Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!

While we missed everyone on Thanksgiving we did get to have a nice relaxing holiday with our little family. We headed up the Breckenridge on Thursday morning and played tourists for the day and night. We spent the morning driving up and stopping in all the tiny ski towns, we ate lunch and walked Pete around downtown Breckenridge. We took a tour of the amazing "mountain cabins" in Breck and then stayed the night in Frisco at the Lake Dillion Lodge. It was a great holiday with lots of fun memories! I'm pretty sure this is the first Thanksgiving that either of us have ever eaten Mexican food for Thanksgiving dinner!

The Continental Divide- notice the snow line

Downtown Breckenridge


A "cabin" in Breckenridge

Brett and Pete hanging out!

Walking around in downtown

Lake Dillon

Our family Christmas photo

November In Denver

Life in Denver is always fun! We have been pretty busy but also really enjoying ourselves here.

Currently Brett is at Denver Health doing his mental health clinical rotation. He is really enjoying it despite being gone all weekend. His rotation is Saturday and Sundays 630am to 630pm. However, it does give him Wednesday, Thursday and Fridays off to work on homework, go to the mountain and hang with the dog! He also found out his next clinical rotation will be Saturday and Sundays at Children's Hospital for his pediatric rotation. He has said he is really looking forward to that particular rotation. Considering what a great hospital Children's is hopefully he will get to see a lot and help out a lot as well. All this knowledge he is gaining makes me much more comfortable and it will be so nice when we have a family.

I have been working as usual. We are counting down that days until we head home and to Maui. I made a paper chain with a countdown so we can get excited every day!

Not only are we looking forward to the amazing Maui weather and vacation but we are also excited to see our families and wish each other safe travels over the holidays. My parents are headed to Cleveland to see Amy and Zach. My sister is due to have a baby girl on the 16th of December. Brett's parents are headed to Okinawa to visit Michelle, Chad and Olivia. Scott, Erica and the kids are headed to CA to see Erica's family and we are headed to Maui. Our families will be very spread out this holiday season. I am also looking forward to meeting Brett's cousins new little girl Kaylie!!

Not only has Denver been fun for us but we are guessing that Pete is pretty happy as well! He will be coming home with us on the 15th and staying with Ann, Mike and the Kids. I am positive he is excited to see his old life for a couple weeks. However, I think he is trying to catch some extra sleep because he knows he will be running around a lot in the upcoming weeks!

"This is what I woke up to this morning!"

We had our first bit of snow in Denver. So far it hasn't been anything to write home about but we have a had a dusting here and there. It is always fun when it snows because everything is so quiet and pretty. We thought because of the snow we should also equip Pete with the right gear for our walks!

I have also been trying to get into the wintry spirit by decorating our little basement apartment and cooking some yummy holiday/wintry dishes!

"Roasted butternut squash with rosemary, thyme and onions"

"Pete and Brett showing off the fireplace decorations!"

Halloween

It's Halloween Day and we have already done so much this weekend! I think today will be dedicated to watching football and hanging out with friends. Thankfully it doesn't really feel like fall with the 75 degree weather and sunny skies!

To get the Halloween weekend started, yesterday I ran my first 5k. I ran the Monster Dash with 2 friends from work and it was so much fun! The boys came to support us and cheer us on! Emily and I ran together and we beat our goal time so I feel really good about it. I have already printed off my training guide for a 10k! Lets hope I can get there! The 5k was harder than expected. I think I messed up on the my h2o intake because I was soooo thirsty throughout the race and it was a pretty warm day. Thankfully we train on a lot of hills during our lunch time work runs because this course was considered challenging and it was!

Last night we continued the Halloween celebration by going to a nursing school Halloween party. It was a ton of fun and people really got into it. We had a entrance fee which would then go to the winner of the costumer contest and we also had a spooky themed food table. It was intense but a ton of fun!!!Brett ("1986 Olymic Skiing Champion"-the runner up) and Kember ("Jane Fonda"-the Costumer Contest Winner)

Needless to say the food was so gross no one ended up eating anything...



Jordan and Jeff

Happy Halloween and Fall ya'll!

Fall in Denver

Fall has finally come to Denver and from what we are hearing from others the fall is lasting longer than usual. It is Denver's tradition to snow on Halloween but so far I am not convinced it will be happening this year. For now I am happy with fall lasting awhile longer because of I love the crisp cool air with crystal clear blue skies! I am also loving the fall leaves! Our block has some particularly beautiful trees!

Takin' Pete on a walk!

Fall leaves by our house

A gorgeous tree!

Teo Halloween pumpkins!

Pumpkin Carving party with Brett's friends from school

Awesome produce from the farmer's market! All this for $10

Thanks for reading!

I just got a call from my sweet little nephew Lucas. He wanted to tell uncle Brett and I that he missed us and that when the song "Soul Sister" came on the radio he remembers it from our blog. Ahhh, breaks my heart!!! Not only did it make my day but I also realized that it has been a long time since I updated our blog. We have done so many fun things since the last post so I will try and recap some of our adventures here in Denver.

We went to a Rockies game today where unfortunately we got beat by the the Giants. Despite the loss we had a great time with some of Brett's school mates. Last weekend we went to the Broncos home opener against none other than the Seahawks. Unfortunately the got killed and the game definitely did not end well. Last night Brett and I went on an evening hike in Boulder which was awesome and we had a fun dinner on Pearl street. We have been eating out at some really great places and we are quickly realizing Denver is really well known for their food! Not only have we need eating food but we have also been making some. I surprised Brett for a date night. We went to a cooking class called burgers and brews. We learned a ton about grilling and had such a great time!


