L and V

Two weeks ago today Ryan's parents visited us for the weekend.  You could say China was just a little excited to see her Grammies.

It's pretty much a tradition that every time Linda and I are together we drink margaritas so Ryan took us to Tequila's.  I guess he decided not to repeat a prior experience at El Senor Sol, which was the first (and only) time we drank margaritas as big as our heads...literally  You can imagine the shenanigans that ensued.

That Saturday, we had wanted to go on a hike but it was a bit cooler than we had hoped it would be so we headed to Hammond's Candies for a factory tour.  Hammond's Candies has been in business in Denver since 1920 and to this day only has the one factory in town that supplies nationwide stores like Dean & Deluca, Whole Foods, and Nordstrom.  Apparently Martha Stewart is also a big fan and has featured the candies on her shows and also places large personal orders.  We learned all about the candy making process from soup to nuts and then we got to leave with candy cane samples!  Of course I couldn't make it out of the building without a few extra items:  Mitchell sweets, caramels, flat taffy, and peppermint cocoa stirrers.  It was definitely an activity that both kids and adults could enjoy.

Then we headed to Vintages in Fort Collins.

Vintages creates custom made wines from grapes they purchase from around the world.  We went in for a complimentary wine tasting where you learn about the process and the different wines that can be made.  They also can help you determine what types of wine you like and can tailor it to your specific tastes.  For example, they showed us the difference between a wine that was heavily oaked versus that same wine lightly oaked.  I found out I don't care for heavily oaked wine.  Another interesting thing about the wine they make there is it is much lower in preservatives than wine you purchase at the liquor store because it goes straight from the winery to your home and doesn't need to be able to withstand huge changes in temperature or being stored improperly, etc.  With less preservatives, many people tend to not get headaches sometimes associated with drinking wine.  Although I'm sure if you drank a couple bottles by yourself you'd still get a headache...  Also, the cost of the wine is very reasonable compared to going to your local liquor store and picking up a bottle because there are no shipping costs and you get to go bottle everything yourself!  You even can design your own label!  Ryan liked this one that was displayed at the winery.

As if we hadn't had enough fun, we headed to Ameristar Casino to celebrate Vearl's birthday with some gambling and crab legs.

On Sunday we all went to church and Linda and Vearl got to meet our coffee crew.  Everyone absolutely loved L and V and Marlene even told them they should move out here because she thought they could have a lot of fun together.  After another full day of running around town we headed home to rest, enjoy a walk, and play some games.

Then, too early the next morning they had to head back to KC.  Time always flies by too quickly when we're having fun.  We had such a great time and are so thankful to have such great family in our lives!