Blogs coming soon

Sorry for the ONE MONTH delay in a blog ( I still have Easter as a background!!) .  I have been so busy with work putting in 65+ hours a week!!!  I would like nothing more then to have the time to blog each day but unfortunately I just don't have the time.  I have lots of blog ideas that have been floating around in my head so here is what's to come in the next couple of weeks....

1. Favorite Vacation spots
2. The ABC's of the Sill's
3. Anniversary Timeline and Memories
4. Summer Plans

I hope everyone is doing well and I promise soon I wont be so neglectful with the blog!!!

XOXO

Firsts of the Season

Well as most of you know the weather here in Colorado is so unpredictable.  We had an unusually warm March and nothing but a cold April.  In no other state can you go from 80 degrees to 40 degrees in a matter of hours.  Growing up I don't remember having such bad wind here but let me tell you if the wind picks up, it will pretty much ruin all plans.  Being a native I should remember these things before I decide to...

FISHING IN THE BOAT IN MARCH

Getting ready to launch

I decided it was a great day to sport my new Capri's as I was sure to get lots of sun.  WRONG after about 5 minutes of nice weather the clouds came in and the weather turned cold and windy.  We were on the opposite side of the lake with waves on the boat and me screaming at Brad thinking we were going to cap size.  After a scary trip across the lake I was soaking wet, windblown and cold.  So much for a relaxing fishing trip and sun.

CU SPRING FOOTBALL GAME

Once again it was a beautiful day in Colorado.  I had been running around all day in my Jeans and light jacket with flip flops.  We got a call from our friend to join him at the Spring game.  WOW was I in for a shock when we got there and more then half the stadium was leaving.  Well you guessed it.... It was TOO cold.  So after standing out side and freezing for an hour we got to go on the field and get the coach's autographs.  So an least is wasn't a complete lost cause.

Brad Freezing at the Game

Us on the field before Autographs (Notice the "Spring" light jackets we were sporting

FIRST SUNDAY ROCKIES GAME OF THE YEAR

Baseball in Colorado any time of the year can be iffy but wow this I think took the cake to go down in crazy Rockies weather history.  NOTE: I do think it takes second place to last years April Rockies game tornado scare where we had to hunker down in the breeze ways to wait out the Twister that was looming in the distance.  

Getting colder as they practice

Back to this year... Brad and I leave to 75 degree blue sky weather where we actually had to take off layers as we were driving down to Denver.  I was thinking today is the day I am going to get that tan, WRONG.  We arrive at the stadium where you guessed it the wind was picking up and it was getting cloudy.  I was wearing my Capri's, light jacket and flip flops, luckily I last minute grabbed an umbrella.  John got field passes where we were able to enjoy batting practice up close and personal.  At this point it was getting COLD.  After leaving the field we walked around some and was heading to our seats when...  (See pictures of events as they unfolded)

Getting Colder

Rain is starts to fall as we head to our seats

Full out SNOW

Well I think I may have learned my leasson that anything you do early on in the season you better be ready for any weather that comes your way!!! My tan now is coming from Target's Jergins Tanning Lotion!!!

Happy Birthday to Me

This blog is a little late but as you will see we have been very busy with Birthday festivities and other fun things.  In true birthday fashion not only did I celebrate a day but gosh darn I spread it out to last a whole weekend.  I just love how you can make that work so you can feel special more then just one day!!!

Friday we had a nice quit birthday dinner with Brad's mom and step dad.  I chose to have flank steak, Cesar salad, and twice baked potatoes.  It was so yummy.  We topped it off with my favorite cake from Whole Foods, the Chantilie with fresh fruit.

Saturday Brad scheduled a get together with some friends and family at Centro on Pearl Street.  We hadn't been there before but thought it would be great to try.  The food and the company were great.  I got lots of great gifts and it was fun to celebrate with everyone.

Sunday we headed up to Black Hawk to celebrate with some good friends and Brad's Sister.  We got a great deal on a room so decided to spend the night and hang out all day on my actual birthday.  We had such a great time.  We ate a The White Buffalo in The Lodge Casino and then gambled and hit the pool at Ameristar where we were staying.  We all had a great time, at was a much needed relaxing break.  Too bad it was a Sunday night as no one was able to stay over night with us as they had to work.  Brad and I did enjoy Monday my actual birthday gambling and actually winning!!  We found a new game that was very fun and easy to win lots of money quick.  It was a nice change from my normal the Wizard of Oz game that I like to play.  On our way home we went to one of my all time favorite BBQ Restaurants, Smokies.  My mom used to take me here on my birthday a lot when I was growing up, it was always a good treat. 

