Mara's Website

While Denver didn't get a ton of snow this year, our mountains got a decent amount. We did go snowshoeing a few times, including with my friend, Marina. Will and Anika had a great time going into the deeper snow, and you can tell how much Anika hates going by the second photo. :)

Will and I got ski lift passes to Winter Park, Copper and Steamboat this past season, so decided to head up to Steamboat for Valentine's day weekend. The weather was beautiful with lots of fresh powder on Sunday (though this picture is from Saturday)...

However, we got a call from Will's parents on Saturday night that Penfield (one of our cats) was going in for emergency surgery since he had eaten (and thrown up) multiple pieces of dental floss, and one was still stuck. Needless to say, we didn't feel like staying for a long time boarding up in Steamboat, so headed back early.

Poor poor Penfield. We now have garbage cans with LIDS at home so he can't go dumpster diving for tasty treats anymore!
At the end of February we went up to Ft Collins for the Northern Colorado AIDS Project's main fundraiser, Sweet Indulgence. Lots of tasty desserts! They had a competition (which we unfortunately weren't judges for) for look, taste, etc. and I happened to see that my favorite cupcake shop, Lovely Confections, had an entry! :) So, I got a picture. :)

After many months of almost no snow, at the end of March we had a very heavy, wet snow. Anika was thrilled! I think the sea gulls at City Park were not. :)

The day after the big snow, I flew up to Idaho to visit my grandparents. Luckily the snow had been cleared enough so I could get out! My dad and sister flew up as well, so we all had a nice visit.
In April, we hosted Will's family at our house for Passover. We had a fun time and the food was delicious!
A couple days later, we spent Easter at Will's family's house. Noah, Will's nephew, had died some eggs. For those who can't read this, it says "Noah is the best kid ever". I'm guessing he didn't want to take any chances that the easter bunny has a list like Santa Claus. :)

Then in mid-April (right when we had *another* big snow), I was luckily able to fly out and head to Chicago. I went to visit Jody and Frankie. We did quite a few Chi-town things including going to Oak Park to see all the houses by Frank Lloyd Wright. I'd been to this area before when Elisa and Marcy lived right there, but it was fun to go back and just wander around. :) We also hit Navy Pier and drank lots of tasty wine and ate lots of tasty food!

I also took a couple days off work, rented a car and drove from Chicago to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where my college roommate, Rachel, lives with her husband, two kids and dog. :) We had a great time just hanging out, cooking, going to the botanic gardens and laughing at all the random things her kids do. :)

Rachel, Sydney and Dante, the dog. :)

On my drive back to Chicago, I stopped in Kalamazoo to visit Yvonne and Marcel (and her two dogs). :) Marcel was a total flirt and bundle of energy. It cracked me up!

May was a busy month for all of us including our two kitties who have been practicing synchronized sleeping!

But in all seriousness, it was very busy because we made an offer to purchase the house we are renting! So, after inspections, appraisals and whatnot, I'm ready to just be done! We close on it on June 15th and it all looks like it should go through without issue. So we're excited to be homeowners again. I think we make great renters for our landlord but terrible for us (since we just want things to be how we want them, to fix things up, etc.). :) It will be nice to buy a house without having to move, to stress ourselves and our furry little ones out, and to know about most of the quirks of our 100 year old house already! :)

So, this Summer has already picked up and we have lots going on, of course, but amazingly, we're staying pretty close to home this whole Summer (we have a trip planned to San Fran and San Diego in September, but we're actually staying in the country this whole year).
Hope everyone is doing well! I'll leave you with this picture taken at City Park (which is one block from our house), up on the hill in front of the Nature and Science museum, of the park (including our totally renovated fountain which does light shows at night!), downtown and the mountains in the background. This is why we love where we live. :)

Lots of love to all!
Mara