Seeing my parents for the first time in a year was great! I love them very much and the 2 weeks flew by very quickly. My SO says my Mum can come live with us lol My Dad is a bit too dominant for my SO to deal with for too long though- he's a bad passenger for one thing. That and my Dad LOVES winding my SO up- I used to be his victim- he could get me soooo freaking annoyed that I'd lose the ability to even form words, but my SO is his new target, because my Dad is trying to stop him from being so polite and actually banter with him, like British guys do. My SO just doesn't know how to react- he banters with me just fine but its just not in him to do such a thing to his father-in-law.

The first week of the trip was great, my sister was nice before her trip, then when she went to Disneyland, we went off to Steamboat Springs, which was absolutely perfect! We had our own log cabin on 2 acres of land, learned quickly that Mr Dave cannot be trusted off-leash and otherwise had a lovely relaxing time. I wanted to go meet Lucybelle's uncle, but it became apparent that we had visited too early in the year- the Yampa was absolutely insane still, so no tubing allowed, my Mum didn't want to go White water rafting and my Dad turned his nose up at kayaking on the lake itself, so we stuck to hiking and hanging out for the most part. My SO and I will probably go back anyway, so I look forward to many summer staycations there- Everybody down to Dave had a great time!

At fish creek falls:




Our cabin:


Dave freaked out at his first beach experience and got trapped on a log XD


Then once we were back I tried to make the most of my time with my parents, even with the dark cloud back from Disneyland. We checked out the zoo, which I actually enjoyed because the enclosures were of decent sizes, and they had orangutans which are my faves along with the penguins There is a button in their enclosure and the male takes great pleasure in pushing it and watching people squeal when they get soaked with water if they're standing in a certain spot lol We went to the Outlet mall and I finally found a waterproof hiking jacket for cheeeeeap, then we went to the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs and Boulder a few times for various events going on.

My SO had a great birthday- he watched the USA game with my Dad then we went to Nederland and had German food for lunch- the owner is actually German so it was the real deal and delicious! Aaaand we went home, chilled and I made him a full Sunday dinner for his birthday tea (my SO's birthdays always revolve around food). He was really pleased with his gifts too- I got him Colorado Rapids tickets for the following week's game, hiking pants and some new t-shirts because neither of us has had new clothes in forever now, and my parents got him a power drill set which he's very excited to use now with have our own house to fill with holes lol He was relieved to find that his parents went the gift card route this year, so we can go to Bass Pro and kit him out with the hiking gear he's been eying for ages now too. He's like me and likes giving gifts rather than receiving, so to see him so happy and excited with everything was awesome

And so I go on to my sister... I tried guys, I really did. I was trying to keep an open mind- I took an interpersonal communication class last semester, and really took on board that when you have a bad perception of somebody, you're more likely to take anything else they say or do thereafter negatively, so I tried to clean the slate and give her a chance. My parents basically told me one drunken night at the cabin that she doesn't know she's done anything wrong and that I've been waiting for an apology which is never going to be given. But she has all these fantastical stories which gives me more reason to believe she is just a pathological liar and my SO and I have discovered we have the same reaction to her as we do small children- no idea how to talk to her. She's 26 and I swear I've had near identical conversations with my friend's 5 year old niece as I have with her. She only acts like a decent human being when she wants to, which isn't often. She is basically a child in a near 27-year old's body and its hella creepy and weird to deal with. Not to mention its dealing with a particularly unpleasant, spiteful child, with the most gigantic martyr complex I have ever witnessed...

Here's part of the list of bullshit, I could go on and on:

• Made us take her to and from the airport so she could go to Disneyland. Booked her flight back in the middle of the night so we had to stay up to go get her.
• Went into her petulant, bratty 5-year old mood as soon as the "Disney magic" wore off.
• Talking in a god-awful fake American accent all.damn. week. My SO cringed nearly every time she opened her mouth. I'm not sure she was meaning to be rude here, but he was taking it personally by the end of the week.
• Sulked because my Dad made her go buy some cheap Walmart trainers (but spent $200 on a pair of sunglasses no problem)- she came to COLORADO with nothing but 2 pairs of strappy sandles, crop tops and floaty maxi skirts and actually said "Well I didn't think we'd be going climbing mountains because we're on holiday". Are you joking? 2 weeks in Colorado and you didn't think there would be at least one day that would require at least a pair of trainers? Its not like we were doing anything too crazy, but even on regular vacations, I'd assume a pair of decent shoes to walk around in is standard right?
• Sulked because she felt like "The 5th wheel with 2 couples"- she invited herself on this vacation knowing full well who she was going with. Don't fucking sulk about something you where well aware of from the get go. And when she sulks, everyone has to suffer. I was hanging out with my Mum most of the time whilst my SO and Dad watched the World Cup, and we weren't being coupley because I knew she'd get moody, yet she still managed to get pissed off and bitchy over it.
• She has no manners at all. She never said thank you once the whole trip. We cooked, payed for some of her meals out, supplied all of the groceries. No acknowledgement whatsoever. Then she'd eat and not even bother to clear her plate away- just leave the table and fuck off downstairs without a word.
• In fact, I don't think she entered the kitchen unless it was to get something for herself, or hover over me whilst I prepared my SO's birthday dinner. I made a whole roast dinner for him and a chocolate pie- she swooped in and begged to lick the bowl out for the pie filling, then had the nerve to pull faces at my Mum when she discovered I wasn't making the "right" kind of potatoes. When you haven't even done so much as help me make the sandwiches for our picnic lunches, or offered to help cook at all, you don't get a say in what I prepare for dinner. Especially when its a special dinner for my husband.
• Then she bought herself 2 pints of ice-cream and several bags of Dove chocolates, ate it all herself in one evening without offering any to anybody else, then ate half a tub of the ice-cream I'd bought for everyone else to share the night after. We even discovered after they'd left that she'd eaten a bag of candy my SO got for his birthday. And again, not once did she contribute a bag groceries or a tank of gas for the entire 2 weeks. Even then I could forgive not contributing financially if she was a little helpful around the house but:
• She dropped rose wine all over my cream carpet and over the sofa, watched in silence as me and my dad tried to figure out if we had a leak in the roof, then laughed as my husband got on his hands and knees to clean up the mess she had created. No apology or acknowledgement that she'd done something wrong, and she made no effort to clean it up either.
• Used my internet connection to bitch behind my back on twitter all week.
• She was bitchy and rude to our waitress on the second-to-last night. I can't fucking stand people who do that to wait staff, so the red mist finally descended.

