The Mile High (DRYYYYYYYYY) City

So this weekend I took the opportunity to visit my brother Travis and his fiance Pam in Denver. They generously bought me a ticket to come out and see them and help them out with their new house that they bought. Before I say anything though I just want to comment on how stinkin' dry that place is. Not only is the air thin but it has no moisture whatsoever. Well...I shouldn't exaggerate. I heard that there was 1% humidity when I left on Sunday. I got a nosebleed the first morning I was there. And this coming from the girl who always has "moisture" in her nose because of her allergies. Ok, well enough with that rant. I'm just so glad to be back in Portland where my skin doesn't feel like it is turning into a desert.

I arrived late Sunday night and Pam was sweet enough to come along to pick me up even though it meant a short night of sleep for her. And of course they brought Kaiser. Kaiser is their two year old Weimeraner that they just adopted three weeks ago. He is a sweet boy. Here is a picture of him getting his cuddle on with Pam on the couch on Friday night. Pam was a little tired for some reason.
On Friday Travis and Pam had to work so I slept in and then got to work painting their master bathroom. Trav came home after lunch which was good because Kaiser had already destroyed a pair of his shoes while under my watch. Trav and I spent the rest of the afternoon fencing in this dog run that he is building. Their backyard is fenced but it is a three foot tall fence. Easily jumped over by the Weimer. I wish I had a picture of the run he built. Very cool. Good job Trav.

Pam came home before we were finished and we all piled into their Nissan Titan for a much needed trip to the dog park. After that we picked up some movies, more paint and some dinner groceries and went home. They cooked this fabulous tri tip steak, green beans, salad, bread dinner complete with wine. I discovered that my brother hates red wine but we oddly enough have the same exact favorite beer, Blue Moon Belgian White. Pam and the dog slept through War Inc., a very interesting tongue-in-cheek movie about what the world might look like if corporations ruled the world rather than governments.

Pam made a great breakfast on Saturday morning before we all piled into the truck again to go back to the dog park for a Weimeraner Shelter Meet and Greet. Basically I got slobbered on a lot by 10-15 beautiful Weimers and other such dogs saying hello to everyone. I also realized what a great job Travis has been doing training Kaiser. In only two weeks Kaiser knows how to sit, lie down, stay, heel and leave food alone that is sitting right in front of him. And most of those commands he knows by hand signals only. Amazing. Trav is a really patient and firm teacher.

After the park, we painted the hallway and the guest bedroom and finished painting the master bathroom. We also finished putting up all the rest of the fencing for the dog run and raked all the backyard leaves. At that point my right arm was about to fall off from exhaustion so we decided to get pizza and go bowling. Yea, that's right. Bowling with the exhausted right arm. Needless to say I sucked it up. But I have so many excuses to use this time. I mean...besides the tired arm, I didn't have my own ball with me. That just totally throws you for a loop. Then they turned off all the lights for "cosmic bowling" and I couldn't see the arrows on the lane anymore. Then there was all the flashy, strobey lights swirling around me....And it is as this point that I felt old. What is wrong with me? At what point did cosmic bowling turn from fun and awesome to bothersome and obnoxious. So I sighed to myself and we went home and watched Leatherheads.

On Sunday Travis and Pam took me to this awesome breakfast joint called Toast. Ironically enough, one of Maile and I's favorite breakfast spots here in Portland is also called Toast. The Littleton, CO Toast kind of specializes in pancakes. Since none of us could decide what kind of pancakes we wanted, we ordered a "flight" for the table. Kind of a sampler of four short stacks of four different kinds. So cool! We had lemon blueberry, oreo cookie, bananas foster and blueberry granola. I loved it. Yay cool breakfast joints!
After our hearty breakfast Pam and I headed out to do some more hard work at the mall. We were on the prowl for the perfect bridesmaid's dress for me. Pam had this great and generous idea of letting each bridesmaid pick out a cute black cocktail dress for the wedding. That means we all get to wear something that is flattering on us and that we will most certainly wear again. Gold star for Pam!! We headed to the White House, Black Market store which, as the name suggests, kind of specializes in all things black and white. Gloriously, we bought the first and only dress that I tried on. I nearly kissed the service clerk I was so happy that this wasn't going to be a long ordeal. And I love the dress. It is super cute and looks great on me. Thanks Pam!! (Sorry, I don't have a picture of it!)

Ok well this is getting long and I am sure most of you don't care that much about all the little details of my trip. But let me just finish by thanking my brother and Pam for hosting me. It meant a lot to me to spend time with you both. I love you and wish you lived closer. Good luck with the new house and the new dog! And if anyone is in Denver, look them up. They have a fabulous chocolate brown guest bedroom now to host you in. :)