The roads were great and it was smooth sailing. There is a Cane's Chicken joint in Lincoln, NE, so we stopped for an early lunch, to quickly be chased out by busloads of high schoolers. As Sapphire said "Nothing makes you feel old like being around a bunch of high schoolers."
True that.
We rolled into Denver around 7, and landed at Sapphire's brother and sister-in-law's place. Since 10.5 hours of no dogs is a lot for me, I was relieved to see Max, Sapphire's dog-nephew.
Kelly (who had flown in from Albuquerque) and her boyfriend, Justin (who lives in Denver) picked me up and whisked me away for the weekend, while Sapphire, Peter, and Liz perpetuated their obsession with Thai Basil. We went to diner at a little hole-in-the-wall pizza place with the best Chicago-style pizza I have had this side of the Mississippi. If you're ever in Denver, be sure to get pizza at Wymans!
The next morning we took things really slowly. Well... I took things really slowly, sitting by a warm sunny, window reading a book while Kelly and Justin made me breakfast! Do you know how long it has been since someone made me breakfast? I don't think it has happened since I was home at Christmas. And a delicious breakfast it was. Dutch pancakes with bacon, strawberry sauce, nutella, and cheese. Not all on the same pancake. Although if I had been feeling a little better, I may have tried that.
Then Justin dropped Kelly and I off at Ikea and we spent a good 3.5-4 hours wandering around the store. It was a lot of fun, and I managed to keep my head screwed on pretty straight and not go bonkers over everything... until we got to the part of the store where you actually buy things.
We never even knew we needed fun colored straws and heart-shaped ice trays until we saw them...how could we have ever lived without them?
I could not believe how many cute napkins there were! See this picture?
Buy ALL the napkins!
How can you resist these amazing designs?!
And who knew a person could use so many exclamations points when talking about napkins?!
I would have gone swimming in the bin of napkins if there were so many people around.
After taking a few deep breaths and walking away slowly, Kelly and I finally finished our shopping. I may have to do a separate "Ikea Round-Up" post to show you my wares. ("Wares" as in things you buy and sell, not to be confused with "wears." That wouldn't be approprate...)
We called Justin to come pick us up, then headed to the cafeteria for Swedish meatballs and lingonberry juice.
BTW: Did you know I am Swedish? True story. My dad is a "pure bred" Swede, and my mom is half Swedish.
Meanwhile, up in the mountains...
...Sapphire, Peter, Liz, and Max were having thier own adventures.
Doesn't Max look cute in his little coat?
Did you know Jynx and Max have met before? Yeah... it didn't go so well. Jynx is pretty snooty. It's something we're working with her on.
Here is Sapphire, standing on a mountain.
And this is Peter and Liz. I like them. A lot. And I like Liz's haircut.
Actually...can we talk about that for a second?
I had a (waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay overdue) haircut coming up when we were in Denver, and I saw Liz's hair. Notice how she is totally rocking those bangs. Sometimes when I see someone do something really well, it makes me imagine that I can also do that really well. So I started thinking about getting bangs. I spoke with Kelly and Justin about it, but they talked me out of it. To be fair, they had not met Liz. But I think it was a good thing they talked me out of it. I'm just not sure I could pull it off. Plus the bangs would drive me crazy. When I went to get my haircut I told her I decided to grow out the subtle side bang that I had cut last time.
Yep, that's how I roll. Always play it safe.
We didn't hike any mountains, but I did sit in a nice leather armchair at Eddie Bauer while Kelly shopped. That's almost the same thing, right?
For dinner we went downtown to Jonesy's Eat Bar to get their amazing Bacon Mac n' Cheese fries. I wanted to have just those for dinner, but Kelly talked me into trying the meatloaf with her as well.
Here's the thing about meatloaf.
I like my mom's meatloaf. Period.
But the mashed potatoes where really, really great! And the Bacon Mac n' Cheese Fries... outta this world. I must warn you, though, that the small size is still quite substantial, so if you want them for dinner, the small order is still probably enough for you.
Sunday after church we headed on over to Snooze for brunch. Snooze has amazing food, but it is VERY popular, so be prepared to wait. No, seriously. They told us our wait would probably be about an hour and a half, but we were thrilled that it was only 55 minutes to be seated. And you will probably have to wait outside, so dress accordingly. But let me tell you...the wait is worth it!
Kelly and I shared some kind of caramel-pecan french toast as well as a breakfast burrito. Justin got some kind of something-something that I think involved hash browns, eggs, and other stuff (helpful, right?). The french toast was SO GOOD, and the burrito was good, too, but I don't think it holds a candle to Frontier in Albuquerque.
Then we headed downtown to pick up a book Justin had reserved at the library, see the big blue bear, and visit the Tattered Cover.
Apparently, Sapphire and her crew were also downtown, visiting the Tattered Cover, Union Station, and other exciting things. But somehow we didn't run into each other.
After I packed up my bags, Kelly, Justin and I met Sapphire, Peter, and Liz for mountain pies at Beau Jo's , then I said goodbye to my sister and Justin, and went home with Sapphire, Peter and Liz to watch the Amazing Race, then turn in early.
The drive home was not quite as smooth as the drive out, and we saw at least a dozen vehicles in the ditch and median before we even hit the Nebraska border, but the Lord blessed us with (relatively) safe travels.
This time, to break up the trip, we stopped for a lunch visit with Kim, Chelsea and their little ones. It was so fun to see their kids be themselves. Usually when I see them, they are shy because they are surrounded by adults that are unfamiliar, but they were in their own territory, and their personalities really came out.
Kim and Chelsea, you girls are such good moms, and it was a pleasure to see you and fun to get to know your kids better. Thanks for lunch!
6 hours later we were finally home. I was happy to see my "kids" and they were happy to see me, too. As fun as it was to be in Denver, it is always so good to come home and sleep in my own bed.
Sister, it was so fun to see you and spend quality sister time! Thank you for coming up with a million options of things to do and then helping me narrow it down. Going to Ikea with you kind of reminded me when we were kids and would be in a new situation... I get overwhelmed and want to shut down, but my big sister was there to look out for me and show me how much fun there is to be had :)
Justin, you were such a kind and generous host. Thanks for sleeping on the couch and for making me breakfast! It was such a pleasure to get to know you better.
Peter & Liz, thanks for letting me crash at your place. It is always such a pleasure to see you two. And Liz, I really like your haircut.
Sapphire, thanks for another fun road trip! I am glad that God gave me such a good travelling buddy. You are such a good friend and I am thankful for you!
Good post!! I think you covered everything really well. I'll second the thanks to Kim and Chelsea for lunch and Peter and Liz for sleeping space!
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