The Life of Rob & Jess Plus Two: Colorado me some Springs!

“All of creation, sing with me now.” This would be my alarm. That went off at 4:30 AM on Friday, New Years Eve 2010. Then, “Why do you always plan our vacations so early? I wanna go back to bed.” That would be Robert… complaining about waking up early.

But never fear, I got him up and into the shower. Meanwhile, I checked the phone to see if we could even still fly into Denver with monstrosity of a snow storm the Denver/Colorado Springs area received the day & night before. Sure enough, our flight was still on time. Amazingly. I checked the phone approximately 20 times before and on the way to the airport just to make sure. But we left the apartment around 4:45 AM to get to the airport.

The night before, we had a bit of difficulty packing our bags. Robert wanted to take only 1 or do all carry ons and I was like the bigger the better with no carry ons. We packed up one pretty quickly… I had to point out to Rob that we had no coats or shoes. So, then we had to pack another suitcase of only coats & shoes. We couldn’t wear our coats in Houston.. it was 60 degrees when we left! Later, when we arrived at Hobby airport to fly Southwest, I was scared b/c the line to check in and check bags was insanely long. I really thought many people wouldn’t be travelling on New Years Eve, but I was wrong. There were boo-koo’s of people at the airport at 5 AM that day. Including a lot heading to Denver just like we were. No worries.. this story doesn’t end w/ us missing our flight or it being delayed. We had plenty of time to still get through security, stand in line to get some breakfast taco’s and shop for some Tums for Rob to eat after he ate his breakfast taco.

We watched Sex & the City 2 on our little portable DVD player on the plane ride up. Robert was less than thrilled, but we had net-flixed it (or well, I had), so it had to be watched! When the pilot came on saying we would be landing soon and to sit your tray tables upright and turn off all portable electronics, we packed it up and looked out the window. The pilot also mentioned it was 1 degree in Denver. Oh Geez!! Couldn’t see a thing out the window either. All white. We get lower, still can’t see a thing. We land, still can only see white. I point this out to Rob and he says “well, I’m sure its clear under us.” As we taxied in, there was definitely no clear runway. I couldn’t believe we had landed on all that snow & ice. We didn’t seem to have any problems though with the land. Just very freaky! We could see our breath from the moment we stepped off the plane until we walked into the airport about 5 feet. Soo cold!!

Ryan & Stacy were ever so kind to offer to pick us up…. However, I think when they said they would they didn’t know they would be doing it in a snow storm!! But, they braved the weather just for us. To do so, they had to take it slow and so Robert and I just toured the Denver airport. Did you know the Denver airport is the 5^th largest airport in the U.S.? At least, I think that’s right. Don’t take my word for it… but it is supposed to be really big. We landed in terminal C where we then promptly emptied our blatters and began our tour of the Denver airport. We took the shuttle to terminals A, B, and then baggage claim. We shared a small personal pizza from Pizza Hut (only 9:30 AM there), had a soda, and walked into the shops. Lots of people in the Denver airport too. We got around to our baggage and found an empty spot where we could open the coat suitcase and get prepared for the below freezing weather! We bundled up and waited just a few more minutes for R&S to arrive! They showed up in a very snowy car just a few minutes later! We headed our way back to Colorado Springs w/ them and took the roads slowly. We got into the CS about 2 hours later where we ate Panera Bread for a quick lunch, hot lunch. Then, R&S took us to their home sweet home! And it was beautiful!! They had just gotten a brand new 47 inch TV and the place looked great. Not to mention, nice & warm too! On a side note: it’s very hard to get all your luggage in when you can’t roll it (b/c of the snow!). Plus, they had a lovely 12 pack of ice cold Diet Dr. Peppers just for me! Now, that’s what I call good friends!!!! J

Ryan & Stacy braved the weather just for us!

Just look how cold it is at the airport!

We landed!!!

