God Bless Jimmerica!

Is there life after Jimmer? That, I don't know.

What I do know? Wow, did I feel alive during Jimmermania! And yes, a piece of me has passed on with the passing of Jimmermania. A piece that can't be replaced, but can continue "living" through the memories he created (and hopefully will continue to create....cross your fingers for a good Jimmer draft).

I'm just glad my crazy husband talked me into "investing" in a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so we could make one more Jimmer memory before his time came. Yes folks, we hit the cold, hard road and headed to the Rockies for Round 1 (or technically round 2 now...lame) of March Madness.

This trip was big for a number of reasons (first trip without Riggs - THANK YOU WONDERFUL BABYSITTERS!!!, all of the last minute unknowns, me being pretty pregnant), but what was/is bigger than Jimmer Fredette? And that, people, is why we made the trip. Once a generation player, on the biggest stage in college basketball. And the trip was a success.

The Jimmer.

The shot caught on cougar fan cell phones round the world. Flattering, I know.

The pre-game hubabaloo. We made quite a scene (due to A LOT of work ahead of time).

The innocent bystander who just barely missed the conversation about how they're not needed in this particular picture. Happens to the best of us.


The food. And can I say, if you're ever in Denver PLEAAASSSE go to Sam's No. 3. They have this sandwich called like the Half Naked Sweedish something or other. Anyway, it's the best thing I've had in my life - French toast as sandwich bread, with scrambled egg, ham and swiss cheese on the sandwich, of which you dip in a strawberry puree type thing. Heaven.


The pre-first heavenly sandwich. We ate A LOT on this trip.

The casual awesomeness.

The more casual awesomeness.


The post-game celebration. The 5th, 6th, and 7th quarters. The toasting.

The post-Gonzaga beat down.

The downtown Denver scene.

And, of course, the signs. Oh, the signs. Oh, the walking through the Pepsi Center halls hooting and hollaring for an hour after game 2. Oh, the unspoken comradery and chest-bumping with other Coug fans. Oh, the yelling. Oh, the dream.

(The New Holy War - in reference to BYU V. Gonzaga...the NEW conference rivalry with religious undertones)

Siesta Key

Way back in February we finally hit up Siesta Key Beach, which is supposedly one of the best beaches in the country. We found this to be true. It was by far the prettiest beach I'd seen in Florida.

The activity of the day was chasing birds.

Zie Busch Gardens

The crew. Notice I am very large, especially when standing next to Jenny. (For the record, you should always go to Busch Gardens during a weekday, never on a weekend. This was our weekday experience, I couldn't even get my camera out during the weekend experience.)


Needing out of his stroller.

Our major stop of the day, the splash pad area.

Cute little Dallas.

Riggs and Dallas doing their squatting thing.

Post splash pad fruit snacks with Cayden.

Dad supervising on the rides....and loving it.

Meeting Big Bird.

Lots of Flamingos in Florida.

Trevor took advantage of the no lines and jumped on a couple rides, one of them being Raging Rapids (He's a sucker for any rapids ride). See the glee.

It was a great day...we really need to go back before this big baby comes.

Mom and Son Dates

It feels like Riggs and I have had a lot of alone time lately. Not sure if it's because as he gets older he clearly has an increasing need to go out and do more, or if it's because Trevor has seemed to be traveling quite a bit for work, or if it's simply because I'm getting more and more pregnant (6 weeks left to day, awoooohoooooo!) and thus, going and doing simple things is just a bit more of a task. Nonetheless, as tired as I may be, Riggs and I sure do have a lot of fun together. He is the second most handsome date I could ask for...and looks an awful lot like the first most handsome date I could ask for.

Anyway...one of our usual outings is a visit to Lowry Park Zoo. Not the biggest zoo in the world, or the newest, but it has a lot of character and plenty to entertain Riggs. Here are a few of his main interests...

(Not pictured is the little splash pad area that is likely his very favorite part of the zoo. It was just too much to ask to keep an eye on him going crazy in the water and snapping photos.)

Any "fake" animals he can find.

Feeding the goats.

Pure joy for him.

Remember those good ol' days, when all you needed for happiness was to feed goats?

Of course, he's a natural train conductor.

We ride it in circles and circles and circles.

"This is not the time for pictures, Mom. I'm busy riding the train."

Lastly, as a true Floridian...he loves that nasty alligator pit. So much so, that he desires to climb in it...oh, Riggs.

My handsome little guy is such a great date.