Now, as I'm not a selfish brat, I knew full well a confrontation was not in order, because all of hell would break loose and my Mum was already getting upset about leaving- I couldn't make it worse for her. But I also couldn't sit there and smile at my sister as if nothing was wrong either, so I went the silent treatment route, thus satisfying my need to channel my rage but helping out my Mum. My sister was bitching on twitter about being "forced" to go hiking the last day- I'd asked them all several times if it was ok and we could do something else if they wanted- she smiled and nodded and said it was all good, so fuck her She tried to talk to me all day and I'd just act like like she wasn't there (didn't stop her from chattering at me though), every time I'd see her try take a picture of me I'd turn around on purpose- I'd flat out refuse to take pictures with her, or at least move to the opposite side of the line if it was a group shot.

Then I didn't tag her in a picture on facebook, which is apparently the absolute worst thing you can do in the world ever I posted in the vet's ranting section about the ridiculousness of it all, then the last morning, she happily ate the groceries I bought her for breakfast whilst ignoring me and so I didn't even bother with her at the airport. Me, my mum and dad were all crying and she was rolling her eyes behind their backs so I hugged both my parents goodbye then jumped in the car (what a great journey home that was). Only when she was safely in North Carolina did she start the vague passive-aggressive status' on facebook, to get all her friends to sympathize with how I'd wronged her. Then she uploaded her pictures, not tagging me with a "Lets see how you like it" status... I don't think I could possibly care less, because I'm not 12 years old The less our profiles are connected the better. Hilariously she's being trying to be all friendly and chatty with my SO, and he's all politely "Bitch please, fuck off". Every night she was here he was raging to me about her manners- I think in the past he thought I might be overreacting to her, but now he's witnessed it for himself, he knows better. The good thing is she works away from home now, so next time I visit my parents I can make sure she's not going to be there, and we can just leave and do something by ourselves if she does turn up, because she is never, ever going to enter my house again, and I will not go on holiday with my parents if she is going.

/end rant. Here's some shots from Rocky Mountain National Park anyway, Colorado has taken my heart:



So, its been a week or so since they were gone and we're finally getting more settled. We had a great 4th of July weekend with the football tickets- the game was fun, in fact I think I like American soccer better- there is very little diving, and if someone is on the floor for more than a few seconds the crowd mocks and curses them till they get back up lol It was a refreshing change from all the amateur dramatics that goes on in most European football. What the Americans lack in skill they make up for on not being cheating douche-canoes And I knew there'd be fireworks but I didn't know it was the largest display in Colorado- it was awesome! My SO freaked out because we got to go sit on the pitch for it too! This reminds me next trip home/Europe that I should go find a rugby or football pitch he can go stand on, as it makes him go crazy excited!

Then on the 5th we went up to Rocky Mountain National Park again and did a 6 mile hike- If you ever get a Colorado state quarter, we hiked to the lake which is on the back of it- so cool! Weather permitting, I think we're going to hike Mt Evans this weekend- our first "Fourteener"- I'm pretty sure its the easiest one and you can drive most of the way up it, but my SO is being very insistent that we must climb one before summer is out, and the drive up there is as pretty as it is terrifying

And we've joined a gym again! Its great because we can walk to it instead of driving but its got a lot more Bros than our last gym, so I've been too intimidated to do any arm stuff yet. We'll go when its quiet so I can learn the machines, then I think I'll be ok again. My SO was worried because "more guys might hit on me there", but this gym has TVs on the treadmills and elipticals- I told him I'd like to see them try hit on me whilst I'm trying to watch Property Brothers He's reassured anyways- he knows what happens when someone interrupts my stories