Califoregon Living

Happy New Year! What a great way to start a new year. In a beautiful hotel, in a terrific city, with wonderful friends.

We let the boys stay up all night , so as they were sleeping in, David and I walked to this incredible vegan restaurant called Watercourse Foods. If I were to have a restaurant, this is exactly how I would want it. No changes. The ambience. The beverages. The food. The service. All fabulous.

It was busy, so we sat at the bar. Did not detract from the experience at all.

Walking back, we ducked into the Brown Palace Hotel for a minute to see their lobby.
I love their chandelier!

Then we walked down to the Union Station. Beautiful. Inside is the Crawford Hotel. We will consider staying here another time.

We walked over to the Tattered Cover Bookstore and David left me there for three hours. Heaven! I did a little damage 🙂

Heading back to the room…

Our last night, we gathered with Stan and Diane for one last moment together. We sat in the hotel bar and relaxed after all the wedding activity. Stan and Diane are the parents of Chase. Stan was the best man at our wedding and David’s last roommate before me 🙂

Next morning, the Blue Bronco on the way to the airport…

A full day to play…walking through Denver…

We went to the Clyfford Still Art Museum. He was an abstract artist who liked to take a piece of art from another artist and use it as inspiration to make his own piece. We also learned that he received his Master degree, and taught at, Washington State University. Go Cougs!

This was his take on a Georgia O’Keefe piece…

The gallery used interactive devices for displaying art. Here you see a blank wall next to the piece of art, but when you aim the device on the wall, a piece of art appears on the device.

We did not go inside, but this is the Denver Art Museum…

I was intrigued to see this house plopped right in the center of a parking lot among tall modern building. Discovered it’s a property you can rent while on vacation!  Established in 1887, it’s marketed as Denver’s oldest residence!

Ryan is always on the hunt for boba tea. Found some and the place had this terrific graphic piece.

It was New Year’s eve and we were thrilled to discover our view from the hotel was of the fireworks!! We did not have to bundle up to go watch them. Grateful.

What a beautiful wedding it was! A full Catholic mass wedding; another first for our family. Attire was formal/black tie. We all got to dress up!

Waiting for the event to begin…a little thumb wrestling to bide the time.

Chase and brother/best man Adrian. 

Ashlee and Chase!

Fancy dress shots…
The reception was at the Four Seasons. A cocktail hour, then three course dinner, and dancing!

This might end up as our next Christmas card photo.

We were invited to David’s godson Chase’s wedding! In Denver!!  It was the first time for all of us and were so glad we went!

Denver in winter is c-c-c-cold! We were woefully unprepared for it. Still, we made the best of things and has so much family fun.

The reception was to be held at the Four Seasons. I have to say, I think this is one of the nicest properties I have been to, both in terms of decor and service. They had is decorated for Christmas beautifully. Everyone working there was courteous and friendly.

When the boys were little, we had a tradition where they were allowed to jump from one bed to the other. Well, those days are gone, but Ryan asked to do it once. We obliged.

Walked to Larimer Square for lunch. A super cute block of shops and restaurants. Ended up at Tag for lunch. They make their own delicious ginger ale!

All bundled up!

A few photos of our hotel room bathroom. Lovely! And, it even had a TV in the mirror!!

We attended the rehearsal dinner at Maggiano’s Little Italy. They has a private room for us and it was decorated beautifully for Christmas. My photos did not turn out well enough to post. The dinner was delicious and we all walked away stuffed. These photos are of Chase and Ashlee. The second photo is them playing a game their brothers facilitated. They each had to hold a shoe in both hands, one shoe his, one hers. A brother would say something like “who is better with managing finances” and they had to raise the shoe to answer. Some of the questions were pretty entertaining and there were a lot of laughs.

Enjoying the holiday lights on the walk home…

We got back to our room and discovered two surprises!

1. Someone had ordered for both boys a s’mores kit. That was the best chocolate!! They were each personalized even. It was such a special touch.
   
2. Our bathroom sinks were illuminated!
   
   End of a terrific day one.

…was at our house this year! Family joined from all Idaho, New York, and Oakland. We ate a bunch, walked a bunch, laughed a bunch.

Everyone received decorative socks, LED light up beanies, and slippers. We had Margaret and Randy bring their dog Luke with them. The puppies played with him a few years ago and had a blast. This time, they were not so sure. Poor Luke. He just wanted to play. But Austin was territorial.

Margaret’s famous Christmas Tree bread… I had asked the boys earlier in the season what their favorite Christmas traditions were that they wanted to carry on into their homes as adults. Both replied simultaneously, ‘Grandma’s Christmas bread!”

BEST PRESENT! We all had cards on our plates. Upon opening the card, we learned that Paul and Shannon are having a baby! I’m going to be an Auntie again!!

Sara’s husband Charlie is from London. They do Christmas “crackers” and inside the crackers are a paper crown, and a little toy. I placed my crown on my beanie…

Paul and Shannon Skyping with other family members to make the announcement!

Sara, modeling the virtual reality set Charlie received for Christmas…

The poppy love going for wagon rides! And a moment of peace with the three dogs…

Margaret and Randy sted a couple days longer and we took advantage of the lovely weather and went for a little hike.

Every year, I say “where did the time go?” This year is no exception. My son is 15! He has peach fuzz on his upper lip and is excited about driving this summer!!!

I love, love, love how he is shaping up to be an incredible man. Outgoing. Charming. Creative. Smart. Entertaining. Always looking a few steps ahead. Always looking at the bigger picture. Totally a first born big brother.

Our traditional “eat whatever you want” breakfast. This year: BBQ and teriyaki chicken wings with ranch, pizza rolls, Concord grape juice, and pop tarts…

Another tradition is little brother creating a scavenger hunt for him. This year, there was a $5 bill from Ryan’s personal account at the end. A nice surprise for Alex! These are the photo hints for the hunt. It’s full of hidden jokes the two of them have.

His birthday fell on a Wednesday this year. The activity he wanted to do was Zion VR. Since they are closed Wednesdays, we took him the day before instead.

He and Ryan spent the day playing video games at home.

We had an early dinner at his favorite restaurant, Mikuni’s. His favorite roll is the Benjamin Roll. They have a large wheel you get to spin for birthdays and win a prize. Alex won a bag of rice. I wish I could post the video of it. He jumped in the air all excited. He named it ‘Carlos’ and had me carry it as my “grandson” back to the car.

After dinner, we surprised him by taking him to Gamestop to pick up the one main thing he’s been wanting. All his birthday money added up gave him enough to purchase it! The Nintendo Switch.

That’s what he did the rest of the evening. Setting up and playing with the Nintendo Switch.