My Dad (Katie)

We did a Mother’s Day blog but ran right through Father’s Day. I was in Missouri for Father’s Day but no worries – I remembered a gift.

I was watching a Rockies game and they were talking about how baseball is still the American pastime and I can’t say that I disagree. In fact, I might completely agree. They said something about looking back and remembering baseball games with Dad, and I have a lot of those memories. There are so many that I have a hard time narrowing it down to just a few. I remember, very clearly, going to the All Star game when it was in Denver. We went to a lot of Sky Sox games where he taught me a lot about baseball and how to do the score sheets. I can remember him teaching me how to catch a pop fly and a grounder and the always helpful line: “keep your eye on the ball” after getting hit in the face.

My dad has never declared himself a fan of a specific team. I think, maybe, that’s one of the coolest things about watching sports with my dad. He knows the Rockies, but he also knows the Cardinals, the Yankees, the Cubs, the Red Sox, and everyone else. He can talk to you about Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols, and Dexter Fowler, but he can also tell you anything you want to know about Mickey Mantle and Pete Rose.

But my dad doesn’t just know baseball. He knows hockey, football, basketball, volleyball, softball, and soccer. He taught me all about wildlife and gun safety. Some of my favorite days with my dad are out in a field with him and our dogs. While some people have a problem with hunting and guns my dad taught me to not be afraid of guns and how hunting isn’t mindless shooting of hundreds of animals. When CSU threatened our right to bear arms last year, I was furious. People are so afraid of guns because “they kill people”. No, they don’t, but you can’t just leave the safety off and play around with it and expect to walk away with no one hurt. They are dangerous when you put one in a dumbass’s hands. As far as hunting goes, how was that hamburger you had for lunch?

He is also an amazing cook. His steaks are the best steaks I’ve ever had. Seriously. I don’t know how he does it, but they are awesome, all the time. Obviously, we are not a vegetarian family and it’s completely unanimous. Politics are a different sorry. While my dad and I have different views when it comes to what party we’re with, I love having debates with him – especially at the dinner table, where my mom hates it.

My dad supported me in everything I wanted to try. He suffered through tap classes when I was little, he watched me play soccer, hockey and volleyball games even if I wasn’t very good, and he even watched me coach a little last year. He always made it to everything he could, and still makes it to anything important. He taught me how to be competitive. I can remember, when I played volleyball and hockey, how he always said to play every game like it was my last. He has taught me a lot of things, but I think this might be one of the more important, because I get to pass it on to the girls I coach. I get to look them straight in the eye and tell them that I have nothing to regret when I look back on the time I played because I played my heart out at all times. He was right. One day, it all comes to an end. When it comes down to it, though, I have him to thank that I don’t regret anything. He pushed me to be my best 100% of the time, and still does.

My dad didn’t go to college but he’s one of the smartest people I know. If he doesn’t know something, he goes and learns about it and he is never shy about sharing his knowledge, but he’s also not afraid to say he doesn’t know. Whether it is cooking, politics, sports, or life, he’ll tell you what he knows. He’s a very proud man, and I’m proud to be his daughter.
-Katie

2 Months 1 Blog (Katie)

Brandon and I in Las Vegas
I feel like I haven’t written a blog in forever! A lot has happened since the last time I wrote a blog. I went to Las Vegas for a couple days with Brandon and his family, I moved into Caitlin and my apartment, I helped move Brandon into his dorm, I started classes and I got a job!!! I guess the place to start is Las Vegas.

Las Vegas was really cool. I’ve never seen so many neon lights in one place. We walked the strip several times, went to some really good buffets, and rode the New York New York rollercoaster. The rollercoaster was a ton of fun. I got to see Las Vegas from all different angles. We also stopped in to M&M World and the Coke Store, which were really neat. I kind of wish I would have waited and bought all Coke glasses for Caitlin and my kitchen. We drove to see the Hover Dam and it was HUGE. They’re building a bridge right now and I can honestly say I’m glad we went when it wasn’t done. No way in hell is anyone ever getting me on that bridge. This damn is supposed to be an engineering marvel but it just looked like a giant wall to me, but a cool giant wall. We went for Brandon’s grandparent’s 50th wedding anniversary. It was really awesome to see two people still so in love after 50 years. They had a surprise vow renewal where we all laughed the entire time. I really loved Las Vegas. I would have loved it more if I hadn’t seen so much fat pouring out of girls’ outfits.

