Rocky Mountain High

Working for a high school has many perks...the best of these being the insane number of holidays we get. Although we didn't get the entire "ski week" that some schools had last week, we did have a lovely four-day weekend. My cousin Jennifer had been encouraging us to visit Denver for the past couple of years and I finally decided to leave Steve at home and take her up on the offer while I am still in a good state to travel. Of course, a trip to Denver would not be the same without our long time family friend and adopted big sis Sandy who "met me from St. Louis!"

Sandy and I imposed ourselves on my Aunt Pam and Uncle Jim's home in Greenwood Village, a lovely suburb of Denver.

Sandy and I thought we were so clever by pre-paying for our rental car gas because gas stations around Denver airport are few and far between. Then we promptly went out to the parking lot and picked a Prius. We later realized that it probably would have cost us about $2.50 to fill up the tank. I won't mention that it took us 10 minutes to figure out how to START the Prius. The manual was consulted.

Girls night out! Amy, Sandy and Jennifer on our way out to see "Confessions of a Shopaholic" and have a lovely sushi dinner to celebrate Jennifer's birthday.

On Sunday night the Quin's hosted all of the Denver family for Family Fondue night. It was great to see all of the family who has immigrated to the Denver area! The Griffiths, Bacons, Henningers and Quins all gathered to celebrate Jennifer's 29th birthday (again!) and to introduce the foreigners to all of the children (JD & Kara Bacon) and fiancees (Nicole) that have arrived since we last visited.

Kara (age 6 months) is destined to be a Texas Longhorn.

Tad & Nicole - getting married in Hawaii in August!

Elisabeth (age 5) shows off her new bling, direct from Sandy's wrists.

Cousins J.D. (age 3) and my flower girl Abigail (nearly 9) who is all grown up!

No trip with Sandy is complete without scouting out the nearest coffee joint...a few times.
The "Xdry Cappuccino" is definitely not mine.

Thanks Quins and Henningers for a great trip! We can't wait to return!

The Halfway Point

In theory, I love the idea of documenting the growth of my belly. I enjoy seeing the pictures when my friends do it. I know I will enjoy looking back in a few months and gawking at how "small" my belly looks. But when it came down to it, I just didn't really want to see myself on film (film? what's that?) in something even remotely snug. I'm giving into peer pressure since no less than 20 people have asked me if I'm taking these photos and some far away friends I don't see very often have been curious. So, without further ado and without additional self-pity, here I am at 20 weeks. Halfway to baby!