End of Summer Recap
Hello faithful blog followers! Long time no post!
I hope this post finds you well. It has been quite a while since my last check in, mostly due to the fact that life seems to be chugging along at the speed of a runaway train. Where's the e-brake when you need it?
I was only home for about a little under a month before I went back to Minnesota near the end of July/beginning of August. I will fill you in on the events of my second trip home to Minnesota in a little while, but first I'll fill you in on some stuff that went down between these trips.
My brother accepted a job and moved to Utah the weekend of July 13, and he stopped in Denver to spend the night at my cousin Jake's apartment before completing the last leg of his drive to Utah. I drove to Jake's place early Sunday morning (July 14th) to see my brother before he hit the road. We had a delicious pancake breakfast and then had a Mario Kart marathon! We played every single cup, and Jake's roommate, Bryan, joined us for the last cup. It was really nice spending a relaxing morning together with great people. :)
On July 21, I went on a hike after work with my friend Jesse from the gym. I've always wanted to hike the Flatirons, and after living here for almost 10 months I finally got to! We hiked the Malory Cave trail, and it ended up being a really great evening!
The Saturday before we left for Minnesota (July 26) I made the splurge and purchased my new Macbook! I've wanted a Macbook for the longest time, and my Toshiba laptop was definitely on its last leg. Despite the two major disappointments I discovered (no disc drive, can't play my favorite computer game), I am definitely in love with this computer. I think I might name it Beatrice, but nothing is set in stone just yet...haha.
On Monday July 28, Amber, Eric, Torsten, and I were Minnesota bound and on the road around 4:20am. I took the first leg of the drive and drove for a few hours before we made our first rest-stop and switched drivers. The whole drive actually went really well, and we arrived at Eric's mom's house in Eden Prairie, MN around 8:30pm. I'm so grateful for Denise's hospitality that night and the following morning when we were up early and back on the road again by 6:45am. Amber drove until we hit Lino Lakes where we filled up on gas and then I drove the rest of the way to my house!
The first week back home was very busy. Saturday, August 2 was my grammy's 90th birthday party, which was held at my house. The day started with the 5th annual family triathlon which was fun as always. My team included Jake (swimming), my dad (biking), and myself (running), and we ended up getting second place overall! After the triathlon was over, I went back home to help my mom set up for the party and get the house in order. The party was a success, and the headcount was around 60+ people (all family)! We had a yummy lunch of BBQ pork, turkey, potatoes (catered by B&B), ciabatta rolls from SuperOne, my aunt Karen's amazing caesar salad, carrots, jello, deviled eggs, pasta salad, and more. The late lunch was followed the tradition cocoa-nut layer birthday cake made by my aunt Alice (two cakes) and cousin Rachel (one cake). The evening ended with the usual softball game in our backyard, and Grammy got a home run, of course! ;)
The next day, August 3, was my grammy's actual birthday. We started the day with a really great service at church, and later that afternoon we had everyone (only about 40 people this time) back at my house for lunch. Lunch was leftovers from the day before, and for dessert we had ice cream cones and cookies that I made. We had yard games, a guest missionary did a karate demonstration, my aunt Alice did a dog obedience demonstration, and then we danced to some polka music, per request of my grandma. It ended up being another very busy, yet enjoyable day! It's always a good time when we have that much family back together again. My brother was one of the only ones who unfortunately didn't make it back home for the party, but I'm glad that so many other family members were able to attend.
The rest of the week was filled with some more family time, some friend time, swimming and water skiing on Chub Lake, and a fun trip to my aunt and uncles cabin in Lake Nebagamon. I also got to spend a fun day with my mom in Duluth! We ran to some floor/cabinet stores first and then ate lunch at Vitta Pizza in Canal Park. After lunch we went to see the movie Begin Again, and then went back to Canal to do some shopping. On my last day in Minnesota, August 9, my mom treated us to pedicures in Duluth which was really fun! I'm so blessed to have such an amazing mom who I also consider to be one of my best friends. I can't imagine a world without her. <3
I flew back to Colorado on Sunday, August 10th, very early in the morning. I met the airport shuttle in Scanlon at 3:00am, and we arrived at the Minneapolis airport around 5:30am. The security line was surprisingly long for that time of morning, but I still had time to get my northern lite caramel mocha from Caribou before my flight! The flight went fairly smoothly, and we landed in Denver around 8:15am. I was ready for the shuttle back to Boulder by 8:45am, but my pickup time wasn't until 9:30am. It was actually a happy coincidence though, because I got to talk to a really nice guy who lives in Cheyenne, WY while waiting for the shuttle. We got talking last minute about Christian music and his work with K-Love, a Christian radio station in Denver, and before we could get to into the conversation my shuttle arrived. He gave me his card and told me to shoot him an email, which I did later that evening. He replied the next morning describing his work a bit more, and he also offered me free VIP tickets to see Chris August's acoustic concert on August 24th! I almost couldn't believe it. I am so grateful for this encounter, not because of the free concert tickets (which I am also very grateful for), but because it really got me thinking about my own future and the possibility of working in ministry - possibly Christian radio? Either way, this just goes to show how God is constantly at work in our lives, often when we least expect it.
Well...I'm back to the normal Colorado routine now! Summer classes are over, so I'm free for a couple more weeks before the fall semester starts back up again. I renewed my Netflix subscription again...I just couldn't stay away! *Sighs* Anyways, this has been a pretty great summer, and as much as I love summer, I'm actually starting to get excited for fall; fall flavors, smells, sweater weather, leaves changing colors, the works. I'm also kind of looking forward to Christmas already, but the snow and cold temps can hold off for as long as they'd like.
