All Hail, Fairy Godmother!

Every little girl needs some Fairy Godmother in her life on occasion, and this past weekend Marie got just that when her magical Godmother flew into town! 'Tis true: for some reason my trusty partner-in-crime, maid-of-honor, and let's not forget her most prestigious title: Queen Dork (which she still answers to...try it sometime) saw fit to buy an outlandishly expensive flight from Alaska to spend time with us all over Memorial Day weekend. It's been almost three years since we last saw each other, so I guess she realized how dire my withdrawal had become. It should go without question that we had a blast, but in case you need proof, here's the rundown: 

Hiking on Lookout Mountain:

I briefly mentioned it before when Chelsea played matchmaker via Facebook and linked us up with her friends, the Medlocks who had recently moved from Alaska to Denver. We've since spent lots of time together sans Chelsea, and it was awesome to finally have fun all together! We went on a hike on Lookout Mountain:

Hiking: Baby Style

...then climbed up the giant staircase at the Mother Cabrini Shrine to the top of Lookout Mountain where there's a giant statue of Christ:

and finally went to lunch in Golden, CO (home of the Coors Brewery) where we could smell the beer, get ski gear, and don't forget the wedding dress alterations!

Canvas and Corkscrews:

Peter gallantly offered to take the kids Saturday night so Chelsea and I could have some girl time together. We opted for a fun little outing to an art studio, where we were given  step-by-step instructions on how to paint a featured painting, accompanied by a glass or two of wine (hence the 'corkscrews'). It was even more fun than we expected, especially since the finished products didn't look half bad! Naturally, we were the last ones there trying to perfect our paintings with a few finishing touches as they turned out the lights and locked the doors. We blame it on West Point.

We're going pro.

Intro to Geocaching:

On Sunday, Chelsea the Avid Adventurer introduced us to Geocaching (in which you navigate to a point where someone has hidden a treasure of sorts). She has some crazy app on her phone which locates the nearest point, and when she checked after church it just so happened that there was a point within a few hundred meters the church. So we set off tromping through the brush, bedecked in our Sunday best, to find the treasure. We found it after a good search, and Marie even signed the little guest book before opening the treasure can and leaving a little something for the next adventurer (all we had was a quarter).  The kids loved it, and I'll admit that I'm pretty much convinced, too!

All dressed up and ready to geocache!

Birthday BBQ and a Time to Remember:

We got to hang out with the Medlocks again on Sunday night for a Memorial Day BBQ, which also served as a time to celebrate Chelsea's birthday which was the previous week. We filled up on good food, of course, and even better (more like amazing and famous) chocolate cake baked by the amazing Amy Medlock. We also took some time to remember why Memorial Day exists--because of all those who have given and will continue to give their lives in service to our country in order to preserve our freedom. We especially wanted to remember our personal friends, classmates, and other West Point alumni who have laid down their lives for us. We wrote their names on red, white, and blue balloons and said a prayer as we did a balloon release to remember them. One last white balloon lingered for quite awhile off in the distance between the clouds and the sun--it was pretty cool to watch. 

Thankful for our freedom and all those who work to preserve it.

Friends!

City Park:

Before taking Chelsea to the airport on Monday night, we also swung by City Park near downtown Denver for a little stroll along the water: 

General Silliness and Lots of Love:

And no visit would be complete without the fun, love and silliness which seems to find its way into all of our activities (Double Rainbow, anyone? Thanks for introducing us, to that one, Chels). The kids gave Godmommy Chelsea a run for her money, talking her ear off, serenading her bright an early in the morning, and following her around during every waking moment like adoring little puppies. We also got to enjoy a nice little jog and ab workout together, but I'm pretty sure my sore abs were a result of the incessant laughter!

Fun in the sun, a crazy (made-up) game of cards, and playing dress up!

Wii boxing...guess who won?

Come back soon, Fairy Godmother...and next time bring Dave with you!!!