Athens

In the midst of a 2 week work trip to Athens I decided to go visit my BEFRI Colleen.  We had a 'sleepover' in my room at the Grande Bretagne after spending the night out in downtown Athens. We feasted on Eggplant Saganaki, Lamb ragout, and pasta. We also ventured into Psyrri, a cute little strip of cafes and bars. With a stop in Spirit to dance and visit with some of Colleen's work friends, the night was fun-filled and just fantastic.  I do have to say that I did realize that I can't party like I used to.  I was not feeling so well on Saturday.  Luckily it rained all day so I could nap off the hangover.  Scott, Colleen, Rachel,  and I did managed to make it out for a feast of lamb chops, tzatziki, bread, and wine at one of their favorite local restaurants, Papayiannis. The evening ended with the adults sipping wine on the balcony.

On Sunday morning, we raced around so that she could see the sights before flying back to Brussels. We took pictures at the Temple of Olympian Zeus, Hadrian's Arch, and the Acropolis. This was followed by a quick stop for the best cappuccino I ever had and souvenir shopping.

It was an amazing trip.  I am so lucky to have a friend in my life that I have known for 32 years.  She knows who I truly am and I can trust her with everything.  It was so surreal to hold Colleen's baby (Rachel).  She is as beautiful as her mommy.  This trip taught me that true happiness will come from good friends, great family, and being honest to yourself and those around you.  Thank you Colleen, Scott, and Rachel for an amazing trip (oh and for me stealing your wording from your blog so I could remember where we went).

Enjoy the pictures:

Courtney/Colleen at Temple of Zeus

Courtney and Baby Rachel

View of the Acropolis from Breakfast

Parthenon

View from the Acropolis

Go Broncos!!

We took Gwen to her first Broncos game today.  I was nervous going in because it was going to be 100 degrees and sunny, plus she would miss her nap.  Boy did I underestimate Gwen.  She was wonderful and had a blast!  She yelled "Go Broncos" and would hold up her pointer finger and do #1.  We did luck out though because the seat next to us was empty and we were sitting in the shade.  Needless to say that Gwen passed out once we got to the car.

For the record the Broncos beat Seattle 31-14.

Wordless Wednesday

Okay, a few words.  The below picture is priceless.  This is Mike and Gwen with his friend Steve and his son Nicolas.  They have known each other since they were kids.  Now they are spending time together, as fathers.  It's so amazing to see as not many people get to walk through life with their best friend by their side. 

Swimming Our Way Through NY

Colorado has beautiful mountains and the weather is perfect.  The one thing that is missing is water.  We got to enjoy numerous lakes during our trip to NY.  We went to Lake Delta with the family, we visited Dana at Panther Lake, and then Mike and I got away to Old Forge for a hike that overlooked 4th Lake.   It was so much fun.  The shocking part of the entire trip was that we saw the sun everyday so we got to enjoy the outdoors........well partially because the humidity is rough.    That hasn't happened in years and solidified our decision to only visit Upstate NY in the summer.

Eating Her Way Through NY

We spent the week in NY with my parents.  Gwen had a blast visiting friends and family.  I think her favorite thing was the food!  She ate meatball subs with Papa and lost the war with Nutella.  Let's not forget breakfast with Olivia & Grace!

Our NY Visit

I have a special Thankful Thursday this week.  We are currently in NY and having a fabulous time.  We have been able to enjoy time with so many friends and family members.  Gwen has been her adorable self and in a twist of fate, the weather has been great!!  We have eaten great food, spent time outside on different lakes, and watched Gwen run with "The Pack".  My nieces are growing up into such amazing little girls.  I am already looking forward to our NY trip next summer!

Things that I have been thankful for this week:

1.  Family.  My sister/parents threw us a last minute party at her house so the family can see Gwen.  It meant the world to me to have aunts, uncles, cousins all show up.  It's tough living 1700 miles away, but it is so nice to see everyone's love and support.  I don't think anybody will know how much I appreciated them coming to see us. 
2.  Friends.  I got to spend time with friends.....some of which (Mike/Macaire) that I haven't seen in 4+ years.  It was wonderful that they all made time for us while we were our in NY.  I have been struggling with the feeling that I always have to "chase" people to spend time with them when I come to NY for a visit, so this trip I decided not to.  I got to spend time with those that were easily able to make time for us and had a blast.   I am so lucky to have such amazing friends.................some since 8th Grade (Mike), High School (Holly/Mike), and College (Dana)!
3.  Cavallos.  Once again we ate there 2X.  The first time we had the quintessential pizza/wings.  The second time we tried their chicken wing pizza.  It was delicious!
4.  Lakes.  There is nothing like drinking beer, in the sun, on a float, in a lake.  That is one thing that I miss being in Colorado with no real lakes.
5.  The food.  Sausage patties, corn on the cobb, meatball subs, Blue Light, salt potatoes, wings, pizza, tomato pie, pusties...................

Altercation Over A Book

Yesterday I came home from work and learned that our sweet little Gwen got written up at daycare.   Turns out there was an altercation in the library over a book.  Gwen shoved another kid which caused them to fall and split their lip open.  I laughed when I found out.  I was actually relieved.  After her getting bit at daycare 3 times in 2 weeks, I was afraid that she was being bullied by all the boys (there are only 2 girls in a room of 10).  Turns out she's not! 

I tried taking a picture of the Incident Report, so I could post it, but it didn't come out well.  Here are some details:

Nature of Incident: "Gwen pushed another child while standing in the library causing that child to cut their lip."

Action Taken: "I redirected her away and talked to her about using her words so friends don't get hurt"

The actions taken is my favorite part.  Hopefully next time she will think about using her words rather than shoving someone.  Um, she's not even 2.  I know that Gwen gets very upset when she gets in trouble, so hopefully being "talked to" will be enough so that this is only a one time deal.