Seahawks fans representing in Denver!!

Last weekend Brett and I also went to Estes Park. Estes is a really cute little town about an hour from Denver right on the edge of the Rocky Mountain National Park. We got to see some Aspen trees changing and we also got to see some HUGE elk taking an afternoon snooze on the golf course. After playing tourists for the afternoon we met up with a couple we know from Denver for dinner! It was a great day!

Aspen trees turning!

Huge 16 point Elk

Driving into Estes Park

We also have been doing lots of bike riding! (or at least before Brett's bike got stolen) We have been seeing lot of stuff in Denver and riding all over town. We did a day biking at the capital and also a day at the Taste of Colorado.
As you can see we have been doing a lot of fun things! We have also been working a lot and Brett is doing amazingly well in his labor and delivery rotation. Brett's parents are visiting next week for a board meeting but thankfully we will get to spend a little bit of time with them! We miss you all and we are excited to see you in December! We are coming home on the 15th! Have a great week!

Love,
Brett, Kate and Pete

Brett and I had our first whole day together so we decided to go out and explore some of the amazing things CO has to offer! We had an awesome breakfast at Snooze, which is a local breakfast place that has become really popular, maybe even a little famous! I had eggs benedicts that were to die for and Brett had a breakfast potpie with 2 eggs on top. Our waiter also surprised us with a chocolate chip pancake drizzled with chocolate and smothered with peanut butter sauce. Ok, so for those of you who know me, you are probably thinking peanut butter...really? But I have been sampling peanut butter here and there and I am actually starting to like it! And honestly, who couldn't like a chocolate pancake smothered with chocolate and PB!!!!

We also went down to CO Springs to visit Garden of the Gods! It is this amazing place with red rocks jutting out of the earth like buildings! There is something about CO and red rocks and I like it! We walked around the park, visited the cute town of Manitou Springs and just simply got to hang out with each other!

On the way home we also visited the U.S. Air Force Academy. Brett has some family friends who have attended and we figured if we are driving by, why not stop! I am glad we did. We watched a movie in the visitor center and read all about the history! It was really neat plus we got to see some amazing planes on display!

B-52 at U.S. Air Force Academy

Enjoying my camera!

Some lookout point on the way to CO Spring

Brett conquering Garden of the Gods

Rocks at Garden of the Gods (from visitor center)

Rock formations at Garden of the Gods!

Brett doing his best to help keep up the Balancing Rock!

Thanks for reading everyone! Also, if you get a chance and want to see what Brett is doing in school you can follow his blog that he writes on behalf of all his fellow students at Regis!

On my way to work! I actually enjoy the 7am bike ride because it is always so sunny and warm!

This is what Brett and I so every night!!

Brett and I have been incredibly.... yup, you guessed it, busy! While I always swear my life will slow down and just settle I am now realizing I bring on the busy but I like it! I have been working at the university for about a month now and I have learned a lot about what I want from a job and that is, I want a teaching job! However, this is a great learning experience and I am meeting some really great people, plus we get free bagels and muffins and we can wear jeans on Friday!

I wanted to post some pictures about out latest adventures! Hopefully you enjoy seeing a glimpse of Denver! It is truly an awesome city!!!

Brett and I ride our bike everywhere!

Red Rocks amphitheater. There is still no place like the Gorge but this amazing place is 20 minutes away and sooooo breathtaking!

Red Rocks hosts a movie every Tuesday night so Brett and I went with a bunch of his nursing school friends and watched Ferris Bueller's Day Off! Well worth the $10 tickets!

My mom called me on Friday and said they were dying to get out of the horrible GH weather so they came and visited for the weekend! It was sooooo much fun!

Thanks for following us!

Love, B and K8

I would like to say that the lack of posts is due to us being busy but I think the reality is that I have just been lazy. However, I am currently working 50 hours a week and it is a bit time consuming. I am liking both jobs and I am very thankful for both but I would love more time with Brett and Petey. Thankfully Brett is really busy as well. However, he is getting to spend some great time with Petey during lunches and study sessions! Ok, so maybe we are busy...

Speaking of Petey, we have been trying to think of a way to take him to the park with us and after looking at REI for bike trailers and baskets I decided I would try something else....

Thankfully he just sat there while we rode!

Arriving at the park!

Enjoying the Denver SUN!!!

Brett studying at the park!

Thanks to everyone who is reading! We miss you and love you!!!

Love,
B and K8

So life lately has been school, work, homework, church, a quick trip to Vegas for Brett and walks with Petster! We have been busy but it is definitely paying off. Brett got an A in his first nursing school class and he starts another new class on Monday! I started a new job at Jones International University where I am working in the registrar and admissions office determining if students should be admitted to our school and if they have all the required grades, transfer credits and meet admission requirements. It is along the lines of education so I do actually enjoy it a lot! I am still applying for teaching jobs and just hoping they call me someday and say they want me.

Here are some pictures from lately!

Making study group snacks for Brett and his classmates!

Strawberry biscuits and cheddar biscuits with a thyme, rosemary, garlic butter topping

My pizza dough rising in the microwave!

My "biga"- the start of my pizza dough!

Whoever is reading this, I hope you are enjoying what you are finding!!

Love,
B and K

Petey wondering if the groceries have any treats for him?!?!

Homemade curry night! spicy but good!

Brett's swearing in ceremony- "Convocation Ceremony"
They are being anointed with grape seed oil- per Regis tradition!