Greek Festival, State Twilight Tennis Championships, and My 27th Birthday

Every September, the Greek Orthodox church in Gunbarrel puts on a Greek Festival complete with gyros, flaming Saganaki (greek cheese), and Loukoumades (Greek donut balls doused in honey! Oh they are so good! I crave them all year!)

This year, we brought our friends the Jacksons and the Parks with us. The kids had a great time running around and the adults enjoyed the food and the dancing. They have various dance performances and then they invite anyone who wants to up to learn Greek line dancing. I love the line dancing and made Sam (and probably Don) stay way longer than they wanted to so I could dance and dance. 

We got a twinner donut ball so I was trying to get Don to bite off his half.

Instead, he stole the whole thing! So mean!

Hanging out with the friends.

Some of the dancers...

Don's closest cousin growing up, Chris Morris, and his wife Cori came to visit us in September while they were checking out dental practices in the Denver area. I had never met either Chris or Cori as they have lived in Germany and Indiana the entire time I've known Don so I was thrilled to meet them. They had a really long day going from practice to practice and came and ate a late dinner with us. I had rushed back from singing at a women's meeting at church and had no idea it was Cori's birthday. They had brought their own birthday cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory so we had an impromptu birthday celebration. Then, they spent the night on our couches and headed out the next morning. They purchased a dental practice in Littleton and are now living there. We are excited to have them close by and I am excited to get to know them!

Cori with her birthday cheesecake. 

I played in a Twilight League with a group of ladies from my Spring League and we ended doing really well. We won our district championship and went to the state tournament which was my birthday weekend. We played well and placed 4th or 5th and had such a great time together. The tournament was at a swanky swim and tennis club in South Denver. I felt totally out of place in this fancy place but enjoyed being there for two full days. Tennis is such a great social sport. I've gotten to know so many fun ladies through my league play. 

I went undefeated throughout both leagues this year. I also won a fall tennis ladder that I played with local ladies this fall. I won a wooden jewelry box with crossed pewter tennis rackets on top. Fun! I've really improved my skills and feel like I am a bona fide tennis player again. I just found out that I've been bumped up to a higher division (4.0) for 2012. I am happy that I've done well but I'm sad to leave my team with the ladies who really brought me back into the tennis scene. If it hadn't been for my captain, Mary, who paid for me to be able to play on the team this year and had me play every match of the season, I wouldn't have played on the league. It was just too expensive for too little play. So, moving up is very bittersweet. 

It has been funny, though. Tennis is a clicky sport. When I got moved up to 4.0, I didn't know what to do because I knew no one and you can't get on a team without calling all the captains you can and begging them to take you on. It's a very awkward process. So, I emailed the lady in charge of the Boulder league and she found a captain for me to try to convince to take me. The lady did take me, thank goodness. This was much better than the first time I tried to get on a team - I had to call 5 captains who all told me no before I found Mary who said she'd take me. Kind of tough on the ego and super awkward! It was my fault really - I didn't start trying to get on a team early enough.

Anyway, after I found a captain and team, I got another team captain calling me and trying to recruit me to her team. That's when I knew I was getting into the serious tennis scene. This lady told me she had been watching my record all season and had seen me play and had wanted me on her team ever since. She then told me she wanted me to come practice with her team's pro, etc., etc. That is way too serious for me. It made me laugh, though. She is determined to take her team to tournament. I guess it was a good showing of what 4.0 will be like; much more competitive. 

Here I am with my Twilight ladies at the State Championship. From L-R - Micah, me, Jackie, and Debbie. Debbie gave me the sweet tennis outfit I am wearing in the picture for my birthday and the ladies all pitched in and bought me flowers and cupcakes. They made me feel so special and loved. Micah's mom also watched Sammy for me all day Friday since Don couldn't take work off. He wasn't a very happy kid that day and wouldn't nap but Micah's mom just loved him and took great care of him. What great ladies I have for friends! 

Me and Jackie with my birthday cupcakes complete with a candle, song, and lots of love. :)

We stayed with Don's parents over the weekend where I played my tournament in South Denver. They watched Sammy on Saturday night while Don and I went out to an amazing restaurant in Colorado Springs. The restaurant is called Nosh and we loved it. You show up and tell the chef you want him to choose what to bring you. Then, over a two hour period, they bring you four separate dishes. First, we had a delicious salad with some Maytag blue cheese (I love blue cheese!!!). Then, they brought out an amazing tuna sushi dish. That was my favorite. The flavors were amazing! Then, we had a roasted cauliflower and cashew dish. That was Don's favorite. Then, we had waffles and friend chicken with a chili syrup. They were so good. It was the most random and delicious meal. I still remember exactly what we ate and that says something. I can barely remember what day of the week it is most of the time.

Don helped his dad get the house ready for siding (thus the Tyvek in the background) while I was at my tennis tournament. This was us before our night out.

