Laurie's Final Fling!

I think I am still in a slight amount of denial that my baby sister is actually getting married in less than two months time...  But that hasn't stopped me from taking the reigns on helping her with her wedding planning, and especially going full force on a bitchin' bachelorette party!!!

Saturday, July 27; five of my sister's best girlfriends & I gave her a night that I will always remember, and quite possibly a night that my sweet little sis may never remember! haha

Let's get this party started!

We got a couple rooms at the Hyatt Downtown, and we kicked off the weekend with some casual cocktails and a lingerie shower. It was really fun watching her blush at her new undergarment wardrobe :)

Opening presents :)

Laurie & her girls after "How well do you know the Bride?"

Celebrating Sister!!

We got dressed up in our little black dresses with pink tiaras, while the bride looked stunning in her white ensemble, and we headed out for a night on the town! We started with dinner at Venice. I HIGHLY recommend this restaurant!!!! It was not only delicious, but the owner and our servers went absolutely above and beyond to make my sister's night a very special night indeed. Our very handsome server serenaded the bride, and very sweetly kissed her on the cheek. And after our meal, they served us the most delicious champagne!! It was such a treat!

Laurie's Entourage

A little serenade from the waiter :)

Cheers!

We then proceeded to tear up the town and follow her on her bachelorette "scavenger hunt", compliments of her BFF Kaley! A little bit of rain did not rain on our bar-hopping-parade! I am not gonna lie, I was absolutely thrilled that I was hanging around such a young crowd of girls with such a great excuse to get dressed up and go to the clubs in LODO that I have not been to in years! It's certainly not a typical Saturday night where I would go to dance clubs like Chloe, but we had such a blast I almost want to do it again :)

Shakin her tailfeather

We danced and drank, and had wayyyyy too many guys buying the beautiful bride too many drinks. It was basically what I imagined it would be, however it ended a bit ealier than I thought it would. But the true 28year old me was not mad about being back to the hotel before 1am!

We had brunch planned at the Rialto Cafe the following morning, but needless to say, I don't think anybody was feeling up to getting up and around for that! So instead, we checked out of the hotel, and drove the 1 mile back to my house. Thank goodness for random gloomy and rainy days in July! It was the perfect day for hanging out in sweatpants and being lazy on the couch. Which is exactly what my sister and I did for the rest of that Sunday. To be honest, that was my absolute favorite time of the whole weekend. We snuggled on the couch watching Nicholas Sparks movies, and I ate up every single minute of it. I absolutely cherish every moment I have alone with my sweet sister, especially now when I know that these moments are starting to become fewer and farther between. I played with her hair as she napped on my lap, and all I could think about was how full my heart is, and how lucky I am that I get to be her sister. She is truly my best friend, and maybe even my soul sister.

Best Friends Forever :)

In less than two months, my sweet little Sister will be a married woman. But that won't change a thing between us Cook kids. I hope we still do this when we are old ladies.

LHS Class of 2003 10 Year Ridiculous Reunion.

Could it possibly have been 10 (TEN) years ago that we last walked the halls of Lamar High School? That I stood in the Sr. hallway watching Rachel Bowen fumble over our locker combination, time and time again? That we climbed out of the window in Peggy Machone's math class to ditch out of calculus, and pretended to do physics with Mr. Schlott, (but really went on daily donut runs)??? How quickly the years really do go by.

Last weekend, a few of the kids from the Class of '03 gathered again in Lamar, CO.  And though we are all 10 years older, it really seemed just like a regular high school night. We had a BBQ and drinks in the Larrick's backyard {{Shout-out to Jim & Anita for still being the cool parents}}, and ended up at none other than the infamous Desiree's Nightclub. I know I for one, partied like it was 1999. ((Although I never once partied in 1999, nor 2000-2003 for that matter!) HAHA! I'm pretty sure that last Saturday night my former class mates witnessed me making up for all those high school parties I did not attend ;)

Kali, Laurie, Karli, Ben, Rob, & Leandra

Leandra (Chavez) Damiani, Me, Kali (Hall) Devor. *It's hard to get used to their new last names ;)

Ben Moore, Anthony Martinez, and Angel Gonzales

Had to drag Main & Savage Ave. to check out our old stomping grounds, the glorious LHS

A couple shots of Fireball, and a few rounds of Malibu Sunrises later, I was let loose and ready to get my dance on. Leandra made the ultimate mistake of teaching me how to twerk. {{uh oh}}

Fireball action

Gotta have the beer pong.

Me & Heather (Emick) Bray :)

Leandra decided to be bartender. Oh, wait...that looks like a first aid kit....Oh boy.

