First Major Denver Snowstorm

WOW! That pretty much sums today up. We woke up and saw a TON of snow on the ground. We have had about three or four previous snow days, but this time it was sticking to the ground and the streets had to be constantly plowed today.





Ashley and I had to use our new ice scrapers to clean off our cars. It wasn't too bad though because it was just snow and not ice on the windshield.





Ashley's truck filled up almost completely with snow. We tried to clean it out but by the time we got back from errands, it was pretty full again.





After we cleaned our cars, we headed out to run errands.





My car was covered by the overnight snow. It has been snowing non-stop all day long.





The City of Denver workers were busy plowing all streets around the city.








I took Cali to a nearby park to play in the snow. I came across this park bench that was covered in snow.





This is Cali's first time in the snow. She really likes to run around and chase her frisbee but she also loves to eat the snow! Someone needs to tell her that eating snow will actually make her more thirsty!








The snow continued through the evening and is supposed to continue all day Thursday.





This is the first video I've tried to upload to the blog. I know it's not awesome but at least it shows the snow all over the ground!





I had to stop and fill up some gas, and saw that the snowfall looked really cool against the street light.


So a little update on our lives: Ashley got a job with Adams County. Her first day is next Monday. She will be responsible for interviewing prospective foster parents in Adams County. It's a different job than she had in San Angelo, so she is excited for the new challenge. As for me, I had an interview at the Boulder Police Department for a Records Specialist position. The first part of the interview was basically a pre-employment interview where they just ask basic questions and then I had to take a 80 question computer multiple choice test. Then they emailed me today asking me to come back next Wednesday for an oral board interview, where I will be in front of 3 to 4 people firing questions at me. There are two positions and at least three people interviewing. The job sounds really fun. There will be a good amount of assisting officers and detectives with their investigations, something that really interests me. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed that things go well next week.

I do miss photography. I can definitely tell from my photos these days that I'm rusty. Part of me is sad to put a photo job in the rear-view mirror, but who knows what the future holds.

We haven't really planned too much of our wedding yet. It's hard because we really want to get married in California but we don't really have any opportunities to go try to find some places. Hopefully during the Christmas trip we are planning back home, we can find some time to pick a spot. We are hoping to have a wedding in the Fall of 2010. But it all depends on if the spot we like is available.

Another round of snow on Thursday!!!

Birthday Trip South to Colorado Springs

I had my 31st birthday yesterday, and Ashley and I took a day trip down to Colorado Springs. It was a quick hour trip down. Before I left San Angelo, a former co-worker at the San Angelo Standard-Times named Paul Harris, who used to freelance at the Colorado Springs Gazette, had been telling me we had to go eat breakfast at The Omlette Parlor. So we got there and read about the history of the restaurant. Apparently it used to be someone's house way back when, and has been a restaurant for decades. It was an awesome local place to eat.







I like how it says "probably" and then it's crossed out, claiming to have THE best omlettes in the West.





It was my birthday so I had to absolutely CRUSH my breakfast...two pancakes as big as my head!





After breakfast we drove to see the building that houses the Colorado Springs Gazette. Since working at the Standard-Times, I always find it fun to see what other newspaper buildings look like. This building in Colorado Springs looks a lot bigger than the San Angelo paper. The scenery with the mountains as a backdrop is always a plus.






We decided to check out the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo after stopping by the paper. Ashley and I love going to zoos. We thought that the Denver Zoo was so cool, but after spending the day at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, we may have to re-think which zoo we like better. The zoo is built at the base of a huge mountain, so a lot of the exhibits incorporate the natural habitat of the mountain. First stop was the giraffe area. We couldn't believe how many there were and how close they got to you. for a dollar you could get three crackers to feed them.








I can't believe how long their tongues are!





Close up of a furry mouth.





Oh how we love the "hold the camera up ourselves and take the photo".





The zoo was on a huge mountain so it allowed for gorgeous vistas. This was taken on the way to see the tiger exhibit.





A family rides the air tram down to the bottom of the zoo. The changing colors of the season are clearly evident in the background.





Oftentimes when we go to a zoo it's a 50/50 chance that the animals are actually doing anything or just laying down. Luckily when we went to see the tigers, one was swimming and the other was walking around.








So cool to see the tiger playing around, at one point trying to eat a branch on tree.





Intense stare of the tiger.





Leaving the tiger exhibit we walked to the grizzly bear exhibit. There were two and they were wrestling. It was really cool because the viewing glass was right where they were playing in the water.











Another pic of the two of us taken by one of us.





A goat was standing on this steep pile of rocks.








We walked in to the hippo exhibit at the perfect time because the worker there was about to feed them. He held out a head of cabbage while the two hippos were in the water. Within 20 seconds, they smelled the food and came up into the cage. The worker gave a head of cabbage to two kids, each getting to toss it into the mouth of the two hippos. Both made it in and the hippos chomped the cabbage and the whole thing was gone in under a minute. It was so cool to see!





