...surprise

Our little family is about to get a little bigger.
February 10th, 2009.

oregon coast-june 2008

Spencer and I spent a week at the Oregon Coast with my family this month. We rented a beach house in Rockaway Beach and were able to all stay under one roof. The coast has always been a favorite family vacation spot for the Frederiksens, and it was so fun to be back. Dad got a new kite of course, as is tradition, and we had lots of fun getting pulled around by the 200lb string limit.
We visited Flamingo Jims (a favorite childhood souvenier shop),
we played on the beach, hiked around, visited the Tillamook Cheese factory (a favorite of mine), we went tide-pooling and sea glass hunting, we played games and did puzzles, and hung out in the hot tub. We had 2 campfires on the beach complete with s'mores, music and dancing, and we went crabbing and clamming again. We even made homemade clam chowder. The kids loved uncle Kyle for his pinata party straight from Mexico, and uncle Spencer's "Steve", short for "Stevafina" puppet shows were a big hit as well. We visited a light house, shopped a little, and Spencer and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary on the 19th. We stayed up late most nights talking and just being together. I'm so grateful for my family and for the best friends that they are to me. Welcome home Kyle, and it was so fun to see you all!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

a day in downtown denver

Spencer and I heard about a street chalk drawing festival going on this weekend at Larimer Square, and we decided to check it out. Some of the artists were pretty amazing, others not so much, but it was fun to see so many people out and about, and the weather was perfect! While we were downtown we decided to take a tour of the Brown Palace Hotel (an old hotel that is supposedly haunted). After admiring the tea parties taking place in the lobby, we started our tour. Our tour guide was super obnoxious, and all the rooms were booked so we couldn't see them. A little disappointed, we ducked out early and strolled along the 16th street mall. We got lunch at the Corner Bakery DELICIOUS, and then walked toward the Capitol building. We were surprised to see the People's Fair going on. Live music, and tons of booths and vendors, it was fun to walk around and it reminded me a lot of the River Festival that used to go on in the summers in Boise. The People's Fair took us right near the Denver Art Museum and since Spencer and I haven't been yet, we decided to check it out. We went inside and were excited to find that we were there on a free day, so we spent the rest of the afternoon in the Museum. The architecture of the museum was almost more impressive than the exhibits featured inside. A little exhausted from walking around all day, we wrapped up the night with the new Indiana Jones movie. As cheesy as they all are, we both really liked it. It ended up being a really fun Saturday, and best of all, it was almost entirely free! Yeah for fun on a budget.

an eventful day

June 4th, 2008 was a big day in the Frederiksen family.
Nate and Julie are officially moved to Colorado. We helped them unload the last of their boxes last night! We're so excited they're here, and can't wait to get the summer fun rollin'

and...

Kyle got home from his mission late last night. He served two years in the Mexico Merida mission which ended up being more like the Cancun, Cozumel and Playa del Carmen mission. He did a great job, saw some amazing country, and we're already talking about a little trip back sometime within the year. Yeah for Andi finally having a reason to get a passport! Welcome home brother! We love you and are so proud of you.

Can't wait for our Oregon Coast reunion in 1 week, 2 days and counting!

summertime!

It finally feels like summer in Colorado, and we're loving the sunshine! Last weekend we strolled around the parks downtown, stopped in at Happy Cakes (the best cupcake cafe), and then went to "The Music of Abbey Road" symphony performance. It was pretty great, who doesn't like Beatles music, and live, with a symphony, was pretty cool.
This weekend we drove to Colorado Springs to bike around "Garden of the Gods." We stopped in CastleRock on the way to deliver a letter order at the Barn and I found the most irresistible little snugglers, I had to share. One day when I have kids they will be perfect in a little nursery. Well, the Garden of the Gods was pretty spectacular to see, and so fun to bike and hike around. We grabbed lunch at Culvers, one of my favorite burger/frozen custard joints that they don't have in Denver. I rarely get to go, and the 30 minute drive out of the way was well worth it. We stopped in to see Spencer's Aunt Jane and her family who live there and then mosied our way back home taking the scenic route. We jumped in the pool when we got home, rented a movie and wrapped up a near perfect summer day.
Yeah for summer!
Oh, and Spencer started a training blog for his cycling, check it out, www.spencerstrainingjournal.blogspot.com

salt lake city!

Spencer and I got back from a long weekend in Salt Lake on Tuesday morning. We were there Friday to Monday for Spencer's Nana's 85th Birthday, Emerson's 2yr. birthday, and an American Le Man series race. We stayed at Nana's on S. Temple with M and D Marshall, and took advantage of the downtown location with morning and evening walks through the Avenues and Federal Heights. Dreamy! Everything was blooming and green. The houses were to die for, and the weather was perfect! I love summer! We saw Ty and Kumari's new house at Thanksgiving Pt. and made a day of exploring the gardens and the other attractions there. We were able to get Cafe Rio salads (a favorite Utah pastime) and we also dropped in at Ikea. We met up with some good friends while we were there. Aubry and I stayed up until 2am one night watching old Shanty videos. And I was also able to meet up with Jen and Mishelle and their husbands at the race, and to take Jen's bridal pictures. Our flight was delayed 2 hours on the way home, so Aubry entertained us with Market Street desserts and a tour of Temple Square. We finally climbed into bed at 2am Tuesday morning, and had a harsh wake up to reality when work rolled around. We had a great time and it was so fun to see family and friends.

feeling a bit refined...

Spencer and I spent 2 nights in a row at the Denver Performing Arts Center last week. The complex itself is pretty amazing and the events were great.
Thursday night we attended a charity dinner and auction for the Rocky Mountain Children's Law Center, which is the organization that
Spencer's cycling team is raising money for. The meal was amazing, the auction items were to die for and the speaker was great. Way better than the Greek Toga Party we attended the week before. One of the best
auction items was a trip sailing around the globe, and porting in places like Bermuda, and Dubai. It has definitely been added to my list of things to do before I die...and once I get rich of course.
On Friday night our friend offered us free tickets to attend the Colorado Symphony performance. Kevin is an internationally renowned french horn player that plays in the symphony here. He graduated from Julliard and is leaving tomorrow to tour with the Philadelphia Symphony in Asia. The orchestra was playing with a french/salsa type band called Pink Martini. Sounds a little odd, but they were really pretty great.
On Saturday night we rented "La Vien Rose" and after all this French
music I'm thinking I'd like to learn the language. Maybe I'll stop at that Rosetta Stone kiosk in the mall this week.