Out with the old, in with the new...

There comes a time in every young 20-something's life where they must decide to let go of things of the past for better things in the future. My time came today as I traded in my first sign of financial freedom as a single young woman for my first major purchase with my husband. We got a new car! While the Acura has been a wonderful car, there is not room for it (or not enough room in it) for the Brocks. Eventually, there will be more of us and we figured why not get the new car while we're in a good place? Though I was tearful as I drove the Acura for one last time, the moment I sat in my nice new car, I was smitten!

Hallowine and Football Time!

Two weeks ago, I turned 28. Yes...I know, it's hard to believe. I am now officially in my late twenties. 27 was a toss up between mid to late twenties, but now, I'm officially there! How did I spend my birthday weekend? Check below:

With a little monster, good friends and family, and good wine, we celebrated Halloween a little differently, dubbing it HalloWINE instead. We hosted a wine tasting party (cheese and all). This was a great idea and one of the few birthdays I have ever spent where no one was required to dress in costume! Ok...so Carson was still subjected to the costume, but it was his first and isn't he the cutest little monster? That same weekend, my brother-in-law, Matt, had the chance to finish celebrating his birthday with a Miami Dolphins/Denver Broncos game. We were invited to attend as well. This was my first pro football game ever and it was quite exciting! We had great weather and a fun time. The weekend was great!

10 years? Already?

Just this past weekend, Tim and I flew back to South Carolina to attend my 10 year high school reunion...like there wasn't enough celebrating already going on in October! It was great to see everyone and spend time with friends. I, of course, returned to Colorado feeling homesick (along with another kind of sick) but was looking forward to a CALM, UNEVENTFUL week to follow! October sure knows how to fly by for such a wonderful month!

Fall Family Fun

As the month of birthdays continued, Tim, Matt, Michelle, Carson, and I all trecked up to Estes Park for a weekend away. The trip was to celebrate Matt's birthday and continue our tradition of trips to the mountains in the fall. We chose a spectacular weekend for cold weather, beautiful Aspens and elk. Carson experienced his first snow this weekend and Tim experienced his first baby feeding! The trip was wonderful (even though it was cold) and Tim took more pictures of Aspen and elk than our last three trips combined. Please enjoy the slideshow:

Tim Turns Thirty

October 3rd marked the 30th birthday for Tim. Yes, I am well aware that we are entering the last week of October and I am FINALLY blogging about what happened in the first week. That should explain to you how busy this month has been. By the time you read this blog, there will most likely be two other blogs added above it! In any case, enjoy the pictures of Tim's (low key) birthday celebration:

All That Jazz--Chicago!!!

As most of you know, Tim and I traveled to Chicago as an early celebration of his turning the big 3-0. I get pretty excited any time we travel together, but I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this trip. Courtesy of our good friend and tour guide, Meg, we were able to take in all the important sites. The first day was spent at the Lake Michigan Beach and in Wrigleyville--the home of the Cubs. We were able to take in a Cubs-Cardinals game. This was a memorable experience for Tim to say the least. It did not hurt that the Cardinals beat the Cubs 12 to 6! We toured around the local spots and enjoyed the taunting Tim received from disgruntled fans. That evening we had, by far, the best pizza I have ever tasted. There is a reason it's called "Chicago-style"...cause it's that good! The three of us devoured it and added tirrimisu to finish the evening. Travel Tip # 1: If you go to Chicago, eat at Giordano's!
The next day was all about seeing the city. We started with Starbucks and shopping. The Magnificent Mile is simply magnificent! I seemed to be the MOST excited...since I spent the most money, but what's new there? In any case, we walked off all of the pizza and tirrimisu shopping and snapping pictures all over the city. Millennium Park, Buckingham Fountain (unfortunately not pictured) and The Sears Tower were just a few of the sites to behold. We had the best caramel and cheddar cheese popcorn I have had since I was 9. Travel Tip #2: Go to Garrett's for a great snack!
That evening we had reservations at Shaw's Crab House for a celebration birthday dinner for Tim. The food was wonderful...especially the desserts. The restaurant gave us the feeling we were in a 1930s hot spot. Just as exciting was the cab ride to the restaurant--If you've seen Batman Begins or The Dark Knight, you might remember the tunnel scenes. It really exists in Chicago and our cabbie drove through it--at a pretty high speed too! That evening, we enjoyed a few drinks from the roof-top bar at our hotel, and said 'good-bye' to Meg.
Unfortunately, our trip was not as long as we would have liked, but it was a great one just the same. We are already discussing the next time we will be in Chicago and are looking forward to it. Tim's Travel Tip: If you ever go to Chicago, trust Meg's opinion.
Please enjoy some of the clips from such a great weekend!

