Colorful Colorado

(I think I love Colorado.) We had a great time visiting Denver and the surrounding areas! It was great catching up with Clark's high school buddy, Joel, and meeting his awesome girlfriend, Jen. We went snowboarding Monday as Joel is a regional sales rep for Rome Snowboards and had all the gear we would need AND was able to get us discounted lift tickets. It had been years since both Clark and I had been, but it was a blast. And I'm still sore. For some reason Clark isn't feeling the pain. This isn't quite fair since I am supposed to be the one who is in shape. Anyway, here are some photos of our lovely little trip:

Downtown Denver from a moving vehicle...

Ping Pong action in Joel's basement. Notice the black dog in the corner. This is by far the smartest, most well behaved dog ever...

Of course the day we wanted to explore downtown and visit Wax Trax Records it rained and snowed. Other than this day, the weather was beautiful so I really can't complain. And I kind of like how spontaneous the weather is in Denver. Dagmara, notice the purse :) ...

Clark amidst buffalo on the 16th Street Mall...

Hanging out ...

Clark and I went to visit a family he was close with on his mission. The Moffets were so excited to see him! Did I mention that Clark showed me several placed where he resided on his mission? He did...

A fun night at the aquarium with Joel and Jen...

I think eels are the most disgusting of all sea creatures...this thing just gives me the chills...

A lionfish and Clark's profile...

Petting a sting ray. Slightly reminiscent of swimming with the sting rays in Grand Cayman. If you ever get the chance to swim with sting rays, do!

Clark gently petting a sting ray. Two fingers!

Dinner at the aquarium. Butter infused everything, and that included the vegetables...

Group shot with Joel and Jen. They are so fun and cute! And don't mind my face, I thought we were doing a funny picture...

On the chairlift at Loveland. So much fun! So pleased that Clark and I can still ride pretty dang good. But I must admit that I have found I am a master at something. (Steph, I never responded to the "tag" awhile back because I feel like I'm more a jack-of-all-trades, master of none, kind of girl. But I have found something I truly excel at.)
***I am a master at falling when dismounting from the chairlift.***
I don't remember having this problem six years ago, but I could not conquer this task! I think there were 4 runs where I actually got off the chairlift without falling down. It would help if the hill at the end of the lift was less than a 45 degree angle, but still. So embarrassing, but at least I could still ride!

Ahhh, love on the mountain...

Yes, thumbs up to the weather and still being able to ride!

Clark looking dazed at the bed and breakfast, post snowboarding...

How cool is this mural? Clark was excited, he just doesn't show it here ;) poor, tired boy...

I was going for a "hiding in the forest" type of picture...

The outside...

Our balcony...

And our beautiful drive home.

We ended up taking the route through Grand Junction back to Utah. This is Garfield Mountain. Clark hiked this mountain a couple of times as a missionary. Clark asked if I would like to hike it and said he carved me a message there years ago. I got super excited, until he told me that he carved "I love you babe. -Clark Tobler" on the mountain. Since the message didn't specifically include my name, I decided the climb would not be worth it.

We had such a great trip and can't wait to visit again! There is so much to do in Colorado, and restaurants stay open past 9 pm! We actually had burritos downtown around 11 pm one night! Ahhh, the joy of being in a place that actually has a true downtown. I guess Colorado may be a place to look at for grad schools after all...