I hope you have all had an AMAZING summer and enjoy the last couple weeks of August! I'd love to hear what you've all been up to, so feel free to share your summer stories as well. :)
♥ Jane
I hope this post finds you well. It has been quite a while since my last check in, mostly due to the fact that life seems to be chugging along at the speed of a runaway train. Where's the e-brake when you need it?
I was only home for about a little under a month before I went back to Minnesota near the end of July/beginning of August. I will fill you in on the events of my second trip home to Minnesota in a little while, but first I'll fill you in on some stuff that went down between these trips.
My brother accepted a job and moved to Utah the weekend of July 13, and he stopped in Denver to spend the night at my cousin Jake's apartment before completing the last leg of his drive to Utah. I drove to Jake's place early Sunday morning (July 14th) to see my brother before he hit the road. We had a delicious pancake breakfast and then had a Mario Kart marathon! We played every single cup, and Jake's roommate, Bryan, joined us for the last cup. It was really nice spending a relaxing morning together with great people. :)
On July 21, I went on a hike after work with my friend Jesse from the gym. I've always wanted to hike the Flatirons, and after living here for almost 10 months I finally got to! We hiked the Malory Cave trail, and it ended up being a really great evening!The Saturday before we left for Minnesota (July 26) I made the splurge and purchased my new Macbook! I've wanted a Macbook for the longest time, and my Toshiba laptop was definitely on its last leg. Despite the two major disappointments I discovered (no disc drive, can't play my favorite computer game), I am definitely in love with this computer. I think I might name it Beatrice, but nothing is set in stone just yet...haha.On Monday July 28, Amber, Eric, Torsten, and I were Minnesota bound and on the road around 4:20am. I took the first leg of the drive and drove for a few hours before we made our first rest-stop and switched drivers. The whole drive actually went really well, and we arrived at Eric's mom's house in Eden Prairie, MN around 8:30pm. I'm so grateful for Denise's hospitality that night and the following morning when we were up early and back on the road again by 6:45am. Amber drove until we hit Lino Lakes where we filled up on gas and then I drove the rest of the way to my house!
The first week back home was very busy. Saturday, August 2 was my grammy's 90th birthday party, which was held at my house. The day started with the 5th annual family triathlon which was fun as always. My team included Jake (swimming), my dad (biking), and myself (running), and we ended up getting second place overall! After the triathlon was over, I went back home to help my mom set up for the party and get the house in order. The party was a success, and the headcount was around 60+ people (all family)! We had a yummy lunch of BBQ pork, turkey, potatoes (catered by B&B), ciabatta rolls from SuperOne, my aunt Karen's amazing caesar salad, carrots, jello, deviled eggs, pasta salad, and more. The late lunch was followed the tradition cocoa-nut layer birthday cake made by my aunt Alice (two cakes) and cousin Rachel (one cake). The evening ended with the usual softball game in our backyard, and Grammy got a home run, of course! ;)The next day, August 3, was my grammy's actual birthday. We started the day with a really great service at church, and later that afternoon we had everyone (only about 40 people this time) back at my house for lunch. Lunch was leftovers from the day before, and for dessert we had ice cream cones and cookies that I made. We had yard games, a guest missionary did a karate demonstration, my aunt Alice did a dog obedience demonstration, and then we danced to some polka music, per request of my grandma. It ended up being another very busy, yet enjoyable day! It's always a good time when we have that much family back together again. My brother was one of the only ones who unfortunately didn't make it back home for the party, but I'm glad that so many other family members were able to attend.The rest of the week was filled with some more family time, some friend time, swimming and water skiing on Chub Lake, and a fun trip to my aunt and uncles cabin in Lake Nebagamon. I also got to spend a fun day with my mom in Duluth! We ran to some floor/cabinet stores first and then ate lunch at Vitta Pizza in Canal Park. After lunch we went to see the movie Begin Again, and then went back to Canal to do some shopping. On my last day in Minnesota, August 9, my mom treated us to pedicures in Duluth which was really fun! I'm so blessed to have such an amazing mom who I also consider to be one of my best friends. I can't imagine a world without her. <3I flew back to Colorado on Sunday, August 10th, very early in the morning. I met the airport shuttle in Scanlon at 3:00am, and we arrived at the Minneapolis airport around 5:30am. The security line was surprisingly long for that time of morning, but I still had time to get my northern lite caramel mocha from Caribou before my flight! The flight went fairly smoothly, and we landed in Denver around 8:15am. I was ready for the shuttle back to Boulder by 8:45am, but my pickup time wasn't until 9:30am. It was actually a happy coincidence though, because I got to talk to a really nice guy who lives in Cheyenne, WY while waiting for the shuttle. We got talking last minute about Christian music and his work with K-Love, a Christian radio station in Denver, and before we could get to into the conversation my shuttle arrived. He gave me his card and told me to shoot him an email, which I did later that evening. He replied the next morning describing his work a bit more, and he also offered me free VIP tickets to see Chris August's acoustic concert on August 24th! I almost couldn't believe it. I am so grateful for this encounter, not because of the free concert tickets (which I am also very grateful for), but because it really got me thinking about my own future and the possibility of working in ministry - possibly Christian radio? Either way, this just goes to show how God is constantly at work in our lives, often when we least expect it.Well...I'm back to the normal Colorado routine now! Summer classes are over, so I'm free for a couple more weeks before the fall semester starts back up again. I renewed my Netflix subscription again...I just couldn't stay away! *Sighs* Anyways, this has been a pretty great summer, and as much as I love summer, I'm actually starting to get excited for fall; fall flavors, smells, sweater weather, leaves changing colors, the works. I'm also kind of looking forward to Christmas already, but the snow and cold temps can hold off for as long as they'd like.
I hope you have all had an AMAZING summer and enjoy the last couple weeks of August! I'd love to hear what you've all been up to, so feel free to share your summer stories as well. :)
♥ Jane
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