Farewell Duff

So my Mom sent me (Matt) an e-mail today and let me know that she put down their cat Duff. Duff adopted us in 1993 after a family on the block next to us abandoned him. He was about 2-4 years old when we got him. We had our struggles with that cat (he could be so annoying sometimes), but I loved him and he was and will always be a part of the family. It's amazing how hard it is to say goodbye to an animal when the time comes. As my mom said, she walked away from a cat that she loved for 14 years and knew she would never see him again.

Unfortunately, Brianna and I already had to that this year when we put down Zach. And even more unfortunate that we may have to do it again real soon with Dutch since he is very sick.

So farewell Duff, you're up in cat heaven playing with Zach and Butch now.

Jeremy Riddle Concert

Tonight we went to a FREE Jeremy Riddle concert at our church. It was a really amazing evening. He also led us in worship this morning. If you haven't heard of him I'm pretty sure you have heard his song Sweetly Broken (I attached it below). It's kinda weird....I went into tonight looking for just a really cool concert and something neat to talk about, but God totally has a way of changing that. I was brought into a deep worship that I have not experienced for a while. I think one of the songs that spoke to me the most was a song that said, "And I will fear no evil." With the attacks at the Church's out here today it's a comforting thought to me.

Guanella Pass

I think it was around the first or second weekend in October (Brianna thinks it was late September. Maybe she should have posted this at the time instead of waiting for me to post. And then she made me check and it turns out she was right.), Brianna and I drove out into the mountains to see the Aspen trees turning colors. Brianna printed out a list of scenic drives, so we picked one and off we went. We set off down Highway 285 which takes you into the mountains and first stopped off to get some Jerky. I bought some Buffalo and Elk Jerky which was awesome but kinda expensive. Then we stopped at the Coney Island Hot Dog Stand along the way, which for some reason had a ridiculously long line. But Brianna snagged a prime picnic table next to a mountain stream and we had a good time. Then we went down the road a little more and made a turn onto the Guanella Pass. It's a 24 mile road that goes up to an elevation of 13,000+ feet. Only 12 miles of the road are paved though so my Rav4 took a little bit of a beating. Anyway, I tossed some snowballs at Brianna when we got to the top and then we drove down the other side where we were dumped into Georgetown. We walked along and did some shopping there and then came home. Here are some pictures!!

Yes, it is shaped like a Hot Dog.The stream we sat next to while eating.
Some of the Aspens that are turning colors.
A picture of where we were heading to.
Mountain Lake.
Yes, I did.
Picture of Georgetown while we were coming back down.

Chas and the effort to keep his eyes open in a picture

So Chas came up to see us a second time for Thanksgiving. I must say that he was very helpful and we loved having him. It's good to see a familiar face every now and again. He cooked some awsome mashed potato's and some other stuff. Everyone was very impressed with his culinary skills. He also discovered Top Chef on Bravo which became his new favorite show. Anyway, we also went out and did some shopping over the holiday weekend and Brianna and I had a good time spending it (the weekend that is) with our friend.

C'mon Chas...open the eyes

Alright...SERIOUSLY...Can I get one Picture with your Eyes Open!!

Success!!! Now that's what I'm talking about!!

Chas and The Taste of Colorado

So back in September around Labor Day our friend Chas came for his first visit. He was actually picking up his sister at the airport, but got here early so we headed to downtown Denver to go to our first "Taste of Colorado."

We had a really good time. I had some slamming Corn on the Cob, some Buffalo and some other stuff I can't remember now. I think Brianna got a funnel cake or something and Chas just drank beer. Oh and I got a free bag of Cat Litter. Woo hoo!!! (Later found out it was the crappy kind of litter that doesn't clump which super sucks, but whatever....I'm not mad or bitter I carried around that stupid bag for an hour for no reason.) Check out the pictures -

Brianna in front of the Kiss Car...I uh...don't know what this had to do with food

I think I had Steak....mmmmm Steak.....

And Chas picking a giant heads nose. (Notice his eyes are shut to.)

Dutch

So this isn't really new news, but we did get a new cat when we came out here. His name is Dutch and he is such a good kitty. We named him after the two cats I had growing up (Butch and Duff). Just kinda smushed the names together.