The flight back from Vegas was a little depressing. It meant the end of summer, no more being with family and Brandon, and time to work. On the other side, it meant I got to move into the apartment and get back up to Fort Collins. I didn’t realize how much I had missed it until I got back up here. I have decided that I won’t be moving again any time soon. It was way too much like work trying to get everything into the apartment. It’s just started to feel like home. We’ve got posters everywhere (we definitely have a Twilight one!) and the pinkest bathroom you’ve ever seen. It’s definitely a girl’s apartment but more importantly it’s definitely Caitlin and my apartment. We’ve been cooking really good dinners for ourselves and it has saved us so much money! The dorms were unbelievably expensive. Food shopping was so weird! We didn’t have a freezer last year so we stocked up on frozen stuff this time. We could actually buy stuff that didn’t require stirring in a tablespoon of water and microwaving on high for 4-5 minutes. PLUS, Caitlin is an awesome cook. She’s got a great track record going right now.

Brandon moved into his dorm. It was really cool helping him move into his place knowing that he was going to be closer than 2 hours to me from now on. He’s got a really small dorm and he has a roommate but UNC is really great. Oh yes. UNC is so green, and sunny, and the campus is gorgeous, and the cow smell just pulls it all together. Really though, the campus is gorgeous and he has air-conditioning. How unfair is that? Caitlin and I sweated our asses off last year in a dorm. All we had was a fan that I had to fight Wal-Mart for (I got it discounted). Now, in our apartment, we still do not have air-conditioning. We have windows and doors that we can open and use our fans. Brandon, however, gets air-conditioning his first day up at college.

I got a job!!!!! I am the head coach for Premier 12 black. I’m not sure what the protocol is for blogs and jobs but I’m going to assume as long as I don’t say anything bad. Which is easy because I really love the club and I love coaching.

Last, but definitely not least, I started classes. Before anyone asks, they are going great. I love waking up early to sit and listen to monotone professors drone on about something or another. Walking all over campus is another one of my favorites. Especially when there are people who don’t understand the whole “walk on the right side of the sidewalk.” I know its super difficult but come on. My physics class is a lot of fun and so is my organic chemistry lab, which is great considering my ochem lab didn’t get off to a very good start. I made myself look like an idiot when I showed up to a lab on the wrong day. Yep. Not just the wrong classroom, or building, I got the damn day wrong.

I guess I should own up to one last thing before Caitlin writes about it. I broke the shower. It was a great night. Let’s see, first, I took the shower head off to try and get it unstuck from the one setting it was on and now it’s stuck on a different, more annoying setting and it leaks out the back. THEN, as I was trying to put the shower head back on I hit my head on the shower rod and it fell down. I wanted a 20 minute shower and got a 45 minute home project. That reminds me, I need to call maintenance and make up a really good story.

Katie

Damn Texas (Caitlin)

