Politics & Funnel Clouds

****These pics were taken by a neighbor from our street during the tornado****

I learned a very valuable lesson this past weekend. It's a lesson most people learn early on but it seems I am a slow learner here. NEVER discuss politics with your friends and/or loved ones. Unless of course they agree with you on every single issue. I'm fairly certain that my neighbors hate me now, and I'm not sure my marriage will survive this election year. Me being a pretty liberal democrat and my husband a conservative republican can make for some pretty volatile "conversations". I think we just agreed this weekend to disagree and not discuss it any further. Even though he told me that democrats were  a "naive little lambs" and the republicans were the shepherds guarding us from the "big, bad wolf" (No more FOX news for Tom). Seriously.....wtf  does that mean?? So, in the interest of family and friendship I will not engage in any further political debates. Unless of course you agree with my liberal, tree hugging ass.

Besides arguing, we did manage to have an excellent weekend. Thursday night we headed out for some live music at the local outdoor mall. Declan had a fabulous time dancing and running around. Afterwards we hit up the irish pub for some more music and a couple of cocktails. Declan let us get crazy and stay out till 9!

Saturday night my girlfriends Jessie and Casey came over for girls night while Thomas participated in his fantasy football draft. We stayed up way too late and went through far too much wine but it's always fun to have a girl's only night! That is until your husband comes home and wants to discuss an Iraq exit strategy. Good times.

Sunday morning we headed to downtown Denver to take Declan to his first MBA baseball game! Thomas's company was hosting a free picnic at the Colorado Rockies game so we took advantage of the free burgers and beer tickets prior to the game. Declan got to hang out with his buddies Riley & Alyssa and discovered the joys of cotton candy and cherry  slushees. Afterwards, we headed downtown to check out the DNC action. From about 2 blocks away you could hear shouting so we headed towards the action. Protesters were swarming the streets carrying anti-war and "Impeach Bush" signs. Isn't it a little late for that? I mean, I'm no fan of the current administration but really, there's only 4 months left, is it really worth the energy to impeach Bush?? One of the protesters approached Thomas to speak with him about the atrocities of war and part of me knew we should probably get out of there quickly, but another part of me wanted to see what would go down. Fortunately, Thomas behaved himself and we decided to walk the other way. I may be a liberal, but I am definitely not interested in participating in any anti-war demonstrations (sorry mom)! I'll keep those reasons to myself. We had hoped to get a glimpse of a celebrity but unfortunately not one was spotted! After we checked out all the action we headed to Old Chicago for some pizza and then jumped on the train and headed home.

On the way back, I noticed it was looking very dark to the south of us. The guy sitting next to me says that funnel clouds are touching down in Castle Rock and Parker (the neighboring town). Turns out, he was one of our neighbors and his wife calls to say that there is a funnel cloud visible from our neighborhood. Needless to say I am panicking. Fortunately, no damage was done and everyone's house was still standing. Thank God, tornadoes are rare where we live!

Here is a video of the tornado that touched down. Apparently the guy isn't smart enough to send his children to the basement, rather, he is ordering them upstairs. They must have done something to piss him off. I especially love the multiple "Holy Shit!" exclamations. I thought I was bad!

Castle Rock Tornado

Parker Tornado

All in all, I think the storm caused 3 or 4 funnel clouds. Seeing as we have no basement in our house I am sure glad we weren't home! I remember as a child that even if we were under a tornado watch my mother would sequester us in the basement for hours until all threat had passed (and then some). I guarantee you would not have seen a Dahlen child anywhere near a window or door. Possibly for a day or two, just in case.

Exploding Sinuses

I was hoping to blog about my fabulous, action-packed weekend but it seems God has decided to punish my sins of over-indulgence and gluttony with a severe head cold. In fact, I've so angered the Gods that not only are my sinuses being punished but Declan's sinuses as well. Let me tell you how much fun it is to take care of a whiny, crabby, sick toddler when you just want to hide under the covers with a box of kleenex all day.

So, you will have to wait to hear about the 2 tornadoes that sandwiched our neighborhood, the anti-war protesters, an angry republican husband, and 4 bottles of wine.

Instead, I am going to start thinking about my obituary because I may have to get started on it. I am pretty sure this cold is going to kill me. 

Monday Silly

You must watch this! Click here please. YES!

