Down Under Again

In January, Kevin and I went down under to Sydney, Australia. We were there for 6 days and instead of running ourselves into the ground bouncing from one attraction to another, we spent some time at the beach! Unfortunately, on the 2nd beach day, I got a little crispy and we had to fill the rest of our time avoiding the sun as much as possible! We spent some time shopping, listening to the Sydney Symphony, and learning about some of Australia's deadliest snakes! It was a great trip! Here are some pictures for your enjoyment!

After the 15 hour flight, I decided to go for a run in Darling Harbour

Bondi Beach

They were filming for the T.V show Bondi Rescue

The currents were really bad and the lifeguards had to make a few rescues - nothing serious! Great for the show! 

Trying to be artsy 

The annual Sydney Festival was going on while we were there. We went to see the Sydney Symphony in the Domain: Midsummer Shakespeare. 

I don't remember the name of this snake, but I think it was pretty deadly/poisonous!

This is the at the Snake Pit in La Perouse. We went to learn how to throw a boomerang, but instead got a lesson on "snake safety."

Again, I don't remember what snake this is, but you wouldn't want to encounter it in the "bush."

I decided to go for a run around Sydney Harbour the morning we flew home. 

The scenery on this run was spectacular! 

We had the privilege of flying home on the new A380! It is a full double decker plane and is the largest passenger plane in the world! 

Valentine's Day

Kevin was up in Boulder this year for Valentine's Day, so I took a little road trip up to see him! I subbed during the day, and then left Colorado Springs around 6:30pm to drive to Boulder. I got to Boulder around 8:30pm and we went out to a sandwich restaurant called Snarf's for dinner. It was not anything fancy, but it sure was delicious!! We got back to the house around 9:30pm, watched about 30 minutes of Criminal Minds, and fell asleep. Our evening was very laid back, but it was the perfect way for us to celebrate the holiday!

My gift to Kevin was this box full of home made puzzles.

Kevin concentrating hard on the puzzle!

The final product.

Puzzle number 1

Puzzle number 2

Puzzle number 3

Each puzzle got better than the one before, through the process of trial and error! It was a fun and easy project! Happy Valentine's Day Kevin!!

Christmas Re-Cap

Again, I apologize for such a late post, but I still wanted to document all of the exciting things that happened over the holiday season!

First of all, I finished a 3 week long-term sub job in a fifth grade classroom. The teacher was out on maternity leave and I had the wonderful opportunity of taking over her class while she was out! The best thing about this job, was that it was at the same school my mom teaches at! It was so nice to have a routine and truly get a feel for what it will be like when I have my own class!

After school let out, I went to Vegas with the ladies.

Then, on December 23, Kevin took me on a surprise date to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra! We have some friends that go every year and Kevin made arrangements with them (unbeknownst to me) to see the show this year. It was such an awesome show!

Kevin and I waiting for the show to start!

This is a clip from the concert. The song is called "A Mad Russian's Christmas":

I apologize the videos aren't the best quality, but it definitely gives you an idea of how awesome the concert was! This next one is called " Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" also known to most as "Carol of the Bells":

On Christmas Eve, Kevin and I finished some last minute shopping and then celebrated at my mom's house. We had lamb and ham for dinner and it was delicious! The evening was concluded with traditional Christmas Crackers from England, and these fashionable crowns were in every cracker. 

Christmas Day followed our annual tradition - open gifts at Kevin's Parent's house, and then go have turkey lunch with friends of the family's. Nothing out of the ordinary, but a great day none the less. 

UNFORTUNATELY NO PHOTOS FROM CHRISTMAS DAY :(

On December 26, my dad and I went to the Bronco's game! It was my first Bronco's game in 15 years of living in Colorado, and it was a great game! As most of you know, the Bronco's had a horrible season, but this was one of the few games they actually won! It was a blast, especially being there with my dad!

Dad and I in front of Invesco Stadium.

We went into the tailgating tent for some good food and entertainment. 

TEBOW!

Dancing Santa's at half time.

Dad and I overlooking the field!

Bronco's win 24-23!

Such a great game and day!

I also had the opportunity over the holiday to get together with some friends from high school. It was like no time had passed! We played the game iMAgiNiff and had a blast reminiscing about old high school memories! 

Nick, Bre, Greg, Mandy, Nate, Myself, and Gent - always great to catch up!

On December 28th, I officially signed the contract to host our wedding at the Cliff House in Manitou Springs! It was so difficult to make the financial commitment to host our wedding somewhere, but we finally did it, exactly one year and 3 days after our engagement! 

