Photo Essay Tuesday (Belated 4th Of July Edition)

The 4th of July camping trip is an annual thing, and thank goodness. This year the festivities started at a free concert in Snowmass. After clumsily setting up our tent at midnight, Jill and I got a good nights sleep, but woke up pretty early... such is life when camping. There was cliff jumping, though Katie and I elected not to jump this year due to too fast water... Mak and Brandon were brave enough (read: drunk and foolish enough) to risk it. We did some hiking- Chester and I were friends. I was channeling the coppertone baby- with a road-y . Don't look too closely at this one folks! Cellulite city! Cassie, J.Paul and Pat, that little dog is a trouper. Hold the phone! Somebody call Sports Illustrated, I think I've got their next cover photo! Laying out on this rock is a bit more pleasant when the sun is shining. Ugh, melt your heart these girls are so cute. Brrr. It got a little cold. I guess that's what happens when you refuse to wear pants. We all got it together for a great big group picture. And finally, after three days of camping, we finally got on the river and went tubing!

Katie's Birthday Revisited

Friday night Kate, Jill, Mak and I met four other friends at the Rockies game to celebrate Kate's birthday. Unfortunately, Katie wasn't feeling well, so while she enjoyed the game and a cautious beer, we all got rip-roaring drunk. We actually had great seats and it was a beautiful night for a game. Not to mention we were playing the Mets who generally draw a pretty big crowd. I was sporting the biggest hair ever. I mean we're talking Texas-Big-Bar hair here. I do believe Mak is mocking me with that wink... Seriously, look at these great seats! For some reason Jill and I decided to throw down with several spirited rounds of knocker boxing. She started it. Kate, the birthday girl, drives us all home at the end of the night, and we, well, apparently we're just about as cliche as they come. OK, one last thing. Now everyone drinks a little and gets a little bit out out of control sometimes, but during the Friday night postmortem with Katie on Monday, she informed me that as far as shenanigans go, Jill and I had nothing on our girlfriend J. J and her boyfriend were riding the bus back to Boulder after we called it a night. Our girlfriend J started feeling sick on the bus and she threw up. BUT, she didn't want to get sick on the bus, so she just puffed out her cheeks and held it in her mouth as long as she could. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore, and it was leaking out the sides of her mouth so she...swallowed it. I know, it's about the grossest thing I've ever heard. It actually made me a little sick just now to write it out. She's a totally normal gal too, not a dirt bag or anything. Or so I thought...

Cougars?

Friday night was Katie's 28th birthday, Happy Birthday! We went to a ball game (The Rockies lost...), then some bars. Somewhere near the end of the evening Jill and I went for a little walk to "mingle" and do some dancing. The dancing was kind of a bust, I think we are just too old for the bars in the one particular area we were exploring. We got picked on by some local youths (what's a yout?) and they teased us and followed us on their bicycles! What the shit! Jill tried to get in a fight with one of them when they wouldn't stop taunting her about almost falling (though she hadn't). I love when Jill gets all aggro when she's been drinking. Then we met some very young boys who were out at a bachelor party. They were trying (unsuccessfully) to lure us back to their hotel room for an after party (another thing I'm thinking we're too old for), but they must have watched The Pick Up Artist, because they kept insulting us thinking it would weaken our resolve. We're not those kinds of girls, we actually have some self esteem thankyouverymuch. They said we were, and I quote, "totally hot cougars." Dude! We are too young to be considered Cougars. Look it up yo!

Tuesday Night, Ladies Night

Tuesday night Jill, Ivory, Suzie, Sarah, Laura, Tanya and I all met at Steuben's for our sort of quarterly meet up and catch up. I'd had a very late lunch so I only had the butterscotch pudding for dinner, but man was it good. The conversation included, but was in no way limited to, Tanya's honeymoon, Suzie's wedding, Laura's daughter and (6 year!) anniversary, Ivory's new house and baby, Sarah's new home and subsequent renovation, Jill's job search, and my impending relocation. It's so amazing, spending a great night with great friends who are all in such different places in life. It certainly illustrates what a rich and colorful tapestry life can be.

Sunshine!

Despite our antics, we came out of the weekend with a few really pretty pictures. Mak and Shelly are just the cutest brother and sister. Just as we were waking up Saturday morning and contemplating coffee Mak showed up with a bunch of lift chairs. Why? Because he's Mak. Shelly got a lot of action in that shirt, and despite the terrible service we had a lovely time sipping mojitos in the sunshine. Seriously? I have some hot friends. Even though I'm clearly sporting the drunk face, I like this picture of Kate and me. Jill striking a pose in Shelly's sunnies. We all tried them on and had ourselves a photo shoot. Jill doesn't really love it, but I think this picture of Katie is great. Maybe I just like the quality of the light and shadows in her hair.

Photo Essay Tuesday (Out Of Control Edition)