On Friday July 2nd, around midnight, Heather and I were dancing on the main floor of The Church when someone walked up and began talking to us. More like yelling at us I suppose, because neither of us could hear him, but he was trying. Heather and I looked at each other, giggling uncontrollably. We could hear the words “beautiful….dancing alone…” in between the pounding bass filling the room. He gestured towards himself, and then towards Heather, smiling at her. Then a voice from behind me explained that he was asking us if we’d like to dance. I turned around and was looking straight into the chest of a striped polo shirt. Once I looked up to a handsome smiling face, I couldn’t help but laugh.
I had just told Heather that I was done dancing with other people for the night. Especially since her previous partner hadn’t known the meaning of “No.” After slapping his hands repeatedly, he had finally left, along with the guy I was dancing with. The excitement of dancing with a stranger was certainly not worth the frustration of forcing him to respect her, so we had agreed to just dance together for the rest of the night. However, once these two walked up, we looked at each other and laughed. I couldn’t help myself, and neither could she.
Once we were finally able to talk on the patio, Heather and I learned Connor and Peter’s names, and the four of us hit it off immediately. Peter and I went on a few double dates with Heather and Connor before we started seeing each other without them. When we decided to date exclusively, we’d known each other less than a week. We felt ridiculous but I didn’t want to date anyone else and neither did he. However, knowing that he was headed to Texas for school while I was destined for Fort Collins forced us to agree that we would just be together for the summer… because dating in separate states is impractical.
Fast forward a month and a half and I am now finding that such an agreement is easier said than done. I’ve got a lump in my throat that relentlessly returns after every wave of emotion, but all I know in situations like this is writing, so here it all is on paper. Err… screen I guess.

A little over a month isn’t long to date much less know a person, but having spent as much time as possible with him, Peter has made quite the impact on my life. I’ve never met a more honest person. Peter had a wonderful way of telling me exactly what I didn’t want to, but needed to hear. And though we differed on some of my most core beliefs, we found ourselves to be freakishly similar: from the way we folded our clothes to our senses of humor. Peter quickly turned from an attractive boy at the club to a close friend… that I was absolutely crazy about.
As I mentioned, we certainly had our differences. We argued but talked our way though things. Peter made it easy to say exactly what was on my mind - even if I thought he might not like it. He respected my beliefs and opinions in a way I have never experienced.
The time we spent together was always a blast. We did something different just about every day and made our fun wherever we were. Because we knew our time was running low, all that mattered was that we were together. For our last week, he helped me move up to Fort Collins and stayed until he had to go back to Texas. It was fantastic. He instilled in me a new appreciation for country and electronic music as well as Sacha Baron Cohen. We went to a drive in movie, watched football, fighting, and baseball, hiked all of Horsetooth Mountain, and cooked our brains out every night. It didn’t matter what we did, I just enjoyed his company.
We wavered a few times during our time together about whether or not we wanted to try to stick it out during the school year. Neither of us wanted it to end, but our eventual conclusion was the same.
When we were saying our goodbyes, there really wasn’t much to say. We already knew everything that the other was feeling. It was terribly hard but it had to happen. When he finally did leave, I thought I was going to turn inside out. I had to sit down and just let myself feel it. I find that sometimes it’s the only way to deal with intense emotion.
I am sitting here writing this now expecting him to walk around the corner. He’s been up here the whole time I’ve had this place, so it’s weird without him. But I am realizing that the pain is only a compliment to him. I wouldn’t be so bothered by his leaving were he not so wonderful. Intelligence, humor, and a handsome face is an intense combination.
But in the end I know I will be okay. I am a happy girl with a wonderful life. I am fortunate to have known him. I don’t know what will happen to us, but at the least I am blessed to have him as a friend. In reality, I’m just throwing a fit because I’m not getting my way. I don’t need another person to be happy. I don’t need him. I just want him, and it sucks.




The two of us on Horsetooth Mountain

- Caitlin

Big Fat Blog (Caitlin)

So… I realize that this blog is way overdue. It looks like I’m going to be squishing blog 4 and 5 into one. Along with a bunch of other stuff that’s going on!

On the next day of our girl vacation, I awoke and had a tasty oatmeal and bacon breakfast with my girls. We had some touching conversation about Granddaddy, and then dispersed throughout the house to get ready for the day.
At that point, one of my best friends called to tell me some sad news. After getting off the phone with her, I heaped into Amy’s arms as she walked in through the front door. If I ever could have used three mommies, it was then. And they were there.
We took some time to sort through emotions and share a little support, and eventually made it out the door around 2pm. We went to get pampered at a salon before meeting a man on the street with a parrot and taking pictures with him. We then went shopping and ate while watching the sun set over the ocean; it was BEAUTIFUL.
Upon arriving home, Amanda shared with us a bit of her book writing adventure, and we yet again passed out after some peach kuchen.

