Halloween and Election Day

Now that I think of it, it's almost fitting that Halloween and Election Day are so close - both days are filled with a lot of crazies pretending to be things they aren't... :)  Well, here's to hoping that there truly are some great politicians out there!  And here's to hoping that the good ones actually get elected! 

In honor of election day, I thought I'd post a few nostalgic pics (from 2005!) of an old friend/colleague who used to work in the Senate with me - tonight he could become one of Colorado's 7 U.S. Representatives!  He honestly taught me so much back in DC, and even though I was about ten "ranks" below him, he always took time to explain Senate procedure to me or answer any silly questions I had about legislation or Congress.  I'll always remember that about him, because there certainly were people in DC with no time for anyone beneath them, especially people like him who you knew were always devising a plan to make it to the top.  His hard work has paid off, and I'm hoping he gets a victory tonight in the 4th CD (if for nothing else than to say that I have a friend in Congress) :)

Back to Halloween, Matt and I decided to take it easy this year and not do the costume-thing.  We had so much fun a few years back dressing as Wayne and Garth, but it takes a lot of planning (and sometimes $$) to do something really fun, so instead, we decided to have a few friends over for a more relaxed time.  Several friends came over and after eating/chatting, we all played a giant game of Cranium.  It was a fun time!  The next night, we had way more trick-or-treaters than we expected and ended up running out of candy by 8:15pm!  I hated being the house that had to turn our lights off, but we were so glad to see such cute kiddos in the neighborhood.  Yep, we still love it here ;)

This was Lincoln's "watch" for Halloween night.  He greeted every trick-or-treater with several barks until one of us had to hold him back so the other could pass out candy.  Oh Lincoln.  That's why you belong in prison. :)

Fall into fall

Where do I even start?  Fall has come.  That's exciting!  The colors in Colorado have been beautiful, and it's been a great last month or so, even though I just cannot believe it'll be November in a few days!  This year has flown by.

I apologize for my delinquent blog posting, these days I feel like my time has been completely devoted to schoolwork.  Yup.  Schoolwork!  I'm turning 30 in less than two months, and here I am starting school again, school so I can teach in school. :)  It's been a crazy start to the year with a lot of reading and learning, but I've really enjoyed it so far.  It's challenging and thought-provoking as we dive into learning about urban schools and some of the "challenges" that are present.  I say "challenges" because our program is teaching us to look at students in these often failing or fledgling schools as great resources and assets, and not as disadvantaged.  They come from diverse backgrounds and have much to bring to a classroom, the challenge for the teacher is simply to make the most of what they bring and push them to use it to their advantages.  The program has really caused me to look at Denver differently and see the rich culture and value in some of our lower-income and most diverse neighborhoods.  It's also caused me to reflect upon the "power and privilege" that I grew up with being a white, middle-class Christian, and though those topics can be difficult, they've really been powerful and convicting.  It has been a huge adjustment being back at school, but despite a few late nights/early mornings doing schoolwork, I've really enjoyed it so far.

Life outside of school has remained busy as usual.  I apologize for a long blog/picture post, it's just been quite awhile since I updated what's been going on in our lives.  As usual, most of the last month is a blur, so I'll only comment on what I actually have pictures from.  Oops. :)

We enjoyed a bike ride to Coors Field for a perfect night game with some of our friends:

Heading to Jill's bachelorette party with some of the supper group ladies:

 Our "Good Book Club" (Bible Study) gals (minus Briana):

 Meeting the boys afterwards:

Dog-sitting Lincoln's girlfriend, Willow.  They get along really well, and surprisingly, Willow has even more energy than our beloved crazy mutt!

 

We took a brief weekend trip up to Frisco with Keri and Joe before the winter comes.  It's always a great getaway, and I'm so thankful to have the opportunity to get away like that!  I mean, look how gorgeous it is up there! :)  And we're so thankful for friends like Joe and Keri who are always up for something fun!

 Sadly we missed the peak colors, but these weren't too bad!

 Seeing snow for the first time this season!

We got to catch up with our dear friend Zach who was in town from Africa (where he and his wife Casey live now).  Quick visit, but SO wonderful seeing him!  Can't wait to hopefully see Casey soon!  We miss those guys.

We helped Julie usher in her 30s by eating dinner in Larimer Square.  I can't believe we're all turning 30 - Julie and I have been friends since before we could write in cursive! :)  I love this girl!

Our supper group decided to carve some pumpkins last week...

**You may notice that I do indeed have bangs in this photo.  In a moment of sheer hair desperation, I grabbed a pair of scissors and gave myself some bangs.  In hindsight, it was a mistake, but I'm never one to make very rational decisions about my hair!

 This was mine:

A few weeks ago I realized that I hadn't been back to my high school (good old Centaurus!!) since we graduated way back when (11.5 years ago!), so I was hoping we could make it to a football game before the end of the season. Luckily, we had the chance to go to their last home game of the season, and I even talked Julie and Bob into strolling down memory lane as well!  We had a great time seeing our old school and talking about all the changes (there are a lot!) - the craziest part was seeing an old friend of mine as the Band Director!  I used to be in Marching Band (no shame about that at all!), so seeing him head it up was a total trip for me.  While talking to him, several of his kids came down and I realized that even though a lot of time has passed, very little has changed about high schoolers!  They're still just as nerdy as ever, even though of course they don't think that.

 CHS Alumni!

After the game, we headed into Boulder to see some old friends from DC who happened to be in town for CU's homecoming.  Bryan, Carly, and I became good friends with Lex and Jenna back when we played flag football (Lex was our all-star!), and they later moved to Texas.  It's been at least 3 or so years since I'd seen them, but it was awesome catching up.  They're yet another couple that I'm trying to get to move here!  :)

Saturday we headed back to Boulder (thanks to Eric getting us tickets!) for the CU homecoming game against Texas Tech.  I'll spare any depressing details about our football team and just say that we had a blast.  Knowing former players is definitely a benefit, as a) we got free tickets in great seats, and b) we got to join them in the club level during the second half.  Can't beat it!  

 First-half seats:

 Club seats:

 Law Dawgs!!

Matt's mom was in town for a brief trip to see us and attend the wedding of one of her friend's daughters.  It was great having her here, even if it was only for a short time - we love when his family can come out since we don't get to see them that often.  And Lincoln definitely loves having her here!

 
Monday night my friend Evelyn took Matt and I to the Interpol concert at the Ogden.  It was a great show and an AWESOME treat that was so incredibly nice of Evelyn!  We had a blast.

So - that's about it for now.  My fingers are a little chilly (in an effort to keep the bills down, we only use heat sparingly!), and I should probably go fill out my mail-in ballot.  Not a great set of candidates this year, but it's still important to have your say.  Be sure to VOTE!!  :)