Celebrating 40 in Denver

I knew something was going on when we were having our weekly Sunday night family calendar discussion and the "Camping Trip" details for the upcoming weekend were vague and, oddly, included me.  If it were summer, I wouldn't have thought twice, but camping in the winter is more of an adventure for the Conlin men than me.  But I thought it was probably dinner and a movie to celebrate my birthday.... 

On Friday morning, Adam said, "When you get home from your work Christmas party, you need to be packed for an overnight and dressed up!"  That's when I knew it was something better than dinner and a movie!  And it sure was! 

Adam took me to Denver, leaving Zac in charge of the whole crew for the first time, for a grown-up night on the town.  We stayed in the lovely classical-modern Hotel Teatro, just around the corner from the Buell Theater, ate dinner at the 5-Star Rioja restaurant and then saw Chicago the musical at the Buell.  As an added perk, it was the first night of the Festival of Lights, so the whole city was lit up and sparkly.  After the show we walked around downtown to take it all in, and made a stop at the Christkindl Market.  In the morning, with no parental responsibilities, we lazily slept in before having brunch at The Nickel on the main level of our hotel.  We decided to take a daylight walk around the charming Christmassy city before heading home.  It was perfect!  And Zac did a great job holding down the fort.

What a lucky lady I am to have such a thoughtful hubby!  Life with him makes turning 40 a breeze!