 

All in all I had such a great birthday celebration.  I do however feel that I can't possible be 28!!!  I feel like I am getting so old, what happened to my early 20's!!!  O'well I am happy to be blessed with so many great people to share life's happiness with.  Here's to a great year at 28!!!

Denver Restaurant Week

February and March in Colorado can always be pretty darn boring.  Football is over, the weather is bad, Fishing hasn't started, it gets dark early... the list could go on and on.  However isn't it clever that in the middle of the boringness comes Denver Restaurant Week.  Brad and I always try to take advantage of the good $52.80 price for a couple and enjoy at least 1 new restaurant and old favorites.  This year we went to 3 great restaurants and had a good time at all of them and enjoyed some wonderful food.

Cafe Brazil  

Cafe Brazil is a very bright and colorful restaurant in a fun area called the Highlands.  The food here was traditional South American cuisine.  It was very bold and flavorful.  We went for a dear friends birthday party and there were 7 people in our party and all of us had nothing but great things to say about the food and the ambiance.  The 5280 menu they offered was great and featured their most traditional dishes.  I got the...

Haystack Mountain queso de mano browned on the griddle, served with palisade peach chutney, Marinated red beet dressed with grape seed oil and cider vinegar, and 10-ounce Medium Rare dry aged Black Angus Top sirloin with a jalapeno shoyu marinade along side of fresh field greens with tarragon dressing.  

Brad got the...

Prato Rustico (Queso fresco, marinated grilled eggplant and Spanish piquillo peppers), Red cabbage salad with sesame seeds, smoked goat cheese and mango vinaigrette, and Marinated double cut spring lamb chops with yogurt cucumber red onion salsa along side cherub tomato and fennel salad.

Brad's Lamb was AMAZING.  We never really eat lamb but this was the best.  We highly recommend putting this restaurant on your list of new places to try in the Denver area.

Fogo de Chao

Fogo de Chao is every meat lovers dream.  Our great friend Maggie had gone to the same restaurant in Kansas City, MO and insisted we all try it out for restaurant week.  They advertise themselves to be an "Authentic Brazilian Steak House" and offer an excellent salad bar and traditional Brazilian side dishes.  You definitely need to fast before going and plan to spend at least 2-3 hours there as you will want to eat in parts.  We started off at the salad bar which had so many amazing choices including the largest asparagus I have ever seen.   After the salad bar you have a sign for them to stop or go when it comes to the meat.  If your sign is in the go position then they shower you with all the meat you could ever want.  There are over 10 meat choices and they will continue to put them on your plate until you have to be rolled out of the restaurant.  Also they come along and serve delishes side dishes.  We definitely didn't walk out of there with an appetite!!!  It was very good and you can enjoy it in many city's other then Denver.

Rioja

Rioja is Mediterranean ingredients influenced by local products.  The have amazing combinations of platters that always come together to taste amazing.  The atmosphere is very nice and it is located on the famous Larimier Street in Denver.  We even saw local news celebrities while dining.  Brad and I have been here 2 other times for other occasions and had nothing but the greatest experience and food.  I really enjoy their beet salad and their yummy desserts.  The also give you sugared mint leaves when you leave, I love the flavor and how light the mint leaves are.  This is a great place to visit before a show or game.  I HIGHLY recommend Rioja to anyone in the Denver area.  

Thank you to Tammy my sister in law for getting near imposable reservations so we could all enjoy the great experience of great food together.  

Already looking forward to next year an the new Restaurants to try!!!

My Family

Kelly's Korner is hosting Show us your Life: Family Edition today, so I thought this would be my first time to participate.  The concept is that you write about the topic for the week and then link it with other blogs.  Moving on to the important info: MY FAMILY (Excluding the hubby and the dogs)

My Mom

This is one of the very few pictures I have of my mom where she is actually smiling.  Usually she just has a weird stare on her face :)  Brad and I always make fun of her for her non-photogenic behavior.
My mom and and are best friends and I hate to admit it but the older I get the more I am starting to be like her!!! We spend a lot of time together and I have so many great memories growing up as she was the best mom that anyone could have asked for.  She even let me have 3 personal days when I was in school, I didn't have to fake sick I just said I need a personal day.  My mom raised me to be a strong, OPINIONATED adult and pushed me every step along the way to succeed in life.  I appreciate her love and her ability to always push me to be my best.  I am so glad that we live 2 minutes away from each other and am excited to share many more fun moments in life with the best mom ever!!!

