feast, flood, and fun

Wichita friends Brian and Angela came for a visit over the last weekend to see the band The Lumineers at Red Rocks.  Thanks to Angela's fan club membership we were able to get tickets to one of two sold out shows.  Despite many many hours spent in different degrees of downpour, our night at the concert was definitely the better one because the band was backed by the entire Colorado Symphony Orchestra for most of their show.
Brian and Angela arrived Saturday afternoon and we headed home to play and prep dinner.  Brian's suggestion of heading to the playground was a perfect activity for Ben and a great walk for Luke but continued storms made our park visit short. Many parts of Colorado have been flooding over the last week in what has been called a "thousand year flood," and "flooding of biblical proportions." Boulder and Aurora have been hardest hit with lots of other areas suffering lots of damage.  A few lives have been lost and I'm sure the clean-up will take years.  Thanks to the rain, we couldn't enjoy dinner on the deck but it was delicious and simple none-the-less.
We all tried to sleep in a little Sunday but Ben missed the memo. :) The iPad kept him quiet while Ryan and I prepared breakfast and started packing for the day.  According to Angela, Brian's second helping of breakfast potatoes was as rare as the flood and we all got well-fueled for the day ahead. We dropped Ben at MeeMee's to spend the night and grabbed a bite to eat (yes, more food,) and headed to Red Rocks to let the fun begin.  This day also happened to be mine and Ryan's sixth anniversary and except for less rain, we wouldn't have changed a thing about the day.

these aren't even THE stairs :)

cute! and so dry!

proof we are soul-mates:)

buddies

 

the trek in begins

waiting patiently and wet

what rain?

Said rain began about 30 minutes after we lined up on the stairs to get in and did.not.stop. for nearly 7 hours. I think we all stayed pretty warm and a little dry and our 3rd row seats and amazing musicians meant that at least for me, the rain was soon the furthest thing from my mind.  Ryan has said over and over how much fun he had! 
Monday morning came WAY too early and off we went back to the airport to bid our friends adieu.  Visits with good friends are never long enough but we are overwhelmingly thankful to these friends for making the quick trip to help us celebrate.

Red Rocks is special for us because Ryan first professed his love here one starry and concert-free night while we looked out at the city lights.  Just the fact that he picked a special place and time to do what's often a quick and simple mention is telling of the person he is.  Six years before on this day we were married at a little chapel down the hill that looks up at the amazing rocks that form the amphitheater.  Red Rocks is a really amazing place with a crazy ability to create some amazing experiences where nature's glory and lots of happy energy come together to create experiences that for me are nothing short of spiritual.  This day was no exception and I know that for both Ryan and me it was the perfect reminder of the depth of our love and the importance of taking time to honor it.

-Thanks to both Brian and Ang for several of the above pics and for joining the modern world and getting smart phones so they could take and share the pics with ease!