27 Haziran 2012 Çarşamba

Denver Shopping Package

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Whether travelling to Denver on Business or Pleasure, guests are sure to get a kick out of the Holiday Inn Denver Lakewood's Shopping Package. This is an affordable hotel package for anyone wanting a little extra spending money during their Denver area visit.

The Shopping Package not only includes a comfortable guestroom at the beautifully renovated Holiday Inn Denver Lakewood, but also a $100 Visa Gift Card for only $129/night. Yes! $100 to use in any way you like: towards your hotel bill, restaurant, airfare, gas, or, yes, shopping. We have several shopping areas nearby including Belmar, Southwest Plaza, Cherry Creek Mall and of course Downtown Denver. *There is a 2 night minimum with this package.

The Holiday Inn Denver Lakewood does offer a free local shuttle (within 3 miles) -- check the schedule at the front desk - and takes guests to the nearby Lightrail station for easy access in and out of downtown Denver.

For more information, visit our website.

We look forward to hosting your next visit to the Denver, CO area.

Denver Golf Package: Raccoon Creek and Holiday Inn Denver Lakewood

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Holiday Inn Denver Lakewood and Raccoon Creek Golf Course have teamed up to create this amazingly affordable Denver Golf Package, including:

  • Comfortable and inviting guestroom featuring new flatscreen TV

  • Breakfast (for 1) in our Executive Level Lounge

  • Green Fees at Raccoon Creek Golf Course for 18 holes of golf

  • Golf Cart · Available Monday - Thursday
Raccoon Creek, built on the historic Grant Ranch, is one of Denver’s premier golf courses.

With rates as low as $129 per night, if you are a golfer – this is an offer you won’t want to miss.




A family excursion more your style? Check out our Elitch Gardens Package, $189 includes 4 tickets to Elitch Gardens Theme Park. Elitch opens May 7th for the 2011 season. Check their calendar of events for dates and times.



Holiday Inn Denver Lakewood

New HD TVs at the Holiday Inn Denver Lakewood

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Staff, management and guests have been waiting in great expectation of this day... The Holiday Inn Denver Lakewood is very excited to annuonce that our brand new flatscreen TVs have been installed in all guestrooms!

But wait, there's more! These TV's are High Definition (HD) flatscreens and unlike many hotels in the Denver, CO area... the Holiday Inn Denver Lakewood actually offers HD channels for our guests' viewing pleasure! (Yes, can you believe some hotels out there have flatscreen TVs, but don't offer any High Def (HD) channels? They tempt you with the flatscreen, but deny you what makes it an amazing viewing experience!)

All guestrooms now boast a beautiful new 37" LG HD Flatscreen and 20 Premium HD Channels (including HBO, ESPN, CNN, FOX and more) as well as an additional 31 premium satellite channels (HD Satellite Programming Guide). So much beautiful, free HD TV guests do not want to leave their rooms!

So the next time your travels bring you to the Denver area... stop by, say hi, stay a while... you'll love the service, the surroundings and our awesome HD TV! The latest in our continual efforts to exceed our guests expectations... every time.

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Holiday Inn announces new Book With Us Advantage Best Price Guarantee

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Holiday Inns like the Holiday Inn Denver Lakewood will replace their Lowest Internet Rate Guarantee (LIRG) with a Best Price Guarantee, a part of their new Book With Us Advantage program. The end result - the best possible hotel deal for Holiday Inn guests.
Read on....

Effective September 16, 2011, our Lowest Internet Rate Guarantee (LIRG) will be replaced by our new Best Price Guarantee, which is a part of our new Book With Us Advantage program. Best Price Guarantee replaces LIRG as a stronger statement to our customers that we offer the most powerful price guarantee in the industry. With the Best Price Guarantee, customers will find the best price on our branded websites, or their first night is free. The guarantee will drive customers to our brand websites to find the lowest, publicly available rate on the web and increase direct bookings—a real win. We will also be launching an aggressive communications plan to support this new Best Price Guarantee. Beginning with the launch on September 16, 2011, the first night free and lower rate for the rest of the stay portions of the standard will be enforced, but only when a valid claim is found.

