The weather was beautiful this weekend. After such a hectic week, it was nice to have a relatively relaxed weekend where we could just enjoy the weather.

Friday night we met up for a surprise birthday party for Morrissey who just turned 30. It was pretty low-key, and I was shot from the work week, so thankfully we didn't stay out long. From what I hear, others did, and I'm glad we escaped while we did.

Kristen headed to Estes Park early on Saturday for the annual Wool Festival. She was accompanied by her mother Joni, sister Allison and nephew Maddock. It sounded like they had fun, and Maddock got to pet a lot of Alpacas.


I met up with the running group, knowing that I'd miss a month of running classes. I'll have to figure some way to run in the heat in Indiana, or maybe bike, if I can fit a bike in the vehicle.

Speaking of which, I ended up buying a Toyota RAV-4. I don't know if it was the fact that it was the Toyota dealership, or that the economy is having issues, or that I should have held out for paying less, but it was the easiest, smoothest car dealership experience I've had in the last 12 years. They actually forgot to have me pay for the car. The salesguy handed me the keys and thanked me for my business, at which point I asked if they were actually going to have me write a check. He freaked out, and sent me back to the finance guy who apparently forgot that step of the process.

Saturday night Nate and I headed out to town to eat some dinner and have a few beers. Kristen dropped us off, and we ended up taking the bus back to Gunbarrel. That's the first time we've ever used the mass transit system after a night on the town, it was fairly painless.

Sunday involved me animatedly packing for the Indiana trip. There seems to be a thousand things to pack that I think of only when laying awake at night. I'm hoping I remember most of them. I suspect the vehicle will be pretty full by the time it's fully loaded up.

In the afternoon Kristen and I headed to a BBQ at Wiley's house. It's the last chance I had to hang out with all my co-workers in a social setting. I think everyone enjoyed it, and no-one got too teary-eyed.

I'm hoping to take off from work on Wednesday, head to Casper, then Rapid, then Pierre, then to the farm, hopefully arriving a week from tonight. It's going to be a big adventure, and I can't wait to get it started!

I gave my two weeks notice at work on Wednesday. It's strange to see the end in sight after 13 years of working with the same people on the same product. Things were weird the rest of the week, and I suspect they'll continue to be chaotic for the following week and a half. I'll miss my coworkers, they've been a great bunch of people to work with all these years.


On the bright side of things, I'm taking off for a month or so to do what I want. As it's shaping up now I'll be seeing a few friends on the way to the farm, then hanging out there until the bugs or the heat scares me off. Kristen's going to drop by for four or five days, and it sounds like Jason and Becky will swing by for a long weekend as well.

I was expecting to take a trip to the farm in the fall, and to have a bunch of plans and equipment ready to go with me. As it stands now, I'll be a little less prepared, but I'm still very excited for the time off.

On to the weekend. On Saturday, Kristen, Morrissey, Nedrow and I ran the Sunshine Stampede. Nedrow took second place in her category, which is very impressive. Kristen ran the 10k in 1:05, which is her personal best. I ran a leisurely 55:00 or so. If I continue to slow down, and Kristen continues to speed up, it won't be long until she passes me. Morrissey also ran a personal best, somewhere in the 47s.

Kristen headed off with her friend Laura for the rest of Saturday. They did a bunch of shopping, then headed to Red Rocks to see "Big Head Todd and The Monsters". She made it home after 1 am, and appeared to have enjoyed the show.

Meanwhile I got some stuff done around the house, and researched vehicles on the web. The Mustang is nearing it's final years, and with this Indiana trip coming up, I want something reliable that can carry a decent amount of cargo. So far the Toyota RAV-4 and the Nissan Murano are at the top of the list.

Sunday morning Kristen and I headed out on our bikes. We swung by a bunch of dealerships to see various cars in person. Car dealerships aren't allowed to be open on Sundays in Colorado, which gives you a good chance to at least take a look at the vehicles and see what their sticker prices are.

We met up with friends for dinner, and had a quiet evening afterwards.

Tomorrow a few more co-workers are announcing that they're quiting, and on Tuesday the suits from Corporate are showing up. It promises to be a memorable week.

Ah, finally a weekend to ourselves. We stayed pretty active, and ended up doing a lot of mountain biking. We're in between sessions of our running group, so it seemed like an opportunity to get some time in on the saddle.


Friday evening Kristen and I did half of East Boulder Trail. It's the nearest mountain bike accessible trail, we can ride to it from our house. Kristen felt good on her bike, and was able to make it up the steeps without getting off. Afterwards we parked our bikes outside the local bar/restaurant, and had a nice dinner.


The next morning I met up with some buddies to ride Walker Ranch. It's one of the more famous paths near Boulder, and I've never ridden it before. Every year I tell myself "At the end of the summer, I'll be in good enough shape to ride it", but I never have. Since a few friends were heading up there anyway, it seemed like a good excuse to check it off the list.

It really kicked my butt. I was by far the least experienced biker there, and the rest of the guys had to wait up for me 7 or 8 times. My legs were shaking by the end of the ride, but it was still a fun experience. It was my first ride using clipless peddles, and I only fell once due to them.


Meanwhile Kristen headed off for a run. It sounds like she had fun, and she set a few new pace goals for herself for the summer. We've been spotting an owl that likes to hang out near the running path, especially in the evening.


Later in the day we headed off to see the new Indiana Jones movie. It was a fun big Hollywood movie, we both enjoyed it quite a bit.

Sunday was a day of rest. We did our various projects around the house until 4 or so, and then decided to ride the entirety of East Boulder Trail. Kristen once again was a trooper, and sweated up the hills without stopping. She's ready to move up to the more difficult terrain.