Friends, Family, Fireworks, and Fun

The month of July has offered very little time to update everyone on all that has been going on. Besides the fact that I doubled up on my master's degree classes, we had many guests and opportunities for fun. July has really flown by (which also means I'll be back at work soon!) Here is an update of how the month flew by:

The end of June ushered our first guests since this past April when Mary and her boyfriend, Andy, came in to town. With the birth of ADORABLE, Lovable, and Huggable Carson, the Brock family has quickly purchased plane tickets to behold his greatness. Tim and I were able to host Mary and Andy while they explored Colorado and got to know the baby.

Just about the time that Mary and Andy came in to town, Debbie (my mother-in-law and proud grandma) also flew in. She was a blessing for Michelle and welcome company for the rest of us. Mary and Andy left on Friday. This gave us two days to clean the whole apartment before our next round of guests, Autumn and Daniel, came in town. Well...actually, they caught a pinch of my flying luck and didn't make it to Denver until Tuesday morning. Below are some pictures from the fun had while they were here:

Daniel's cousin works as an assistant coach for the Denver Nuggets. He was able to get us behind the scenes and into the Nuggets locker room. Tim was in heaven!

The next day, we took them (along with friends, Chris and Lisa) to a Rockies fireworks game. This picture illustrates how high up we were.

Yep...we were the very TOP row.

Being that high up did allow us to get a pretty awesome skyline picture of the city. Later there were fireworks (pictured at beginning), the height did not work to our advantage there!

On the 4th we took Autumn and Daniel out to Red Rocks...it was nice and hot for that hike!

These rocks still amaze me!

We also took them up to Dinosaur Ridge to see some real dinosaur tracks! Later we went to Matt and Michelle's for a 4th of July cookout (yes, cookout...not barbecue.) Carson was looking handsome as ever!

The end of the month brought our last guest for a while, a cute blond named Satchmo. We watched Satchmo for Chris and Lisa. He and Rocky became fast friends. They enjoyed taking naps together and fighting over the same toys.

July has gone by too quickly! We are now about to venture back to South Carolina for an extended week of visiting and then it's back to work...for both of us! :(

Sunless Seattle

What is gray, cold, and below sea level? Seattle...and that is where we chose to spend our first anniversary! Despite the fact that we were there during the coldest first week of June in over a hundred years, we had a great time. We stayed at the Pan Pacific Hotel, who upgraded us to a Junior Suite when they learned we were celebrating our anniversary. The room had an awesome bathroom (especially the tub) and a huge bed. There was also a Starbucks attached to the hotel (go figure) and a Whole Foods Market on the bottom floor. I would have been content to stay at the hotel...but that would have defeated the purpose of the visit.

One of the first things we did the first full day of vacation was head to the famous Pike's Place Market. This is where the fish are thrown. Beyond that, there was an overflow of produce and flowers. I was amazed at all of the beautiful colors...especially against a backdrop of gray! We had great clam chowder and a view of the Puget Sound for lunch. We also dropped by the Flagship Starbucks store which is right across from the market. Very crowded and the coffee didn't taste any different, but it was neat to see where the mega-coffee shop got its start.

We had a great view of the Space Needle from our room. We made reservation to eat there for our "anniversary dinner." The restaurant rotates around the Space Needle as you eat. We got an excellent view of the entire city. Afterward, we went out onto the observation deck and took several pictures...it was pretty cold up there!

The next day, we took a ferry across the Puget to drive out to the Olympic National Forest. Everything was so lush and green and the weather was beautiful. It was a perfect day for hiking.

Our last day in Seattle, we took a tour of the Underground City...Seattle that we know today is actually built on top of the original due to being below sea level. I highly recommend this tour. We had a Norm McDonald clone for our tour guide...it was very entertaining. We also took in a Seattle Mariners game. Not as entertaining...they played the Nationals so we basically watched the two worst teams play each other. Tim and I enjoyed the game from inside the warm club house.

Seattle was a great place to visit, though with the gray, we would never be able to live there. We had great food and lots of exercise from all of the walking. Hope you enjoy the slide show below:

In a year

A year ago, I was getting ready with all of my girlfriends and sisters in The Garden Room at the Inn on Main. I was only a few hours away from becoming Mrs. Brock. Where has this year gone? It has been filled with a roller coaster of emotion, mostly good with sadness only because I felt homesick. Marriage has been so much more than what I expected and has given me so much more to look forward to.

In a year, I have moved across the country, gotten a new dog, started a new (and often difficult) job, received National Board certification, and traveled to South Dakota, Vail, South Carolina, San Francisco, Seattle (tomorrow), and Mexico.

In a year, I've been to more baseball and basketball games than I ever could have imagined.

In a year, I have eaten more bar-b-que, chicken, and broccoli than I ever thought I would.

In a year, I've become a member of both a book club and a wine club.

In a year, I found out I have a "brain tail."

In a year, I began to play video games.

In a year, I started my master's degree.

In a year, I cut off 7 inches of hair.