It is important to note that the majority of IHG hotels have never had a valid LIRG violation in the past year, so the good news is the majority of our hotels are already in compliance with this standard today.

Delivering Great Hotels Guests Love.
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I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

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We've had snow on the ground for about a week. It's so fun just grabbing a thin pair of gloves, slip on some fuzzy boots and run out the door to the winter wonderland. Maddy, my cousin, just headed to her house for Christmas today. I have been busy editing photos, going to youth group, wrapping presents, and doing school. Phew! Anyways here's a few photos to show the happenings.



How've you been this wonderful time of year?

It's Here

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2012 is finally here. After a year of fun and memories, another awaits us. Last year, I was so bad about my new years resolutions, I forgot what they were. This year, I'm going to write them down and remember to do them.
  • Do my devotions everyday
  • Take more photos
  • Practice my guitar everyday
  • Savor every moment
Jeremiah 29:11-"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "plans prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
What are your new years resolutions? To catch up on some posting, I'm going to post a photo from every month, and share a story to go along with it. Sound like fun?
January
This photo makes me laugh. I was trying to get everyone to jump, and nobody wanted to. I was trying to get their attention but I just couldn't. I accidentally took this photo and it ended up being one of the best candid shots this year!
FebruaryIn February I got way more interested in photography, I was trying out techniques, and having ten photo shoots a day! For this photo, my friend and I were out walking around ALL day photographing each other. We thought we should make an artificial puddle to splash in. We had so much fun going back and forth taking pictures. We got really wet and made lots of memories.

March
March was a month of people photos. I got so into taking pictures of kids and fun. This photo was so hard to get. But this little girl was not the deal. The stinking hula hoop would not stay still! No kidding right?

April
 This picture was so much fun to make. We used the self timer and the boys and I went outside to get these shots. The expressions were fantastic and water splashes are pretty cool in pictures.

I had to do two photos for April because this was when I first started using manual mode! Only a few days after. The flowers were in bloom and the next-door neighbors tree hung over our yard. I pointed the camera upward, waited for the beep and snapped away, also capturing some beautiful bokeh.

May
In our old house, a little bunny we gave our bread crusts to always came by. Finally I got out there with the telephoto lens and captured some great bunny photos. We claimed his name was Bun-Bun.

June
 We had so much happen in June, I also have to do two pictures. There's much to our month of June and I can't even share all of it. The cupcake one above is Toby's party. (It was a little late considering his birthday is in January)

My amazing cousins from Arizona came to visit us right after I came home from Summer Camp, where I got baptized. The second day they were here, we had a huge water balloon fight. Then for photos we squeezed water balloons over our heads. (You know, a lot of times to get the right photo, we get wet. If you haven't noticed)

July
 Fourth of July of course! And it was my first time photography sparklers! How did I do?

My cousin Selah came for a visit and oh...More water. We decided to go outside and play with the hose. We. Got. SOAKED.

August
The same friend I mentioned before in this post came over again and we stayed out all day taking photos. She had a new camera and so I was teaching her about all the settings. Oh it was so much fun!

September
We headed to California where my birthday, seeing redwoods, and camping took place. We also went to a few parts of the Pacific ocean. This particular day, I was standing back taking pictures. Maddy and Toby were standing by the shore and a huge wave came. Thank goodness Toby ran back, he would've been pulled in. No joke. It caught Maddy's legs and she fell to her knees. The power of the wave would've taken Toby in, we're thankful that it was Maddy. Because she was okay, just really wet.

OctoberWe headed off to go see the cousins in Arizona. They have a pool in their backyard. I swam 4 times a day, everyday. It was so hot, and the pool was so refreshing. Let me just say, I got 10x tanner.

