National Western Stock Show Parade

As many of you already know, one of my dreams before moving to Colorado was to see a rodeo. That was check-marked off my list when I moved to Colorado Springs. I loved it!

In Denver, every January there is a stock show that lasts about two weeks maybe more. Every single day is jammed packed with horse shows, rodeos, you name it. It's similar in some ways to the Big E in MA. They also have companies and individuals from as far as California to sell their products.

Last year, I missed the parade that started the whole thing off with a bang. This year, I was able to see some of it. I have always loved western culture, horses, and cowboys so this parade was really neat to see, minus the poop.

Besides the Taco Festival, this is one of my favorite activities in Denver!

Mom VISIT!

This past week has been so much fun and I was able to knock some things off my Denver bucket list! It was really great to show my mom my new home and introduce her to those who have made an impact on my life. For me, since leaving my hometown I've grown closer to her. Growing up was hard and I felt like she and I never seemed to mesh well. I'm happy that we have gotten to the place where we are sad to see each other go when it's time to leave.

The aquarium was probably the highlight since I love animals! There was a shark tank which was a little unnerving..... However, the Parade of Lights was definitely a great time. The chill in the air was there but it was bearable. We enjoyed seeing all the neat floats and the high school/college bands dressed up in lights. The flutes in one of the bands all had candy canes for mouthpieces. SO COOL! 

Even though I am not able to go home (again) for Thanksgiving or Christmas, I'm glad she was able to come out and have fun with me! It's during the holidays where I wish I didn't live so far on top of working in fast-food. Hopefully, I won't have to ever again after this. I miss home. 

Halloween 2017

This year since I am working a part-time job in fast-food....again. Sigh. It was hard to figure out what/when/if I should do something this Halloween. A friend was having a party the Saturday before Halloween, but it was in Morrison which is a good half an hour south of me. I also had to work until 9 that Saturday.

Both my roommate and I wanted to dress up and go out but we didn't really know where to go until I looked up some events going on downtown that night. So, Friday night we decided to hit up a party hosted by Aimm a new dating app that is supposed to be launched soon. (I'm not into dating apps). So I came home that night and got dressed in my Effie Trinket outfit which was pretty good if I don't say so myself. Katie did help me with it -- not going to lie.

Katie dressed up as a mermaid and we went out and stormed the town. It was great though the party was a bit lame. It seemed like it was mostly employees and their friends even though it was posted on Facebook. Oh well. We met some interesting people and the costumes people came up with was awesome! We then headed to Viewhouse since they were having 6 days of Halloween and each night was a different theme. However, when we arrived there was a line at least 40 deep. There was no way we were going to hang around for who knows how long to get in. So we wandered the crowded, crazy streets of downtown Denver and wound up at an arcade bar type venue. I had no idea that Katie was into video games. We played Mario Kart for at least half an hour and she won every. single. time. I think the last time I played a video game was in high school and that was a racing game on our PS2 we had at home. Regardless, she had a great time!

We ran into these fine folks! One of these years, I want to be a part of a themed Halloween group. So awesome! Overall, it was a great night and I'm glad we decided to hit it up!


Next up, THANKSGIVING! My favorite holiday! :)

Birthday Fun/DNL

The month of September was a rough one for me so I won't spend much time discussing it.

My birthday was a ton of fun and I'm glad I threw a Bring Your Own Salsa party the following Saturday. My amazing friends showed up and my roommate was kind enough to light my candle for me on the cake. (My mom mailed me my cake again this year! So pumped!)

I had so much salsa leftover afterward though.....can't complain since it's a staple in my apartment for both Katie and me!

DNL stands for Denver Deaf Night Life. I've been going to their events once a month for the past three months and I have loved every single one. Each time, I meet new friends and have the chance to use my second language - the one I love best.

I think about these individuals and I smile. I never had this growing up. Having people understand me, truly understand. Growing up, I was surrounded by hearing people. Here, I'm surrounded by people like me. I love it! I look forward to each event and talking to my new friends. This is home.

While ASL is my second language, I'm excited to get better at it and eventually leave English behind. I'm so glad that I found this language and culture. It's been a blessing to me in so many ways. I never knew such happiness and acceptance existed.

Just walking into DNL this past weekend, many greeted me with hugs and were super excited to see me. There weren't many times I genuinely felt missed or appreciated in the hearing world. I do love the hearing friends that I have met over the years and I'm eternally grateful for the ones I met in elementary school. They carried me through some of the most difficult times.

I'm so glad DNL exists and I'm thrilled that Deaf Culture exists!

Side note: It snowed today. I'm not so thrilled about that....

Faith Day

There are so many events during the summer months in Denver that I absolutely love! It's like NYC, you can't just spend one year in Denver to experience it all. You have to stick around and explore! That is what I intend to do after my AmeriCorps service year is over. I still can't believe I have less than two weeks left. The time really did fly by.

Faith Day is such a day that I will look forward to every year. Who came up with it, I have no idea, but I was super pumped about going when I bought the tickets. Basically, the baseball team, the Rockies, had a game Sunday afternoon followed by a short worship set brought to us by the NEWSBOYS! I love this group and I hope they continue to make life changing and uplifting music.

I invited one of my best friends, Melody, and we had a blast. Though the sky decided to pour its contents onto us in the middle of the concert. BLAH! So we all had to dash for cover. The rain was so cold!! Melody had her daughter with her, Autumn, who had fallen asleep. I wish all kids could sleep through loud music. With everyone trying to seek shelter from the rain, Melody had a hard time getting the stroller up the stairs. Thank goodness they made it ok.

Between the game and listening to the Newsboys, it was a full day. Afterward, we went to Chipotle! Autumn decided it would be fun to run from us every five minutes. Kids. We both wound up chasing her. She's a funny kid. I've always enjoyed playing with her.

A great ending to a weekend. One of the things I love about Colorado rain is that it never lasts long. New England rain.....don't get me started.