Mom Visit - Sept 2012

Shawna and Her Mom

Shawna's mom came to visit for the first time since we moved back to Denver.  She stayed with us for 10 days.

Accommodation:
Chez Dodds - Can't beat the rates!

Hyatt Place - We stayed one night in Colorado Springs.

Activities:
Shawna picked up her Mom at the airport on Friday night.  After showing her around the house and getting settled, we ate dinner at home - Shawna cooked fish and veggies since we were dieting.

Olympic Training Center

On Saturday, after our work out and lunch, we drove down to Colorado Springs to do a memory tour - Shawna was born here and had vacationed here with her family a few times.  We toured the Olympic Training Center and then went to the Garden of the Gods where we drove around and walked for a mile.  That evening we treated ourselves to dinner at the Broadmoor.

Garden of the Gods

On Sunday, we went to Fort Carson to see where Shawna was born - the old hospital is no longer there as a new one was built so we took a picture in front of the new hospital and drove around the base for a few minutes.  We then went to Seven Falls and the Manitou Cliff Dwellings.  Before we headed back home, we grabbed a yummy lunch in Manitou Springs (which is a very cute town).  When we returned home, we worked out, had dinner, and watched a movie (Best Exotic Marigold Hotel).

Ft Carson

Shawna took Monday off to spend time with her mom.  We went to Home Depot to buy pumpkins and mums for the front porch and then we went to the Denver Botanic Garden where we walked around for about 2 hours.  Later that evening, we saw Jason Mraz in concert at Red Rocks which Shawna's mom really enjoyed!

Rockin' Red Rocks

Shawna had to work Tuesday to Thursday while Keith was out of town for work.  After work, Shawna spent time with her mom, cooking each night and watching movies.  Unfortunately, Shawna's mother's blood pressure increased significantly on Thursday so Shawna had to rush her to the hospital.  Thankfully, she was OK and the doctor told her to double up on her beta blockers while she was visiting due to the altitude.

Seven Falls

Shawna took Friday off as well where she and her mother spent the day shopping at the Cherry Creek Mall.  Shawna scored some clothes at Talbots and an awesome red coat at Macy's.  Later that evening, we all went out to dinner in the neighborhood.

Manitou Cliff Dwellings

On Saturday, we toured the Molly Brown House and tried out two festivals downtown: the Fall Harvest Festival (which was not much to write home about) and October Fest (which was more of a beer fest than anything).  We went out to dinner again that evening.

Denver Botanic Garden

Sunday was Shawna's mom's last full day.  The two of them went shopping at the outlets in Castle Rock while Keith had to work for most of the day.  Another unfortunate incident occurred - someone rear ended us as we were leaving the mall (Shawna was driving the Audi).  Thankfully, no one was injured and the damage was minor.  That evening, we cooked dinner at home and watched a movie.

On Monday morning, Shawna dropped off her mom at the airport and then drove into work.

Restaurants:

Broadmoor Hotel

Charles Court at Broadmoor Hotel - Great location along the lake at the Broadmoor Hotel.  We shared appetizers of caprese salad and bacon and egg and a halibut dish for our entree.

Adam's Mountain Cafe - Cute cafe in Manitou Springs. We shared lentil soup and a falafel sandwich for lunch.

Wash Park Grill - A neighborhood favorite.  We shared the mussels and beef tenderloin.

Table 6 - An awesome restaurant not too far from the house.  Very cute decor and great food.  We shared bruschetta with white bean dip and duck confit.

Cheryl Visit - July 2012

Keith's friend Cheryl from City Club of Washington days came to visit us the weekend before a convention she was attending.  Keith picked her up at the airport on Saturday morning and headed back to the house, where Shawna had prepared a fantastic salad for lunch.  Since Keith had a work picnic that afternoon, he had a nap while Shawna and Cheryl went to the Botanic Gardens as well as shopping in Cherry Creek.  Keith returned home from the picnic to find Shawna and Cheryl relaxing on the porch with Gin Dandys - what a life!  After a couple of drinks, we headed out to Root Down, which is now one of Shawna's favorite restaurants in town. 

On Sunday we headed out early and hiked the trail around Red Rocks starting at Matthews/Winters park.  The hike is about 2.5 hours.  We then had lunch at Beso de Arte, a cute Latin restaurant in Morrison.  That afternoon, we relaxed at home until Keith took Cheryl to her hotel in downtown Denver and then Keith went to the airport to fly out to Vegas for a conference.

Wilco Concert - June 2012

Red Rocks Amphitheater

Once we moved to Denver, we started a list of all the things we wanted to do this year - annual events, concerts, and restaurants to visit.  Wilco showed up on the Red Rocks concert list, and although we have never listened to their music, Keith's brother is a Wilco fanatic so we bought four tickets and invited Christy and Dave (who work with Keith and had him over for dinner when he was sad and lonely in Denver when he was commuting from North Carolina). 

