D Bar = Delicious

Last week, Eric and I went on a little dinner date to d Bar Desserts. It's owned by Keegan Gerhad, who is a regular on the Food Network. Most specifially on their challenge shows, which he has hosted and judged. I had read about his restarant in a Denver Post article a few years ago and was eager to check it out ever since.

Passing by the state capital on our way to the restaurant.
I wasn't sure if Keegan would be at the restaurant or not, but he actually was. I had to play paparazzi to get a picture of him checking the weather to see if they should seat diners outside. The dessert menu.
We sat at a bar which faced out the front windows. I enjoyed people watching.
I ordered a slider plate with fries. Yummy! The dinners are pretty small so you can save room for dessert.
Eric had a grilled ham and cheese.
For dessert, Eric had the "molten cake thingy that everybody has...(steamed with a truffle inside!)".
I had the "cake and shake".
The restaurant itself is really small so they definitely benefit by being able to seat diners outside during nice weather. I'm rarely comfortable eating outside (too hot, too cold, windy, buggy, etc.), so I'm glad we were able to snag a spot inside. This was the dessert prep area. Notice that the Food Network channel is playing on the TV.
We sat in the corner and this is the view of the rest of the restaurant. Tight squeeze, but still good atmosphere.
I thought my only paparazzi shot was going to be of Keegan out front, but he came out to the dessert prep area for a while. He was very gracious and talked with the family who was sitting at the bar surrounding the prep area. He even allowed a couple of the kids to come behind the bar to have their picture taken with him. He seems like a really nice guy.
As we were walking back to our car, I spotted this pizza joint. Notice the neon sign on the left hand side of the picture? The tossed pizza dough is an infinity sign! Or, is that just what I'm seeing? Intentional or not, I thought it was creative.
Us. Extreme close-up. Whoops.
That's better. Plus some wind-swept hair.
Heading west toward the sun setting behind the mountains.

Glad we were able to sucker Grandpa and Grandma into watching the boys again. I really enjoyed spending time with Eric AND eating out.

August, So Far

Exploring around upstairs before coming down from their naps.

Reid has perfected the art of sliding down the stairs on his belly.
Aiden likes to take a little bit longer. We often have to go back up to encourage him to come down.
Reid has recently started back up with peekaboos.

While Reid is hiding, we ask Aiden where he went. He must think we're a little slow, because clearly Reid is right there.
See, I told you he was there.
On this particular morning, we let the boys crawl downstairs. I started making breakfast for the boys while Eric watched them on the stairs. A few seconds after I made it into the kitchen, Reid quickly appeared at the gate. He must take after his Great-Grandpa Starrs, whose nickname was Speed. This was given to him because as soon as they called meal time in his boarding house in Montana, my Grandpa was the first one to arrive, ready to eat. That's Reid too. Always ready to eat.
Finally, Aiden arrived after Eric carried him downstairs.
Later on, the boys enjoyed jumping on one of my exercise balls.



Aiden is quite the little walker. He usually has his arms out for balance, but every once in while they swing around in some sort of wild karate-like move.
The boys cruising around. Reid will pause every so often and look back to make sure Aiden is still behind him. He'll wait for Aiden to catch up if he's too far behind.
Hiiii-ya! Karate-chop!
While the boys were cruising I decided to put my feet up. Which meant the boys immediately came over so they could gain access to the top of the couch.
The boys are still enjoying exploring the kitchen. I need to buy some baby proof locks for the cupboards although I may keep this one, with their baby bottles and parts, open for them to explore.
My parents watched the boys last night so Eric and I could go to dinner. (More about that in another post.) After the boys go to bed, my mom enjoys arranging the toys. In this case, she placed the two puppies on the seat of one of the cruisers. Instead of swiping the puppies off of the cruiser and onto the floor, Reid enjoyed pushing them around this morning.

They stayed on for quite a few laps.
While I was taking pictures of Reid, Aiden made his move to try to get a hold of my camera by grabbing the camera strap. No luck, this time.
My friend Annessa brought her two boys over for lunch today and then we went over to our park. The boys enjoyed swinging and watching Dylan and Andrew soar on the bigger kid swings.

Aiden.

Reid.

Aiden.

Reid.
As we got closer to naptime, the thumb-sucking began.
Reid.
Aiden.
All four boys and Annessa.
While Dylan and Andrew were finishing up, my boys crawled around in the shade for a bit.

Aiden.
Reid.
___________________

A few of you may have been worried I was going to leave the calculator post up indefinitely. While it is tempting to withhold photos of my little guys until I reach my fundraising goal, have no fear. I've just been busy the past few days. Remember, if you are interested in donating, here's the post that gives you all the details you need. I'm not sure if anyone has donated yet of not. I'm a little nervous to call the foundation to find out, so I'll probably wait until I know my brother's donation has gone through before I check. However, a big THANK YOU, if you have donated.

If you haven't had the chance to do so, but were considering it, please remember that every little bit will help. Even a $10 donation can help me upgrade a faceplate on one of our old Nspire calculators so it will be able to successfully run the latest activities.

Happy Birthday, Auntie Jennifer!

Making Progress

Well, I've had an exciting turn of events.

My brother found out that his AWESOME company, salesforce will match their employees' donations to non-profits with a 501(c)3 designation. I found out that public schools aren't necessarily the right kind of non-profit so I wasn't sure it would work out. David said it's relatively easy to set up a 501(c)3, but I told him that I didn't want to do anything that would have to do with money being given to me as a non-profit. Let's just say, sometimes you're the statue and sometimes you're the pigeon. Teachers and public schools in general are being treated like statues pretty regularly right now. (Except by Matt Damon. I've always been a fan, but he can count me in for supporting all of his movies in the future.)

David found out that donations can be made through The Jefferson Foundation which is a 501(c)3 founded to help out students in my district. He spoke to the foundation and found out that he and his company can contribute to a designated fund which I can use to purchase the Navigator system and new Nspire CX calculators I've been telling you about. Woo-hoo! I'm so excited.

If you are interested in donating:
1. Go to The Jefferson Foundation's website.
2. Click on the donate button on the left hand side of the screen. This will take you to a secure site. Our contact at the foundation said your donations will be tax deductible and 100% of your donation will make it to my fund.
3. For the question "Where do you want these funds to be directed?", choose "Program".
4. Very important: In the comments section, be sure to indicate that you would like the funds to go to Keri Brusven at Chatfield Senior High School. Also, be sure to include your name and address if you wish to receive a receipt from the foundation for tax purposes.

If you are able to donate, please know how grateful I am for your support. Thank you to the millionth degree! I'll keep you updated on the progress. Keep in mind that maybe your company would be willing to match your contribution as well. I plan to donate all of the proceeds from my Etsy sales, so if you know anyone who is interested in using digital templates or needs a t-shirt quilt pattern, you can send them to my store. My first goal is to get a Navigator system, which is about $2000. My second goal is to buy a classroom set of the new TI Nspire CX graphing calculators. This will cost around $3750-$4000.

Did I mention what a wonderful brother I have? (Ignore his continual whining about some alleged incident of me knocking out his tooth when we were little.) And if you're into using clouds and computers with The World's Most Innovative Company, give my brother a call.

Thanks, David!