On the last weekend of June, Ryan's friend from high school, Kevin Davis, and his family drove to Colorado from Michigan for his grandmother's funeral. The reason for their visit was unfortunate but we were glad to see them nonetheless. After a grueling two day drive Kevin and Julie and their 3 kids crashed with us. That was the second time in 2 weeks I have gotten to put the guest bedroom to use! I was so excited! Anyways, after staying the night they finished their trek to Colorado Springs to join their family. Ryan and I decided to head down to the springs the next day to take advantage of the time they were in town. Kevin's mom volunteered to watch the kids and the four of us, along with Kevin's sister, Chrystal, headed out to a restaurant called The Golden Bee. At first, walking in you wouldn't have any idea what to think. It looks very upscale and expensive... but then the singing starts and you understand why every seat in the house is taken. This restaurant is known for their yards (now half yards) of beer, their piano man, and flying bee stickers. When we sat down we were greeted with our waitress flinging bee stickers on our shirts. There was also a song book with the lyrics to hundreds of cheery timeless classics.... such as Oklahoma! ;) With our half yards in hand we all sat around our corner booth singing and screaming the tunes the piano man played. It was a fabulous time and definitely an experience not to be forgotten!
After a week of boring hospital/nursing/computer orientation I was definitely ready for my 4th of July weekend! We really had our hearts set on camping but we both knew that every campsite in Colorado would be absolutely packed. Determined to head to the mountains regardless we packed the car for a day trip. Ryan drove the long scenic, yet beautiful route to Rocky Mountain National Park.
When we got to Rocky Mtn National Park we decided to go on a hike. We did a quick hike, nothing too difficult, up to a few water falls. They were gorgeous and it was great to get out of the car and stretch our legs.
After our hike we continued to drive the highway that goes through the park at the highest point. I think the road we were on eventually reached 12,000 something feet in elevation. We were above the tree line for much of the drive and it was unbelievable how much snow was still up there! There were many places to pull off and enjoy the view, play in the snow on the tundra, and take pictures. It was absolutely breathtaking and it was epitome of Colorado beauty.
After the park we headed to Black Hawk, CO which is an old mining town that has turned into a gambling town. There are dozens of casinos, huge hotels, free drinks, cheap food, and lots of money to be lost! We gambled, had a few drinks, ate some pizza, walked around and watched some of the UFC fights and then headed home with not a dollar less in our pockets! Talk about a fun free evening! We had a great 4th of July weekend.. even without getting to go camping!
So I started work this week and near the end of my second day I got text messages from Ryan saying that I needed to pick him up so we could go to the hospital. Ironic, since I was already at a hospital... but we had to take him to the one downtown since that's what his insurance prefers. I drove to the soccer fields, picked him up, and headed to the ER. There was a 6.5 hour wait! WHATT!!!! What kind of emergencies can wait 6 hours!? Luckily we weren't emergent so we went home and returned at 7:30 am. There were a total of 3 people there, including us. We were diverted to Urgent Care (thank goodness) and Ryan was given an x-ray and CT scan. Turns out he fractured the plateau of his tibia. We will return next week when the swelling as gone down for a follow up to see if any of his ligaments are torn. If not (cross your fingers) no surgery! Regardless, he will have to stay off of it for months. Our summer has taken a wicked turn. Although we are both sad that we can no longer hike, play soccer, camp, or enjoy most of our outdoor activities... we are finding creative ways to entertain ourselves at home.
