The George's

7.15.2008

Summer fun...

This is Jamie's mom, Martha, she came to visit us the week of the 4th. We had such a sweet time with her. It was her first time to fly!! And, she did it all by herself. We were very proud of her.

We did a LOT of stuff that week (went to the National Park, Rockies game, visited downtown, watched pre-4th of July fireworks, Red Rocks, and went to a few parks. We were pretty tired when she left at the end of the week.

This is our small group from our church (Hope Community). We had a good year with them. They have all become dear friends of ours.

Over the weekend we got to attend an old friends wedding (Joe). We're excited to get to know Becca as we have just learned that they will be living near us after they return from their honeymoon.

Here we are at Joe & Becca's wedding. It was fun to catch up w/ old friends from home (Whitewater area).

At some point, I'll add more pictures from the summer...lately I've just been too lazy to keep up. Sorry! We're actually about to move in a little over a week. I'm excited to be in the new place.
We're still going to be renting, but it's a much better deal than where we are now. Pictures will come!
Well, until then...

7.02.2008

So I got a new pair of running shoes less than a couple weeks ago. I've heard so many good things about Saucony's that I figured I couldn't go wrong. I purchased them at Sports Authority - which I actually think was my mistake. Had I went to Boulder Running Company, I could still take them back and get "fitted" for the right shoe according to my stride. My boss said he took a pair of running shoes back to BRC after having them for a month and they still exchanged them.

Ever since I bought the shoes, I can't get rid of a blister on the back of my left heel. It's no fun running. On Monday, I figured my blister had gone away enough for me not to wear any bandages; for the first mile my heel hurt, but towards the end of my 3rd mile, it didn't hurt anymore. So I figured it was all good! Well when I arrived back at the house, I looked down and the entire back of the heel was bloody - my blister broke again!!

Today I wasn't so naive. I bandaged up my heel and the run wasn't so bad. I'm not looking forward to Saturdays run of 11 miles. I just want these shoes to be broke in already!! Next time I'm definitely going to BRC for my next pair of shoes. And I've been encouraged to try Mizuno's.

7.01.2008

It's a small world after all...

So last Thursday I joined a co-worker (plus our office intern) from DFN to go run a 5K at an Irish Pub in downtown Denver. We were all new and had never done it before, but were excited b/c apparently quite a few runners attend every week. Well, the great catch is that after the run, you get free spaghetti & salad.
From our office to downtown it took over an hour b/c of rush hour traffic. So I doubt I will make this a weekly event. At one time before we left the office, Stasia mentioned to us that her sister (along w/ her sister's friend) were going to meet up w/ us to run.
At the pub we were all introduced to each other and soon found our way running around Cheesman Park.
Afterwards, we were doing our post-run stretching and Stasia's sisters friend (??) :-) asked me where I was from originally, which I replied "Kansas".
She then proceeded to ask if my maiden name happened to be "Claassen". Well that got my attention right away!! After a little more prodding...we realized we are 2nd cousins!! My dad and her mom are 1st cousins!! Crazy huh? It's SUCH a small world. I have more family in Denver then I thought.
I believe we may have met once when I was probably very young (like 7 or so??). It was pretty shocking but humorous.

6.24.2008

Tonight Jamie & I are babysitting for our friends while they are celebrating their 2nd year Anniversary. Happy Anniversary Austin & Amanda!!
This little cutey is baby Wyatt.
The fun connection between us is that Austin is my second cousin (my dad and his mom are 1st cousins), AND Jamie and Wyatt share the same birthday - March 23.
Austin also goes to Denver Seminary; so we have a lot of connections.
Babysitting baby Wyatt shows me how much responsibility their is in having a child. Although I someday want to have children, I don't think I'll be ready anytime too soon. :)
It's hard to understand his needs when he can't tell me. His needs are very important though and his dependence on us very crucial. Like a baby/small child depends on their parents (or in our case - babysitter) for their every need, we have to rely on God to provide for our needs. So often I want to do things "my way". It doesn't always turn out the way I want or think. In the mean time...God is just telling us to trust in Him and He will provide all of our needs.

