March 26, 2009...

The Museum parking lot the day after.

Cars we passed on the way to work the morning after.

Even the dumpster was buried in snow.

That's our place on the top right, sort of hidden in the back.

A view from our building's front door during a milder point in the storm.

There's normally a walkway along that fence.

SPRING STORM

The Fathers are back...

Yes it's true Denver was blanketed with over a foot of snow yesterday and most of the city shut down, but miraculously the bars stayed open and Ideal Fathers had there first show since November. Their first show with the new drummer Mike. I chose to stay home since it was still snowing and I wasn't sure if I would have work today or not, but Jesse just couldn't leave the guys hanging. Luckily the new Mike has 4-wheel drive and he came to Jesse's rescue. He left around 7pm and didn't go on until 11:30pm. I called to check in several times and as predicted the bar was pretty packed. See when it snows a ton in Denver and people predict no work they all walk to the bars to drink, hang out, and hear good music. Jesse said there was a pretty good crowd for a Thursday evening and that Mike did really well. When I asked Jesse how he did he said I wasn't too proud of myself, but I did get compliments from several audience members some where members of the bands that played before us... Maybe I'm just being to hard on myself? BINGO! My thoughts exactly, but then again who isn't? All and all the show was a success and everyone made it home safe and sound. Their next show is scheduled for April 11th and it's their 1st all ages show (not just 21 and up). The show after that will be their release party for the EP, so there is still lots of work to be done before that. May 16th here we come.!

Welcome to Denver...

Things I have learned since moving to Denver nearly 6yrs ago.

#1 Crab Rangoon doesn't exist @ Chinese restaurants they're called Wontons here.
#2 It's never as cold here as it is in Iowa.
#3 Bugs are almost none existent... it's to dry. YES!
#4 Gallons of Milk don't come with a seal, so be careful!
#5 Denver has a really large local music scene. Everyone and their brother are in a local band.
#6 Denver gets more average days of sun per year than Florida. 360+ at times. Always wear sunscreen, because we're a higher altitude and you'll get burnt even in the winter.
#7 If it snows in the morning more often than not it will be sunny and hot by the afternoon, wear layers the weather is unpredictable at these altitudes.
#8 Whenever it really rains the roads will flood, because Denver has a terrible gutter and drainage system.
#9 The airport is technically in Denver city limits, but it's not really in Denver. It takes 30minutes or more to get there from downtown depending on the traffic.
#10 If you don't have a Colorado license plate the drivers here will eat you alive.
#11 Streets like to change names and change back and forth from 1 way to 2 way on you, but most streets are alphabetical and it's actually pretty easy to navigate the town once you get the gist of things.
#12 We are all about going green and have been for years. We create more green products than most states and we've got more natural/organic food locally grown grocers than most states as well. Denver is full of health nuts.
#13 Denverites love their food. We have a very eclectic bunch of restaurants here. Everything from Casa Bonita to Ethiopian food. You can enjoy a diverse cuisine here for sure. Downtown every summer we have a large festival showcasing all the best local foods.
#14 More people commute by bike or bus here. We have one of the nations best public transportation systems. There are bike paths everywhere on the road ways and following the river. There's even a bike event the last Friday of every month were bikers get together and ride around downtown in a pack to show drivers that they have the right away as well.
#15 In the winter you could have temperatures in the 70's, but then again in the Spring you could have a blizzard with up to 16" blanketing the city and shutting everything down (like today).

I'm sure there is more I've learned, but these are the things that are coming to mind while I set at home waiting for Jesse to get here watching the snow fall. It's a snow day!

Random Erin pictures...

Glow-in-the dark Mini-golf again!

Practicing my spear throwing technique while riding my Buffalo.

Holding up the hanging rock @ Garden of the Gods.

Rock climbing @ Garden of the Gods.

Posing in front of Pikes Peak @ the Garden of the Gods visitor center.

Random Cody pictures...

Hanging out behind the Water fall @ Casa Bonita.

Dangling dangerously high. Eh hem...

Wielding his sword while riding his Buffalo.

Being a poser @ Garden of the Gods.

Visting with the buffalo @ Buffalo Bill's grave. He's holding a Jack Rabbit pelt... seriously.

Being the 3rd Eagle in the 3 eagle sculpture that was lacking it's 3rd eagle for some reason. Look closely at the plaque.

Being naughty while I took his photo. He's also looking over Manitou from the balcony @ Cave of the Winds.

Checking out the drop off the balcony @ Cave of the Winds.

Loosing his man purse over the ledge @ Buffalo Bill's grave.

Wedging himself between giant red rocks @ Garden of the Gods on our hike.

Shaking hands with Uncle Sam while testing his grip @ the Penny arcade in Manitou. Supposedly he's the master of everything. Psst... What does Uncle Same know?

Pretending to be an mountain explorer @ Garden of the Gods.

Cody's Visit Day 5...

Cody getting his headed patted by a big old bear @ Cave of the Winds.

Cody driving like a wild man @ the amazing arcade in Manitou Springs.

Cody holding up the leaning rock in Garden of the Gods.

Cody and I posing for the ever elusive together picture thanks to a grandpa who was photographing his family.

Cody riding a bear also @ Cave of the Winds.

Day 5 was an extra busy one for us. I got up early and packed the cooler. We dropped Jesse off at work and headed to Colorado Springs. Our first stop was the Garden of the Gods visitor Center where we took some nice photos with Pike Peak in the background. Then we headed into The Garden of the Gods where we hiked around a bit and took many a photo op. We circled through the park and made our way to Manitou Springs, the town at the base of Pikes Peak. We strolled through town checking out all the shops and ended up stumbling across the most amazing Penny Arcade ever. The games ranged in price from 1cent to 25cents and some of them were so ancient I'm sure my grandparents were barely born when they were made. It was hilarious and fun. I can't believe I had never known that existed before. I've been to Manitou plenty of times. We picniced in the town square. We had some amazing homemade ice cream and we headed out in search of the cave of the winds. Once we got to the cave we realized how expensive it was and decided to skip out. As Cody would say You see one cave you've seen them all. At the end of our day we headed back to Denver to pick up Jesse from work and we headed out for dinner. No MST3K yet, but who knows the night is still young in their eyes. I'm heading to bed soon. I have work in the morning and we're taking him to the airport tomorrow.

Cody's Visit Day 4...

Edible arts. Yummy! :)~

Cody actually proving he's at Buffalo Bill's Grave.

Cody and I posing for a picture together finally. It's hard to get together shots when it's just the 2 of you. I wish Jesse could have come with, but he had to work.

Cody pretending to be Big Foot as we hiked to Red Rocks Amphitheater. I mistakenly parked in the lower lot not remembering how far of a hike it was. Our calves were screaming the next day for sure.

Cody making the trek back down the flights at Red Rocks. I stayed on the stage and waited patiently photographing his every move to document the trip for him mom.

Day 4 consisted of heading back to the Museum for one last day of work. This time he helped me with my normal program Edible Arts. We made paints out of yogurt and food coloring, read the kids a story about painting & mixing colors, and let them finger paint & snack their hearts out. When we finally finished cleaning up the aftermath of edible arts we headed to Belmar for lunch and to visit Gimme Gimme Pillow Toast, a local Japanese themed store. Cody ended up getting gifts for his siblings here. From there we headed to Buffalo Bill's grave and Red Rocks Amphitheater. Once again we ended the day with MST3k. Jesse is trying to give Cody a tutorial of the best episodes. Most of the week has consisted of quoting terribly cheesy lines and laughing so hard at least one of us ends up in tears.