July, August and September were packed full of Colorado fun! Summer in Colorado is by far my favorite. I survive the winters so that I can enjoy the summers. :)
I kicked off July with a 4th of July camping trip by Cottonwood Lake, outside of Buena Vista. It was pretty cold and drizzly, making it feel more like we were in the Pacific Northwest, but we enjoyed the beauty nonetheless. This was also my first experience of camping with a hammock instead of sleeping in a tent. I am now completely sold on the hammock! I don't think I'll ever go back to sleeping in a tent. Gone are the days of sleepless nights on the hard ground!
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| My hammock set up - the rain fly was very necessary |
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| Always love an adventure with this girl! |
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Nikki's attempt at a campfire pizza roll - Pinterest lied!
Didn't stop us from eating it though :) |
The next weekend I decided to embark on a road trip across Kansas and Oklahoma. You're probably thinking, and most people said to me, why?! You have to have a really good reason to want to drive across Kansas and Oklahoma, and I did. I was determined to see some very special people who happened to be in KS and OK. I wanted to see my good friend Lori (you may remember her from my Pohnpei days) before she left the country again.
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| Woohoo! Made it to Kansas! |
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| Still loves yellow! Remember the yellow birthday party? |
Then I made my way down to Oklahoma for a very special 3 year old birthday party. It was the first birthday party that my cousins got to have for the precious boy they are adopting. I couldn't miss that! What fun to meet him and get to celebrate with them. I apparently didn't take any pictures because we were having way too much fun playing dinosaurs and running around the yard. :) Every single mile was worth it!
The next week was Cow Appreciation at Chick-fil-a. Who would pass up an opportunity to dress up like a cow and get free food?
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| 7th year in a row that we've celebrated together! |
Then came another fun Colorado trip to Snowmass to visit a friend and get my first taste of real, outdoor rock climbing. It had always seemed a bit scary to me, but I had a blast!
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| Can't beat the views in Aspen |
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| Here I go! |
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| Climbing gives you quite a rush! |
I was super excited to be asked to do another s'more bar at a wedding at the end of July. It was for a friend who had seen me do the s'more bar the year before and thought it would be perfect for her brother's wedding. It was! The wedding was at a boy scout camp in the mountains, very casual, and full of fun. I yet again loved getting to see the excitement of people making s'mores with homemade marshmallows for the first time. It's entertaining to watch people create their flavor combinations with the different marshmallows and chocolate options. First, I decided I better get some business cards if I want to start doing this on the side.
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| Check out that beautiful peanut butter swirl! |
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The setting
Good thing I had my very own fire pit! |
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| Funfetti & Vanilla |
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Strawberry Jalapeno, Peanut Butter,
and the bride's request - Orange Lavender |
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| Lots of chocolate options |
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| I just thought the reception area was fun and fit the setting |
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People couldn't even wait until dark to
get their s'mores started |
If you know anyone wanting to do a s'more bar for an event or you just need some marshmallows, let me know!
One of the most memorable Colorado adventures of the year was a trip to Lake City with my mom and dad. My dad had decided he wanted to hike a mountain, so we made it happen! I researched the 14ers and decided that Handie's Peak was the one we should do. It worked out nice that we could stay in the cute little town of Lake City to enjoy the amazing scenery and acclimate before the hike. I'll let the pictures tell the story. And I promise I actually did cut down on the pictures and only selected my favorites. It's hard not to take a million pictures when you're surrounded by such awesome beauty.
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| View from our cabin |
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| Our homey little cabin |
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Ready for a little hike to get used to the elevation and
take in the views |
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| I found a little kayak at our place |
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| and I couldn't resist taking it out for a paddle on the lake |
After a warm day of fun in the sun and acclimating, the early morning came for the big adventure! It was time to layer up! A storm rolled through in the night and brought some colder weather in the mountains. And little did we know, it also dumped a lot of snow!
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| Geared up |
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| and ready to go! |
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| The first signs that we might encounter snow on this hike |
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The road to the trailhead is only accessible
by 4-wheel drive high clearance vehicles, so
we rented a Jeep. Looks pretty hard core, right? |
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| Here we go! |
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| Gaining elevation quickly |
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| Yep, just a bit of snow up there ;) |
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| Takin' it all in |
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| The summit is in sight |
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| The final steps to the top! |
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Caught the panoramic views just before the clouds
completely enclosed the peak |
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| We did it!!! |
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| Way to go Dad! |
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I thought it was hilarious someone had left a little
dinosaur on the peak |
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Nothing better than PB&J on top of a mountain,
especially when it's made with mango jam |
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| My 14th and Dad's 1st |
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| I felt like the dinosaur needed to be in my picture |
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And then the clouds completely took over, prompting
us to quickly descend from the summit |
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| Down we go |
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| Adding my stone to the cairn - a requirement on my 14er hikes |
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The trail guide kept saying that we would pass a lake on
the way up, but we never saw it. It wasn't until the trip
down that we saw it from above and came over to check it out. |
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| The colors of mountain lakes are indescribable |
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| Lots of marmot friends happy to see the sun coming out |
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As we descended, the sun came out, melted the snow,
and it was like a whole new scene as we reached the bottom |
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| Hiking a 14er in Colorado - check! |
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| So happy and so relieved to be done |
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| This is Jeep territory |
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| What an accomplishment! |
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Enjoying coffee on the porch one more time
before loading up. |
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| Quite a place to get to enjoy a morning cup of coffee |
Little did we know that Lake City is where all the Texans seem to go. Every store, every restaurant, even the neighbor - people from Texas. The Texas accent fit right in. I think we would definitely come back!
Other fun happenings during this time of year included the garden taking off, concerts, hikes with friends, celebrations, and the hot air balloon festival.
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| The squash plants went crazy! |
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| Lauren Daigle & Hillsong United Concert |
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Got to meet up in Denver for a night - still
Mango Escapade buddies even if we're not
both in Colorado any more |
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Crazy cucumber decided it need to grow
through the fence |
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Birthday party selfies - they can't
get enough of them |
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| Love time with this sweet family |
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A Mexican twist on squash pizza - you get creative
when your garden produces more squash than you can
keep up with |
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Celebrating Toasted Marshmallow Day
at work, which might have required me
to use my kitchen torch in the office :) |
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Birthday hike silliness
Would you believe that we almost didn't get to do this
hike because it was pouring down rain just about 30
minutes before? We did some serious praying in the car,
and it was miraculous how God opened up the clouds
and gave us a gorgeous day to celebrate Darcy! |
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| Celebrating Rootbeer Float Day! |
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Soon followed by S'more Day!!! Another one of my
random holiday favorites, of course. |
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| Getting to use my fire pit again |
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| God even gave us a rainbow for the occasion! |
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So thankful for friends that embrace my
random holiday celebrations. Check out
the gooey goodness of that s'more! |
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| My first concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater |
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| Concert friends |
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| Beautiful night for an outdoor concert |
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| Then the fall squashes went crazy! |
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| My favorite of the balloon festival |
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| All the balloons are getting ready to launch |
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| A close 2nd favorite |
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There's something kind of magical about watching
the balloons float through the air |
I finished up September with a great trip to Texas. I got to celebrate my Grandma's 80th birthday with all the family. And then got some time with Candiss and Maggie who had just turned 3 months old.
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| Precious! |
Did I mention that I love summer? It is the best time of the year. So thankful for all the fun and all the quality time with friends and family.