6.20.2008

summer is officially here

Yeah!! Today is officially the First Day of Summer!!! I'm so happy. I love this time of year. Ideally, I wish I was off of work/school for the summer like the good 'ol times. But, I'm just so thankful for longer days and just the warmth of the sun. Thank you Lord for seasons!!

Well today Jamie got a job!! Thank goodness. I'm just glad he'll have something to do. Poor guy has been pretty bored. I've been so spoiled though b/c our apt is clean, laundry is done, and dinner is on the table when I get home from work. I'm not sure I'm going to like him going back to work. :) He got a job as a salesman at a carpet store. It's not the "ideal" job, but I think he'll be happy to be working w/ and around people.

Work has been extra busy this week b/c of our higher rate of volunteers coming in; which is a great thing to have!!! But since the lady who is usually in charge of the volunteers is in India for the next few weeks, I've been put in charge. It's not hard, it's just takes a little more time. So, needless to say, this week has flown by. Although today definitely felt like a Friday.
I'm ready for the weekend!!
Tonight, Jamie went to Clint & Ter's church to hear one of his profs speak about Immigration. I opted to come hang out at the coffee shop and download songs from ITunes.
I've been around people all week, and Jamie hasn't been around anyone. So we'll both get our fix.
So it looks like we're gonna moving in late July. We found a cute condo in Highlands Ranch (it's SE from where we live now). We'll be renting it from a lady I work with. Deena will be moving in w/ us as she gets her feet planted here in Denver. Plus, now she'll have a place to come home too when she gets back from Jordan.
I can't wait to get pic's and put them up. It's an adorable place!!

Well, tomorrow is my long run. I guess I'll run to Clement Park and then finish up my 9.5 miles running around the large pond. I think I'll have Jamie pick me up after the run. I'm not excited to run, but I am excited to see if I can actually do this!
Jamie has been my biggest fan. There's been a few times where I've questioned myself, "what's the point in knowing you can run 13.1 miles??". But he pointed out the fact that once you set goals and accomplish them, it shows you CAN follow through on things. Plus, it's good to finish what you start.

6.08.2008

Well we're sitting in the airport terminal right now about to head back to Denver. Our (short) time in Mississippi & Alabama was spent visiting with family and friends. We had such a good time catching up with them. I wish it could have been longer; however, I am pretty tired from being on-the-go since Wednesday.
On Wednesday, Deena drove us to the airport at 3:30 am, so we started our trip with little sleep!
When we arrived in Tupelo, Mississippi, we were both hit with the HOT, humid weather. Yuck. I must say, I don't miss living in this humidity. I needed to do my daily run, so later that night, Jamie took me to a track - I about died! It's so different running here compared to Denver where I hardly break a sweat. Well, Wednesday - Friday (morning) was spent hanging out w/ Jamie's family. His mom spoiled us with home cooked meals!! It was a lot of yummy veggies from her garden. Plus, it was great catching up w/ his siblings (and sibling in-laws), plus his nephew, Gunner. Friday morning we met up with our friend, Cody, and he drove us to Birmingham. From there, it was pretty much a whirlwind of eating and hanging out w/ a lot of old friends. Notice that in order to have a good time with people--there must be food!!
Friday night, we stayed at Ashley & Reid's beautiful new home. We had a small get-together w friends that night. Saturday morning I regretted eating so much junk food the night before, considering I had to run 8 miles that day. After my 5th mile, I thought I would never make it to the end - but I did!! On Saturday, we got to have a nice lunch w/ more friends; from there we headed to the Summit for a quick minute and then headed to stay at our next location. Saturday night we went to Fire & Ice in 5 Points!! Yummy! I should have taken advantage of the all-you-can-eat buffet, but unfortunately, I was full after my salad and entree. But it was SO yummy. We then hung out afterwards and attempted to play "SNL Trivial Pursuit", but hardly any of us knew the answers.
All in all, it was a great weekend seeing everyone. We're pretty tired though and we're both ready to be back in Denver.
I'll try and post some pictures from the weekend on here soon...
See you on the flip-side.