As usual, we did our egg decorating for Easter. The new addition this year was glitter!
New Denver Church put on a free Easter Egg hunt in Wash Park. Advertising for it got picked up everywhere; I believe Channel 9 was the camera guy in this picture. The turnout was unexpectingly huge and the eggs were all picked up in 30 seconds. I handed out candy to those who didn't make it in time for the hunt or didn't get an egg.
Aunt Ellen turned 50. Those candles said "Oh No The Big 50". Fred and Vicki were in town for their annual trip to Copper Mountain, so we spent the weekend up in the mountains.
I went to Chicago for the ACHE (American College of Healthcare Executives) Congress. I had a little time to spare and was able to get away from the conference for a few hours on the nicest weather day. Here's the "Cloud Gate" which reminds me of the spacecraft in Flight of the Navigator.
I held a baby shower for Tearah. I got the cake from a place called Cake Crumbs that matched the "King of the Jungle" theme. I found the bakery online; their store is in a neighborhood area and seems to be popular with the locals. I think they did a great job with the cake. 
The games included "What would mommy prefer" (choosing his/her traits), and matching people's names to the meanings using the names of the guests.
The longest film and winner of the festival was Finding Farley. This couple traveled across Canada by kayak with their 2 yr old son and dog to visit Farley Mowat. It also won the people's choice awards - I think because of the cute kid and dog. My favorite part was when after several MONTHS of kayaking they had to take a train across part of the country. The 2 yr old was trying to coax the dog into his carrier but the dog walked off. So the 2 yr old proceeded to get on his belly and shimmy himself back into the crate to demonstrate to the dog what to do. The dog watching this...then joins the 2 yr old in the crate. All you can see is fur then a hand reaches out to close the gate. Also, I couldn't help thinking when I was watching this adventure that the parents are a little nuts - they did end up going through some rapids and that seemed a little dangerous with a 2 yr old. Really? Camping for 4 months with a 2 yr old in diapers? That couldn't have been pleasant. Unfortunately the kid probably won't remember any of it - he did get to see some fantastic scenery. I guess he can always watch the video when he is older.
Went up to Keystone with a co-worker. It was actually a pretty warm day for the end of February. The conditions were decent - a few icy patches.
I went up to Winter Park with a few co-workers. It's nice to go up to the mountains in the middle of the week with no traffic. It was a beautiful sunny day. I will say that Winter Park is not the place to snowboard unless you plan to be on the black slopes all day. The greens are nearly all flat. Even the blues go into flat greens.
In August, Joan, Ellen and I saw the movie Julie & Julia. After seeing the wonderful dishes made in the movie, we decided to have a Julia Child's night. Joan made the infamous Boeuf Bourguignon which was delicious. I attempted to make the almond chocolate cake. At first I thought it didn't rise correctly, but after looking at pictures on the web, it's a pretty flat cake. Ellen decided to make bread although got the recipe online since there aren't any in the original cookbook. She ended up buying it after an attempt at making it ended up in the trash.
I haven't updated the blog in awhile and figured January deserved an entry. No new restaurants or events to speak of - so instead a book I recently read - in an afternoon. Michael Crichton is one of my favorite authors and Travels one of my favorite books. I'm sorry he's gone. They published this manuscript found on one of his PCs after his death. It is the type of book I would read on vacation since it only took a few hours and is very light reading. I believe it will be turned into a movie, and I expect it will be very entertaining.
Eileen and me pausing in our fabulous duet for a picture.
Aunt Karen and Uncle Bob provided Eileen and Shawn with a Baby GAP gift card. Here Grandpa holds Dean who is stylin' in jeans and a polo.
I returned to Tearah and Fred's place again this year for Thanksgiving. Here's a pic of the table, Tearah, her sister and friend (Fred and Rae were up getting turkey). There were a lot of mash potatoes, yum! We then played Scattegories and Pictionary while watching the Broncos win.
Dean Michael was born today weighing in at 8lbs 1oz. I'm looking forward to meeting him at Christmas! 
I went to an Avs game tonight. They were playing the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks scored 3 goals in the first period to Colorado's zero. Actually, Vancouver was skating and passing much better then Colorado so it was no surprise. Colorado finally scored two in the final period but were still behind by 4. As we were walking out in the last 2 minutes, I think the Avs were just getting really frustrated and an Avs guy started a fight in center ice. It was actually pretty funny; they got so into it they fell down. Here's a pic from my phone from our seats. We were down towards one of the goals - which was a great view for the 2 Avs goals.
I saw Wicked at the Buell Theatre. It was very entertaining. I had tried to read the book but only got 100 pages into it and wasn't really enjoying it. The musical obviously wasn't as detailed as the book and tied nicely to the Wizard of Oz.
Haha!! This morning I pulled 30 ft out of my garage and got completely stuck. I ran back in the apt and put on my boots and then tried to shovel myself out. I somehow managed to get myself turned back around and out to a plowed road. At that point I thought I could make it to my aunt's house and her 4 wheel drive car for a ride to work. I got stuck trying to go down her neighborhood street. I shoveled once again but then really was stuck. Luckily a nice neighbor pushed my car out. I then went home and stayed put.
Some co-workers and I took our manager out to breakfast for Boss' Day last Friday. We went to a place called Snooze. It's a very popular place on the weekends. The decor has a fun 50s feel. The homemade English muffin is delicious as well as the tomato gravy. I definitely want to go back and try more on the menu.
