Back on the Slopes

Well, folks. It's here. The moment Matt has been not-so-patiently waiting for has finally arrived.

It's ski season.

Being true ski freaks now, we've already made it up to the mountains twice. The most important thing we've learned in our couple of ski trips is that I am truly awesome at skiing.

Ok, I must admit, I'm still on the easy greens and I don't anticipate jumping on any blues any time soon. But when I think about how horrible I was on my first day (I still blame my awful instructor for most of it), I'm pretty proud of how well I'm doing. Matt, who is still fearless, may not be too far ahead of me for much longer.

Well, that's probably not true. I think there's a pretty big motivation difference between us. Matt would ski everyday if he could, while I'm content to ski a little and read a little. But at least I don't feel like I'm slowing him down too much.

Anyway, the other important thing I learned (thought not as important as the fact that I rock) is that ski pictures all start to look the same once you've gone a few times. Especially when you only have one pair of snow pants and one jacket. So the following pictures may look an awful lot like last season, but just imagine me going a lot faster than in last season's pics.

I actually didn't get any pictures of our first weekend at Keystone, but it was snowy and cloudy anyway. Last weekend we headed up to Breckenridge.

On the mountain at Breck. Beautiful day.

Matt.

Matt again.

Me. Zoom zoom.

So pretty.

We already have plans to go back up on Friday. I'm telling you, we're ski freaks now!

On a side note, I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow. I've been cooking (and finishing homework) today so that I'm ready to enjoy the day!

The Things We Do For Football

I don't like the cold.

Ok, that statement doesn't really impart my feelings about the cold. To be truthful, I cannot stand the feeling of being cold. I hate the cold. I loathe the cold.

So, why do I ever leave the house in the winter? Well, if I must admit, there are some fun things that can only be done in the colder months. Things like skiing, snowshoeing, and watching live football. Fortunately, I live in Colorado, where the weather in fall and winter is often more warm than one might expect. Unfortunately, the weather was not unusually warm when we braved the elements for a couple of fall football games over the last couple of weeks.

Now, if I must be honest, the only element we braved was air, but I like to be dramatic.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago our nephew was playing in the "Super Bowl" for his youth football league. Of course, our entire family had to gather to cheer him on.

Football!

His team, the Giants, did really well this year; they only lost one game! Unfortunately, their only defeat came against the team they were playing during the Super Bowl. And those other kids were huge! But the Giants played really well, and we were yelling and cheering for them the whole time - despite the cold!

The baby was a minor distraction from the action. But a welcome one.

Yay! Go Giants!

So intense.

Some of our family was less interested than others. The girls cheered on their brother, but they also did silly dances and texted a lot.

As the sun went down, we got colder and colder. We had to bundle up under blankets to keep warm.

Toward the end of the game. Things weren't looking too great.

Sadly, the Giants did not win. But I was so impressed with their discipline. The other team was getting tons of penalties, including multiple personal foul calls. The Giants kept their cool and played hard. So good for them!

After getting warmed up at the little football game (figuratively, of course - I was still freezing!), we were ready for the BIG game. Last weekend, we headed to the Broncos/Chiefs showdown downtown!

In case you don't know, my silly husband is a HUGE Chiefs fan. He has been his entire life. While I'm not as enthusiastic (... or obsessed...) as he is, I've been a Broncos fan my entire life. It's amazing we've been able to make this relationship work.

Twice every year, we enjoy cheering on our teams as they go head-to-head. This year, Matt finally decided to brave the Bronco crowd to see his Chiefs in the flesh. My dad (huge Broncos fan) came along and we met up with Matt's boss (huge Chiefs fan) at the game.

Heading into the game.

Pregame fun. Parachuters dropped into the stadium.

Parachuter!

The Broncos band and cheerleaders.

Go Broncos!

We were all hoping it would be a close game with intense action. Unfortunately, the 2-6 Broncos somehow destroyed the 5-3 Chiefs.

Football. The Broncos are winning!

While I love that my team was winning, I was sad Matt was having a crummy time. I don't think any of us would have been upset if our team lost, but to have them suck majorly is not a lot of fun. Matt used to go to lots of games when we lived in Kansas, but he hadn't seen the Chiefs live since we moved to Denver. It would have been nice if his return game had been a little more exciting.

Matt's not thrilled. I'm feeling pretty ok.

The score just before halftime. In case you can't see, it was 35-7.

We tried to have fun during the rest of the game, even though things started to get a little boring. And really cold.

The CSU band. I like them.

Our team's winning!

The Chiefs fans, being good sports.

It was a fun game... kind of. Before we went to the game, Matt was talking about making this game an annual tradition for us. I wonder if he still feels the same way...

So, I guess I had a good time at my football events, despite the freezing cold temperatures. I've found that the cold is more tolerable when I'm doing fun activities. Of course, that doesn't mean I won't grumble and complain every time I go out in the miserable, winter world!

Halloween... in November

Ok, I know that's it's halfway through November and most of you don't really care about Halloween anymore. I guess that's the problem with getting behind on posting around the holidays. Oh, well. I have pictures I must share!

We had a good time with Halloween this year. It started with a cool visit from some super cute trick-or-treaters.

