Since I neglected to blog over the past 8 months or so, I decided that maybe just hitting the highlights to catch up would be best to get me back on track and blogging again. So here's a glimpse of what the rest of 2015 included...
Spring Visitors
As spring hit, I was blessed by wonderful visitors from March through May. First to arrive were my awesome cousins, Amanda and Jason, making the road trip from Oklahoma.
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| Love my cousins! |
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| Hiking in Cheyenne Canyon |
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| They fed me REALLY good! |
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But we also had to go out to some of my
favorite local spots |
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| All visitors must have iTopit :-) |
The day they left, my parents drove in from Texas. Just enough time to get the sheets and towels washed :) We got to celebrate birthdays, go on a little day trip to Fort Collins, and celebrate Easter together.
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| The joy of watching children at an Easter Egg Hunt |
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| Hiking in Horse Tooth Falls - Fort Collins, CO |
We quickly turned around and took a quick work trip to Phoenix. Well, I worked and they played.
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What's a trip to Arizona without some
cactus pictures? |
The real motivation for my dad wanting to come on the work trip...
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| The Rangers happen to be in Spring Training nearby |
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My view from the work conference, wishing I was outside
playing in the mountains |
In April, I got to be part of a Guinness World Record. I couldn't have found a better record to be part of - the most people making and eating a s'more at the same time!!!
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| Christine - my super s'more buddy and marshmallow supporter |
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| We did it! New world record! |
Just a few weeks later, my mom and dad made the trip back up because they're just that wonderful. They were able to be here to celebrate my birthday and Mothers' Day with me! They were also here at the perfect time to help me start my very first garden plot in the community garden by my office.
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| Little birthday getaway to a cabin on the river in the mountains |
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Work birthday - can you believe that cake!!!
Bet you can't guess which animal was for me ;) |
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| Birthday dinner with dear college friends |
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| S'more birthday party!!! |
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| Appreciate that my friends support my s'more obsession |
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| Manual labor at the garden - my dad's present to me |
Then at the end of May, I was so fortunate to finish off my spring visitors with Candiss and Taylor! They were able to be here for Memorial Day weekend, which was so much fun! Time was short, so we packed in as much fun as we could. The trip was complete with a trip to The Cave of the Winds, Garden of the Gods, Territory Days, a pizza night, delicious Indian food, two trips to The Wines of Colorado, and a game night with friends.
There's nothing quite like fun, quality time with close friends. I only wish and could have been longer and can't wait for them to come back!
Travels
Somehow between visitors in the middle of May, I managed to squeeze in two work trips. First, I was invited to Eugene, OR to present at a conference for the Chalkboard Project. It still baffles me that people ask ME to come do public speaking and I actually ENJOY it! God has certainly done a work in me to bring me from the shy kids that I was to who I am today. It was my first time to ever be in Oregon, and it rained the entire time, which seemed very fitting. I still enjoyed getting to see Eugene with the river and the campus.
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| Enjoying a nice run by the river |
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| Duck apparel was everywhere! |
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| My favorite discovery on my run |
The second trip was my annual trip to DC for all the TIF Grant Project Directors. If you've kept up with past trips, you know that this is always an excuse for a mother-daughter trip. We always love our DC trip! Well, technically we were in Tyson's Corner this year, but close enough. We flew in a day early so that we could enjoy the weekend and do some sight seeing. This time we chose to explore Old Town Alexandria
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Living in Colorado makes me appreciate the chance to be near
the water |
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| The highlight of Alexandria if you ask me :) |
Back near our hotel, we found an excellent Middle Eastern restaurant. You know it's going to be good when you have to wait a while and most of the people in the restaurant are Middle Eastern.
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| That's considered a single serving. Wow! |
I also had the opportunity to go to two conferences in Colorado for work over the summer. The first one was by far the best conference I have ever attended! It was put on by the Colorado Education Initiative, which is an organization doing great work here and really supporting school districts. I mean, how could a conference in Snowmass (right outside of Apsen) not be amazing?! Plus I got to go with my sweet coworker who was totally game for just going with the flow and having as much fun as possible.
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This is my kind of conference - professional
development on a nature hike |
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| Morning runs through the wild flowers |
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We even squeezed in a trip to the Maroon Bells
When in Aspen, right? |
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They even had a s'more bar one night as a networking
event. Masako's first s'more ever! |
The second conference was not quite as exciting, but it was still nice to mingle with other districts, get out of the office, and enjoy some pampering in Breckenridge.
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| Night #1 in Breck with an awesome sky |
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| Night #2 in Breck with an equally awesome sky |
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| Why I'm actually in Breck |
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What I enjoyed most about Breck
Now that's a burrito!
Highly recommend Cup O' Joe if you're ever in town |
We also had a family vacation in the middle of summer to Washington and Oregon, but I don't think I can just stick it here in the highlights. I've decided it will have to be its own post because there's just too many great things to share!
Gardening
Like I mentioned above, my parents were here to help me get the garden plot prepped and ready for growing. It did great! I had so much fun and learned a lot. I had squash out the wazoo and plenty to share. My kitchen was often overflowing with veggies. I loved having my own produce to enjoy all summer long and well into fall!
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| Just the beginnings |
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| Starting to really take off |
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| Harvest time! |
Summer Fun with Friends
I also got to just have fun hanging out and doing summer things with friends - outdoor movies, summer concerts, tea parties, s'mores, and Fightin' Texas Aggie Football Game!
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| Tea party with the women! |
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| My Leading Edge teens - summer Boot Camp |
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| Geo-caching day with my work team |
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| Sweet friend that loves selfies |
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| Summer concert in the park with friends |
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Bachelorette day in Buena Vista
Yes, we dared the bride to arm wrestle a stranger |
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Celebrated Cow Appreciation Day with
Meredith for the 6th year in a row |
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| My fellow cows and Chick-fil-a fans |
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Outdoor movie night
(Actually we hung out on top of a parking garage
with hundreds of people and never actually got to
watch the movie because the wind picked up right
at dark and blew the screen over. Oh well, we still
had fun! |
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| Hiked Mt. Princeton (Elev. 14,197 ft) with Nikki & Gabe |
My friends Aaron and Tiffany got married in Crested Butte in July. They asked me to do a s'more bar at the reception. I jumped right on that with great enthusiasm! It was a dream come true. I could not even express how much I enjoyed running the s'more bar. Pure joy!
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| I think I could get into this |
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| Bride & Groom gettin' their s'mores! |
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| Having way too much fun! |
Thanks to some generous, true Aggie friends, I was able to go to my first Aggie football game as an alumni. On top of that, it was the first game ever in the newly revamped stadium. I didn't feel like I was in the same Kyle Field at all. It's so fancy now!
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| Just entering the new Kyle Field |
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| Whoop! |
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| Gig'em Aggies! |
Got to spend time with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
We spent some time in the kitchen trying a few new things.