November
 I am so surprised how well this photo turned out. I was lying on the ground with my shutter speed really slow and I finally got it. We were putting up our Christmas tree pretty early (not for us but maybe for you).

December
Christmas of course! And I got my very own, laptop!

We had an amazing year and we hope to have an even better one next year. Have a great new year everybody!

25 Haziran 2012 Pazartesi

The Storm Coming to Italy's Etnaland

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I'd never heard of Italy's Etnaland before the news broke that the park was adding a slimmed down version of Europa Park's Blue Fire coaster for the 2013 season.  The park features water slides, a Dinosaur Park (think Cedar Fair's Dinosaurs Alive!), and for 2013 what will be a full theme park experience.

Named the Storm, the coaster has the same track colors as Blue Fire, and really could easily pass for the ride if you weren't paying attention.


However, there are some big differences between the Storm and Blue Fire.  The Storm features only one inversion, seen above, and also a lift hill instead of a launch to start things off.  The ride features a few large air-time hills along with plenty of swooping turns.


I think that Manta at SeaWorld San Diego is going to wet the appetites of coaster fans and leave them waiting for a bigger Mack ride to show up in the U.S.  I know I wouldn't mind!  It would be most interesting to see what kind of design Mack could come up with for one of the large North America theme parks... hopefully the day will come.


Live The Adventure in 2013 at Silver Dollar City

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© Silver Dollar City
At least fans of Silver Dollar City have a date to look forward to for the park's 2013 announcement: August 9th.  At least that is if I counted correctly, going off of the countdown clock that is now posted on the ride's official teaser page for the coaster.

Did I say coaster?  Technically the park isn't even saying that much, but considering there is a good part of a wooden coaster built at the park right now, I think it is a pretty safe bet.

The teaser site allows you to sign up for future details as they are released, something I have no doubt we'll all be waiting for!


SeaWorld Orlando's Journey To Atlantis

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It has been many years since I've been on SeaWorld Orlando's Journey to Atlantis, a combo dark ride and water coaster that opened at the park in 1998.  I remember that the attraction looked really neat when it was announced, complete with a flushed out storyline, plenty of theming, and both water and coaster elements.

Then I rode it and... well... the ride is awkward.  The theming comes across as a little nutty, and between making an attempt at actually following the story (which is quite confusing) and playing name-that-Danny-Elfman music, it's a bit of a blur.  What seemed cool in concept was a bit odd in reality.

I'm thinking about this because there's not too much exciting going on right now, and I happened to be on You Tube and came across a pov of the ride.  Then I found some more, and in the end I wanted to share the ride's kookiness with you all.  Enjoy.

 




A Western View - Southern California's New Big Hitters

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Lately I’ve been focused on photo updates and lost sight ofwriting articles that are more than just captions.  Today we’re going to switch it up and I’mgoing to review the 2 major dark rides that recently opened in SouthernCalifornia, Disney California Adventure’s Radiator Springs Racers and UniversalStudios Hollywood’s Transformers: The Ride – 3D.
Radiator SpringsRacers
First up is Radiator Springs Racers, which opened lastFriday at Disney California Adventure (DCA). Cars Land is the final puzzle pieceto the DCA billion dollar overhaul, and Radiator Springs Racers is the starattraction of the all-new land. 
Upon arrival to the park around 7:20am I noticed the usuallybusy Disneyland looked like a ghost town with almost no one trying to enter thepark.  Across the esplanade, DCA hadhundreds, if not thousands, awaiting their chance to enter.  It was very clear that Disneyland’s littlebrother has finally been noticed by guests to the resort.   The majority of the crowd opted to getfastpasses before waiting in line, making it easy for me to sneak into a short15 minute wait thanks to the single rider line.
The ride begins with a slow, but breathtaking, drive alongthe land’s amazing rockwork and past a waterfall.  Disney uses spectacular music to emphasis thesites you see.  It’s hard not to getchills as you emerge from a small tunnel and the waterfall comes into viewwhile the great music reaches a crescendo.