We unloaded all our gear, toured the apartment, and settled in. We played 7 games of Sequence. R&S won the first 3 and me and Rob won the final 4 games. Rob and I don’t play games together just that well. We both just kind of sit in our own little world and expect the other to know what it is & follow. R&S beat us quite handedly the first three. After the games, R&S cooked us Chicken & Gnocchi pasta w/ bread. It was soo yum!! Might have even convinced me to make it myself one day!!

Playing the game Sequence!

After that, we baked some brownies. They have one of those As Seen on TV brownie pans where you slide in the dividers once you pour so you don’t even have to cut your own brownies & they don’t stick to the pan! It was awesome looking. Cut nice sized brownies too.

Yummy! Brownie & cool whip!

Keep in mind, all of this is still just one day.. New Years Eve! We break out the Wii where we play some Mario Kart, Deal or No Deal, and Darts. Deal or No Deal was humorous… we played 4 player, so each person picked a suitcase and then the game continued on from there. However, only one person could take a deal (we didn’t really know that until Ryan took a deal). And technically, depending upon which # you are, your chances are worse/better as you play. If you are player 4, you have less boxes to choose from & have a riskier chance of picking up a high number if the people before you all had chosen lower numbers. And vice versa for player 1. But, very interesting none the less. On the last time the banker called us to offer a deal, Ryan took the deal of somewhere around $200,000. However… as it turned out… he had had $750,000 in his case!!! Oh, it was insane. I believe I won the game by winning $350,000 on the case Robert had traded (player 4 worked out in my favor in this case as you either got to trade your case or see what was in yours, and if you are the last player, I got too choose from the cases the other players had traded). Oh, it was great fun. Lots of screaming & yelling.. and Ryan rolling on the floor b/c he lost approx $500K!!! Oh, to take the deal or not to take the deal.

This would be the deal that Ryan took instead of the $750K in his case!

Then, we moved on to the dart game. We played one round and we all did awful, but Ryan probably did the most awful. But I’m pretty sure he was pulling all of our legs… he smoked us from then on out. We played two different kinds of darts: Highest Score in 5 rounds and Cricket. Ryan won at Cricket, but I will say Stacy put up a monumental effort. She was one strike away from Ryan! In the midst of the game, we left it to watch the ball drop at 10 o’clock mountain time… midnight in New York. Then, we did all we could to stay up to 11 o’clock mountain time. And trust me, it was a huge effort to stay up that long. For all of us. With the waking up early, fighting the snow, cooking food, playing games, and just plain ole catching up, it just put us all out. R&S advised us to heat up the heating blanket and to put it in our sheets, and that is just what we did. When we climbed into bed for the night, we were nice & toasty and out like a light! Other than waking up briefly to hear people yell “Happy New Year!” we slept like logs.

Enjoying a nice game of darts. Ryan played us all for a fool!
Just look at him planning his strategy in the background!

Ryan & Stacy cooking us some good food!

The next morning, R&S cooked us pancakes for breakfast. In the midst of cooking, the building fire alarm went off. Ryan went out to check on things, but couldn’t find anything major to report. It was sooo cold that we didn’t even think a fire could possibly start! We continued on our merry way and sat down to eat. We had OJ, pancakes, bacon… the works. We ate while the fire alarm continued going off. It probably took close to 20 to 30 minutes for the fire department to arrive and the alarm to be turned off. A little bit later, a fireman knocked saying that someone’s water line had broke and to check our ceilings to make sure we weren’t going to be flooded in from the ceiling.

Ryan checking out his new toy! Believe it or not, the package
said it would hold up to 300 lbs. I'm not sure I'd just jump right
into it though!

