That Time I (Spent the Weekend in Denver)

I now interrupt the That Time I: Cruise Edition for a weekend update!

I know, I know. I already did this to you once before and you hated me for it, but this is the first time I've had the chance to sit down and write about my weekend, and I'm way too excited to share!

This past weekend I was able to fly up to Colorado to spend the weekend with Dillon! I can't even start to explain how happy I am that we finally had a weekend to ourselves. The last time we saw each other was around the end of May but we really haven't gotten any quality alone time together in a few months. Since we last saw each other I started my summer job, turned 21, and Dillon spent three weeks in Germany; a lot has happened so this weekend was much needed!

I flew into Denver late Saturday morning, which was really nice because we pretty much still had the whole day together. Since my cousins were camping this weekend we ended up just getting a hotel in Denver since that's where I was flying in and out of. Plus we hadn't spent too much time in Denver (which is about an hour from Colorado Springs) so we thought it would be fun to explore! We were pretty lazy to begin with, just hanging out at the hotel and enjoying finally being together! That evening we went to California Pizza Kitchen and had a double date! Dillon went to Germany with a guy named Taylor and me and his girlfriend Lily had met when I drove through Albuquerque on my way to bring Dillon his truck. We really hit it off, and texted pretty much every day when they were in Germany, mainly just complaining that we missed our boyfriends, haha.

Me and Lily! We went out for FroYo in Albuquerque together! And you gotta love the awesome photobomb. :)

Dinner was great! Dillon was a little hesitant at first, he hates small talk, but I told him it would be fun, and it really was! After dinner we went to the theater and saw This Is The End. Yes, I had already seen it before, and yes I think it's good enough to see twice! D hadn't seen it before and he loved it!

On Sunday we went to the Cherry Creek Arts Festival! You can check them out here. They have an amazing non-profit mission in which they aim to "provide access to art experiences and support art education." Artists from all over the country came for the weekend to show off their artwork, there was even a guy from Tucson!

Okay this guy...amazing! We happened to stumble across his show right as his last one was starting. He is a performance speed painter who paints portraits of celebrity faces in a matter of 4-7 minutes. His first painting, on the right, was of Frank Sinatra and it blew my mind. He started painting and I was like, okay yeah that can be the top of his head/ear...then all the sudden it was the eyes/nose! You should definitely watch this video so you can see what I mean! And neither Dillon or I could figure out the left was Einstein until he drew the hair/mustache!

We walked through the booths for a good hour or so and we would point out pieces of art we would like to have in our future home together. Awh. ;) <3

Monday was a great day! Even though it was the day I was leaving, my flight didn't leave until 9pm, so it was really nice that we still had the entire day to hang out! There was an IKEA only a few miles down the road from our hotel, and call me crazy but I was begging D to take me there since the first day! I had never been in an IKEA and it just always seemed like so much fun. I actually had a a really good time, walking through the show floor, and again imagining the furniture we would have in our future home. It sounds super cheesy, but it's a really nice thing to talk about with this crazy long distance we have had to go through for the past three years, and the next two ahead of us.

After IKEA we ate lunch, stopped by GNC, and then went to the theater to see another movie! This time we saw Monsters University! I know a lot of people don't want to see it/don't like it because it doesn't have Boo in it, but I thought it was a super adorable and funny movie!

We still had a few hours to kill before I had to go to the airport, so we ended up going to the Denver Downtown Aquarium!

  Can you tell I like turtles?? That's pretty much the only thing I took pictures of...

 Even this picture...it's my "Let's take a picture with the turtles behind us!" picture. Can't see the turtles? Me either. But you know, we're cute too, even with the weird shadows across our faces.

What?!? You mean to tell me tigers don't belong in an aquarium?

I thought it was weird, too. But the Denver Aquarium doesn't give a f what we think! They had tigers and snakes and parrots and other weird non-aquarium things.

Squishies!

 This is the last picture we took "together." I thought it was rather cute because we were sitting at the aiport after finishing dinner, right before I had to head to the security line, and he says "Wait, take a picture of our bracelets for your blog!" Such a cutie pie. ;)

I won't lie, there were quite a few tears during our goodbye. We have 52 days to go until we see each other again for USAFA's Parent's weekend. And although we had to say goodbye yet again, I am so happy we had this weekend together. I can't say enough how much we needed it as a couple. It was a much needed refresher for our relationship, and I really do feel so much better now that the weekend has past, even if we are apart. I feel so lucky to have such an amazing best friend and boyfriend. <3

Rhonna Designs

As always, don't forget to check out Alex's That Time I post over at Let Life Be Like Music!

Linking Up: Random Wednesday, Weekly Wednesday

'Merica

I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July yesterday!

My day? Glorious.

Since I had the day off of work I celebrated by staying up late watching The Life of Pi with my roommate and then sleeping in! Dillon didn't enjoy me sleeping in, however, since he sent me this text:

"You must not love America since you're sleeping through it's birthday."

Isn't he sweet?

I started out my morning with a Tone it Up work out!

I have been semi consistently keeping up with their weekly work out schedules for the past week, and I have to say I am really loving it! And if I can look even half as good as those girls, then yes please.

My main motivation for working out right now is because I will be seeing D in just two days!!! I am beyond excited, and although I know that a week's worth of working out isn't going to give me the body I want, I am feeling more confident and that definitely counts for something! Now we will see if I can continue with it afterwards...