Warren and Julie and Grandma

Warren and Julie are my in-laws.  Warren is Brad's Dad and Julie is his step mom.  They live in Boulder and we get to see them quit often.  Brad's Grandma is also included in this photo and is the cutest grandma any one could ask for.  She is so special and I always look forward to visits with her and she has so much knowledge and I love her stories.  Brad and his dad are very similar in many ways and it is funny to see the two of them together.  Julie is fun to be around and can always make us all laugh, the first time I met her she introduced herself and "step-monster".  I am glad to have great in-laws close by.

Bard and Bob

Barb and Bob are also my in-laws.  Barb is Brad's mom and Bob is Brad's Step Dad.  They also live very close to us and we enjoy seeing them when we can and always have great summer BBQ with them.  Barb is a great cook and always makes yummy food for special occasions and holidays.  Bob always blows up balloons for all birthdays and decorates the house with a Happy Birthday sign, it always makes me smile. We also hang out with them a lot for CU games as we both have season tickets and try to get together before of after games. Once again I am so glad to have all of our family so close. 

Tammy

I am so happy that Brad has one sibling, growing up as an only child was hard at times.  I now have a sister and it is fun to have someone to be close with and have secrets :)  Tammy is a couple years older then us and she also lives close.  We try to get together as much as we can and do fun different fun things.  I can't wait to share many more memories with her as there are always fun times when we are together, I am happy to have a Sister-in-law like Tam.

Well that is my inner circle when it comes to family.  Brad also has two step brothers Grant and Evan.  I do have a very big extended family with lots of Aunts, Uncles and Cousins.  They are all so special to me and I had the best time growing up with each and everyone of them.  I still see them often now and love them so much and even though I didn't have siblings I felt like I did with them around.  Being an only child at times is challenging as there really is no one but you.  Also I was the youngest of all the cousins so being the baby I still missed out on some things but always had such a great time with the Bethurum Family. The more I think about everyone so many fun memories come to mind and I just LOVE them so much.

I have learned one thing from the post that I have no pictures of us and our families.  This will be something I need to change this year.  We see everyone all the time but just don't have any photos.

I hope you enjoyed learning about my family!!

NOLA

Brad and I had a great trip in New Orleans for the Bass Master Classic.  It was a weekend to remember being our first time on Burbon Street, New Orleans and the whole state of Louisiana.

Brad and I with the coveted BASS Master Trophy

BASS MASTER CLASSIC
The adventure started with an early wake up to go watch the first day of the boat launch where all the events started.  Due to a fog delay Brad was able to meet many of the pros and get a lot of autographs before the festivities began.  It was so funny to see him with all of his sports idols, there were defiantly some moments where he was speechless.  After the launch we headed over to the first day of the fishing expo.  It was very large with many booths to walk around.  The highlight of the expo was all the FREE stuff that everyone got.  We had bags full of fun new fishing items that Brad couldn't wait to get home and sort through.  Also they have pros walking around and many demonstrations of all the latest fishing techniques and items.  After the expo was the main event at the Arena of the famous weigh in.  They bring in each one of the anglers  on their boat where they step up on the stage and weigh in the daily bass catch.  All the pros have fun music that they come into making the atmosphere very exciting.  They also were shooting all the footage for the ESPN coverage that will air this weekend.  Brad and I had excellent seats all three days and were able to see all of the action unfold.  Day 3 and the final way in was defiantly a moment to remember.  It is the super bowl of the BASS fishing world and so exciting.  Due to the large body of water (Louisiana Delta) that they were fishing on there were two choices the anglers had to make, take the 2 hour one way trip to Vinice or stay close by to allow more fishing time.  Normally they would be safe with either option but due to a fog delay each morning the "run" to Vinice really proved to determine the winners.  After the highest way in totals in BASS Master history KVD or Kevin Van Dam pulled off his fourth BASS Master Classic win.  He is the true Payton Manning of the fishing word and he didn't disappoint when on the last day he pulled out almost 30lbs of bass with two 8 lbs fish.  It was a very exciting moment.  To cap off the excitement after nervously waiting all weekend to get KVD to sign Brad's fishing cards Brad decided to wait by an exit door at the arena.  After KVD did all of his interviews he exiting the Arena right where Brad was and he was able to get his autograph, it really was the best moment for Brad.