We all got ourselves ready… or well… Rob and I got ourselves ready b/c Ryan & Stacy were on top of their game and got up early to get ready. Such excellent people!! We chilled around the Wii some more and R&S made up some bacon wrapped weenies, chips & salsa, and crackers, cheese & sausage. Then, R&S drove us around CS and we dropped into Pier 1 to check out their half off Christmas decorations. Then, they drove us through some neighborhoods that they liked and took us to one of their malls. We headed back to the apt where we played “Dirty on your neighbor.” I think Dirty should mean something else… but I’ll let you use your imagination for that one. R&S killed us on that game. Rob and I didn’t win a single game. During the many whippings Rob and I took from R&S from this game, we made a reservation for the Sunbirds Restaurant. We got all fancied up… or well, as fancy as you can get when it’s about 15 degrees outside. As we were driving, we realized this was on top of a major hill… you could maybe even classify it as a mountain?? Probably a mountain as it is Colorado! We made it up the snowy/icy hill no problem though. Ryan is such a good driver! He kept us safe the whole time!! We had a great time at the restaurant. We ordered appetizers… beef skewers & calamari. Stace & I had the filet mignon, Ryan had the rack of lamb, and Robert had the Prime Rib. Very tasty!!! The waitress was hilarious… she loved that they were twins and I believe she said Rob had a “baby face.” Poor Rob. He always gets the baby face thing. One of the days he will look like he is in his twenties. It might be in about twenty years though.

During our dinner, Ryan asked Stacy, “Are you mashed potatoes lumpy?” Stacy kind of looks down, I even look down b/c I have mashed potatoes too? I’m wondering to myself… well, are they lumpy? I don’t taste any lumps? Ryan continues, “mine are just really lumpy and kind of dry tasting.” Stacy cautiously answers, “no.” And I can’t remember who utters it first, either Ryan or Stacy, but one of them says something to the effect of “Oh wait, this is risotto.” So yes, once Ryan realized he was not eating mashed potatoes, he decided his risotto tasted great. But, apparently, risotto disguised as mashed potatoes is not such a good idea. It was soo funny. We all just burst out laughing.

The gang at Sunbirds Restaurant!

We took our fabulous time eating dinner and having conversation. Getting back from the restaurant, we played more “Dirty on your neighbor.” I think Rob and I might have won a game, but R&S steadily whooped our butts over and over again. We hit the sack pretty early that night too… 10:30 if I remember correctly… b/c we had to wake up around 6:30 to head for the COG railway that goes up the Pikes Peak mountain.

Leaving the restaurant!

Ryan & Stace leaving Sunbirds

That next day, R&S made us biscuits & gravy for breakfast and we all put as many layers as possible on. I had on tights, jeans, a camisole, turtle neck, Rob’s thick Hog sweater, a scarf, pea coat, hat, and two pairs of gloves. We just weren’t too sure what the weather would be like on the mountain or in the train, so we came prepared. We headed out and drove to Manitou Springs where we found the COG railway (we had made reservations the day before). We drove through kind of what I would consider a snowy, ski village (minus the ski’s). Definitely some of your typical “Colorado hippies” lived there too. But it was a fantastic village covered in snow, including the streets. Very picturesque. We found a place to park and Robert & Ryan got the tickets. I took out my camera and started taking some shots of the beautiful scenery. I was fumbling around w/ my gloves when I dropped my camera. From then on out it never worked again. I think Rob might have been slightly peeved at me for a lot of the train ride. Not to mention, I was very upset w/ myself. I had just bought this new camera two months ago… if that. So, I’m quite mad at myself for dropping it!!! Oh well, Stace took some awesome pictures and we shared her camera throughout the rest of the day.

R&S on the train ride

R&S outside the train station

The train that took us up the mountain!

Posing on our stop that the train let us get outside on the mountain.

Me and Stacy during our stop on the moutain!

