Special thank you’s go out to my parents for coordinating and hosting such a wonderful event.  I couldn’t have asked for anything more.  Also, thank you to my mother-in-law Patti for helping host the event.  The love and support that Mike and I get from our families is unbelievable and we wouldn’t be where we are today without them!

Also, a BIG thank you goes out to Sara who flew in from Colorado to help me celebrate this special day.  I’m hoping that those of you who attended the shower were lucky enough to meet her as she is one of my dearest friends.  We met shortly after I moved to Denver and quickly became friends.  We have a special bond that will last a lifetime.  So thank you Sara for being there…it meant so much to me!

Here’s some pictures from the party courtesy of Sara:

We met up with Terri and Michelle before the race. They decided to walk the 2 mile course while we proceeded to walk the full 4+ miles.

Here are a few pics from the event…

On Friday morning Mom and I set out to the grocery store to buy the ingredients that we needed for our early holiday celebration.  I wanted to get a fresh turkey this year, so we headed to King Sooper as Mike heard an ad on the radio that they had fresh birds in stock.  When we got to the turkey section it was rather humorous as they had small turkeys (7-9 lbs) and really BIG turkeys (19+ lbs).  Knowing that our friends Jessica and Chris would be joining us for dinner we opted for the BIG bird.

After we got home we left the bird out for an hour or so as it was partially frozen.  The guy at the grocery store said that this was because they flash freeze them before transporting them as it helps reducing the number of bruises that appear.  It’s funny that the grocery stores seem to care more about the turkeys once they are dead!  (Yes…that’s the vegetarian in me speaking!)

On Saturday morning we got up around 7am and started cooking.  Here’s what was on the menu:

Turkey – basted with white wine and butter
Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Corn Casserole
Green Bean Casserole
Cranberry Sauce (I think Mom was the only one who ate it!)
Rolls – both wheat and white
White Wine

It wasn’t extravagant, but it reminded me of past Thanksgivings at home in Michigan.

Before dinner we spent time catching up with Jess and Chris and we even snuck in a few games of Euchre.  I don’t know why more people in Colorado don’t play cards.  I need to start a Euchre or Pinochle club.  It would make my Grandma proud!  Also, not that I’m bragging or anything but Jess and I were partners and we were undefeated!

We only had one mishap during the day and it was my fault.  When I was taking the corn casserole out of the oven, my oven mitt slipped and I spilled corn all over the bottom of the oven.  It even leaked in to the bottom of the door.   Oops!  The following day Mike had to pull out the owners manual to figure out how to take the door off.

After dinner we were all stuffed, but we burned off some calories by playing Wii Sports Resort in the family room.  We bowled, we played archery and we even shot basketball hoops.  All in all, it was a great holiday celebrated with family and friends.  What more could you ask for?

Sara sent me a text indicating that she was going to be a few minutes late as she was going to stop and get a banana at Whole Foods.  Little did I know that she was also buying flowers…for me!

The orange tulips were beautiful once they fully opened up and the asters lasted three weeks!

While I don’t buy myself flowers often, I enjoy having them in the house.  Hugs to Sara for thinking of me.

In September sometime, he sent me a note letting me know that he’d be in town for the Michigan v. Michigan State game and wondered if I wanted to get together to watch the game.  Michigan State as you know had a rough start this year after losing games to Central, Notre Dame and Wisconsin, but it’s always fun to watch the game with fellow MSU Alumni, so I quickly responded and said that I would love to spend the day hanging out with him in Denver.

So, I picked the Blake Street Tavern, which is co-owned by a MSU grad and we met downtown at 9am.  We drank Coors Light and chatted throughout the game catching up on  what our family and friends had been up to.  The game was fantastic and while we should have never had to go into overtime, the mighty Spartans prevailed in the end.  Here’s a picture of the two of us at the game.

After the game, we headed down to the 16th Street Mall to grab a bite to eat at Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery.  We enjoyed some good food and some Red Rock Red beer and watched a little more football.  Afterward, we walked over to the Pepsi Center to pick up my Race for the Cure t-shirt for the following day.  On the way back we stopped in and had a beer at Illegal Pete’s and then headed to Falling Rock Tap House to wrap up the night with a few more beers and some dinner.  Here’s a shot of us at Falling Rock as we watch more football.

It was great to spend time with an old friend that I haven’t seen in years.  It reminds me how important good friends are in our lives and that we need to continue to make an effort to see them…even if it is only once or twice a year.

By the way, for those of you who don’t know Boomer…his real name is Steve, but he’ll always be Boomer to me!

Being out here in the wilderness has rejuvenated my soul and reminded me that I need yoga to help me maintain a good balance.

Here are a few pictures from the trip…more will be posted later.

Overall most of us enjoyed the booked, but I had more fun chatting with my fellow book reader (and friends) about how friendships have shaped their lives.

In the event you are interested in reading the book it chronicles the lives of eleven friends who grew up in Ames, IA and still remain friends after 30 years, Terri, who picked the book, is from a small town in Iowa and graduated from Iowa State in Ames.

On Saturday, I joined the Ames girls as we watched the Iowa v Iowa State game at the Sports Column in LoDo. It’s unfortunate that the Cyclones lost, but then again so did my Spartans.

Erin and Terri cheering for Iowa State

Overall, I had a great weekend as it reminded me how important my friends are to me – both old and new!

Here we are just before Poison took the stage.

Had the beers not been $9.50 a piece…this might have been a real picture of Lana passed out…

The highlight of the night was that Terri and I both downloaded the Zippo app and held our iPhones above our heads with the rest of the drunks and stoners in the crowd.

Next girls night out will be Sept 11th after our book club as we’re heading to a bar to watch an 80’s band perform.  It won’t be the same as hearing Def Leppard sing “Pour Some Sugar on Me” live…but it will still be fun!

Here are a few of my favorite picks from the night:

Don’t be jealous…if you want your very own Snuggie, log on and order one today!

Happy Birthday Tom.  We’re going to miss you at the B52’s concert!