KOURA!

When I'm not in Denver, I miss this nut a lot:

I love having a dog in the house and I've missed not having one while I've been abroad and living alone. Koura is a GREAT dog -- and buddy!

Koura and I also really like the new floor tiles in the bathroom!

First Stop Back in Denver - The LIBRARY!

My first stop once reaching Denver is usually one of two things: a trip to the public library to pick up my books on hold OR a meal at Benny's for Mexican food! My Denver trip around the New Year turned out to be the library first. I usually go through my list of To-Read books and put as many as I can on hold at the library one week before going home (that's how long they'll let them sit on the shelf before moving them on again). I love going in and having a huge pile of new books waiting for me. -- Especially since living abroad and not having the ease of access to new English books like I do when I'm in the States.

My almost-annual library book picture with Koura! THIS means I'm HOME.    : D

Koura was pretty worn out from our major road trip and lost interest in my library books pretty quickly.

I make daily trips to the library. One of the days I sat for a while and read through some of the newer picture books that I've seen good reviews on:

Roxie and Koura together in Florida

I was very much looking forward to witnessing Koura (my brother's dog) and Roxanne (my parents' dog) meeting for the first time! Lenny and his wife, Lexey, drove from Denver so that they could bring Koura with them. She got to swim in the ocean for the first time!

Roxanne loves going down to Florida with my parents. I'm really glad that she was able to make it down there one more time before passing... at SIXTEEN years old! What a happy, lucky girl she ended being -- having my parents adopt her from a shelter at 3 years old.

Going for a walk with all of the girls  : )

Koura and her beer

Cutie pie, Roxanne

Koura's new present! Bahahaha

Koura is worn out from all of this Christmas morning shenanigans!

Mom and Lenny both went outside... and the girls are WORRIED!

Aaaaand probably wondering why they aren't outside with them!

Denver happenings

Mom and Dad arrive in Denver tonight! I'm looking forward to having them here for the rest of the week.

Below are some photos from random pieces of my time so far in Denver. I love this city  : )

Sweet Action ice cream with friends - always a good idea...

Ahhhh Denver  : )

We were shopping for trees...

Lenny's friend, Jodie, came over with her new gorgeous baby - Hannah!

Mmmmm... fish with salsa...

Koura - hiding from Roomba...

Yurtstock 10

One of Lenny's friends, Chris, owns about 40 acres of land in Weston, Colorado where he has built a large yurt. Each summer Chris hosts Yurtstock... a camping weekend with about 70 of his friends. Lenny and Lexey have been going for years... this summer was my first time joining in on the fun! Yurtstock definitely includes a great group of people... but even more so... there are tons of dogs!!

Our site set-up for the weekend (including hammocks to the right)   : )

Koura is in heaven (alllllll weekend!)

This is a morning well spent   : )

A gorgeous view of one of the Spanish Peaks

This cool blue guy spent most of the weekend with us...

Lenny delivering margaritas from the yurt...

The group of community taco night!

And we watched a movie the first night on the big screen...

Gorgeous weekend (also including forest frisbee golf!)...

love it at Lenny and Lexey's - Denver, CO

I really enjoy my time at Lenny and Lexey's house in Denver, CO. This is the house that I lived in for my four years in Denver... and I miss it often! Koura, the dog, is a big piece of that too... she's my buddy!

First-day-back-in-Denver tradition... quality time with Koura-dog and a trip to the public library!

She's not even playing with the tennis ball... but just lying there like this. What a nut.

Lenny's gardens... including flowers and veggies/fruits are awesome...

The gardener in his garden:

Buddies   : )