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!