Colorado

This past weekend we went to Colorado for a friend's wedding ... and just to have a little weekend getaway! We had such a great time. We have friends who live really close to where the wedding was taking place who decided to come along for the ride ... and they were sweet enough to volunteer to watch Landon during the wedding.

On Friday we went to downtown Ft. Collins. It is a beautiful town! They have a fun downtown area with restaurants, shops and a fountain. Landon was in heaven. We were with our friend Jacqueline's whole family ... and they lavished Landon with attention. Jacqueline's mom had a cat ... poor thing. She probably will never be the same again after all of Landon's attention and "affection." And Scott's parents had a water feature in their back yard. It is now full of rocks courtesy of Landon's incredible throwing skills. We were really lucky everyone was so patient and thought he is one cute kid, otherwise we might have had to find a hotel :)!
That night was the wedding. It was fun to see an old friend so happy! The wedding was very beautiful and unique. I think one of the biggest highlights for me was seeing my favorite teacher from high school there. We had a great time catching up. She is what all teachers should be made of - she is strong, inspiring and genuinely cares about her students. She immediately wanted to know everything I had been doing and remembered all kinds of things about me. Even now, all these years later, seeing her made me want to try a little harder and be just a little bit better.

Please excuse the weird lighting ... they had some really
beautiful decorations and lighting effects going on that didn't
quite translate in pictures!

The other highlight of the evening? Seeing Jeff dance. Seriously, folks, it's magical. Magical! I wish there were a way to capture the essence of it ... but I'm afraid there isn't so you're just going to have to imagine him fast-dancing instead. And pray we end up at an event where you get to see it live someday :)!

On Saturday we drove to Elizabeth - where I lived during high school. Jeff hasn't ever seen it, or really met many people who knew me growing up, so the entire weekend was really fun for him. I have always told him Elizabeth was small and quite a ways out in the country. It wasn't until Saturday that he really got that! It is still SO small! They have added a Wal-Mart and Sonic. And maybe a few little businesses here and there ... but otherwise it is still a three stoplight town. Yes, you read that correctly. Three (that is a total by the way).

I was in the last class that graduated from the original high school, which is now a middle school. There is a new, bigger high school across the street. A sign that they are now a thriving metropolis? Nope, when you see the pics below you'll understand why!

The football field I cheered at (above) and the
gymnasium where we had basketball games and
pep rallies (below)!

We also got to see my old house and neighborhood. That was so fun! We loved that house. When I was just tiny (around 3 maybe?) my dad built me the cutest playhouse. And then, being the very dedicated parents that they are, proceeded to haul it to Oklahoma and then Colorado for me. Unfortunately, it had made enough moves that Colorado was where it had to stay. But I got a picture of Landon and I in front of that too.
It was so fun to see Elizabeth. It was a great place to go to high school and it was full of a lot of really fun memories. I had a great time sharing that with Jeff and Landon.

That night we went to Pearl Street in Boulder. It's quite the place! They were having a fall festival and are known for their street performers. It was really fun - we all had a great time. Landon especially loved the band that was playing!! Random people kept getting up and dancing along. I think they define "free spirits" there!

Overall, it was a fun time. I'm so glad we went!