While I was in Vegas, I got a phone call that my wedding dress, that wasn't supposed to come in until March, had arrived early and I needed to come in for a fitting! So I picked up my dress and signed up for a membership to 24 hour fitness to get into shape! Things are looking up!

It was a great holiday!!

Sin City

I will start off by apologizing again for such delayed posts! So much has happened in the last couple of months, I have had a really hard time keeping up! It is my goal to completely update the blog before Kevin and I leave again (Feb 23). Here we go!

December 20-22, the ladies and I went to VEGAS! The purpose of the trip was an early bachelorette party and we had a blast! All 4 of us are teachers so the trip could not have come at a better time, as school was let out just days before we left. We flew out of Colorado Springs around 7pm on Monday evening and got to our hotel - The Paris - around 10pm. We quickly dropped off our bags in our rooms and went  down to the "Lobby" for dinner. We were all starving! After dinner, we gambled a little, danced a little, and went to this great dueling piano bar! Before we knew it, it was 2am and we called it a night.

Waiting patiently in the Colorado Springs Airport...thanks for bringing the cuties Ashley!

We were so excited to finally get some food!

Just outside the entrance to our hotel.

Amanda and I at the Piano Bar.

4 good looking ladies!

We got up and moving around 10am on Tuesday morning. We wanted to eat at the breakfast buffet, but the line was never ending, so we settled for a little crepery instead, which turned out to be awesome! We spent the day walking around and gawking at the nearby hotels on the strip. We started at Caesar's Palace, and then went on to the Venetian, Treasure Island, and the Mirage. It started raining while we were out, so we found a Pai Gow table at Bill's and I taught the ladies the luck of the game...unfortunately none of us walked away "winners."

Insert $1 - Loose $1! It was fun while it lasted!

Outside Caesar's Palace.

Amy is such a clever photographer! She made me "walk on water"

We did some shopping at the Roman Forum and paused for a quick self-photo!

Green Eggs and Ham in French!

The mini Rialto Bridge outside the Venetian.

We were so excited for our Gelato at the Venetian.

While we were in line for gelato, Amanda says "Do you watch Glee?" and I said "Of course I do, Why?" and she responds by saying "I think Coach Beaste is standing behind us!" So we thought long and hard about asking for a photo and finally caved! She was so nice!

Treasure Island. 

Amy and I on the tram from Treasure Island to the Mirage.

Amanda was the only one of us who had not been to Vegas before, and she was the only one of us to win money. She put $5 into a video poker machine and won $80! Way to go!

We went back to the hotel around 5pm and freshened up for our evening. Because it was still raining, we took a taxi down to New York New York. We had dinner reservations at The Excalibur, so we walked around the hotels in that area. Dinner was delicious, complete with steak and 2 bottles of wine!! The show that we planned to see did not start until 9pm, so we walked around the area some more. The nice thing about so many of the Vegas hotels, is that they are connected so you don't have to walk outside to get from one to another (this was very beneficial in the rain). While we were walking around, we stumbled upon Dick's Last Resort Bar and we had a blast! The servers there are rowdy and raunchy and so appropriate for a bachelorette night out! One of the servers took a liking to Ashley and made the night that much better! We stayed at the bar for about a half an hour and then went to the show. What better way to celebrate a bachelorette party in Vegas than to see the show "Thunder From Down Under!" That's right, we saw half-naked, australian men, dancing! It was a great way to celebrate! I put on some "bride" attire for the evening and when we went into the show I was given a special wristband that entitled us to a free bottle of champagne at a bar after the show. Of course we did not decline the "free" offer, so we went to the CatHouse and collected our prize. It was a great night! 

Just outside our hotel. 

Amy and I in front of New York New York.

The Excalibur - where we ate dinner and saw the show.

Our fabulous dinner.

We were very excited about the show!

Most of the photos from Dick's were pretty inappropriate, however this one is the "cleanest." This is the server who took a special liking to Ashley!

And here is an advertisement with Ashley's admirer on it - TACO. 

These are the guys from the show! It was very entertaining!

This is at the CatHouse in the Luxor. It was so nice to be treated with with VIP service!

Our flight left on Wednesday afternoon so we took our time in the morning, packed our things, had breakfast, and shopped a little. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 3pm, and land in Colorado Springs around 6pm, but unfortunately that was not the case! Because of weather, and a small plane crash at the COS airport earlier in the day, our flight was re-routed to Pueblo! I didn't even know Pueblo had an airport! We landed in Pueblo around 6:30pm and waited for almost 2 hours for buses to come pick us up and bring us back to the springs. It was quite an interesting adventure, and so nice to experience it with the ladies! 

So bored at the Pueblo airport!! 

It was a great 3 days and I am honored that these ladies chose to celebrate with me! Thank you girls!!