Not only does the ride have great theming, but so does that queue.
Next you head into the building getting into a few nearmisses with Mack, Van and Minny, and even a train.  You’re greeted by the Sherriff, who warns youto slow down, and then hands you off to Mater. The Mater animatronics are some of the most impressive I’ve seen.   Not only is the face motion spot on, but hisentire body movement as he drives looks just as it does in the films.   After some cow tipping shenanigans you findyourself in Radiator Springs where we meet most of the town folk.
Here is where Lightning and Sally separate the cars so theycan race along side of each other.  Youare sent into either Ramon’s paint shop or Luigi’s tire store.  Both rides I ended up in Luigi’s where youstop and view your car.   Guido quicklydrops under the floor and moments later your car’s reflection is shown with newwhitewall tires.
Moving from the shops you have a brief encounter with DocHudson who gives you some advice and sends you to the starting line.  Again, Disney works their magic as theanimatronic looks amazing and syncs perfect with the car audio.  Just as you pass Doc you hear him on the“radio” finishing his instructions before the race.  The switch from the animatronic audio to theonboard audio is seamless as if he never stopped talking. And then the moment for the big race is here.   Going into the ride knowing it only went ata relatively slow 40mph, I was expecting to only be mildly thrilled.   Surprisingly though, the ride has greatpositive forces in the banks and even gives you some decent airtime over thehills.
After the race is over you drive into a cavern with taillightsjutting from the roof and floor.   Thisscene was the only one I didn’t care for as the props looked like they weremade of plastic and didn’t blend well with the amazing rockwork.  Here you get a final word from Mater andLightning and then you head into the station to exit.
Overall the ride is amazingly solid and a lot of fun.  The dark ride portion is one of the bestDisney has ever done and the race is up there on the thrill scale for a Disneyride.  Radiator Springs Racers gets astrong A grade from me. The ride is sure to be a must for all visitors for many,many years to come, just expect to have to wait.
Transformers: TheRide – 3D
Next up, Universal Studios Hollywood has put in its bid fordark ride dominance in Southern California with the new Transformers: The Ride– 3D.   The ride, which was announcednearly 3 years ago, opened officially on May 25th and has beengetting some outstanding reviews.  I setout on a mission the ride and judge for myself.
The entrance is not easy to miss. 
Like Radiator Springs Racers, I was able to utilize theride’s single rider line and bypass the large 65 minute wait in a mere 10minutes.  I can’t say enough about singlerider lines, as they work sometimes better than a fastpass system for waittimes as long as you are ok separating from your group.
Once aboard I had a vague idea of what to expect.  Prior to my visit, I made it a point to avoidany POVs on YouTube and be fully surprised with the experience.  I have ridden Curse of DarKastle at BuschGardens Williamsburg; so I thought I knew what the ride would be like, at leastfrom a movement standpoint going from screen to screen, but boy was Iwrong. 
The ride is incredibly fast paced.  It gets going from the first scene and neverlets up.  Drawing from my memory of DarKastleI recall always noticing when we got to a new movie screen, with Transformersthe surroundings and videos blended seamlessly. There was a few times where I felt speechless at the quality of themingand sheer size of the sets, only to realize that huge scene I was looking atwas all CGI projections on a screen.  I’mnot sure I’ve ever experienced such visual quality from a projected film on anamusement park attraction.
Like the park's Simpsons ride, Transformers has humorous and fun videos playing in the queue.
The ride’s story is easy to follow and exciting to watchunfold, and just like Indiana Jones Adventure, the ride never forgets you aresimply tourist thrown into an extraordinary story.   Your transforming ride vehicle, EVAC, eventalks you and tries to keep everyone calm as he tries to get everyone out ofharms way.  I feel like this addssomething to the ride, making it easier on the riders to suspenddisbelief. 
By the end of the ride, the cars return with laughingcheering guests who are still riding the adrenaline rush.  And this ride succeeds in getting youradrenaline pumping, in fact I’m not sure a non-coaster has ever got my bloodpumping quite like this thing.
After my ride I thought about how I would describe thisattractions.  It’s not an ok ride; shoot,I can’t even describe it as a great ride. The only two words I can really say are game changer.  What this ridesays is that Universal will no longer back down in submission to Disney’s irongrip on the Southern California market. This ride doesn’t just say Universal can also build big themed darkrides, it says they can build them better. I will make one of the boldest statements I’ve probably ever said abouta ride; Transformers is the best amusement park attraction I have everexperienced.  My grade for it is an A++.
That will wrap us up this time.  Check back later this week for a brief lookat Buena Vista Street before we bring you full coverage of the openings of LEXLUTHOR: Drop of Doom and SUPERMAN Ultimate Flight.