Don's mom made me an amazing better than sex cake. It was wonderful!

On Sunday, my actual birthday, Cam and Zach had us over for my birthday dinner. Cam had asked me what I wanted for dinner (family tradition in her house - to make your favorite meal for your birthday) and I asked for her amazing black bean burgers and sweet potato fries with fry sauce. It was heaven. Cam is such a wonderful friend to me. I love her so much and am so blessed to have her in my life!

After our dinner, we had a get together with friends for dessert. I felt so loved.

Yes! There were 27 candles!

Cute kiddos!

And my awesome friends - Bx, me, Laurie-Anne, Nan, Staci, and Cam.

We went down to Colorado Springs for our church's general conference weekend the first weekend of October so Don could help his dad with the house while we listened to talks from our apostles and prophet. Sam, Grammy, and I spent time under our little "tent" in the backyard and watched the men work. It was very relaxing and such a nice time to be with our fam. 

A Labor Day Hike

On Labor Day, we went on a hike with our fabulous friends, Laurie-Anne and Russell and their two little boys, Joshua and William. We headed up into the Flatirons and climbed up for a nice view. 

This picture of William totally passed out on Russell's back makes me laugh. 

On our way down the trail, we decided that we wanted some good cheese. Laurie-Anne is French, Russell served a 2 year mission for our church in France, and Don and I are major cheese lovers. When we get together, we talk food and Russell educates us about cheese. Laurie-Anne laughs about how Russell cares so much more about food than she does and she's the one who is French. Russell's excitement about food is contagious. Listening to him makes me want to buy a ticket to France right away so I can slowly eat my way through the country!

We decided to head up to the Cheese Importers Warehouse in Longmont to buy some cheese. We drove there only to find it was closed so we headed back to Boulder for some Mexican food. Russell really likes Casa Alvarez so we went there. I got the chimichanga and was by far the best chimichanga I've ever had. Now I'm craving it!

These boys all look so much alike - they could be brothers. Sam and Josh have the same brown spot in just one of their blue eyes, too. Sam and Josh absolutely love each other and Sam always wants to play with Josh. He asks about his everyday. When they see each other they get really excited and hug each other. They are the best of buds. 

We did eventually make it up to the Cheese Importers Warehouse with the Parks and bought a bunch of delicious cheeses on Russell's recommendation. Laurie-Anne then had us over for a fabulous French dish made with thick slabs of cheese, potatoes, bacon, and onions. It was amazing. For dessert, we had yogurt with chestnut cream mixed it. Yum.

A Trip to the Colorado Railroad Museum

Before I get started about the train museum, I just wanted to share this sweet picture of Sammy and Daddy reading bedtime stories. Sam is wearing his favorite"woof woof" jammies and like he often does, he insisted that Don sit in the chair with to read. His brown and blue polka dotted blanket and Brewster doggy are always required companions and his blanket has to be positioned just so behind his head for diaper changes, jammie time ,tooth brushing ,storytime, prayers, and songs before bed. Don and I are required to also lay on the floor with him for bedtime songs and before we leave him in his crib, he asks for a five, "boom" (fist bump), and "this," which is a pointed index finger which meets our pointed index finger followed by an explosion sound. He then occasionally tells us to "dance" out of the room and downstairs. He requires the door open and light on the bathroom on, which is awkward when we have company over who need to use the bathroom; they can't close the door or he completely freaks out and yells, "Door open! Light on! Light oooon!" until his demands are met. Sorry about that, Cam. :) Once you do open the door, he says "thank you!" very politely and goes back to sleep.

I love Sammy's idiosyncrasies and routines. 2 year olds are so much fun!

We went to the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden on Saturday, September 3rd with our wonderful friends and neighbors, Staci and Scott and their two boys, William and Adam. Sam loves trains. His favorite bedtime song is "I've Been Working on the Railroad." Don even found piano music so we can play it for him. So a trip to the train museum was like heaven for little Sammer.

This is my favorite picture of the day. Can you tell how much he loved the "choo-choos"? That is pure joy right there.

In this engine, you could put a quarter in and "drive" the train. The simulator was complete with sound effects so you could speed up and slow down. It was pretty neat. I think Don liked it just as much if not more than Sam. 

Waiting for our ride on the "Galloping Goose" which was an old truck that was converted into a train for steep mountain passes. We took a ride around the museum lot and saw all the train cars. 

This was the most enormous train engine I had ever seen! It made me feel like Alice in Wonderland. I felt like I'd been shrunk when I stood next to it. 

Look at how huge the wheels were compared to William!

Sam loves the caboose. We read a book about trains and he always says "the caboose is last."

The sweet boys having such a great time!

Playing in another old caboose. I love the seafoam green paint.

I love the old Zephyr trains. The art deco style is timeless. 

After the museum, we got some Mexican food with our friends. It was all around a fabulous time.