Weekend full of Firsts!

This past weekend David and I had several "firsts."

Friday night, we tried out this new restaurant called DIVE Coastal Cuisine in Snider Plaza.


Go. Try. It. Now.


This place is A-dorable. It has really good food and they will use organic when they can. I got the Ahi Tuna Sliders. Yum.


Then we watched this movie I'd never even heard of- The Counterfeiters.


It's a film about a counterfieter who uses his skills to stay alive during World War II in a concentration camp. The Nazis had a secret plan to destabilize Great Britain by flooding its economy with forged Bank of England bank notes. It was really good!

Saturday we went car shopping for me. This is technically not a first, but it felt like it. Last time we went car shopping, we were deciding between buying my car from my parents or a car from the dealership. It was not as involved and extensive as the car shopping this time. Let me just say this, I did not enjoy my experience at Toyota of Dallas. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Sewell.

Saturday night we met up with Daryn and Matt at an Art auction event at the Southside Lamar Lofts. This was definitely a first for me. It was SO neat. There was a talented pianist who played both classical piano and electric keyboard at the same time. That in itself was pretty awesome but then you had a painter painting to the music.



After the show we went to a late night dinner at Meddlesome Moth. It was my first time here and I LOVED it! I loved the stain glass windows.


I loved the food and I loved the Europe beer flight. It was such a fun place!



Overall, there were some fun firsts!

In Loving Memory

My sweet Auntie Barbara passed away on Friday night. She was my mom's only sister-17 years apart!


Because of this age gap, she was more like a grandmother to me than an aunt. She was a lover of all things music, art, education, personal expression, conversation and travel. Like all of my mom's siblings, Auntie Barbara had a beautiful soprano singing voice. She is a big contributing factor to my love of playing games. I always knew I could count on her for a game of Skip-bo, Uno, Rummikub, Taboo- you name it!

{My mom's siblings}


Barbara's son-in-law and my sister did a much better job writing about my aunt and her extremely accomplished life!


Barbara Dalberg was born, August 5, 1936 in Denver, Colorado, to Walter and Marie Martin, becoming the fourth child and the first daughter of the growing family. The fourth son, Jim, and the second daughter, Cheryl, would follow to complete a family of six. Her early life was spent in Denver where she attended South High School, participating in many school activities including Acapella Concert Choir. It was there, as well as in her churches - the Church of Christ in Englewood and Wheat Ridge - that her lifelong love of music began.

In 1954, after high school, Barbara married Lee Dalberg, and both moved to California where she began her journey of education at Pepperdine College in Los Angeles, CA. Shortly thereafter, she was blessed with the first of many accomplishments in life: three children of her own. She would eventfully finish her Bachelor of Science/Secondary Teaching and Masters degrees in Educational Psychology from the University of Colorado. Barbara obtained all of her degrees over the course of 20 years, going to school part-time, while she raised her three children, taking at least one course each semester. Ever pressing on, she then obtained her PhD in Health Psychology from Columbia Pacific University. Her dissertation was on the exploration of feminist spirituality, which would later provide a foundation for her lifelong narrative and one of her greatest accomplishments.

An accomplished and educated woman, Barbara’s other credentials include:
•Diplomat from College of Pastoral Supervision
•Counselor - National Board of Certified Counselors
•Licensed Professional Counselor - State of Colorado Board of Professional Counselor Examiners
•Member of the American Counseling Association

Barbara always had a heart for serving those around her and offering a wise word. She held many leadership positions over her lifetime, including:
•Counselor and Director of Colorado Christian Services Adoption Agency
•Counselor at Lutheran Family Services, Adoption Agency
•Teacher at Red Rocks Community College
•Teacher at Metro State College
•Adjunct Professor at Regis University
•Board of Directors of the Adoption Exchange covering eight states
•Board of Directors Institute of Life and Care (for Medical personnel and other care givers)
•Psychotherapist in private practice for 30 years for teenagers, couples, and individuals
•Teacher and supervisor of Clinical Pastoral Education (Chaplaincy)

In addition to the vast number of leadership roles, Barbara spent most of her adult life singing in choir. Whether in the South High Alumni Choir or the Rockland Community Church choir, near the end of her life, her beautiful soprano voice could be heard. She had many favorite hymns which she enjoyed singing with her siblings at family reunions or with friends at church, but she especially loved to sing classic religious music. Her love of music even went beyond the mainstream; for example, she loved medieval music, Gregorian chants, and the music of nature—the wind, the ocean, the birds—and were you to step into her home you might hear the sounds of the mighty Pacific or the warbling of a wren.

Anyone who knew Barbara, knew that books were her friends. She was an avaricious reader and although a teacher and counselor, she was a lifelong learner. She took up the study of Greek while in her fifties. She studied the Great Books and was conversant with the philosophic milieu of ancient, medieval, renaissance, enlightenment and contemporary thinkers. She was especially fond of the medieval mystics, such as Meister Eckhart, Hildegaard von Bingen, and Julian of Norwich.

An articulate and outgoing person, Barbara was a frequent seminar speaker in the Denver metropolitan area as well as throughout the country and yet she maintained a private counseling practice out of her home. Committed to giving back and leading others, she taught courses in Psychology and Death and Dying at Regis University, Red Rocks Community College, Metropolitan State College of Denver among others. She was also an instructor in the chaplaincy certification program through Rocky Mountain Center for Education and Training. It is through these efforts and accomplishments that she touched many, deeply, and will be remembered for her sharp mind, her caring heart, and her wise counsel.

Barbara is survived by her three children: Steve (Steffon), Jeanine (Jeanie) and husband Timothy Merrill, and Gerald (Jerry) and wife Dana, and five grandchildren: Taylor Williams, Spenser Williams, Dezon Dalberg, Shonna Clark and Dax Dalberg.

She is also survived by her siblings Warren Martin and wife Trudy, Richard (Dick) Martin and wife Barbara, James (Jim) Martin and wife Ann and Cheryl (Cheri) and husband Dennis Richardson and many nephews and nieces and adoring family. She was preceded in death by her brother Robert Edward Martin and her mother and father, Walter and Marie Martin.

Barbara left us on Friday, August 12, 2011, exactly one week after her 75th birthday.

Barbados Vacation

We just got home from an amazing trip to Barbados for 7 days, 6 nights. It was paradise!


We did have a little rain from a tropical depression the first two days but the rest of the trip was sunny and beautiful.

We went with two other couples and rented this awesome house right on the beach.




We woke up to this every morning.



We went on a catamaran cruise got to swim with sea turtles and snorkel over some beautiful coral. It was one of my favorite things we did on the trip.






We walked (in the rain) down to this local restaurant for the best pina coladas ever!


We rented a car for a couple of days and David bravely drove us on the right side of the car but on the left side of the road. It was tricky.



We got lost. Naturally. When we asked these locals how to get to Bathsheba Beach, they just pointed back the way we just came from. It was such a classic moment.



We played on "our" beach. It was SO beautiful.






We toured some of the other beaches and saw some of the island.






We tasted Mount Gay Rum at their distillery.




David and Nick tried a little surfing.



We fell in love with our staff! (This is 2 of of the 5 staff members).


We had two fabulous dinners away from the house.



We enjoyed our last night out at The Tides. It was just perfect.




Because of the tropical depression, this was our only sunset at our house. I'll take it though, wouldn't you?


It was such a wonderful trip and so many precious memories were made.