Fourth of July Weekend

Having the hard life that I do, I had to suffer through four straight days of enjoying sunshine, friends, family, and fireworks. I am such a martyr.

For my first weekend in Denver in two months, I started with errand running,

UPDATED: I got to enjoy a Mexican feast at Blue Bonnet with a former co-worker after many trial and tribulations with Apple and updating my iPhone. We got caught up on life and PITAs in our lives. (That's Pain In The Ass)

followed by well deserved Rio margaritas with my cousin, Nic, who is also my hero. He's currently serving in the Marine Corps in Quantico, VA and came home for a week to be with family and friends.


For Friday, I got some friends together to celebrate a weekday without work and had a picnic in Wash Park. We enjoyed the sun, the company, and played badminton - which turned into Getting David's Flip Flops Out of the Tree. I guess I should explain the rules to Getting David's Flip Flops Out of the Tree...

1. While playing badminton, play near a large, leafy tree.
   
2. Next, make sure to get the birdie stuck in the tree with no extra birdies to continue play.
   
3. After that, throw logical items at the various branches to get the birdie out.
4. Naturally, when one flip flop gets stuck (See below), throw the second flip flop so the PAIR gets stuck.
5. After attempts with a full water bottle that is so heavy, even girls throw like girls, try anything else you have with you on your picnic.
6. A Nalgene bottle with some water and ice in it have a great balance for throwing and turning the game into modified catch.
7. The game can last from 5 minutes to one hour...depending on aim, objects, and location.

One of my favorite parts of the Park Day was gaining a shadow. Her name is Lilly and she is the daughter of my friend Heather. It takes Lilly-Boo awhile to warm up to you, but after that, we are best of friends. She'll be celebrating her second birthday, which also happens to be her Golden Birthday, next month, so you'll get to see more of my new shadow. She did also like to play with Obie, David and Chelsea's dog, once she realized that Obie liked her, too.

For the Fourth of July Independence Day festivities, I went to my friend's downtown loft where we could watch the fireworks from Coors Field on his rooftop...being only 3 blocks away, it was like front row seats to the best fireworks display in town! I wasn't able to capture the display with my slow shutter speed, so you'll have to settle for a stunning view of Union Station from the rooftop.

To finish off my four-day weekend, I went to the racetrack to catch up with Kalyn and her family since I haven't really seen them since my trip back to Holly in May. Hammes Racing didn't have any horses running, so I got to enjoy the whole Hammes clan without stress of a horse not placing....or Mama Hammes yelling at Nick and scaring bystanders...

All in all, the weekend was a perfect for celebrating all things American: Friends, Family, and Fireworks...not to mention the margaritas, wine, hot dogs, barbecue, gambling....