Fun with Nick and Jen

Nick and Jen, our good friends from AZ, came to visit us. We were so excited to see them, and we had a great, fun-filled, packed weekend with them. Jen flew in on Wednesday. Brandon and I picked her up from the airport and we went to Pearl Street Mall in Boulder to eat lunch and do a little shopping.

On Thursday, Jen and I played basketball at the park with Brandon and Mason and then did some more shopping. Nick arrived that night, and we met Nick and Paul at a tasty Italian restaurant in Denver called Pasquini’s.

On Friday, Nick, Jen, Mason, and I went to the pool. Jen and I enjoyed some sun while we watched Nick entertain Mason in the water. We then went to Red Rocks Amphitheater to show the Styer’s a great view of Denver. Later, we met up with Paul and walked around 16th Street Mall {great people watching}. We finished the night by eating yummy homemade ice cream from Bonnie Brae’s.

Saturday was packed with activities. We drove to Estes Park and hiked to Alberta Falls. It was breathtaking! After the hike, we drove over the Continental Divide to Grand Lake and then on to Winter Park. We had dinner and spent the night there. The next morning, we rented bikes and rode on a trail up to the ski lifts. TJ decided to buy a ticket to the top and mountain-biked down, only sustaining minor injuries. We drove back to Denver and our friends had to go home. We had the best time and can’t wait for them to come back again!

TJ, Jen, and I at Red Rocks Amphitheater

Nick and Jen at Red Rocks
16th Street Mall
16th Street Mall
TJ busting a little move

Trying to be a Desperado

Nick and Paul enjoying their ice cream

So good!

Loving some Blueberry Pancakes

Estes Park

The boys

Alberta Falls

Brothers don't shake hands, brother's gotta hug!

Alberta Falls

TJ and the Falls

On the trail

We spotted these elk while crossing the Continental Divide

Big Horn Sheep

Grand Lake

Our bikes at Winter Park

Taking a water break

Frazier River Trail

TJ about to get on the lift. Luckily, he only sustained a small hand injury.

Father's Day!

Well I decided that I needed to publically tell people how I feel about my father. Here is a man that has been there to support me through the good times and the bad. I often wonder what he thinks of the kid he decided to name Theodore Jenkins Badger III. Now that I'm 34 approaching 35 I have seen a lot and done a lot. I have made good decisions and bad ones. My father has always been there to lift me up, listened to me when the world has become unbearable and picked me up when I have fallen down. He is my hero, the one I look up to, and the one I wish I could be more like. He has truly been successful in raising a large family with a few of us with special needs. (Not that we are special ed) He has balanced a successful career along with a high commitment to his Heavenly Father and his church. I can remember how often we went and looked at cars and test drove them. I always love to spend time with My Dad. I hope as I continue to develop as a father that I can be more like my dad. Luckily I have a great wife who I love that will make sure that I'm doing what is right. I truly love her and I love you! Happy father's day :)

Harley Trip - Southern Utah

Phew! This post was a very tedious one to create. We took a ton of pictures and they took FOREVER to load! We went on a Harley trip and toured the amazing sights of Southern Utah and Arizona. TJ said this is the best vacation he’s ever been on, so you KNOW it was a good time. TJ rented a Harley in Salt Lake on Thursday and we drove to St George {TJ on the bike, me in the car with Puppy}. We spent Thursday evening hanging out at my cousin, Kristen’s lovely house in St George with my family, aunts and uncles, and grandparents. On Friday morning, the trip officially started. We had 20 motorcycles and 38 people plus 1 chase vehicle and trailer {puppy rode in the truck. I still haven’t figured out how to safely fashion her to a Harley}. We went to Zion’s National Park and Moqui Cave and stayed in Kanab Friday night. We ate dinner at this restaurant in Kanab called the Rocking V Cafe. It is sooo delicious and unique. I’d highly recommend it if you’re ever in the area.
Saturday, we went to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and Lee’s Ferry and stayed the night in Page, AZ. We did a Poker Run each day of the trip, so that made it really fun.
Sunday, we visited this really cool slot canyon called Antelope Canyon. It’s on the Navajo Reservation just outside of Page. We went to Bryce Canyon and Kodochrome Park and stayed in Escalante, UT that night.
Monday, we saw Capitol Reef Park and stayed in Panguitch, UT. At dinner on Monday night, awards were given out for best dressed biker, etc. TJ won the award for BIGGEST BIKER WHANNA-BE! I thought it was the perfect award for TJ!
On Tuesday, our trip came to a end. On our way back to St George, we saw Cedar Breaks National Monument and Snow Canyon. We were so sad that the trip had to end because we had such a fantastic time! TJ is VERY tempted to get himself a motorcycle now, but that will have to wait until we have a place to put it. We’re ready to start planning a Colorado Harley Trip!

California Dreamin'

Puppy and I drove with my brother, Mark to California to see my parents. What was supposed to be a week long visit turned into a 3-week long vacation with TJ flying in for the last week. We had so much fun visiting my family and enjoying the awesome Cali weather. We celebrated Mother's Day, shopped, went to the movies, the beach, and rode the scooters to name a few things. Puppy, who is stuck in our apartment most of the time, had the time of her life getting lost in my parents house and playing in the yard. My parents are re-landscaping and replacing their concrete driveway with pavers. They have a beautiful new front gate too. The grass wasn't in yet, but that didn't stop Puppy from finding a nice dirt pile to lounge in. We went on walks every night and really enjoyed each other's company. When TJ arrived, we spent a day in San Diego with Stephen and Desirae. They fed us a delicious lunch of homemade BBQ Chicken Pizza and took us to a beach by their house with some cool walking trails. We love California!!!

Mom on Mother's Day

Mom and Me

Mom and Mark

Puppy lounging on the new driveway. It looks soo nice!

Beautiful new gate. It's going to look awesome when it's all finished!

Puppy and Mark wrestling. Not sure how happy Puppy is about this situation...

TJ and I at Stephen and Desirae's. We decided to take their Volvo to the beach. This is us trying out the back-facing seat in the rear. TJ decided it wasn't for him.

Brooklyn and I hanging out in the rear back seat. My favorite part of this picture is Brooklyn's upside down shades. Lookin' good!

We hiked down to this lookout above the beach.

Stephen, Desirae, Brooklyn, and sleeping Ian

On the beach! Stephen and Desirae really do live in paradise.

Baby Ian {look at those big blue eyes}

A typical scene: Dad and Puppy taking a nap together on the couch. Looks like a spoiled dog if you ask me!

Riding the scooters around the neighborhood

My Mom bought Puppy a new Frisbee. It used to look round and smooth {about 3 days prior to this picture}. Puppy started putting her head through the hole and we thought it was pretty funny looking. Check out the video clip:

On the ride home

She found her "spot" and looked like this for most of the 15 hour drive home