Andrew M.F. Aguilera made an appearance!

I couldn't stop myself. I was twerking all over the place. Fortunately I was saved by my sister who came to my rescue and took me home before I could further embarrass myself.  For those of you who were not there to witness; well let me just say thank you :)

Ladies & Gentlemen: Me in all my glory.

Look who came to save me from myself :/ Thank you, Sister

It was fun and crazy, and I'm so glad I made it home for this. It was fun to see some old friends and classmates and see where life has taken us so far. Some of us are married, some with kids. Some of us still act like kids ((pointing finger at self)). Most of us have moved away from Lamar and Colorado, but I am happy to see that some of us are very happy and successful in Lamar. It's a great town that I am proud to be from. I am lucky that I grew up there among such a great crowd.  Until next time, keep it classy, class of '03. Hope to see more of you in 2023. whoa.

**** A little trip down memory lane :) ****

LHS Senior year book

The "Noble [insert highly offensive mascot name here]"

Umm, I kinda forgot about this. I was really the homecoming queen? Awkward...

Even more awkward....my freshman through senior yearbook photos. Apparently I traded in the bangs of my freshman and sophomore years for stripes in my junior and senior years.

Oh goodness. Life is fun.

Midnight Hike to Heaven

This summer is rapidly turning into my summer of 14ers! Just two days into official summer, I am already three down! This week my friend, Katherine invited me along on a midnight hike with some of her friends from work. I never even knew a midnight hike was something I'd ever want to do, but I couldn't say no! It was the first official weekend of summer and it happened to coincide with the Super Moon!

What a glorious night! "Supermoon" from the base of Grays peak

Katherine and I, ready to get started!!

Saturday, June 22, 2013 was my first midnight hike. We got to the trail head right at midnight, and before I knew it, we were on the ascent up Grays Peak. Headlamps and gear in place, it was onward and upward. Truthfully, we didn't even need the headlamps! It was so bright as the sky was illuminated with glorious light from the full moon above. I was in complete awe as I saw the mountains from a whole new angle. It was so peaceful and quiet, untouched by traffic of the daily hikers. The moonlight reflected off of the snow that still remained in random piles on the peaks. It was the most perfect, clear night; not a cloud in the sky. It was chilly, and progressively colder the higher we got.

Mountains by nightfall.

Getting closer!!!

And thanks to the trail illuminated by the moon, we reached the summit of Grays Peak around 3:30 am! The sights of the city and surrounding mountain ridges were breathtaking! We had plans for a summit-hot-cocoa break, but it was a bit too windy, and it was freezing cold. We had to get moving before we froze.

Me & Katherine on Grays Peak {{14,270 feet}}

The Glorious Supermoon from Grays

The City lights of Denver!!

An incredible shot of the Big Dipper over Torreys Peak

 We trekked across the rocky saddle over to Torreys Peak. It was just before dawn as we reached the summit at about 5:30am. We waited to witness the most glorious sunrise I've ever seen. It was such an incredible sight to have the rising sun to the east, and the beautiful full moon fading into the alpenglow to the west. It was so quiet and still. To see God's beauty in such an incredible way, is something I can never describe. We relished in the moment as the sun quickly rose above the horizon, and then began the trek back down.

Anxiously awaiting sunrise

 

Almost to the top of Torreys!!

We did it!!! Torreys Peak {{14,267 feet}}

Our whole group! (Forgive the slanted angle and blurr. Thankful for auto timers :)

layers.

Almost time

And there it is. Glorious beauty.

The lovely alpen-glow to the west

The sun has risen

((my attempt at a panoramic photo))

We began to pass the morning hikers that were just beginning their ascent, and I couldn't help but feel like I was in on the best kept secret, experiencing this journey in the quiet night. It was an 8 hour (approx. 9 miles) journey. Our bodies were completely exhausted (both from the hike itself, and being awake for 24 hours). We stopped in Idaho Springs for breakfast before heading back to Denver. It's been a long time since I've pulled an all-nighter, but if it's to experience something as glorious as summiting two 14,000 foot mountains by the light of a full moon, and watching the sunrise, I can't even begin to express how much it is absolutely worth it. I'm so thankful for such great friends that encourage me to push my limits, which allows me to see the world from a whole new point of view. I sometimes underestimate myself and my abilities, but I am quickly reminded that:
           - "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." {{Phil. 4:13}}.

Mountains and friends. Some of my favorite things.

Final glimpse back of where we were.

***NOTE: {{All photos were taken from my Sony NEX-5R and my iPhone. Only photos with fake black borders were edited. All others remain untouched.}}



-just me and my thoughts.
blessings&love.