I don’t remember much about the next day. I remember shopping at some of my favorite stores and eating, and then getting on the plane to go home. I’ve still got my Sacred Heart Sisters necklace on. I think about us and that wonderful trip every time I look at it. My aunts and mother have taught me so much about myself – especially in relation to other people. I don’t know many people that I can comfortably share my frailties with, but these ladies continually help me grow as an individual. I love you all!

Daddy just had surgery on the 10th. It’s something we’ve been looking into for a while, and I think it will be really good for him. However, he’s been on a liquid diet and he’s hating it. I was working when he got the actual surgery, but I spend the night in the hospital with him last night, and I will be able to take care of him today and tomorrow before I move up to Fort Collins. We’re currently waiting on a scan of his chest (to check for pulmonary embolisms) to determine whether or not he can go home. He’s in quite a bit of pain, and as a result cannot take deep breaths, so his oxygen levels are very low. If he does end up coming home today, he’ll be on oxygen. We’re hoping that we can leave soon though. The staff was great except for a select few whose overly optimistic banter clashed with Daddy’s lack of sleep and hatred for hospital beds. One in particular was pestering him, so he threatened to throw his pitcher of water at her. She hasn’t come back since. Haha.

SPEAKING of Fort Collins (!!!), Katie and I just went up the other day to get our keys and check into our new apartment! It’s incredibly hot in there since there is no AC, but hey, what’s the college experience without a little ghetto apartment? :) Besides, Katie and I are already starting to doll it up. The bathroom is almost entirely pink. Having had to share our last bathroom with more than 20 girls, it would take a lot to bring down our “new apartment” high.

Peter (I’m sure you all know who he is since I talk about him ALL the time) will be coming up for the first week since it will be our last days to see each other before he heads back up to Texas for school. We’ve got a lot planned, but the only thing that matters is spending as much time with him as possible before he goes. I’m super bummed that he’s leaving, and I’ll certainly have a lot to say when that day comes. Regardless, he’s made my summer.

I will also be eventually reuniting with a childhood friend in FoCo, Mariah. Our fathers were very close long before either of us was born. We kind of mushed together as one big family, calling each other’s fathers “Uncle Mike” and “Uncle Kirk.” On camping trips she and I would end up dragging whole trees down for fire wood, or rolling around in the mud. My brother Jared, and her brother Zackary were close in years as she and I were. However, they moved away when we were still little, and it’s been more than 10 years since we’ve seen each other. Kirk has since passed away, but I’m sure he’s smiling now that we’re all starting to reconnect.

I’ve been nannying all summer for Scott and Lisa’s little boy Kyle. He’s crazy energetic and runs me ragged every single day, but I love the little guy. It sucks that the next time I see him, he'll be walking on his own with a full set of teeth. But I'll be stalking him on Facebook, so I won't be too shocked next time I see him. We’ve been going to Lisa’s aunt Aletha’s house three days a week. Aletha’s husband Ed is also in the house. They are two of the sweetest people I have ever met in my life. I had my last day there on Wednesday. I’m glad to be getting ready for school, but I will definitely miss them.

So as it is now, I’m focusing on getting Dad better. Once we get home I’ll be settling him in and doing laundry like crazy. I’m glad I’ll have three car loads to get me up to Fort Collins on Saturday because I’ve got more clothes than you can imagine. :) I wish I could have had more time to see all of my friends this summer, but hey, I’ve got an apartment now! So visit!

- Caitlin

Yellowstone (Katie)

Old Faithful!