Dave, Christy, Keith and Shawna

We wanted dinner first at a restaurant near the show, so we picked Beso de Arte, a latin bistro in Morrison, only a few minutes away from Red Rocks.  The restaurant is very cute - the walls roll up to make it almost all outside dining.  This was the first dinner during our "get the hell back in shape" plan, so we tried to eat a bit better - started with Garlicy Green Lip Mussels (no bread) and the house salad (delicious, with Mango) and for our main course we had the Blackened Dorado Mahi-Mahi - excellent.  Shawna was particularly enamoured with the place and wants to go back soon!

The Stage

We headed over to the show, parking along the road at the East Entrance.  That required us to hike a bit up to the arena, but it was beautiful walking through the rocks.  We had General Admission tickets which had us sitting in the first few rows - though since we were not early we were on the far side.  The opening act was Dr Dog who was, as Christy described, and hippy-jam-band.  They were quite energetic and upbeat, and even better started at 8pm on the dot!  Wilco came on after an hour or so, and they were really good - exceeded Shawna's expectations!  We ended up leaving at about 11pm, during the first encore. 

Hike in Matthews/Winters Park - Denver - Apr 2012

We took advantage of an awesome weather day and went for our first hike since we've moved back to Denver.  It was so nice to get out, get some fresh air and get some exercise!  We opted for a hike that starts in Matthews/Winters Park and goes through Red Rocks.  It's a 7.5 mile circuitous hike and we completed it in 2.5 hours.  It was strenuous in certain parts but also beautiful.  The only downside is that you did hear noise from the highway at times but it's a great hike for being nearby.  The weather was perfect (in the low 70's) -- the hike does not have much shade so would not recommend doing it in the heat of the day in the Summer.

John, JoAnna, and Claire Visit CO - Mar 2012

JoAnna and Shawna in Vail

Instead of heading straight home after the Grand Canyon trip, John and JoAnna came to Denver for a few days to visit us.  After picking them up at DIA, we headed straight to dinner at the Cherry Crickett, a famous burger joint in Cherry Creek, where we had beers and burgers, starting with a some of the fried mac and cheese.  After dinner, we went home and gave them the grand tour.  About an hour later, Keith's cousin, Claire, arrived - she was staying with us a few nights as she was in town for a conference.

We both had to work the next day, so after we went to work, Claire went to her conference and John/Jo walked around the neighborhood and had lunch at the Tavern.  While at work, they sent us pictures of JoAnna in front of the WaPa sign (John decided to call our neighborhood WaPa instead of WashPark) and a picture of the most fattening dessert on the menu at the Tavern - enticing us to hurry up and get back home!  We were supposed to get home at 4pm but work delayed us, so we did not get home until 5pm.  After quickly packing our stuff, we drove to Vail where Keith was a panelist at the MFE Conference the following day.  We checked in at Vail Cascade Resort (sharing a room) and then took the bus over to Vail Village.  Dinner was at Up the Creek, where we enjoyed wine, salads and braised short ribs.  Following dinner, we went to the Red Lion, the most popular bar in Vail, for drinks but it was so stunningly packed we just had one beer and decided to head back to the hotel.

JoAnna in "WaPa"

The next morning, Keith got up super-early to prepare for his panel discussion while the rest slept in (Shawna did a bit of work).  Then Shawna, John, and JoAnna packed up the car and drove over to Vail Village to walk around while Keith was at the meeting.  We all met for lunch at the Tap Room to watch UVA get spanked in their first game of the ACC tournament.  Right after the game ended, we quickly left so that we could get home in time to see the Duke game at 5pm from home, though we found time to stop by Silverthorne to see Ice Castles, which we had bought on Groupon a few weeks earlier.  It was a bit of a disappointment - mostly that we should have seen it at night when it was all lit up.  Instead, during the day, it is just a bunch of....ice and it was no where as big as we thought it would be!  It only took about 5 minutes to walk through!

Keith and JoAnna at Ice Castles in Silverthorne

Once we got home, we watched the Duke game until 7pm when we walked over to Wash Park Grill (which is our favorite local restaurant) for dinner.  The food was, as always, delicious!  We were all pooped so called it an early night.

On Saturday morning, Claire left us for her conference and then she planned to go to Boulder to visit with her brother's family.  So, JoAnna, Shawna, and Keith walked a couple of laps around the park - John stayed at home as his toes were killing him as a result of tight shoes he wore in the Canyon.  Following this, we walked over to the Tavern for the 1pm Duke game.  We had a great afternoon of fatty appetizers and lots of beer - though the bad news was that Duke lost to Florida State.

We all returned home for a nap/relaxing in the house before getting a cab to downtown to have dinner at Vesta Dipping Grill.  Dinner was delicious - we started with the Pecan Pie Salad and the Pork Tacos, then split the Flank Steak for our main course.  For dessert, we shared the Sticky Toffee Pudding.  It was Mustache Night at Vesta, with 10% of all revenue going to the Make a Wish Foundation.  There were photos on the wall and some great 70s music by the DJ, so a really fun night.  After dinner, we walked to Larimer Square but were not inspired by any of the bars so walked back to 16th street to see what was there.  The Tilted Kilt was right in front of us, so what the hell?  We were so full from so many days of debauchery, we could only down one beer before we snagged a cab home.

