended with Tabasco,® Worcestershire sauce and chopped chives.

California Salad- Mixed baby salad greens, Roma tomatoes, walnuts and Gorgonzola cheese, with Raspberry Black Walnut Vinaigrette Dressing.

Fondue Feast- Filet Mignon, Cedar Plank Salmon, Memphis BBQ Pork Tenderloin, Key West Shrimp, Honey Dijon Chicken, Spinach Artichoke Ravioli, Fresh Vegetables.

Flaming Turtle- Milk chocolate, caramel and chopped pecans, flambéed tableside. Dippers... Fresh strawberries, bananas, cheesecake, tasty marshmallows, pound cake and brownies.

I wish Denver restaurants would always offer this deal!

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.