As you might imagine, I totally loved hanging out with the giraffes, so before we left, we made one last stop back at their exhibit. Some of them were sprinting around and it was very interesting to see how such large animals can still move quickly.





I made a new friend while in Colorado Springs. We'll probably hang out again soon.




Ashley took the camera and came up with this creative picture of the giraffe's feet.





The wildlife wasn't restricted to the inside of the zoo. Several deer were hunting for food amongst the trees in the parking lot of the zoo. Very cool to be able to get this close!



Had a great birthday trip to Colorado Springs! Looking forward to our next trip!

Man's Best Friend

Cali has been my dog since about 3 months after she was born. I got her when I was a freshman at Arizona State University in 1999. She has lived with me in Arizona, California, Texas, and now Colorado. When I was first trying to think of a name, my brother suggested Cali. (Although he'll tell you that he wanted it to be Kali.)




Cali is probably the best "apartment" dog. From day one, she has always been really calm inside the small confines of apartment living. She's very content to just follow me around all day, switching from the family room to the bedroom and back.





This is a photo shot from right behind our apartment complex. It shows the John F. Kennedy Golf Course, a public 36-hole course here in Denver. I haven't played it yet, but I really want to.





So every day I take Cali out to a group of softball fields called Kennedy Ballfield. She loves to chase after her frisbee called the Aerobie.










Cali does this really funny thing whenever we go play with her frisbee. She'll chase it down, and bring it back and then flop on the ground and roll on top of it. I think it's to scratch her back, but she only does in when we play with either a ball or the frisbee. It's very funny to watch!





Being a black lab, I really enjoy seeing the gray coming in on Cali's face. Her chin has been gray for a while, but now it's starting to spread to her cheeks and near her eyes. She just turned 11 years old! But she still is very athletic and loves to play outside.





The great thing is that a dog will always let you know when they're tired. After playing for a half hour, Cali lies down on the ground and enjoys the nice grass. Back in San Angelo, where it seems like it's always over 90 degrees, there aren't very many places that have nice grass. I think Cali enjoys the grass here in Denver. I can't wait to see how she reacts to the snow. By the way, we are forecasted to get some snow anytime between tomorrow and Sunday.





Had to end it with a funny picture of Cali. 11 years, and still going strong. She's the best dog.

Engaged!

Ashley and I got engaged yesterday! I took her up to the Rocky Mountain National Park near Estes Park, CO, which is about 75 miles north of where we live in Denver. I tried to keep it a surprise for as long as I could and all I would tell her was that we were going on a "magical adventure". Before we got in the car at our apartment, we saw this really cool insect sitting on the rear of an adjacent car. COOL!!





So we drove the hour and a half up to Estes Park, CO and were immediately amazed by the beautiful colors inside the Rocky Mountain National Park. It was mostly cloudy, but the Fall colors were in full effect.








Our first stop after entering the park was to Sprague Lake. It has a 1/2 mile trail around the lake, and when we first got there it was raining but it stopped soon after. Here's Ashley and I near the lake.




During a small gap of sunshine, there was a beautiful reflection of a nearby mountain on the lake.




Tripods are always good for not wanting to take the shot where one of us is holding the camera. You have no idea how many photos we have where I'm holding the camera up high and it looks like I have a double chin!




Then we moved on over to Bear Lake where we had lunch. A tiny little squirrel-like animal was pestering us at first but soon after we moved, we were able to enjoy a little picnic with a view.







Back on the main road, we saw a bunch of cars pulled to the side and we soon saw what all the fuss was about...a HUGE elk was grazing on nearby grass. It was amazing to see such a big animal up close!




My whole plan was to propose at the top of this mountain we were going up on Trail Ridge Road, but that was foiled when, at two miles above sea level, it started POURING snow! It was so cold outside I couldn't bring myself to make Ashley go outside while the wind was howling and the snow was pouring down.




So back down the mountain we headed and I soon found this small trail and knew this was the spot. As we were walking another herd of elk showed and and for a moment, I though I was going to have to find another spot. But they stayed far away and left us alone.







This is the view of the site I asked Ashley to marry me. I think she new something was coming but still she was very surprised when I got down on my knee.




Here's a photo of us soon after I popped the question. Oh by the way, she said YES!!!




After the proposal we went to this amazing restaurant called Flagstaff House in the mountain overlooking Boulder, Colorado. An amazing night to cap off a perfect day. The view from the restaurant was gorgeous.







So now you are up-to-date with our happenings here in Denver. We are so excited to get planning with our next phase of our lives. We are still continuing our job hunt, and we both hope something cool will come along for both of us soon!