Colorado Part 1

Yesterday in church, our pastor started a new sermon series on Genesis. I have always loved the Creation story, but it seemed even more inspiring after having spent a week enjoying some of God's most beautiful creation! We just came back from Colorado on Saturday and we both were so sad to go back to work today! We had a wonderful time! The weather was great, such a nice reprieve from our Houston heat and we really enjoyed our time away! Our week was jam packed so I'm going to break it up into parts.

We left Houston on Saturday, 8/15. We had a 7:30 AM flight so we got up extra early and got to the airport at 6:30 AM. This should have been plenty of time, but let's just say we ran into some turbulence at the airport. Apparently they decided to do construction and so the E terminal was the only terminal that was being used for check in. This wasn't the biggest problem though. There were about 20 families that over packed and their bags were over the 50 lbs weight limit per bag. Instead of making them pay or go to the end of the line, the airport staff stood there for 15 minutes watching the families re-pack their belongings! Seriously, we stood waiting to weigh our bags while a woman unpacked all her designer jeans with her bag sitting on the scale! Needless to say we missed our flight and caught the next one at 9 am. I was a little impatient that early in the morning, but recovered after we got some breakfast. Here I am with the plane we actually took in the background.

Thankfully we had time to tell Jeff's sister, Lisa so she didn't have to wait for us at the Denver airport due to our delay. She and Jamie picked us up and we took off for a full day of exploring. They took us to Boulder, CO to look at the shops and have lunch. Jeff had to have a picture with this guy. The man loves animal statues and figurines....don't ask me why!
We had lunch at Old Chicago. I didn't know pizza was so popular in Colorado, but we ate pizza twice on this trip and it was very tasty!
Jeff also took the edge off with a flight of beer with his lunch.
Me, I prefer to eat my calories and was tickled when we saw this place! Actually we saw a girl down the street from the bakery with a sign that said "cupcakes" and a giant arrow pointing to it. I'd love that job! They wouldn't even have to pay me!
I'd take these as my salary and be pleased as punch!
After shopping, lunch, and dessert, we went to Jamie and Lisa's for a rest before going to the Green Day concert. My rock star hubby got us the hook up and we hung out with all the hard core fans. I've never been to a concert with a mosh pit, but it sure makes things more exciting! We observed it all from a loftier spot and that was just great with me!

On Sunday, Jamie and Lisa showed us their stomping ground, Denver. Lisa works in Denver, but they actually live in a nearby suburb. It is a beautiful city with a lot to see and do.

We had lunch at the Rock Bottom Brewery. They brew specialty beers and also have great food!

After lunch we went to the aquarium. My sister had told me about it and recommended we go so I was thrilled when Lisa suggested it. This is one of the places I took HUNDREDS of pictures, but I've chosen just a few to give you an idea. If you ever have a chance to go see it yourself, definitely go! It is by the same management of the Houston aquarium, but it is WAY better! No offense, H-Town!

There were a lot of opportunities to see sharks, but this is the best picture I could get. They're pretty fast!

What a cute little pot bellied sea horse!
There were also a lot of exhibits with sting rays. This picture is of a smaller one in a tank, but we got to pet larger ones in a pool.
The tiger exhibit was also really cool and a definite crowd pleaser! It took several shots before I got a good picture, but here is one of all three cats. One is grooming the other, while the third takes a nap!

Here's a good close up! I promise I didn't get in the cage, it just looks like I was that close! They sure are beautiful animals!

This is a lion fish. They always remind me of my Aunt Ann because she had some in a salt water tank at her house. I remember being amazed by them as a kid!
I also tried really hard to get a good picture of all the large sea turtles. They just floated through the water and I loved watching them swim!
I thought this picture of a jellyfish was cool, though they're not my favorite. The colors are pretty though!
Stay tuned for the next installment where Jeff and I explore a TON of land animals!