Sunday was a lazy day - we slept in a bit, watched The Lincoln Lawyer on Netflix, watched UNC get spanked by Florida State (great game!), had Jambalaya for lunch, and then Keith took everyone to the airport: John and JoAnna to fly to Raleigh and Shawna to Hartford.  The goodbye's were not too long as we all were planning to meet again the following weekend in Philly to celebrate St Patrick's Day!

Mardi Gras - Feb 2012

Mardi Gras at Chez Dodds - Wash Park, CO

Well, we had done Mardi Gras in Raleigh for so many years, so we decided to do the same now that Denver is our new home.  Shawna had loaded up on a few extra decorations and her mother made us a new wreath to go on the front door.

For food we made the usual: Jambalaya, Shrimp Fettuccine, Hurricanes, and Bread Pudding.  Most of the people who came were either current or former Aimco employees - some whom we had not seen in quite some time so it was great to reconnect.

Cara Kicking Butt at Ping Pong

We started the evening with a Mardi Gras trivia game -- shockingly, not many people were in tune with Mardi Gras traditions.  We all chatted a bit, drank hurricanes and wine, and pigged out on cajun food.  After most of the guests left, a few of us retreated to the basement for more drinking while we played pool and ping pong.

Keith and Missy - the "Easter Twins"

Jean and Dick Visit - Jan 2012

Jean and Dick on WiFi!

We invited Keith's parents to come and see the new house so we opted for MLK weekend as the best 3-day weekend before summer.

They arrived on the Thursday night, so Keith picked them up right after work.  We showed them around the house and then headed off to dinner at Little India, our backup dinner because India's Pearl was closed.  We started with the Veggie Samosa and split the Lamb Vindaloo for our main course - excellent.  This will be a great backup if India's Pearl does not open again.

Friday we carpooled to work so that Jean and Dick could have the 4Runner.  They went to see a friend from Lindblad cruises over lunch and then another friend from Bell Helicopter in the late afternoon.  We were home at 7pm as we went to a clinic to do something about the cold that Shawna has been battling for 3 weeks or so.  Z-pack in hand Shawna was quickly better.  Dinner on Friday was at the Washington Park Grill on Gaylord - the second time there for us.  Dinner was delicious: we had Bruschetta for our appetizer, Pan Roasted Veal Fillet with Baked Lobster Mac and Cheese, and skipped dessert.

Dick after a hard day

Saturday was more leisurely - we got up at 8am and relaxed over coffee.  The morning was spent doing jobs around the house: installing the new iMac, Dick installing the new thermostat controls, adding tennis balls to the garage ceiling so that we know how far to bring in the cars, and putting the new dartboard up on the wall in the basement.  We played a bit of ping pong and darts - with Dick in a panic that the darts would miss the board and hit the drywall.  His nervousness was confirmed when Jean's first dart penetrated the drywall perfectly!  After a walk in the park and lunch at home we headed out to see The Iron Lady at the Mayan Theater.  The Mayan is an art deco building built in the '30s that is now a Landmark movie theater.  That night Margaret's friend Kelly joined us at the house for drinks before we all headed over to Bistro Vendome for dinner.  The food was quite good: we had Salad Campagnarde for our appetizer and Confit de Canard with Pommes Frites for main course, and the Fig Tart for dessert. 

Shawna and Kelly

Sunday morning Keith and Dick headed over to Keith's office to get the large mirror we had delivered there.  They also picked up some material at Home Depot to build a peg board in the garage for all the yard equipment.  Dick was then able to spend some time getting that fixed up.  Keith and Shawna went for a run around Wash Park in the afternoon before we all headed out to see Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol and then dinner at Duo where we started with Mushroom Toast and Croquetes, had Short Ribs for main course, and amazing Sticky Toffee Pudding for dessert. 

Although we had Monday off for MLK day, we both needed to catch up on work so did that in the morning.  Dick did a run to Whole Foods to get lunch and dinner items.  We did our first "winter run" around the park - it even started snowing while we were out.  We all went to see My Week with Marlyn which was just outstanding - Michelle Williams definitely deserves awards for that movie.  Shawna made pork tenderloin for dinner and it was an early night to bed for a 5am wake-up to head to the airport and work.

Keith and Shawna - winter run

Lunch with Dodds Clan - Jan 2012

Amber, Savannah and Carol

Ruth was in Denver visiting Guy and Carol in Longmont so we thought it would be a great time to have the whole Dodds clan over to the house for lunch.  So at noon Guy/Carol/Ruth/Amber/Savannah showed up.  Shawna prepared a a wonderful lunch of Pesto Tortellini, Cheese & Crackers, Spinach & Lentil Salad, and Tarragon Chicken.  After lunch Guy and Keith and the kids headed downstairs for two games of pool.  The teams were Guy/Amber vs. Keith/Savannah, with Keith & Savannah the proud winners of 2 out of 2 games (though they won b/c the others scratched putting in the 8 ball!).

Guy

Amber and Savannah

It was fun to catch up with the other Dodds contingent - hopefully we'll see them again soon and continue to plow the kids with too much caffeine!

Ruth