10 years

Brian and I celebrated 10 years of marriage on Aug. 11! It feels like a real milestone, this hitting the decade mark. I will never claim to have a perfect marriage, because we are simply two imperfect people who love each other and are committed to each other and our family. Sometimes we make each other laugh, other times we make each other mad. At times there are tears of joy, other times tears of frustration. Above all, there have been many great memories and experiences that I am so glad we have shared. We enjoyed a quick but wonderful getaway, during which we discussed the past 10 years and some of the highlights, then speculated on what the next 10 will bring (Connor will be heading to college! Isabel will be almost dating! Lucas will be starting high school! Mason will be 11! Where will our careers have brought us? Where will we be living?). There is such comfort and joy in sharing this journey together. But enough of the sappy stuff.

Brian's mom graciously agreed to stay with the children (we've never left all 4 before!), and we are so grateful to her! By all reports the children were stellar and all had a great time. As did we...

We went to Breckenridge, and stayed at a cute little Inn, with lovely views-

We spent several lovely leisurely hours walking along the Blue River and around town-

Breck offers a FREE gondola ride from right in town up to the base of Peak 8, so we hopped on that and had a fun ride. At the top is a huge fun park -mostly geared toward children - but we had fun walking around. The huge snow piles continue to remind of the record snowfalls the mountains received this winter!
Views from the gondola-

A picturesque old building on main street-

The Blue River as it winds through town-

We had a gloriously wonderful dinner at Mi Casa (Best.Queso.Ever. And the tres leches cake was pretty sock-knockin' too), overlooking the river-

I had to show just how much I loved the place-

We went paddleboating on Dillon Reservoir, which was so relaxing, beautiful and just... ahhhh. Blissful. Brian and I both grew up with family cabins on lakes (his in the Colorado mountains, mine in the woods of Northern Minnesota), and we LOVE to be on the water. Some of our favorites past trip highlights include a whalewatching cruise in Alaska and taking a ferry across the Puget Sound in Washington. A dream is to someday have a cabin and a boat. One can dream.

Views from the paddleboat-

This is quite possibly my favorite boat name ever. EVER! I couldn't stop saying it (just ask Brian). You try. It's addicting.

We lunched at The Island Grill restaurant, overlooking the marina. We shared the blackened fish tacos - which were out of this world, and I do consider myself quite the connoisseur of fish tacos, with them being one of my all-time favorite foods), and the coconut shrimp with mango red chile dipping sauce - phenomenally good.
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For our pirate-loving boys-

We shopped the outlet malls at Silverthorne for a bit, then stopped in Georgetown. I had read - on author Sandra Dallas' blog - about a new cupcake/cake shop that just opened in Georgetown, and ordered some anniversary cupcakes. When we went to pick them up, the owner had decided instead to make us a tiny wedding cake, filled with homemade raspberry filling. I was gleefully excited! Such a fun little something for our 10th.

The darling little shop isn't much bigger than a cupcake itself (totally stole that description from Ms. Dallas)-

Happy anniversary Brian! Thanks for marrying me. :) Love you!

A day in Estes Park

We spent a fun summer day in Estes Park with my parents, sister Kristina and her 2 boys, and my brother and SIL Nate and Alli.

We lunched, played in a (safe) part of the river, window shopped, visited our favorite candy store and picked out some sweet treats, and walked around the lovely town. Always a favorite destination!

Isabel loves mountain lions; she named this one "Aurora."

I love the way this picture captured the sunlight sparkling on the water, a pure photographic happenstance-

Road to the Sky

I have lived in Colorado for nearly 12 years, and had never been to the top of Mt. Evans. I decided to amend this when my mom was visiting (she's ALWAYS up for a grand adventure!), so we took the kiddos on an amazing outing.

The road takes you to the summit parking lot at 14,130 feet; it is the highest paved road in North America. On the drive to the top, you pass through 3 life zones. From the summit parking lot, you can choose to hike 1/4 mile (130 feet elevation gain) to the actual summit, which is 14,264 feet. The experience is all the things you would expect it to be: breathtaking, stunning, glorious, awe-inspiring and the epitome of grandeur, tossed with a bit of thin air and, at times, a heart-racing drive.

The stunning Echo Lake, near the Mt. Evans Entrance Station-

The glorious Summit Lake. At 12,830 feet, it is a gorgeous high alpine lake. The area to the east of the lake is Summit Lake Flats and is the only known area of permafrost located in the United States outside of Alaska. Pretty cool.

We several kinds of wildlife, including marmots, pika, and a lot of bighorn sheep (brown) and mountain goats (white), some so close we could smell them (not a good smell). Just fascinating. The kids were super excited to see baby bighorn sheep.

The views were... well, I think they speak for themselves-

I am fascinated by the tundra (have visited Alaska twice love it!). I tried to capture how tiny these lovely little blue flowers were next to Isabel's finger; it is blurry, but you get the idea-

The actual summit-

The remains of the Crest House at the Summit-

My mom, Connor and Lucas hiking to the summit-

Scenes from the drive. At times, the drive made my knuckles go white, my arms lock in fear, and my heart race. I drove up, and my mom took over the wheel on the drive down.

14,000+ feet will wear one out. (He's faking, she's not)-

I am so glad we did this! What an incredible day. Yet another reason I adore Colorado.