Fresh Silver Dollar City Construction Photos

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If there were any doubt that Silver Dollar City's new coaster was going to have some wicked overbank turns that doubt can officially be put to rest.

Some new photos just uploaded today onto Flickr show the current state of the large turnaround being built that will take place after the immensely steep first drop.  The last ledger that has been put into place to hold the ride's track is quite upside-down, and looks rather radical.

This ride just keeps getting more and more interesting with each segment they build!


24 Haziran 2012 Pazar

Vacation Part 1 :: The Beginning

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I'm not even going to wonder why I've been gone so long. I'm home now. And HOPEFULLY I can get back into the posting groove. Please stay here!

Micky-D's in Wyoming. (and may I just add, I look awful)From right to left: Gabriel, Maddy, Toby, and Me.
This was at a food-drive-type-thing that we did. We gave hamburgers to the poor in Nevada.

Now you've seen me when I'm high on sugar. End of story.
Left to Right: Me and Maddy


 There's more posts coming with more of the trip! I am actually drafting them now.

What do you think of the photos?



About Maddy

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Lets take a break and talk about my cousin, Maddy. Maddy is twelve just like me, (but she's 11 days younger). Shes super tall like 5'6 or something like that. She has really short hair now that she cut it. She has blue-hazel eyes. She's from Texas (imagine how shocked she id about the cold here in Colorado) She's a Christian. She has 3 brothers and 1 sister. Most of the time we get along, but not always. Do you guys think you could pray for her and her family?  I hope you will learn more about Maddy throughout the rest of the year!

Thanks for reading!

Christmas is around the corner!

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I am so upset and I expect to lose many followers from my scarce posting. Now that we're home from California and all settled in I should be posting lots more often.

Christmas is seriously not too far away, It's actually crazy. Wasn't it Christmas yesterday? No? Oh. Well then. I will start posting more vacation photos VERY soon. I will make myself a reminder each day to post.

I am in our church's Christmas play this year! I have about 60 lines. It's so much fun and we are doing the play on December 11th.

I go to youth group every Wednesday night and yesterday I became a student leader. Which basically means I get to help out each week at youth! I was pretty excited.

It is snowing outside currently, we have about 3 inches so far! Have you been getting snow?

Some other major news: Oh hey, we got puppies! 2 adorable, little, girl puppies! They are doxen poodle mixes. In fact, one puppy is sitting on my lap now. Their names are Oreo and Reese's.

My best friend Ellie is an amazing photographer and she posts much more often than I do. Please go check out her blog at: http://BLANK.blogspot.com



We are doing a co-op tomorrow about making crafts with milk-jugs. Do you guys have any ideas? :)

In the next post I will do photos I just haven't had the camera out as often as usual.

My school curriculum this year is on the computer and I get up each day at 7:00 to do it early each morning. It's called S.O.S. Have any of you ever heard of it?

Maddy broke her toes 2 days ago. Yipes. She hit it on our coffee table. Who knew a coffee table could be after you?

It doesn't feel like fall here...More like winter.

Thank you all for still following even though I've been gone for so long!