the girls

Meet Leisl Newman (middle) and Lexi Johnson (right).  They just moved in to our apartment complex and both of their husbands are also first year dental students.  We see these people on a daily basis.  At 6am, the girls get together and work out and then around 7am the boys take off on their bikes to school.  During the day each of us cross paths again either studying together or hanging out.  You know those people who come into your life who you feel were not placed in your path merely coincidentally? yeah…these are some of those people.

FREE DAY at the garden

Many of the main attractions in Denver offer a free day every couple of months and today it was free to go to the Denver Botanic Gardens.  My friends Liesl and Lexi came with us. My favorites were the lily pads (as evidenced by the quantity of pics I took of them…).  They even have a children’s garden, which was SO fun!

I just couldn’t get over these WAY cool giant lily pads that have an edge that grows at a 90 degree angle from the water.

I am growing this same vine on my back porch! 

we love dirt!

We got to go camping with some friends last weekend and had a BLAST!  Kayden especially loved it.  He got super dirty and loved every minute!!

(Thanks for the tent Brady & Michelle!!  We love it!)

I am a Chaconian

I have these friends who have been with me every non-snowy day for the past 5 years.  We have been hiking, swimming, walking and even running together through sand and mud…

But this summer, my friends started to lose their soles a little bit.  and then a lotta bit.  I finally took these friends back to REI where they came from to see if I could still be eligible for an exchange.  Although I no longer had the receipt, the cashier could see that these friends and I have spent a lot of time together (both by the signs of wear and also the tan lines on my feet) and he gave me store credit for the price of the shoe at full price (which is what I paid, although I had no way to prove that).

I was THRILLED!  That is… until I had to actually hand over my trusty pair.  My heart sank and my hand wouldn’t let go at first. Finally I mustered up the courage to turn and leave them on the counter. Then came the tears.  I felt like I was leaving a child with the cashier…turning him in for another child—a new pair just wouldn’t be the same!

Darin couldn’t believe I was crying, although he did try his best to be sensitive.  I was also surprised and found myself doing some sort of laugh/cry combo for a while.  My mind was flooded with memories of those shoes.  It was seriously just like I had lost a friend…or two.

But it turns out, there are other crazies like me.  They are called Chaconians. 

There’s even a video on chacos.com about “re-chaco” and the people that want THEIR shoes back, not a NEW pair.  They want to keep the same pair alive and going on adventures with them.  Check it out…

http://youtu.be/Lb4dFnhzM2g

Looks like I’ll just have to begin a new relationship with another pair of Chacos.

Johnstons visit

We are so lucky!  Both of our parents came out to visit this summer to see where we are living now.  Here’s what we did with Tom, Mary Jo and Alacia…

We got an inside tour of the dental school including the labs and clinics! 

Watched a Rockies game from behind the 3rd baseline! Darin and I each saw about half the game…other half spent chasing after Kayden.  He LOVES stairs and people!

AND he loves ice cream!

The next day we went hiking with Tom.  It was a SUPER steep decent to Chicago lakes near Mount Evans.  So fun!  We saw lots of wildlife too.

We saw marmots, mountain goats,	…and a mountain dog!

It was a short trip, but full of fun! 

Borups visit

In July, my Dad had a work conference in Denver so he was able to stop by and visit for a little bit (forgot to take pictures though…).  Then a week later, my mom and sister drove out here to visit us and stay for a few days.  SO FUN to see my family this month!

	Kayden was a sick while they were here…we later found out both of his ears were badly infected. Poor guy!
	Darin gave us a tour of the school campus.
	I showed them Cherry Creek Reservoir which is about 15 minutes away from our apartment!
	Look at the little curls he’s getting in the back! Apparently that’s just how Darin’s hair was as a boy—blond with little curls in the back.
	At the reservoir, Kayden LOVES to play on the beach! He’s so busy playing, we couldn’t get any pictures of him looking at the camera.