"Today [...um, I mean last Saturday...], we celebrate our Independence Day!"

So I know I'm a little late, but...

Happy Fourth of July, everyone!!

I've been addicted to a new book this week, so there has been little time for silly things like blogging. But I decided I had better make time. I knew you were all sitting at home thinking, "I wonder what Matt and Kelly did for the 4th." So I thought I'd better tell you.

We started our holiday with a hike up Bear Peak, which is west of Boulder.

Matt was excited and ready to go.

It was a pretty steep climb at times, so it gave us a pretty good workout.

The peak we were heading to.

Pretty flowers on the mountain.

Pretty view. You can see the red building where we started.

Zoom in on our starting location.

This was not at the top, but it was the best view we got that day.

Our view from the peak was obstructed because we were completely buried in clouds. It was kinda cool, though.

This was about as good as the view got from the top.

It felt kinda magical up in the clouds.

A chipmunk.

Climbing down. It was a little steep and rocky.

Another shot of our starting location.

Another zoomed in look at our starting location.

Pretty tired on the way down.

That top peak in the middle is the one we climbed.

Back in the parking lot, looking at the mountain we'd just tackled. I was pretty proud.

After the hike and lunch (and a little rest back at home), we headed off to the Rapids game. Matt had gotten tickets for my birthday. It was a good present.

Soccer!

Edson.

Unfortunately, we lost.

Sad.

But there were still fireworks to look forward to. The "biggest show in Colorado!"

Excited.

Lots of people waiting for fireworks.

Sadly, the fireworks completely failed. Multiple songs played simultaneously on the sound system, while we stared up expectantly at a completely dark sky. Some sad lonely shells did make it in the air, but not very many.

And we still had a ton of traffic that we got to fight on our way out! There was a ridiculous number of people there that night.

Long line of cars (and they're trying to get through...)

But unlike most of the crazy people in attendance, we went to see the actual game. So while we were very disappointed in the sad fireworks (and crazy traffic), it was still a pretty fun night.

I hope everyone had a safe and happy Fourth! Be proud to be an American (and not just because the song says)!

So sleepy...

Well, it's almost bedtime, but if I don't post something now, I'm not sure if I will anytime soon. This last week has been pretty busy, and I haven't had much of a chance to update. And I only have a little bit of time before I pass out from exhaustion so: quick post, and then to bed.

First, the weekend before last, we went to a Colorado Rapids game. This was going to be a post of its own, but new house stuff has monopolized my time. So I'm a little late. But it was pretty awesome. Neither Matt nor I had ever been to a soccer game, or really gotten into the sport in the past. But now we both are liking it.

Dick's Sporting Goods Park

We won! 2-1 against the Kansas City Wizards. It was kinda fun to be rooting against Matt's brother's team.

Matt's hat was probably confusing to people, since we were playing KC. But I promise he rooted for the Rapids.

I was very, VERY cold. But it was fun.

Last Tuesday, WE CLOSED ON OUR HOUSE!

At the closing.

We got into our house for the first time Friday night. And I'm warning you, the following picture of me is extremely frightening, but it captures the exact moment we first stepped into our house, when Matt carried me over our threshold. So... don't make fun of me too much because it was very exciting.

I brought bread and salt because my aunt told me about some tradition involving bread and salt. It was fun.

That's a better picture of us in our new house.

Since then, we've been spending all our time at our new place. We won't officially move in until this Saturday, but we've been changing light fixtures and painting, etc.

We spent some money at Home Depot. Mostly on light fixtures.

And Matt got a nice, giant grill that he put together this weekend. He was very excited.

I'll have many more house pictures over the next few days. We've already gotten rid of the magenta fire place, so I'll be excited to show you that picture soon!

And finally, I'll leave you with a picture of a good-looking fireman. The fire department came to my school today. The kids loved it, and so did most of the women teachers. A little too much I would say...

And now, to bed.