Lots going on...

Last week was the first week back for all teachers. Since Nick is only working part time this year, he only had to work half the week last week. He conveniently worked Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and was off Thursday and Friday so that he could go to the US Pro Cycling Challenge stages that were in Vail (Thursday) and Avon-Steamboat (Friday). He and Cayle had an awesome time at those races. Cayle even has a fun cowbell to ring now :)

Thursday night was the middle school staff back-to-school party at our new principal's house. It was great for all the kids to be able to play outside. And, I was treated to an awesome chocolate cake from Costco for my birthday.
Friday after I got off work, we headed to Breckenridge to see Nick's grandma Alice, aunt Cheryl and uncle Tony, their daughter Jodi (who lives in Highlands Ranch) and her son Nathan. We went to a cool park for Nathan and Cayle to play a bit, then headed to the Dillon Dam Brewery for a yummy dinner.
On Saturday, Jess and Alana treated me to a pedicure. It was fantastic. Every time I go there I say I need one of those massage chairs for the house. Although I'm pretty sure I'd never get anything done - ever - if I actually had one. Then, it was home to get things ready for our big night out!

A few weeks back, Nick had won a free pair of Keens at his mountain bike race raffle drawing. Some other guy won the complimentary stay at the Westin. Hmmm, shoes or a free night at a very nice hotel? Well, for this mom and dad there was no question about it! So Nick asked the random guy to trade raffle prizes, and the guy agreed! Fast forward to yesterday...Nick and I were going to use the complimentary stay at the hotel, courtesy of Torrey and Alana who had offered to spend the night with Cayle.

We left Gyp-town about 330 and arrived at the Westin about 4. We checked in to a studio room complete with a kitchen, double-headed shower, huge king bed, living space, and balcony. Yay for us! We headed down to the pool and hot tubs...and ended up spending way more time in the hot tub than the pool. As hunger pains set in, we walked over to the sushi place and ordered some yummy sushi. On our way back to the hotel, we walked by Burger King and got a strawberry sundae for dessert. We walked along the bike path that runs along the river and made our way back to the hotel. After that, we decided we'd better take advantage of the hot tubs again :) We apparently aren't party animals anymore - we were asleep before 10 pm. We did sleep in until almost 7 this morning before heading out for a walk on the trail. We stopped by Denny's for breakfast before heading home. What a fantastically fun time we had!
Today was spent hanging out with Cayle and trying to get ready for another busy week. Tomorrow is the first day of school for kids. It's also the start of football and volleyball practices, so I'll be staying after school to make sure those programs get up and running. Tuesday night we have the school open house. Wednesday is a dr. appt. and a meeting. Thursday? I'm sure we'll find something! Ronnie, Michelle, Ethan, and Lexi are due to arrive in on Friday for their first trip to Gypsum, so we'll have to squeeze some house cleaning in there sometime this week! Whew! Thank goodness for a long weekend coming up :)