Please tune in this weekend on ESPN2 to watch all of the footage of the Classic.  Also Brad and I have a sneaky suspession we may show up on the show at least once :)

NOLA  (Aka New Orleans)
What a great location to host such a fun event.  Brad and I decided to experience the area there was no better place to stay then Burbon Street.  Before leaving I heard so many stories of what Burbon was like and honestly I just couldn't get a good picture in my head.  WOW it was definatley an experience.  Brad and I mostly took in the amazing food including the beignets, gumbo and LOTS of oysters.  The experience of walking, shopping and samling all the food was amazing.  Then the fun kicks in at night was a CRAZY walk down Burbon Street.  Brad and I decided to do the Burbon "experience" on Saturday night and boy was it a night to remember.  We started off at a great panio bar with excellent drinks and music.  From there we visited 3 other bars ranging in Blues music to Karioke.  We ended the night in try NOLA fashion by throwing beads off a balcony to all the walker-bys.  It was so much fun and you really lost since of time as you get suck up into the electrifing atmosphere.  The last day we also enjoyed a Swamp Tour in Honey Bay.  The sceenary was breathtaking.  I really was surprised by the great food and couldn't get enough of all the different flavors we don't get to enjoy here in Colorado.

Brad and I really hope to go back to the NOLA soon and we really had a great time in such a different exciting city.  We will for sure be back in Louisianna next year for the BASS Master Classic which will be held in Shreive Port.

The Story of Us

In the spirit of Valentine's Day I thought I would write about the story of how Brad and I meet.  Many of you have heard the story that started many years ago but I wanted to go back and write it for all the rest of you that have not heard our "love" story.

Bard and I in 6th Grade 

Part 1
It all started the first day of 6th grade while waiting for the bus with my best friend Michelle.  We were at the bus stop after a very fun/exacting first day at middle school when I saw Brad hanging out with friends at the other end of the sidewalk.  Being the boy crazy 6th grader I was I said to my friend Michelle, "who is that boy, he is soooo cute!!"  She laughed at me and said, "oh that is just Brad".  After begging her to talk to him for me she finally gave in and went over to him and told him I thought he was very cute and wanted to get to know him.  When he looked over to see me I was hiding in a bush as I was embarrassed to say hello. After seeing each other every day waiting for the bus we talked more and more and he invited me over to his house to watch a movie.  The next Saturday I went to his house (only 5 blocks) from my house and we watched Mighty Ducks and ate popcorn.  We dated for about 6 month before I broke up with him.  It was sad but we remained good friends.  He was really one of my best friends all through middle school and we were inseparable.  We even took Racqutte ball classes together after school.  We both went to Centaurus our freshman year of high school, but in true high school fashion we had different groups of friends and joined different clicks and lost touch.  My sophomore year I went to a different school and we didn't see each other again.

Our Senior Photos

Senior Prom

Part 2
After dating many guys in high school I still always thought about my first love Brad.  He was always so kind and we both got along so great.  For some reason I just always felt such a huge connection to him and how I felt when I was with him.  One week before my senior prom I was in the dumps as I was boyfriend less and didn't have a date to the prom.  I really didn't let it bother me as I was ready to move onto the next step of my life and go off to Montana for college.  I had to work the early shift at my job at the mall and was slammed with costumers when I happened to look up and see Brad walking by with a friend.  It had been so long since we had talked I was so excited to see him.  I was nervous which isn't like me and was scared to say "hi" but in the back of my mind I knew that by seeing and reconnecting with him it would change my life forever (boy was I right!!) .  I went up to Brad and tapped him on the shoulder to say hi.  Instantly we couldn't stop talking and it was so good to see him again.  I had to get back to my job so I quickly gave him my number and had to run back to work.  The rest of the day I couldn't stop thinking about our chance meeting.  He called me that night and we talked on the phone for 2 hours and had a blast.  He invited me to prom and that is where we both really fell in love with each other.  We spent every second together that summer before college and were heartbroken to think that with me going away to Montana for college that we wouldn't be together.  After many long talks Brad decided it was best for him to come to Montana and go to college and start a life with me there.  He asked me to merry him before we left for college in August of 2001 (Blog to come soon).  We both knew that we wanted a longer engagement since we were both young but we also knew that we were so in love.

Our Wedding Day

Part 3 
We were married May 24, 2003 in a beautiful outdoor wedding at the Hover mansion in Longmont.  It was so great that after so many years in each others lives we were finally going to start our lives together.  Fast forward 8 years and we are still as happy as we were the day we meet in 6th grade, the day we reconnected in High School and the day we got married.  I truly know that from the second Brad and I meet we were meant to be together forever.  I couldn't ask for a better husband and a better best friend.  I love you Brad and am so happy to be sharing our life journey with one another, you are my sole mate and I will love you forever.

Special Picture in front of the Model A