A fairy-kitten and a fairy-pumpkin. Store-bought costumes aren't as creative as I remember. But the kids like them, so it's ok.

My door helper.

Halloween is fun!!

Halloween night was pretty calm for us. We gave candy to lots of trick-or-treaters until we ran out. The little one got tired of trick-or-treating early in the evening, so we kept her at our house while her sister kept making the rounds. She tuckered out pretty fast.

Sleepy pumpkin.

But Halloween wasn't over for us. The following weekend we had our second annual Halloween Party! I recognize that it's a little weird to have a costume party a week after Halloween, but I don't care!

It was a good time. I made some yummy snacks, and most of us dressed up in silly costumes. Our costume theme this year was internet sensations and viral videos. We had the double rainbow guy, cigar guy, chimpanzee riding on a segway, Dr. Horrible and Captain Hammer, Marzipan and Homestar Runner, Foamy the Squirrel, and Facebook herself. (If you don't know some of those references, use google and youtube to waste a few hours of your time.)

Food. Cupcakes (some brought by my good buddy, Mel), guacamole, tortilla rolls, bacon weenies, and fruit salsa with cinnamon chips.

Chatting. I was glad to see some friends I don't get to see very often!

Marzipan and Homestar Runner.

More chatting.

Chimpanzee riding on a segway.

Viewing funny videos on the laptop I set up so people could show others the inspiration for their costumes.

Dr. Horrible and Captain Hammer!

Setting the cloak back. We were excited to have an extra hour to party!

So it was a pretty fun evening of eating, drinking, chatting, and being silly. This whole Halloween party thing seems to be turning into a yearly tradition for us!

Arkalalah Madness

I don't fully understand why I love the crazy town-wide festival that takes place in Ark City, Kansas every October, but love it I do. I'm sure it has something to do with the deliciously fatty food that seems never-ending. Or maybe it's the numerous silly events, like the races and egg-toss competitions, the high school band shows, or the ridiculous coronation of the "Queen Alalah." (Yup, you read that right.)

But I think what really makes me look forward to this crazy event is the idea of spending a weekend hanging out with family and amazing friends.

I am not a native Ark Cityan (Ark Cityite?), so it was rather late in my life that I first experienced the awesomeness/ridiculousness that is Arkalalah. When Matt first took me to his hometown for this festival, I was a little skeptical. Observing the coronation of Queen Alalah as one of my first Arkalalah events further convinced me that this was some weird Kansas thing that I would never understand. But as I watched an entire town (and many surrounding towns) come together to celebrate traditions and old-fashioned family fun, I kind of started to get it.

Plus, the fair food really is spectacular.

This year, Matt's high school class was gathering for their ten-year reunion. Most classes choose to host the reunions during Arkalalah, since so many people return to town for the festival anyway. The idea of seeing old classmates stimulated a mild curiosity in Matt, but we pretty much just used the reunion as an excuse to enjoy eating way too much food while visiting with family and friends.

We flew out after work on Thursday, and we were prepared to take in the fair early Friday morning. I enjoyed delicious chili, a chocolate banana on a stick, and ROASTED CORN!

I developed a little bit of an obsession with roasted corn on this trip. This is the first of two trips to a corn booth. Considering I was I little more reserved with my eating this time round, that's pretty crazy.

But as I mentioned above, the real purpose of this trip was to visit family and friends. We spent the day chatting, catching up, and walking around the festival.

Our awesome friends, Dac and Alisha, and Matt. This will be the album cover when they decide to start a band.

Fire! Me and one of the nieces.

We spent a large part of the weekend hanging out with some of our closest friends. Matt has remained very (oddly) close to a group of guys he knew in high school, and the addition of wives has not diminished their love for each other. In fact, the wives' club has developed our own close friendships. Unfortunately, one of the couples is currently in Virginia (you may remember Tarl and Joy from here) and they were unable to attend the reunion. It was the perfect occasion for a group-wide skype!

Tarl.

The group.

The boys. Probably laughing at some boy joke.

Saturday in Ark City brought far too many people for my comfort. But we braved the crowds to take in the annual parade. One of our nieces is in her first year on the flag team, so we had to cheer her on in the parade and at the flag competition after.

Walking in the street. The sidewalks are lined with chairs of those preparing to watch the parade.

Look! It's our niece!

Ark City's flag team put on an awesome show!

Finally, it was time for the "main event." The boys prepared for the reunion by looking through old yearbooks:

While the ladies got prettied up and talked about baby stuff (John and Anna are expecting their first child any day now!).

Anna's belly.

Then we were off to the awkwardness that is a high-school reunion.

Disappointed in the beer selection. They've really become beer snobs in their old age.

Me and Alisha. I was very glad to have my friends there!

Conversation time.

Having fun?

Chatting with Bri. I actually know her, so that was cool.

Us.

I love this picture for many reasons. Mostly because it has two of my favorite ladies in it. But also because John is dancing like an idiot in the background (on purpose, of course).

Old roomies.

The wives were ready to leave while the men were still talking.

In the end, the reunion was a little weird, but the guys seemed to enjoy themselves.

So another Arkalalah has come and gone. I enjoyed the food (though we didn't imbibe quite as much as we have in years past) and the silly events (go band!) and the cool people, who I miss already.