A grand time in Winter Park.

When we moved to Colorado we became instantly more popular. All of the sudden a lot of people wanted to come visit us, I guess Boise, Idaho never really sounded all that cool. Of course we are never ones to turn away a good visitor. So we were very pleased when my dear sister, Tenille, and her husband, Ben decided to come be apart of our Colorado journey. I think they were pretty excited to come north a little bit, considering that that particular weekend was supposed to reach 118 in Arizona, which should be illegal.

Before they had journeyed our way they did some serious research as to what activities to participate in in this part of the country, and I think right when Ben stumbled along Trestle Bike Park in Winter Park, Colorado he was entirely sold. This place is a mountain biker's heaven. Seriously. You take a lift up the mountain and then you ride down. And repeat. And yes, that kind of takes the workout of the mountain biking experience, but since Tenille and I took the lift up, then hiked down, I can't really say much, since that is just about the same thing :)

While the boys frolicked around the mountain Tenille and I signed up for the "Adventure Pass" that included all sorts of adventurous things such as: a rock wall, a trampoline thing, a bounce house (shaped as a snow cat), a maze (that I could almost see over), an alpine slide, and lots of other things that the kids 8 and under were super excited about. And we used that adventure pass to the fullest, well almost. Since Tenille is expecting a little one in August she watched me and all of the other little adventurers have a grand time. But, she told me not to worry, because I fit in just fine.

You can obviously see that the boys tore it up. They looked so intense in all of their gear and when Brandon did that stare off into the distance face I felt like I was witnessing a real life professional. Which he pretty much is :) 

We loved having our family up here and loved that we could explore with them and hope that more people follow in their footsteps, hint hint :)

When you start to explore Colorado.

I think the teacher in me has rubbed off into various areas of my life. For example, we wanted to go on a fun weekend trip and I created a totally awesome PowerPoint to show all of the different places we could go. A real PowerPoint guys, with handcrafted designs and links and pictures and videos and everything that makes a really great PowerPoint.
Anyways, the PowerPoint did its job and we chose to trek our way up to the Vail area.

It is so pretty there.
So pretty.
The way the aspens litter the mountains and work their way through the pines like they have a place to be and they are going to get there if it is the last thing they do. It kind of takes your breath away.

We hiked and biked and walked through the little towns and just had such a nice time. We also stayed in a 4 star hotel that did not have air conditioning. I repeat, did not. I think Brandon was in total shock when we entered the room and it was a good 80 degrees. Actually, he probably is still in shock. He made sure to clarify with the man at the desk that this hotel really did not have AC, the attendant informed Brandon that that was obviously what windows were for. Well, duh.

Also, have you ever hiked in the mountains of Colorado? It is not that easy. I mean it's super pretty, but just not that easy. Especially when the hikes you choose literally go straight up. Like so straight that when we came to rocks in the trail I had to use my hands because my short little legs couldn't make it over the rocks in one step. (That seriously made me sound like a midget and even though I had to clarify to some of my students that although I am on the shorter side I am not a midget, 5 feet over here folks). And then imagine doing that for like oh, 2 miles. And gaining serious elevation. Seriously, is 1,500 feet in 2 miles even legal? I don't think so.

Hopefully I am not painting a bleak picture in your mind, because it was very fun. I just love these weekend trips with my hubby. Here are some pictures to prove its beauty and its wonderfulness :)

Now, stay tuned for our next weekend adventure. Because oh my goodness, it was a serious adventure. Like the use of tents and everything :)

some random musings instead of doing productive things.

Saturday while working diligently at GH (aka Great Harvest) I got a piece of lettuce in my left eye. Yes, a legitimate piece of lettuce, albeit rather small. And it stung quite bad. And I think the other girls I was working with thought I had gone slightly crazy, because they couldn't decipher how a piece of lettuce would end up in my eye.

Today I found myself getting super frustrated at work. I think I almost made a child cry when I demanded if he wanted his free slice of bread. I used my extra high Great Harvest voice-the voice that sounds nice and friendly but is really underlying with Cruella de Vil evilness. He didn't stay in the store for that long. Especially since he was close the the trashcan that I gently kicked out of my way but really skirted 4 feet across the floor. I wonder if he will return for a second free slice. 

Draw Something and Scramble with Friends totally stress me out. I can never keep up on my games. Last night I finally caught up and now I am behind again. I just want some closure. The struggle is I enjoy them. I just sort of fail at them.

I rode my bike to work today. It was a great decision until the sky turned all gray and it started to smell like rain. Good thing Brandon followed me all the way home just in case I needed to be rescued from a very unwelcome rainstorm.

By the way, did you even know that we got ridiculously legitimate bikes a few weeks ago? I bet not. Brandon and I love our new bikes. All graduation funds went to support this endeavor. Thank you contributors who unknowingly supported our healthy lifestyle change.

Look at those beauties.

I am patiently waiting for Brandon to return home. Since we both worked and Brandon had a meeting tonight I haven't really been able to see him. Good thing I have a plethora of photographs that I can look at that help me not miss him quite as much. But, I hope he returns home soon.

Just one of many cute photos I have of brandon.

I better end my musings for the night. I know you're probably still wondering how that piece of lettuce got in my eye, but it will do you some good to ponder about it. Ha, have a wonderful evening!