In a year, I became a daughter-in-law, sister-in-law, aunt and godmother.

In a year, I have introduced more people to grandmama's chicken pie, Aunt Ruth's cheesy potatoes, and my own special blend of SWEET tea.

In a year, I experienced snow on a weekly basis and never got a snow day.

In a year, I learned how to ski (thanks again, Melissa!)

In a year, I have become more organic and environmentally conscious.

In a year, I have learned that I'm not as good with plants as I was in South Carolina.

In a year, I have laughed a lot.

In a year, I have cried a lot.

In a year, I have felt more loved than ever.

In a year, I have felt happier than ever.

In another year, I hope to have many more adventures to post, more excitement to share, funny moments to laugh about, and people to share them with.

It's hard to believe a year has already flown by. Without getting too sentimental, I have to say I couldn't have picked a better man to go through this year with than Tim. I look forward to another year, and another year, and many more after those. Thank you to everyone who have supported us (from all areas of the country). We are blessed to have each other and all of you. Keep checking in to see how year two goes!

Pre-Anniversary Celebration

One of the things that Tim and I have grown to enjoy are good dinners at home together. Cooking and maturing our palette for wine are two hobbies we have found as a married couple that we have a desire for. In honor of our first anniversary, we celebrated with a pre-anniversary dinner. We had never attempted shrimp scampi. It turned out so well I had to take a picture for the blog. We had our favorites; homemade mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli along with our favorite wine, The Smoking Loon Syrah. I just thought I'd share the yumminess of yesterday's meal with all of you.

Long time, lots of news...

There are no excuses, except to say that May was an extremely busy, exciting, and eventful month. I will attempt to summarize all of the excitement in a few short paragraphs.

To begin, the weekend of April 26th, I flew back to South Carolina to throw my former roommate a baby shower. Carly had several weeks (so we thought) before her baby was to be born. By May 3rd, Davis Benny Phillips had entered the world. I guess we got the shower done just in the nick of time! Here are few pictures from the shower:

Me with the mommy and other hostesses (L-R: Hillary, Autumn, Carly, and Resa)

"Carly's Cravings"--a table full of all the food Carly could imagine to request!

Be it a boy or a girl, this baby was well stocked!

Sarah McAndrew and I--this is Emily's sweet little girl.

All of my friends (L-R: Hillary, Autumn, Carly, Emily, and Resa)

Shortly after returning from South Carolina, we got yet another snow (see blog entry for May 1st) and then I threw another baby shower for my sister-in-law, Michelle. May 3rd (the day Davis was born) Melissa and I hosted a wonderful Italian-food-themed shower for Michelle. Unfortunately, no one took pictures! The only picture from that day was taken later on by Tim, as the last few guests played Dance, Dance Revolution on the Nintendo Wii. Tim took a picture of my dance skills...it is definitely harder than it looks!

The following week was the week of the Cardinals. We went to Cardinal vs. Rockies games on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings. Tim and Matt even took in an afternoon game on Thursday. Here are few of the pictures from all of the fun:

Everyone at the Monday night game (L-R: Matt, Michelle, Hillary, and Tim)
Everyone's favorite Cardinal--Albert Pujols

Another important event that occurred in the early days of May was Rocky's first birthday. Here's a picture of him playing with one of his new toys:

The next week began a course of many days of work for Tim. He eventually ended up working 18 days straight! None of us were too excited about this, but Rocky took it the hardest. One of the Saturdays Tim had to go into work, Rocky sulked under the couch for a good solid two hours. He was very disappointed to spend another day without "Dad time."
Aside from all of the early excitement of May, I am now on VACATION! This means I get a lot more time at home. From being at home, I have found a new hobby of Rocky's. He now likes to sit on the bed in our bedroom and watch dogs and people pass by.
When he gets really excited about some creature on the other side of the window, he sits up tall and barks a very quiet, yet threatening bark. It's quite funny to watch!
Last, but certainly not least, the beginning of June ushered in the birth of Matt and Michelle's little boy (and our godson), Carson William Brock. He was born this past Monday at 9:29 am. He was 6 lbs. 10 oz.--very small for a full-term baby and he is just adorable. We have been to the hospital each night. Here are a few of the pictures we have gotten thus far:

The happy godparents with Carson

Matt's first diaper change...he learned a lot! :)

Uncle Tim bonding with the baby

Still adjusting to the light, Carson winked at me!

Day two--before another diaper change

Wide-eyed and ready for the world--Precious!

Now that it is June, summer holds much excitement with plenty to do. Besides playing with our new nephew, Tim and I begin the summer celebrating our one year anniversary. We will go to Seattle to celebrate this milestone. I will make sure to QUICKLY post pictures from that adventure. Shortly after that, we will have many friends and family visit. We are excited about it all and look forward to keeping you all updated. We miss you and love you. Happy Summer!!! (Yay! No more snow!!!!!!)