Snake Scare

Hello, all! Well this has been a pretty eventful past few days, so I have quite a long blog post in store for you tonight. Memorial Day weekend seemed to go by in a flash! All the excitement started Saturday when Matt and I decided to take the dogs for a romp in the dog park before we headed downtown to meet up with some friends and go to the Nuggets game. We were walking our normal route along a major path and I was watching the dogs run around and trying to walk quickly so we wouldn't be late meeting people, so I wasn't really thinking about much else. I happened to look down right before I was about to step on this snake! Matt caught a picture on my camera phone right as it slithered away.

I know I have sent many of you this picture and story, but I was so creeped out, I had to share it again. This guy looks deceptively like a rattlesnake, but its really a 5 ft long bull snake. Rattlesnakes have triangular heads and tend to coil (and strike) in defense, as opposed to bull snakes like this, who flee as a defense mechanism. Luckily, I realized this pretty quickly. Still, I am a little creeped out to go to the dog park now, and I haven't been since Saturday.

So on to the next weekend event: dinner and beer with our friends Dave and Mary, and our visiting friends Tyler and Jaime at the Wynkoop Brewery. (Tyler and Jaime got engaged later on Saturday night at Lookout Mountain! Congrats again, you two!) We rode the light rail downtown to Union Station again, which is such a relaxing way to get downtown.

Then it was on to the Nuggets-Lakers game. This was the Western Conference finals, so we decided to go to Game 3 while we had the chance to see a playoff game. (And it happened to be the one night that Matt didn't have to work this weekend, so we jumped at the chance.) The atmosphere was incredible...almost as intense as KU basketball, but still not quite there. Our seats were pretty much way at the top, but it was still fun and everyone was excited, no matter where you sat. The Nuggets did pretty well throughout the entire game, and then lost in the last 3 minutes. It was rather disappointing, but they won again last night, so the count is 2-2. C'mon, Nuggets!

Here we are, way at the top of the Pepsi Center. But it made for a good picture!

Matt and I spent the rest of the weekend with him working and me in a flurry of working, cleaning and yard work, with a break on sunday evening for a trip to Dave and Buster's with Dave, Mary, Jaime and Tyler. Dave and Buster's is like a Chuck E. Cheese for adults. Well, kids go too, but they kick them out at a certain time and there are all kinds of games like skee ball and such where you can win tickets. It was fun, but I sure missed my "person." (Matt)

The one picture that is missing from this blog is that of our "mohawk yard." We think that the girl who mows our lawn has decided not to anymore, because the yard (front and back) has turned into a jungle over the past few weeks. The dogs were running through grass as tall as their chests in the back yard! So we decided to be proactive and just buy a mower. We will need one anyway when we buy a house. I spent a good couple hours on Monday trying to mow everything down and was successful with the front and most of the back yard. However, the grass was still a little wet from all the rain we've been getting lately, so I couldn't get the tallest stuff mowed. So we have a strip down the middle of our back yard which looks like a mohawk! I am hoping I can get that part finished after a day of good dry sunny weather. Before I mow, I'll try to take a picture. It's pretty dramatic how much difference there is in what is mowed and isn't mowed!
And that pretty much concludes the weekend! It sure was hard getting back to work this morning, but at least it is only a 4 day week. I will end this section of today's post with some beagle pictures! Matt is so good at getting sweet photos of them.

Here is our little Pongo curled up on the deck. He has been so fun to have as company at work this weekend. I can't believe how well he behaves, especially compared to his sister!

Perdi CAN be sweet if she feels like it. Here, she is sleeping beside me on Saturday morning on the couch.

Here is Pongo giving Perdi "kisses."
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Part 2 of today's blog: I couldn't end this post without saying "Happy Birthday" to my dad! And the best part is, I am getting to this post on his actual birthday! Now if only I could have gotten that darn card in the mail on time. :)

Here's what I have to say about my dad. He is one of the most kind and patient people I have ever known. While I strive to take on these characteristics myself, he makes it look so easy. I always appreciated how slow to anger my dad was while I was growing up, though his quiet disappointment was sometimes the worst punishment of all when I did something wrong.

My dad is also a very hard worker, dedicated to his business. He has to travel a lot, sometimes driving all night to get home, but it never seems to bother him because he really loves what he does. On top of his business, my dad also has multiple rental properties PLUS my brother to keep in line. Not an easy job! :)

Not too many people can say that they have biked across Kansas, but my dad has! It was always the highlight of his summer when BAK rolled around. When my dad had his heart attack in 2007, he had to take it easy on the biking for a while and I know it was hard for him not to be able to do the ride. But being at home with him was really fun for me. I enjoyed our evening walks in the off leash park (I brought Pongo home with me) and just being able to spend some time with him at home. He really takes after his dad (my Grandpa Walter) though. The doctor ordered my dad not to work for a couple weeks, but he was back out to his office in a couple days! Likewise, my grandpa refused to obey doctor's orders and was out mowing his lawn even up to two weeks before he passed away! I definitely see the determination to persevere in both of their personalities.

I am so lucky to have such a wonderful dad! Happy Birthday!