Minnesota & Bambi

Summer has had a few hiccups, but overall, I'd say it's been off to a nice start.  I love summer.  If I'm being honest, it's maybe my second favorite season, or maybe third (behind Fall and Winter)... so I guess I like summer.  I love the activities it affords: the late nights sitting on patios with friends, the seemingly endless hours of sun, the lack of needing outerwear, the outdoor concerts, the camping, the roadtrips, the Slip n Slides (well, I guess that activity last happened 20+ years ago, but it was still fun), the delicious cold beverages, and the list goes on.  I know Matt enjoys those things as well, though his feelings toward summer also include an extreme disdain for heat (and the resulting sweat-stained clothes he ends up with daily).  I'll admit it, we occasionally sleep in our guest bedroom to sneak away from our attic bedroom which is air conditioned yet still somehow keeps us awake on hot summer nights. Oh, and I hate mosquitos, which I thought CO had very few of only to somehow acquire about 30 bites in the last few days.

At any rate, besides a few setbacks (discussed later in this post), we have had a great June.  Last night, for instance, was spent at the Louisville Street Faire hanging out with friends, catching The Samples, and ending the night on my dad's deck talking and laughing for hours, listening to music, smoking stogies (well, he and Matt took part in that activity), and enjoying the beautiful summer evening.  Not too shabby.  Tonight we are going to a dinner party to celebrate the arrival of two great friends to Denver before later celebrating some friends' engagement.  We have somehow packed our schedules for the summer - for which I am grateful (though also secretly wishing for a few days/weeks of quiet nights in!).

Back to the last few weeks, since I've been so delinquent in blogging about our adventures.  One of Matt's friends from high school got married in Minnesota, so we drove back for a long weekend.  We had a great time visiting Matt's family, catching an awesome Twins game (thanks to our fabulous friends, the Campbells, who got us Ah-mazing seats behind home plate), and having a great time at the wedding.  It was a terrific weekend.  All until, of course, the drive home...

Twins won!!

Heading to the wedding:

The reception was a the Hazletine Golf Course:

One of Matt's best friends from high school (who now works on the David Letterman show - cool, huh?) :)

The three Austin boys:

Early Sunday morning (well, I guess it wasn't all that early once we finally got out the door...if you know Matt, you know why!), we hopped in the car and started the long drive back.  Not but a few hours into the 14 hour drive, Lincoln started ralphing (living up to his more accurate name, Stinker).  And I mean, the dog couldn't stop barfing.  Poor little bugger.  We pulled over after the first (and most disgusting) incident on the blanket of the backseat (which we decided was too gross to clean, so we threw it out), but then proceeded to simply put his head out the window to do his thing while we drove.  The end result was a pretty pathetic looking dog and a lot of dog vomit baked by the hot sun onto the side of our car.

Then we killed Bambi in western Nebraska (yikes).  This lead to an impromptu overnight stay in the thriving metropolis of Ogalala, Nebraska and many hours on the phone with the insurance company/auto body shops, etc.  Cut to almost two weeks later and the car is still in the shop (sad!  I miss Trixie, but I also mostly hate the rental car I have...).  But we're getting by and extremely thankful that Trixie (our Rav4) was the only casualty of the accident. 

You can see some of Bambi's fur still stuck in the car.  :(

It was about 95 degrees out the next day as we waited patiently for ANY tow truck to take us back to Denver.  Lincoln tried to find ways to stay cool as we waited, and waited...

Finally, we got a ride back.  We spent four hours in the cab of this tow truck with the driver, his wife, Matt and I all sharing the seat, with Lincoln on our laps.  No air conditioning added an extra nice touch.

To put all things into perspective, a few days after we got towed home, my sister and her boyfriend were in a pretty bad car accident on I-25 just north of Denver.  I'm SO thankful they are okay now, but it was quite scary to rush to the hospital and see them both banged up.  It was even more scary to see the totaled car a few days later - just SOO glad they are okay.  Friends, PLEASE drive carefully.  Saving a few minutes by speeding or drive somewhat carelessly is not worth the potential tragedy.  I have been reminded regularly how life can change in an instant, and I hope everyone takes it easy on the roads this summer.  (That's today's PSA)

So that's all for today folks.  More to come in the days ahead.  So many adventures this summer!  Larsonland is a busy place.