The Emkos' Summer Thus Far

I apologize for not updating this blog as often as we'd like. Julia, as ever, is maddeningly busy getting her Master's degree while working a full-time job. I am also balancing my work with a variety of outside activities, but mine tend to be things like beer-in-hand kickball and training co-workers for Man vs. Food competitions. I continue to be amazed that my resourceful wife can excel with her Sisyphean schedule, while remaining her vibrant and fun self, but I guess that's why I married her :).

Above, you can see us attending a concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater, one of the Colorado's most beautiful outdoor treasures. As a teenager, I marveled at U2's legendary concert at this venue, and now as an adult I can go see a show there any time. Being grown up does have its advantages! We have seen one of our favorite shows of all time there - Arcade Fire with LCD Soundsystem - and this year we saw a pounding and eclectic electronica-themed lineup, including Paul Oakenfold and Disco Biscuits. It had amazing energy and was hands-down one of the most electrifying shows I've attended, which we were privileged to see with some of our great Denver friends.

We also had a fun-filled July 4th weekend in Aspen and Snowmass, CO, home of probably the most friendly and kind people we have ever met in our travels. During our dinner at Brunelleschi's Pizza, our waiter encouraged us to take some beers - on the house - outside to watch the city's beautiful fireworks display. We and our friends never ceased to be amazed at the trust and hospitality the locals bestowed on us, and it was the perfect place to celebrate our pride in this country, with nights of board games and bar crawls and days of immersing ourselves in expansive mountain country.

We hope all of you reading this are having a great summer too. While it's never easy being as busy as we are, it always helps to know we have our amazing friends and family, not to mention the beautiful Colorado backdrop and blue skies, to cheer us up on even the most stressful days.

Happy Fourth of July!

We hope everyone is having a fun and relaxing July 4. Julia and I just attended the Rockies vs. Marlins game last night, in which our Blake St. Bombers rallied for a nail biting 11 inning win. We were then treated to a spectacular fireworks display. The colorful explosions seemed stunningly near and we could smell the sulfurous smoke as ashen debris rained down on festive Coors Field. As our friends Greg and Karen mentioned, what could be more American than baseball, fireworks, and the Fourth of July? It was the perfect way to celebrate a beautiful Denver summer day off from work, and to reflect upon the freedoms and opportunities we enjoy as Americans, as well as look forward to an even better tomorrow for our country.

Mile High Fourth of July

We hope everyone is having a great and relaxing Fourth of July week! We decided to forgo the usual beer and food-laden activities, which usually leave us sated and patriotic, but just as often bloated and lethargic. Instead we decided to go on a healthy, calorie-burning hike through the beautiful Colorado front range.

Julia got me some great gifts for my birthday, including The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama (could he be our next president?) and a couple of excellent hiking guide books for Colorado. We dove into the hiking books and chose Button Rock Preserve, a 5.9 mile hike near Boulder that brought us to beautiful rolling meadows, a giant gushing dam, and the usual beautiful rocky mountain vistas. Our only complaint was that a large portion of the hike seemed to take place on rocky roads suitable for vehicular traffic, as opposed to true walking trails.

On the way home we happened to see a banner on Mile High Stadium advertising a July 4 Major League Lacrosse game and fireworks show. How could we resist? One of the reasons we moved to Denver was because we love to try new things, and we had sure never attended a professional lacrosse game, much less one at the palatial home of the Broncos.

We decided we had to give this a try, and we weren't disappointed. Lacrosse is a surprisingly fun game to watch. It's kind of like a soccer or hockey, but extremely high scoring (The Denver Outlaws beat the Chicago Machine 22-14, huzzah!). A fight even broke out at one point. Add fireworks to the mix, and what more can you ask for at a live sporting event?

As a final note, my last post was a rather crestfallen look at the state of Colorado Rockies baseball. Well since then, they have proven me wrong by winning like crazy, culminating in a series sweep of the Yankees, and now a sweep of the Mets, marking the first time in over half a century that an MLB team has swept both New York teams in one season. As Julia's aunt Mary from Maryland wrote us, "You think the Rockies are bad?! Check out the Orioles AND the Nationals." Touche.

I swear I used to hate sports. Something about the high altitude (lack of oxygen?) in this state must be turning us into crazy, outdoors-loving, extreme sports-hungry jocks. Colorado will mess you up!

Update: Here are our July 4 photos, newly posted by Julia.