Once we finished the train ride, we headed to grab some Subway for lunch and then R&S took us to the Garden of Gods. By that time of the day, around noonish, the streets were finally starting to melt some. We took loads of pictures in front of some cool red rocks including something called the Balancing Rock. Basically, that is this huge rock that looks like it could fall over at any minute. We also saw this rock that Rob thought looked like a dragon. I couldn’t see it… but you know what they say about crushing creativity!! So, a dragon it may be! After posing for his picture by the dragon, he went to throw something away while Ryan gathered up some snow for a snowball. I just stood there w/ the camera to capture the moment. This may be misconstrued as traitor-ism. But, I thought it might be a good picture!! Ryan nailed Rob and then the snowball fight began. Me and Stace just stayed well out of the way. Snow was going down Rob’s pants and Ryan’s whole head was snow covered. Stace & I briefly wondered “why did we marry them again??” They stopped eventually when their hands were frozen solid. We toured the park and took some awesome pictures. You could really feel like you were on top of the world in some of the shots.

1. I'm waiting for you.

2. I got you.

3. It's in my pants!

4. Take that.

I’m fairly certain if Stace & I had left the boys up to their own devices, they would have traipsed through the entire park on foot freezing their toes off exploring every nook & cranny. Especially Rob. He just kind of took off after the Balancing Rock w/ this look on his face of “I’m Lewis & Clark, let me explore!” We all yelled at him though to get back in the car so we could go look at more cool things. Oh Rob. Maybe another time!

I'll hold it up!!

The balancing rock in full view.

This is a really awesome picture Stacy took of Rob and I
on top of this rock. It was an awesome view. I'm probably
arguing w/ Rob in this picture, too... but that's no surprise!

The two of us ON TOP OF THE WORLD!

Ryan & Stacy ON TOP OF THE WORLD!

After we finished exploring by vehicle, R&S took us to downtown Colorado Springs and showed us Stacy’s work and where BKD’s office was located. And then we headed back to the apt to kind of relax and get off all our winter gear. We played a Wii Snowboarding game where I completely dominated both Rob and Ryan. Stacy organized all our pictures so that we each had every picture we both took. Then, we watched them all on their TV. We laughed hysterically at this one picture of Rob where he looks like a very fat man. It’s quite odd. And then there is this picture of Ryan where it looks like his neck is broken or at least his face was kind of cropped on to his body. Both are down right hilarious looking. I won’t attach directly here as probably neither of them would appreciate it very much!

R&S cooked us another wonderful meal.. green beans, Barbeque & Salsa porkchops, and some bread. Yum! Very tasty, not to mention creative! Then, we settled down to watch the movie Inception. That was a very interesting movie… kind of makes you really think about dreams. Bad ending though… I hate not having a clear, concise ending. I need to know how it ended, people! Not this, “well… this probably happened, but I guess we’ll never know” kind of ending. Really good movie though, I super enjoyed the suspense & action. Could have thrown in a bit more romance, but then again I’m a girl and love romance!

That pretty much ended our night. I went to write R&S a quick thank you note for letting us stay with them and when I pulled out my black pen I noticed that it was leaking. I quickly capped it & thought, phew… I’m glad I caught that before I used it. So, I grabbed my blue pen & checked it… it looked fine. Wrote the note & capped the pen & tossed it on the bedspread next to my purse. Little did I notice that the top of the pen was leaking & I got blue ink all over their nice white bed spread. How’s that for a guest for ya?? I felt soo bad!! R&S were such good hosts and I ruined their bed spread! We’ll probably never be invited back! J JK! Well, we’ll just invite ourselves over… hehe!!

We woke up at 4 AM the next morning to get our groove on to get to the airport. Ryan drove us himself so that Stacy could sleep a little longer since she had to go to work that morning. Robert was Mr. Grumpy that whole day home. He kind of reminded me of a 6 year old w/ his lower lip stuck out who just wants to stomp his foot and say “No.” Miserable kid. He never really got over having to get up early for the entire day… even took a nap when he came home! Oh, funny kid. One of these days he’ll just wake up early and say “I love you babe, isn’t this a great day?!”

So, all in all, that was our trip!!! Thank you R&S for opening your home to us & braving the weather just for us!! We had a spectacular time and are truly blessed to have you in our lives. See you two soon!!

SIDE NOTE: Currently, my camera is still un-fixable & I will most likely have to buy a new one as my warranty won’t cover it. This sucks.