Skip to main content

A Guest Blog by Matt & Laura's Favorite Guest

Hi from Kansas!

This is Alissa Millard, sister/in-law of Matt and Laura, the most recent visitor of these two wonderful people, and most importantly their most awesome and favorite guest! I don't know why, but Laura has trusted me to guest blog about my week out there. This will be fun! Coincidentally I'm wearing my Denver shirt right now.
Can you tell we're siblings?! What is Matt lookin at?
I jumped at the chance of getting a cheap flight to Denver even though I had no money to begin with! I can't pass up an opportunity to see the mountains and some amazing family. I got there on a Friday evening (not the best time to be picked up at the Denver airport by your very kind sister-in-law, fyi) and stayed until Thursday afternoon. I was treated like royalty the entire time. These two people know how to make you feel at home! It was wonderful. We had a great time doing lots of things, but to be honest we could sit around doing nothing and still have a wonderful time.

Laura took me to the Hard Rock Cafe in downtown right away since Matt was working. It was great to be down there at night and to have good conversation. Saturday we set off an adventure. I was going to really camp for the first time in my life. The last time I was out we tried but didn't reserve a spot in time. Well, the gods are most certainly against me being in their wilderness. I don't think I'm that much of a threat, but they made sure that everyone in a 100 mile radius was camping in all of our prospective spots! However, I had never seen this part of Colorado before and it was gorgeous. Pongo was a little stressed, though. I know it was frustrating and I was a little bummed we didn't get to camp, but I still enjoyed the day. Plus, we spent the night trying different beers, eating a cookie, and playing BigBuck Hunter at Old Chicago! :) Sunday made up for our disappointment on Saturday. We went to Breck for the alpine slide and a fabulous hike. Matt reminded me of one reason he is arguably (after me of course) the most awesome person I know with his freestyle walking talent. Even with a few minor trips. The drive back was especially beautiful as we all experienced Loveland Pass together. That is truly an AWEsome scenic drive.


Pongo wanted to check his fan-mail.

I always see a little bit of the little kid in Matt. :)

This was on our hike. We took a break to numb our feet in the creek.


I love pictures of the dogs play fighting! Pongo especially looks so vicious.

The rest of the week was fun because I got to be with Matt and Laura individually and together. Of course being with the puppies was great as well! I love them. Matt and I cooked lunch one day, Laura and I went out to dinner twice, and we watched some movies and TV. Laura's kickball game was entertaining and enjoyable to watch. We went on a few walks and Matt and I took the puppies to the dog park one day. They were very misbehaved for that hour! Laura usually gets the misbehaved dogs, as they are sleepy and cuddly and perfect all day, then get excited at night. Most days while Laura was still at work and Matt had left, the dogs and I cuddled on the couch together while I read - perfect!

Perdi did not want me to leave. I was sad to go.
THANK YOU to Matt and Laura for being the best hosts, as well as brother and sister-in-law. The conversation was great and so was the beer. :) I will be back soon. Until then, signing off.
Peace, Alissa

Comments

Laura said…
Love it, Alissa! It's awesome to have another perspective of your trip. You are a much more entertaining writer than I am! I think the camping Gods are still mad at us...it looks like rain a lot this weekend where we are going. Next summer when you come, we will reserve a spot months in advance, and you WILL go camping! :)
Friday, 04 September, 2009
Doug Walter said…
Alissa, it's nice to have an independent account on the goings on of my daughter and her husband. Thanks for writing! I hope you come back...
Sunday, 06 September, 2009
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Political Aside

I’m going to apologize in advance for making this blog political for today. There is just one recent development I can’t help but post about. Last week, Congress passed a bill that made it a lot harder for credit card companies to take advantage of people through late fees and overlimit fees. Sounds great, huh? This bill would have been a lot better if there hadn’t been a certain “add-on” bill piggy backing on to the credit card legislation, making it legal for concealed weapons to be carried in national parks, as long as they are licensed and registered. Now unless you are going into a national park to shoot condors or bald eagles (which is ILLEGAL!), I cannot think of a single reason why you would need to have a concealed weapon in a national park. It’s not like they are huge hot spots for gangs, thugs and violence. National Parks are set up as a refuge for endangered species and a place where wildlife can live uninhibited. Where a hunting license would be required to shoot wildlife ...
5 comments
Read more

The Power of the Mind

I believe in the power of the mind. It seems to me that a simple thought can solve (or create) many problems. Let me explain. Say you haven’t been sick in a really long time, and you don’t even notice. And just then when you get to thinking “Wow, I really haven’t been sick in a long time,” you come down with a cold. It’s like one little thought can trigger a physical reaction. I had a similar experience at work. My computer software used to crash a lot, which was really annoying. Recently, it has been running well until I had the thought “Wow, this software hasn’t crashed in a long time.” Five minutes later, it crashes. So many of these occurrences have been happening to me lately that it hardly seems like it can be coincidence. Now, if only I could use the power of my mind to figure out my latest programming issues for school…it suddenly doesn’t seem so easy as to “think it in.” Last Saturday morning and Monday mornings, I had to get up at 4 am to let Pongo out. He usually has a bladd...
1 comment
Read more

Interlude: Tuesday Thoughts

One of my favorite TV shows to watch is “Jon and Kate Plus 8”. For those of you who don’t know, it’s a show which chronicles the life of a couple (Jon and Kate) with twins and sextuplets. Last night, Jon and Kate made a big (but expected) announcement. They are getting divorced. Due to all of the rumors in the media, this was not a shock. But I find it ironic that Jon and Kate started doing the show because it was “what was best for the kids.” Granted, it made them a LOT of money and skyrocketed them to fame. But ultimately, and I can only speculate, (they don’t ever really officially say what specifically lead to the divorce) that the fame and money are what dissolved their marriage. Clearly, the show was not really what was best for the kids in the end. I think I am mostly upset about this because I just read Kate’s book “Multiple Blessings,” which was written a couple years ago when she and Jon were still completely in love. I miss that. I really love their story. It was hard to rea...
3 comments
Read more