For the past week I’ve been in Yellowstone National Park. Unfortunately, we leave tomorrow. This is the 2nd year I’ve come and the 4th year that my family has. Last year was super neat because it was a first time experience. This year, there wasn’t so much shock and awe and Brandon and I were able to navigate through the park without having to stop at every turnout. We saw EVERY animal we could have except a wolf; we made sure to stop at Old Faithful; and we found the hidden geyser, the Chocolate Pot, again. My dad and my little sister fly fished like crazy people. I can’t think of a single morning they slept in, but Kimmy managed to catch the biggest fish I’ve ever seen.

We went to the alpine slide and flew down the mountain, or, they flew. I went slow because it was my first time which was probably a mistake since my little sister came flying behind me and almost hit me. Let me make this clear, it’s not my fault that she wasn’t going slower.
My mom, Kimmy, and me at the top of the slide

Brandon and me back at the top after the 656 stairs

We did a small 8-mile walk in to a place where they fished for 4 hours. It was absolutely gorgeous, but very painful the next morning. I had that “God, did I get hit by a truck?” feeling. We saw a weasel with its lunch, which was kind of neat. It reminds you that the circle of life goes on even if you find dead animals hanging out of other animals’ mouths disgusting. It was also on this hike that I discovered that my mom singing makes the hike last longer than anyone could ever imagine. She wasn’t even singing for fun. She was singing just incase there was a bear, it could hear us coming, and hopefully run away. I would have rather the bear ate me.

My mom, Brandon, and I also did a hike down Uncle Tom’s Trail. During this hike you loose about 500 feet as you climb 328 steps into the canyon. It was such a pretty view, I almost didn’t want to go back up. Whether that was because the view was so pretty or because, oh yea, you have to hike back up those 328 steps, remains undetermined. I swear, those 328 steps feel more like 5 million when you’re coming back up. With Brandon leading the way (he was so far in front of me and my mom he had time to get fruit snacks to revive us) we made it.
My mom and me at the bottom of Uncle Tom's Trail

The one thing that ALL of us were looking forward to was white water rafting. We went white water rafting on the Snake River and got soaked. For the first couple rapids only the right side of the boat got wet, which means, my sister, Brandon and I were all fairly dry. OK, pause for a second. My mom looked at me weird because I wore swim suit bottoms under my shorts instead of underwear. What would you all wear? Seriously, have you ever gone in a water ride and got wet and thought, “damn, I shoulda worn a swim suit”? Because how comfortable is a wet thong? I will tell all you boys and non-thong wearers, not comfortable at all. OK, un-pause. Towards the end of the trip we hit a rapid and all got completely soaked. Then, me, myself, and I, had a single wave hit me, and only me. Overall, it was really fun.
Brandon and me white water rafting

I have also discovered that I REALLY love farmers markets. The fruit and vegetables are fantastic! We stayed in a town called Jackson Hole and they have a great farmers market. We bought some garlic scapes while we were there just to try them out because we had never heard of them. Apparently garlic scapes are removed to focus all the energy into bulb growth (I thought this sounded a little hippy-ish when the lady said it, but it must be true, Wiki says it too). They aren’t sold very often in the U.S. however. You cook them kind of like you would a scallion. They have a mild garlic taste compared to regular garlic. So I guess for garlic wimps, this is a good plant for you. We are going to fry them with some onions to put on top of steak tonight. SO excited!
Black bear
Beaver that swam right by us
Baby buffalo
For those that are curious, I’ve made a very accurate animal count. The final animal count comes down to something like this:

2 Black bears
2 Grizzly bears
2 Grizzly bear cubs
3 Bald eagles
3 Deer
3 Buck elk
1 Fox with its dinner in its mouth
1 Weasel with its lunch in its mouth
1 Beaver
A shit ton of buffalo and baby buffalo
A shit ton of mom elk and baby elk
A shit ton of geese
A couple of ducks with babies

-Katie

**NOTE**
I own all the rights to these pictures. I took them with my camera, and in many cases, I hiked my ass of to get them. Don't take them and post them anywhere else as your own or I'll make you hike everything I did. K?