06_25 to 07_02_2013 Mom, Hannah and Zoe - last day and 1/2 in Boulder

Monday, July 1 (Dad's birthday) was the last full day of vacation in the Boulder area. We spent most of it in Denver. We headed down there and hung out in my office for a while. Then while I made a conference call, the girls rode the 16th Street Shuttle around and found some shops to check out.

They returned and everyone changed to a nice outfit in my office (Mom's strip tease photos are available for a price). Our next stop: Brown Palace Afternoon Tea.

Zoe selected a lovely purple and black dress with matching pumps.

Hannah selected a black shirt dress with contrasting belt and matching sandals. Mom opted for the smart-business pants and teal jacket.

I opted for a striped dress that hurts our eyes.The sweater did not tone it down.

I could not get a nice photo of the Brown Palace exterior. The bricks above the red van are part of the building.

The lobby is amazing. It is a gorgeous place. From their website:  "The Brown Palace Hotel has long stood as the pride of luxury hotels in Denver, Colorado - embraced by the city as its own and regarded as a national treasure. For more than a century our hotel has stood as an anchor to the bustling financial and cultural district, playing host to presidents, prime ministers, and celebrities."

The girls each ordered a "Royal Palace".  Mom and I shared something else that involved champagne. Good stuff.

Hannah and Zoe's tea came with some delicious berry adorned bubbly too. Yum.

The setting was gorgeous in a 7-story atrium with beautiful stone, murals, paintings, rugs...lush.

We enjoyed our scones, butter, sugar (on the floor mostly), ankles crossed, excellent posture while engaging in scintillating conversation.

Mom enjoys some champagne. 

Beautiful china and silver. The cucumber sandwiches were our favorites (though I think Zoe leaned to the egg salad). 

After tea, and after a few trips to the lobby bathroom which was nice, we rode the elevator to the 7th floor (highest level to still see in the atrium) and looked down. You can see our table and the bottom center of this photo.

We then walked back to the bus and rode it down 16th Street. We exited Larimer so they could see the famous Larimer Square.  From the website: "Larimer Square is an area as rich in history as it is in fine shopping and dining. As the Mile High City’s oldest and most historic block, its buildings tell vividly the story of the birth and early years of Denver. This is a peek into the past of Larimer Square and the people who were part of it."

You can read the interesting history of it here: http://www.larimersquare.com/history/.  It really is beautiful and I feel lucky that it is one block from my office. I have to walk through it to get to and from the bus. yay me!

One the way home, we FINALLY drove through Eldorado Canyon so everyone see how pretty it is (you so pretty!). This is a place that Dave and I climb. There were some climbers so they got to see them high on the wall.

Then we came home.   Our plan of the evening was to have Pente do a dress modeling session (which she loves), presentations, dinner, movie and  another all-night rave.

In this photo, you can see Pente demonstrating for Hannah the comfort and beauty of her John Deere Tractor dress. It's one of her favorites.

We consulted our "Strategic planning board" while we all finalized our notebooks in preparation for our presentations.

Pente couldn't wait. 

We all were busy gathering visual aids, completing our drawings and notes, and organizing our thoughts for the presentation.

During prepartion, Pente changed dresses to her "I love kitties" dress. It is another that really enhances her figure.

Next, she moved onto her "Lady Bug" dress. Given presentations were semi-formal, she was prepared.

A green and red "Cherry Dress" was next.

Finally the presentations began. I wore my semi-formal pj bottoms and a shimmery top for the event. Plus, I was the emcee for the first portion or the show. I welcomed the audience, offered an outline of how the show would go, and introduced each of the presenters. While the spotlight was a bit bright, I did a pretty good job.

Mom served as time keeper (15 minute limit) and Zoe was in charge of photography. 

Hannah went first. Visual aids were an excellent part of the show allowing members of the audience to get a richer understanding of the events of the week as well as each presenters thoughts and feelings about their time.

(Note Pente viewed the show in the Cherry Dress and had a front and center seat).

Hannah is presenting. She selected to wear her semi-formal red and white ode to the Number Ten.

During the presentation, Hannah fielded excellent questions from the audience. 

Following the completion of Hannah's presentation, Zoe was introduced and dived right in. 

She could somehow sense the presence of the camera in the room and was quick with a smile.

Here Zoe is sharing a visual aid with the audience.This particular piece of art work depicts time at the Sand Dunes and rolling down the deep pits with her sister.

Following our brief intermission, Zoe became emcee and Hannah took over time-keeping responsibilities. Mom was introduced as our third presenter of the evening. 

Mom utilized many visual aids as well and many drawings that really enhanced her show. She also easily handled many difficult questions from the audience. 

Pente had changed into and out of her "Rio Carnival" outfit and was really relaxed in the second half of the show.

For the final presentation of the evening, Hannah acted as our emcee to introduce Callie.

Her presentation went well with many drawings. Unfortunately, nerves got the best of her and she failed to utilize any of the many visual aids she had to share.

After great applause for all the guests, we moved to the kitchen where Hannah directed dinner: Fettucine Alfredo and cheesy garlic bread.   It was delicious.  Mom did not break the no-internet-at-the-table rule so Callie and Zoe had to do the dishes.

Finally, we settled down for a movie (an episode of David Attenborough's Life of Birds) and everyone fell asleep in about 4 minutes. The planned Rave would have to wait for our next visit.

The next morning, we all got up and had breakfast at the Walnut Cafe. Then we gathering the bags and drove to the airport. The flight home to Houston was uneventful and something tells me everyone is home asleep right now (not me since I've already had my nap!).

Until next year...

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