Anway, we just found out recently that Dutch has some Liver problems and there isn't anything we can do about it. We're not sure how much longer he has (It could be 2 months, it could be 10 years) so we're just going to give him the best life we can. Here are some pictures of him.

The True Cat. He's thinking, "Take one more picture and I will kill you until you die from it."

Just give me the milk and no one dies!!

Laying with Mommy!!

"Who is that Handsome Kitten in the Mirror" (Fakes kisses to himself)

Chuck Norris Facts

When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night, he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.
Chuck Norris doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.
There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of creatures Chuck Norris has allowed to live.
Outer space exists because it's afraid to be on the same planet with Chuck Norris.
Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits.
Chuck Norris is currently suing NBC, claiming Law and Order are trademarked names for his left and right legs.
Chuck Norris is the reason why Waldo is hiding.
Chuck Norris counted to infinity - twice.
There is no chin behind Chuck Norris’ beard. There is only another fist.
When Chuck Norris does a pushup, he isn’t lifting himself up; he’s pushing the Earth down.
Chuck Norris is so fast, he can run around the world and punch himself in the back of the head.
Chuck Norris’ hand is the only hand that can beat a Royal Flush.
Chuck Norris can lead a horse to water AND make it drink.
Chuck Norris doesn’t wear a watch, HE decides what time it is.
Chuck Norris gave Mona Lisa that smile.
Chuck Norris can slam a revolving door.
Chuck Norris does not get frostbite. Chuck Norris bites frost
Remember the Soviet Union? They decided to quit after watching a DeltaForce marathon on Satellite TV.
Contrary to popular belief, America is not a democracy, it is a Chucktatorship.

Visitors!

Our first visitor since moving into our new house was Brianna's good friend, Jennifer. They first met as pledges of Alpha Phi Omega while attending Baylor University. During Jenn's trip to Colorado, they spent one day in Breckenridge. There, they met up with one of Jenn's good friends, whose husband plays in the orchestra for the Breckenridge Music Festival. On Brianna and Jenn's drive up to Breckenridge, they stopped at a wood shop which specialized in making bears. As Baylor Bears, they took the opportunity to stop and Brianna posed with the bears. After strolling through the shops at Breckenridge and stopping for lunch at Downstairs at Eric's, the girls joined Jenn's friends for dinner at a fondue restaurant on top of Keystone Mountain. Other highlights during Jenn's trip included a trip to Boulder, plenty of shopping, enjoying the City Park Jazz Fesival in downtown Denver, and stopping at the newly fashioned Kwik-E-Mart at 3rd and Broadway. Matt was especially excited to get a Squishee, created for the Simpsons movie. (If you didn't already know, Matt is a Simpsons fan!). Here are some pictures from Jenn's trip:

Brianna with the bears.

Strolling the shops in downtown Breckenridge.

Posing on the ski lift at the fondue restaurant.

Posing at the scenic stop in front of the Flatirons outside of Boulder.

Matt in front of the Kwik-E-Mart.

Delaware to Colorado

Matt made the move from Delaware to Colorado in early June to begin his new position. Brianna stayed behind in Delaware to wrap things up at work and close on the house. Her trip to Colorado began on July 12th. Fortunately, her good friend and former co-worker, Angie, was kind enough (or is it crazy enough?!?) to accompany her on the cross country drive. They made the journey over four days. Some brief highlights of their trip included:

the Gateway Arch in St. Louis,

the Anheuser-Busch factory tour in St. Louis,

beautiful country sunsets,

and of course, the world's largest ball of twine, in Cawker City, Kansas.

The trip ended in Denver at Brianna and Matt's new home. Some of the stuff had already been delivered by the moving company, and Matt had started to unpack. However, due to poor planning on the part of the moving company, our stuff had to be delivered in two shipments. The second shipment made it before Brianna started her new job. So, the house is mostly unpacked and was ready for our first visitors!

Rainbows

Since moving to Colorado, we have witnessed many amazing storms. Often there is lots of thunder and lightning, a short burst of large rain drops and then a beautiful rainbow to finish it off. Since moving here, we've seen an average of a rainbow per week. We've seen a whole rainbow with a double half visible, and the other day when Brianna was driving home from work, she saw one end of a rainbow, and then was able to see the other half as she got near to home. It's amazing to witness such a beautiful symbol that God created as His promise to never flood the Earth again.