after going nonstop this weekend and waking up at 4:45 this morning, la time, you'd think i'd be looking for any free time to nap, however--i have too much to share to not blog at least a little bit before my head hits the pillows! so, what was all this excitement over the weekend, you might ask? well, i went with parker to his hometown (denver, co) for a friend's wedding. besides getting to spend time with parker (which i obviously loved), it was so fun to see more from his life growing up, meet some more family and friends, and to explore some of colorado!

instead of boring you with a ton of text, i'll just post several pictures with short captions so you can get a gist of our weekend itinerary! enjoy :)

our first night in CO, we drove up to vail to stay with parker's sisters. molly's boyfriend, jesse, took us jeeping up vail mountain where we had a gorgeous sunset picnic! it was so silent and secluded and wonderful! and we could even see stars! (i love you, la, but i needed this!)





the next day, parks and i rode bikes about 4 miles into vail village. the ride was spectacular--colorado in the summertime is beautiful!




later, we took a gondola with molly and brynna up the mountain to "friday afternoon club," which had breathtaking views of the backside of vail. the weather was perfect and it was such a treat to see real skies and clouds!




on saturday, we spent the day touring around parker's stomping grounds, and having some down time with parker's grandmother and aunt kathy, which was great. that night we went to the wedding, which was up in the woods near denver. it rained all afternoon right up until the ceremony, which was outside, so it ended up being perfect! the bride and groom were lovely, and parker got to see a bunch of high school friends, including chris, who made a special appearance with some fire torches!





our final full day in town, we ate a delicious breakfast with some other family members, and then walked around downtown denver, which i'd never done. here we are at a few of the capital's sites!



making nice with the colorado bear


last but absolutely not least, we took a group dinner trip to the white fence farm-parker's family's restaurant. i was SO excited about this, and yet my expectations were exceeded! the food was amazing (fried chicken, steak, cole slaw, corn fritters, mashed potatoes and gravy, beets and cottage cheese, mmmmm) and the restaurant and grounds were so cute! i have to say my favorite part, though, was this picture of baby parker feeding a cow--tell me this isn't the cutest thing ever!!



us at the farm (for those of you kentuckians, it's similar to patti's at the lake):


the americana barn with live music and a slide for kids!


the barn


and, i can't think of a better way to end this post, or any post really, than with a chicken truck...


it was a perfect weekend, and i can't wait to go back for another visit!!

since i've been writing more infrequently, these posts tend to be pretty lengthy and content-rich. hope that's ok with you all. this one is certainly no exception...


yard sales
first things first, i can't recall if i already blogged about this, but i don't think so, AND even if i did, it is notable enough to reiterate!! scott, holland, and i went yard saling a couple weeks ago, and i have never had better luck! i found several things for great deals; things that i've been thinking about getting for months!! including: a $3 pair of chucks, a $2 camping pad, some cute clothes, and...a BIKE!! a basically new one for only TWENTY dollars! i've already used it several times, and it's so wonderful to have for exercise, transportation, and just for beach cruising. in fact, i'm pretty sure i passed owen wilson on the bike path in venice the other day...

and here it is in all it's pink glory!



easter
i had an excellent easter this year!! i got to see the sun both rise and set on easter sunday, which i've never done ever before. and both the beginning and end of the day was on a beach with gorgeous weather. i can't complain. a bunch of people from our church went to a sunrise service on the beach, to celebrate the resurrection of Christ with about 20 westside la churches. it was super early, but it was definitely worth it!

after that, i took a nap :) and then was treated to a delicious easter brunch (my first eggs benedict-so good!!) at liz's house. we dyed eggs the night before, and then had this wonderful meal with several friends! here's a glimpse of some of our colorful eggs (complete with bobble-head Jesus!), and then liz (our lovely hostess!), holland, jd (holland's friend from college who now lives here), amy (liz's roommate), and me (in my $1 yard sale easter dress)!




as if that weren't enough fun for an easter sunday...holland and i then party hopped on down to manhattan beach, ca, just a few miles south on the coast. holland attended asbury university in kentucky, and a lot of her fellow classmates relocated to the la area to use their media degrees. so...they all got together for an easter beach cookout, and i tagged along. like i said, the weather was amazing--it was about 90 degrees that day, but not stifling or anything! we had burgers on the beach, juicy watermelon, and sat around until the sunset that evening, just hanging out and chatting. it was the perfect end to a really full day.

here we are on our way to the beach.
















manhattan is adorable. it's a very wealthy town, so there are nice houses, and the beach was beautiful.
















these are all the asburians (holland's college pals) getting together for a little photo shoot to send home to their alma mater.
















me on the beach, and our friend, parker, in the background, braving the freezing ocean waters!!
















next...my family came for their visit!
my mom, cody, and his friend, tyler came for about 5 days at the end of march. we had so much fun! i think the highlight of the trip for the boys was that they got addicted to the best frozen yogurt place in the world-pinkberry! it's only in nyc and california, i think, but if it ever comes your way, definitely give it a go. we spent time on the beach, in venice, and breezed through tourist spots like hollywood and the fashion district. they got to experience a lot of culture, and i really enjoyed their company! oh, and we saw the movie "21," which i recommend!! it was so great to have them here...it was a first big trip west for my brother (and i was happy to share that with him), and my mom was really glad to see how i had settled in, since last she left me, all she had seen was an empty apartment and a car full of possessions! below are some pictures from their excursion. one at my house, some on the beach, and one with the skyline.





i bet you thought that was it, right? wrong-O! :) just a couple more things.

one, this past tuesday, i did extra work on the tv show "ghost whisperer." it's jennifer love hewitt's show, however she wasn't in any of the scenes that day, only her co-star jay mohr. it was fun, and as always, i met some cool people. on guy, joe, is a really creative photographer/graphic designer, and i think he and i might meet up to do some themed photo shoots for fun in the near future...

and finally...

futbol
last night, i lucked upon an extra ticket to the opening home game of the la galaxy soccer team (yes, david beckham's team). so, holland, nate, jd, and i made it a thursday evening roadtrip, which turned out to be loads of fun! we were in the car most of the afternoon and evening, since we had to all get together from various parts of the greater los angeles area, and then drive down south to the home depot center, where the galaxy plays. we saw a great game, too! the galaxy beat the san jose earthquakes 2-1. and, there were fireworks afterwards, too, as a special season opener treat!! for all your harry potter fans out there, when i got to stadium, i seriously felt like i was at the quidditch world cup! i loved it, and i really want to go to another game!

here's me playing around with the camera on the way




here's becks. and some pics of the stadium and scoreboard.





and here are the four of us diehard roadtrippers! so much fun and laughing, i love it!





after the game, we had to make an honorary stop at sonic. it's the closest one to us, so anytime sonic-lovers from la go near where we were, it's basically a requirement to at least get a lemonberry slush and some onion rings!!


ok, i lied, there is one more thing. i have been feeling very nostalgic for good ole mizzou. well, really just my friends in the mid-missouri area, lol. and, so i decided to plan a trip to missouri for mid-may. if you're reading this and you are one of those friends in that general area, then know that i really hope i get to see you when i make that trip! more details to follow, i'm sure.

congrats to those of you who made it this far. thanks for your diligence, readers :)

~lp