Sports Fanatics

So this week has been filled with sports! 

First, the Rockies.  Jason and I went to the Tuesday night game vs the Astros.   It was a fun game, we had great seats compliments of one of my co-workers at Mile High United Way.  A couple of homeruns put the score above 7 runs for the Rockies which = Rockies Special at Taco Bell!  $2 for 4 Tacos.  Guess what we had for dinner on Wednesday.

Second, The BRONCOS! My grandma and her friend have season tickets to the Broncos, so she invited Jason and I to the preseason game on Saturday.  We played the Seattle Seahawks with a winning score of 23-20... it came down to a field goal kick with 2 seconds left on the clock. 

There were some storm clouds over to the SW, so we were a little worried about rain for a bit.. but we ended up with this Beautiful Sunset.

Awww, mountains!

Enjoying the game...   I was proud to sport my new Broncos apparel... long sleeve tee only $9.99 at Marshalls - woot! :) 

Finally making their way down to our end of the field. 

Thanks Grandma!

Our last sporting event of the week was the USA Pro Cycling Challenge.  Jason and I ventured downtown today to watch the final stage of the race ending at Capital Hill in Denver.  Jason was quite the commentator at the race, because I really had no clue who anyone was or what to expect.  But it was pretty neat!
It was so busy!  A lot of people showed up to cheer on the teams during their final leg.

Here they come!  The final day was a route from Golden to Denver with six laps around downtown before finishing so we got to see them come by a couple of times & sprint towards the finish on the last lap.

After they finished, I had to run over to use the restroom so Jason decided to wait in the shade by the finish line.  He was a little jealous when I came back with these pictures!  Levi Leipheimer was the overall winner of the race!

It was a good way to wrap up the weekend, but I am EXHAUSTED!  So- dinner was very quick tonight.  Threw together a Margherita pizza with leftover mozz cheese from caprese salad and the stuffed shells last week.   Yum!

All you need is Pilsbury Pizza Crust, Margherita Sauce, Mozzerella Cheese, a Roma Tomato (or 2), and Basil.  Throw it in the oven for approx 13-15 minutes and voila!

Prepping for my 2nd week of work in the Mile High city tomorrow.  Still working on navigating through the city and figuring out when I need to leave for work to miss the heavy traffic.  This week I'll have business meetings scattered throughout the city, so I better learn those directions fast!

Hiking Chautauqua

Last weekend Jason and I joined my Grandma, Todd, and Elaine on a hiking trip in Boulder.  It was another gorgeous day.  We met up with the rest of my Grandma's church hiking group at Chautauqua park to hike the Mesa Trail.

Here we go!  You can see that the seniors are already beating us up the trail.... 

 
Beautiful views of the Boulder  Flatirons

 
We made it to a nice stop with lounge chairs formed from the rocks.

Nice place to catch some sun with great views of Boulder below.




Well, as you probably guessed... the seniors beat us back down the trail too.  Actually, one of the gentleman decided to lead us to a "short cut" that added about a half an hour back up the mountain. :)

We finished off the trip to Boulder with lunch at The Walnut Brewery.
 
It was SO yummy!  I ordered a flight of beers & Elaine and I split the Ball Park Pretzels- Two giant pretzels brushed with our handcrafted ale and sprinkled with fresh garlic and Kosher salt. Oven-baked and served with Spicy Spinach Cheese Dip.  Ugh- so good! 
 

Domesticated Coloradan

It's Official! I'm a Coloradan!  The Iowa plates are gone, and I have my CO drivers license- Now all I need is a job. :) 

Since I have a little extra time on my hands, I've been trying to become more domestic... which includes cooking dinner entrees other than Grilled Cheese and Spaghetti. 

I have been in LOVE with the Iowa Girl Eats blog for the last couple of months... and now I finally tried a couple of her recipes.  

We share same passions in life... EAT well - RUN often - TRAVEL far (I don't know about the running on my end- but I'm trying... maybe it's more like: EAT often - RUN well, try to run - TRAVEL far)

The first recipe I tried is the Stuffed Shells - yum!   If you want good pictures, you'll have to check out IGE ;)  But here's my first shot! 

Ingredients:

1/2 box jumbo shells

1 lb lean ground beef - I used ground turkey

garlic salt, pepper, onion powder, Italian seasoning to taste

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1/3 cup reserved pasta cooking water

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1 egg

2 cups mozzarella cheese, divided

16 oz marinara sauce

Step by Step:

1.  Cook Shells- directions on box (boil water, add shells, boil for 12-14 minutes)

2.  Brown meat, drain and return to pan.  Stir in Olive Oil, Pasta Cooking Water, Parmesan Cheese, Egg, Seasonings, 1 Cup Mozz Cheese

3.  Cover bottom of baking dish with marinara sauce.  Fill shells with meat mixture and place in dish. 

4.  Cover the stuffed shells with extra marinara sauce and remaining 1 Cup of Mozz Cheese (I might have added more :)

5.  Cover & Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling.  

Yum! 

On another note... I miss these people:

Before we made the move we had a great going away party hosted by our friends Adam & Elizabeth at Cedar Ridge Winery.  This was one of our favorite places to go in CR.  We had the perfect night out on the patio with wine and apps!  Thanks to everybody that came, we miss you!

Red Rocks

BEAUTIFUL DRIVE THROUGH RED ROCKS PARK

PhotoBlog

First Hike

We made it up to St. Mary's Glacier for our first hike as Colorado residents.  The hike is right outside of Idaho Springs, CO.  Directions to the Trail HERE

On the way up...

It is a wide, rocky trail with gorgeous views at the top!

Here's our little Colorado family.  

Hubble LOVED the hike.  But he LOVED swimming even more!

We rewarded ourselves afterwards with a beer & dinner at TommyKnocker Brewery in Idaho Springs.  I tried the buffalo burger.  I was a little nervous to try it... but it was actually very good!  Jason and his parents both had the Southwest Buffalo Burger- which also got a thumbs up.  I would love to make it back up to Idaho Springs soon- there were some cute little shops and Karina says that BeauJo's Pizza is very yummy with honey to dip your crust in... can't wait to try it!  Who's coming to visit for us to take you up there?!

We Made It!

It's been a busy first couple of days in Highlands Ranch.  I am exhausted!

Tuesday, August 2 -
5pm: Arrive to Highlands Ranch
6pm: Movers unload Penske (Thank God! I don't think I would have been much help trying to unload our larger furniture.  Or anything for that matter.)
8pm: PB&J for dinner
9pm: Bedtime

Wednesday, August 3 -
8am: Navigate between boxes to find shower and interview clothes
10am: Breakfast and Wifi at Corner Bakery
12pm: Last minute interview prep & head into traffic
1:45pm:  1st Interview!
5:30pm:  Hit traffic back to Highlands Ranch
7pm: Find Little Caesars for easy dinner
9pm: Bedtime

Thursday, August 4 -
Finally settling in... spent the day unpacking, organizing, and finally had a chance to visit Costco for some groceries!

1st Picture from our Patio...


1st Dinner...

1st Trip to "Rover Run"...