Rocky Mountain High (belated 4th of July fun)

In between all our remodeling, we did take some time out for fun. For the 4th of July weekend, Gabe went down to SW Missouri to see his family while I flew home to Denver. I hadn't been to Denver since Christmas and I was pretty homesick for family and friends. Plus, I LOVE Colorado in the summer.

I was lazy and didn't lug my big camera on the trip and now I am regretting it.

The weekend in Denver was awesome. It is always good to be home, see my family, sleep with the windows open...etc. My dad and stepmom have a great house to relax in. But as usual, it was a very busy trip. It is so hard to be able to see everyone in a short amount of time. I tend to have to go with a specific plan. Everyone is pretty good about the give and take. This trip, the goal was to spend some quality time with my girlfriends and also with my nephews, Alex, Austin and Richie. It had been entirely too long since I saw either.

I had a great time with my nephews on Friday. We had an early lunch, went to my brother's (Phil) to play some Rock Band, went to see Hancock, squeezed in some family time with a small BBQ at Dad's house then took the boys to see the fireworks. It was very busy, but an awesome day.

Saturday was my girl time day. I hadn't been to the mountains since we moved to Missouri, so I went with my BFFs Kristi and Collie up to Silverthorne (about an hour west of Denver) to shop at the outlet stores and have lunch at the Dam Brewery in Dillon. We had a total blast. I can't say how much I miss my girlfriends! Plus, being in the mountains again was wonderful. Its hard to be without them. Here we are posing for a pic on Kristi's blackberry. Just as we thought, time flew by and the day with the girls ended too soon. Saturday night I had dinner with Mom, Phil, Gretchen, and my aunt Maxie at our favorite sushi spot, Wasabi's then crashed at mom's place.

It was so great to be able to spend a little time at home. Its amazing how fast time flies and how much time goes by in-between visits. As always, I never get to see everyone I would like to, but there is only so much time. I wish there was a way to combine both places into one. But for now, I just do what I can, when I can.