On my mind

Sine it rained all weekend in Colorado we didn't leave the house so I have nothing fun to blog about. Instead, I will let you all into the furthest recesses of my shallow little head. Here's what's been on my mind lately:

1) The Hills Season 4 starts tonight! YAY!! Why do I care about what happens to LC, Audrina and Speidi? I think I am well past the targeted demographic for this show but I. Can't.  Stop. Watching.  Even though we all know it's fake right? Right? Say it ain't so.

2) Does anybody still believe that Tom Cruise is really a heterosexual man?  Can you really see him and Katie rockin' the headboards? Personally, I'm not buying the fraud.

3) I really hate running. I mean REALLY. I know it's the best way to stay in shape and I can credit my runs to FINALLY losing the baby weight but God. I. Hate. Running. Especially with a stroller.

4) I really, really don't want my husband to go into law enforcement. I know it's his dream, and I know how unhappy he currently is but when he quits his current job I have to go back to working FT and I really don't want to. It's all about me me me.

5) I love Facebook. I love reconnecting with old friends and searching for boys I used to like in junior high (maybe H.S. and college too). You do it too. Don't lie.

6) Is Lindsay Lohan really a lesbian or is she just faking it for attention? This keeps me awake at night. I kid. I kid.

7) I want a glass of wine right now. It's Noon. That's appropriate isn't it?

8) I would rather pay full price for kids clothing than spend all morning waiting in line in the rain and then getting shoved around by overzealous moms trying to get too the Gymboree clothes and Red Flyer wagons before I do at the annual consignment sale in town. We're broke, but not that broke. 

9) I think I'm ready for another baby but I hate being pregnant so much. And I don't want to have to spend another 18 months losing the weight. Can I hire a surrogate?

10) I have the cutest kid in the world. I really do. He provides endless hours of entertainment. This weekend we taught him to say "TOOT" anytime someone farted (usually Daddy). We are the "Parent's of The Year".

11) I love the rain. It provides the perfect excuse to spend all weekend cooped up in the house with chili, popcorn and movies. I would be perfectly content living in a city where it rains all the time. 

There's other "big things" on my mind lately too. I've been presented with an opportunity that I know, in my heart of hearts, I shouldn't pass up. I'm not ready to divulge details just yet. I have a lot of thinking to do, but I am fairly certain that this is God's answer to a lot of my prayers lately. I'm just not ready to commit yet. I have an intense fear of failure. and things need to be worked  out in my head before I move forward or share this opportunity with anyone. Why does life have to be so hard sometimes?

Relaxing in the Rockies

This past weekend the Folgers headed west to escape the 100 degree heat in Denver. We decided that we would head to Vail to do some camping and become one with nature. With our cooler filled to the brim with beer, brats and chee-tos we headed deep into the Holy Cross Wilderness area of the Rockies to scope out our site. We eventually settled on this little knoll surrounded with pines about 200 yards off the Gore Creek.  It was so beautiful!  The only downside was the lack of an actual bathroom. That's when it pays to have a penis. 

After the long car ride, a stop in Vail to prick up Brian, and the hour or so it took us to get our campsite set up we were ready for some cold brews.  We crack open our first beer and the first rain drop hits along with a big thunderclap. Thankfully we remembered to bring along a tarp and Thomas tied it up on some trees. Fortunately it only sprinkled for a short time but it sure brought out the mosquitos!

We had planned to do some hiking but decided the beer was going down to good. Declan and Brian hung out with us for the afternoon and then left about 7'ish. I can't think of anything worse than trying to get a 19 month old down for the night in a tent so Uncle Brian was nice enough to offer to babysit for the night! Tom and I settled in for some S'mores and then I realized that I had packed everything but the marshmallows. Seriously? How do you forget marshmallows when you go camping?

It was an uneventful evening. No bears attacked us (despite the numerous warnings posted throughout the area). I didn't even see a deer. Probably because the bear were too busy eating them instead of us. The next morning Tom cooked up some eggs and bacon (and leftover cheetos). Unfortunately we had to head back to civilization that day. Next time we will definitely plan for 2 nights instead of one. It would have been nice to do some hiking and spend more time relaxing by the campfire. 

I can't believe that we have thought about leaving Colorado one day. I don't think I could ever leave the mountains! I love it here so much.