If you aren't signed up for their free weekly fitness schedules, you need to be!

After working up a sweat my roommate and I decided to get patriotic! We made pancakes from scratch and, to make them patriotic, added red and blue food coloring to some of them!

 You cannot tell me that these aren't the coolest most patriotic pancakes ever!

Then we hopped on over to the mall for some shopping!

I'm not going to lie, one of the reasons I had to go is because I don't have anything remotely 4th of July worthy. The only red shirts I have are my UA shirts. And then I admit, I ended up spending way too much money. Darn credit cards. I felt silly buying red white and blue clothing on the 4th of July, but oh well. Here's what I came up with!

When I saw this little "recipe" I knew I had to make it for the fourth!

And oh my yumminess was it delicious. All it is: angel food cake, strawberries, blueberries, Cool Whip, and at the very top I put peanut butter frosting. Best. Dessert. Ever. I will definitely make this again, even without a holiday!

We went to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner and had to eat extremely fast because they closed in 30 minutes. Totally ate my money's worth, though! Then we went home and had some fun with sparklers in our front yard!

 First attempt with the self-timer.

 There we go. :)

 
 Overall it was an amazing day. It was so nice to have the day off and spend it all with my best friend. Since moving in together I feel like we have actually seen each other less with our busy schedules, and me going home every weekend.
Also, we never did go out and actually see any fireworks. You may call me unAmerican, but I'm sorry...I can't hear you over the sound of my freedom. ;)

And now, yay for the weekend and me flying up to Colorado in the am!

That Time I (Swam With Dolphins)

Part Three of That Time I (Went on a Cruise)

See Part Two here!

Our second destination on the cruise was Curaçao, which is an island in the southern Caribbean!

This island was gorgeous. My favorite part about it being the colorful buildings.

I wish we had such colorful cities in America! 

Our excursion on this island was...wait for it...swimming with dolphins!

After getting off the ship we drove to the Caracao Sea Aquarium where we took part in the Dolphin Academy! I am not going to lie, I was really scared! I think I have mentioned before that I really don't like the ocean, and I greatly dislike almost everything that swims around in it. I was really hesitant to do much, but towards the end I was actually diving in and swimming below the surface with them! It was a really great experience.

Dolphin kisses!

When you waved two fingers the dolphins would sing!

You can see how we were still in ocean water, it was just an enclosed area, which was really cool.

Before swimming with the dolphins we walked around the rest of the aquarium. There was a shark feeding where you could "pet" the sharks and then feed them! I decided to not take part in that activity...I'm such a baby.

After swimming with dolphins we watched a dolphin show!

And then the rest of the evening looked a little like this:

This was the only night that was had on an island, so Dillon and I decided to take advantage of it! We ended up going out to dinner just us two and then going to a casino (where we actually won some money!). I was scared the entire some of the time though because I didn't want the ship to leave us! Overall it was a gorgeous island on a gorgeous day/evening!

I hope this was well worth the wait! I'll try my best not to leave you hanging like that again. :)

Alex @ Let Life Be Like Music...check her out, you know you want to!

Another Weekend Report

As I type this I am listening to James Taylor on vinyl and sipping on some Watermelon Smirnoff w/ Sierra Mist; and outside a thunder storm is rolling in! I love monsoon season in Arizona. It is actually my favorite "season" - watching the rain pour and hearing the thunder roll...just amazing! If my computer wasn't about to die I would totally relocate myself outside to write this post.

The view from my front porch - a lot prettier in person, but you get the idea!

Anyways, I had yet another wonderful weekend! I have gone home every weekend this summer which, even though it is a lot of driving, has been really nice. Since I'm "stuck" in Tucson working Monday-Friday I think it is really good for me to go home and hang out with my friends and family.

Saturday

As soon as I got home me and my sister ran a few errands. It was the first time this summer I realized just how incredibly hot it is in Arizona right now. Since we were in and out of the car I could not cool down! I love Arizona, but only when I don't have to go out in this summer heat.

As a late birthday present Sarah bought me a capo so we rushed home, ate some Chick-fil-A (I have mentioned before that it is one of my happy foods, right??), and then played some guitar together! I now "know" three songs!

I really need to start using my camera instead of my iPhone...such crap quality!

Saturday night I hung out with this beautiful girl. I know you have probably heard enough about her, but I can't help but mention her in almost every post because I'm just so sad she's leaving me next weekend. :(

We ended up going to the casino with her wonderful mama! It was her first time going to the casino and my first time since turning 21 (Dillon and I went to a casino while on the cruise). I have to say that one time actually helped me a lot because instead of losing money I won about $70! I know, high roller here. ;)

Afterwards we went back to my house, had a couple drinks and "watched" Gangster Squad with my sister and her friend Klay. I say "watched" because we ended up just talking the entire time. But it was a really awesome night just hanging out.

All I have to say to this is "hahaha!"

Sunday

A lazy day spent watching movies and TV shows, playing the guitar, eating Papa Johns Pizza, and redesigning my blog! I hope you like it - it's just a little more crisp, if that makes any sense.

This week should be a good one! Today was one of the best days my participant has had at work in a long time! Then we get July 4th off of work, which will be nice especially because it's just a random day in the middle of the week, which makes having a day off seem even better. Hopefully I'll do something exciting on the 4th so I can tell you all about it! :)

Link Up: Mingle Monday