KAML & MAML

So, yesterday, I hopped the bus from Longmont to Denver!  Go, Me! 

 

My cousin, Kyle, was staying with his friend, Mark, for a few days.  We, along with my other cousin, Matt, his girlfriend, Emily and their daughter, Audrey, were invited for drinks & dinner.

 

Mark recently returned from studying culinary in Italy!  He was our chef for the evening!  We enjoyed homemade ravioli, the most delicious pork loin, asparagus (with a bacon mustard sauce!!) and pumpkin-cream cheese pie (recipe courtesy of Mark's mom).

 

Mark and his brother, Eric, just moved to Denver.  Mark is planning to get a food truck going, but it won't be the usual, already-prepared food.  Mark wants it more like a market, wherein customers buy his homemade Italian foods to cook at home.  They can stop on the way home, on the way to the kids' games, on the way to a friend's and buy homemade dinner!! 

 

Kyle rented the community room in Mark & Eric's apartment complex, so we had this huge room to enjoy cocktails, our dinner and plenty of conversation!  I brought some old pics of the boys (me & Chris, too) to share laughs over!  We took plenty of photos of Audrey Helen, many in her new hats from Uncle Kyle!  We got a fantastic family photo of all of us...coincidentally, we were dressed in blues & blacks as if we planned one of those matchy-matchy holiday photo shoots! 

 

Kyle & Matt are brothers to me.  I lived with them (& their parents) for 5 years, until Chris & I moved in together.  We have been able to spend most holidays together over the years, even when they have lived away from our home town.  What a joy to be able to spend time with both of them for our first Christmas season in Colorado!!!

 

I really enjoyed hanging with Mark & Eric, too, and look forward to seeing them again...even sans Kyle!  They are fun guys, who enjoy food, wine & beer!  And if I can work with Mark in the food truck while building his business in the hope of opening a brick & mortar location, all the better!!  In just the few weeks they have been in Denver, they have been eating & drinking their way around the city!  They are living in the Baker section, where we hadn't yet been, and it looks to have a pretty cool vibe with bars, restaurants and coffeeshops within walking distance.  (Tho, it may be too pricey for our needs...much research will be undertaken over the next 6 months!)

 

Back to my bus ride.  We received 2 free passes as a welcome to Colorado.  RTD-Denver has a great system.  I called customer service to verify the stops in Longmont and Jake was super helpful!  The bus was clean and comfortable.  The ride was a bit longer than scheduled because of construction and rush-hour traffic.  But, I brought a book and was able to zone out & read.  I rode all the way to the final destination, Market Street Station, and then walked a couple blocks along the 16th Street Mall to where Chris was awaiting me in his car!  It worked perfectly, so that we weren't both driving to & from Denver!!! 

 

It was a late nite; we didn't get home until after 11, but I wouldn't have missed a minute of time with our family and new friends!!

 

The only thing I would have changed....knowing it was Festivus!  We could have demonstrated feats of strength on the pool table or Ms. Pacman game.  Followed by the airing of grievances and making a Festivus pole.  Ah, well ~ we know how to bring a good time to any gathering!  We Longs are nothing if not party peeps!!