we hiked!

wow have times changed.  before we had kids our weekends were spent hiking (a lot).  we would wake up leisurely on a saturday, make some coffee, and then spend some time drinking our coffee and deciding where we were going to hike that day.  the dogs always came.  of course.  and after our hike we would come home, relax, shower, order a pizza or maybe even go out to eat!, and spend the evening drinking beer and watching a movie.  anyway, i miss hiking.  when i'm pregnant i always find it hard to do anything terribly physical.  i just get out of breath really easily, which makes anything semi difficult very hard for me.  both summers that i was pregnant were not great as far as hiking goes.  anything easy was no problem unless it was too hot, but anything exciting was really just not going to happen.  when avery was a baby we bought a backpack for her and were so excited to get back to hiking.  and then we discovered that she hated the backpack.  after passing many people on the trail with our screaming baby we learned that most kids don't really like the backpack until they're a bit older. she loves it now, but that first summer with avery was a bit disappointing because we had to sort of readjust our expectations about what a successful hike was.  successful is now nobody screaming their way up or down a mountain.  

this weekend was finally going to be sort of nice weather-wise so we decided to get out and attempt a hike with two kids.  i kept ellie in the ergo (lesson learned) and avery road in the backpack.  we brought dunkin with us.  he's finally, finally stopped limping and we figured this would be a short and easy hike and we'd see how he would do on it.  he actually did fine for the first half and then you could see him start to slow down a lot.  by the end it was pretty clear that he was hurting and he limped around a lot the rest of that day but seemed fine the next day.  basically, he's just old.  i think he's like 70 or more in human years, which means slow, easy, and short adventures are all he can really handle right now.  still it was nice to have him.  he's an awesome dog and avery was actually the one who insisted that we bring him.  she kept telling him to watch out for bikes and was very concerned when he ventured too far ahead.   

the hike was pretty quick, but had nice views of the flatirons, which are my favorite mountains to look at.  we let avery get out a bit and run around and she loved it.  she kept saying 'i'm hiking' and then climbed all over the rocks.  when we put her back in the backpack on the way back she could barely stay awake.  and the next day she kept asking to go hiking.  unfortunately i think we'll have to wait for the weekends because i'm not quite sure how i could do it with two kids.  hopefully spring will be hurry up and we'll have lots of warm weather to hike in.  and next time i think we'll leave the dunk at home and bring crazy henry.    

thirty!

whelp, it's official.  i'm old.  i turned 30 on  sunday, and i was a little sad to leave my 20s behind.  it was a pretty good decade.  i graduated college and grad school, met charlie, got married, moved to colorado, and had a baby.  a pretty good 10 years.  BUT these next 10 years have a lot of potential.  i'm looking forward to more stability and more time with the people i love. 

i didn't have any huge plans for my birthday.  mostly i just wanted to spend the day with charlie and avery without doing any house projects, cleaning, working, or errand running.  i was lucky that my birthday fell on a sunday so neither charlie or i had to work.  

don't say that henry looks old.  he's middle aged.  

we went for a short hike in the morning.  we did the flatirons vista trail, although we only did part of it because we were all hungry and avery was getting tired.  we actually haven't had her back in the backpack since last fall.  i cannot believe that we haven't done any hiking this summer, especially with the amazing weather that we've had all season.  she did great in the backpack and really seemed to enjoy it this time.  we hiked for a bit (really more of a walk) and then let her get out and wander around for a little bit before heading back.  as much as i miss my snuggly baby from last summer it was nice to have a happy, toddler who was into everything, pointing at the mountains and purple flowers and calling henry when he ran too far ahead.  we brought henry with us on the hike and left dunkin back at home.  he's getting so old these days and is limping around a lot.  :(  but we did play a little ball with him in the backyard when we got back home, so don't worry he still gets plenty of love.  

we wanted to eat lunch at centro but we had henry with us and couldn't get a table right outside where we could sit next to him so we ended up at pasta jays.  lunch was pretty good although i swear it gets harder and harder to eat out with avery these days.  

we came back home and hung out, watched charlie cut the grass, played with dunkin and then ate some cake.





and, in the words of tim mcgraw, here's to the next 30 years.

my next thirty years will be the best years of my life, 
raise a little family and hang out with my [hubs]
spend precious moments with the ones that i hold dear
make up for lost time here, in my next thirty years

another hike!

yep, we hiked two weekends in a row.  pretty sure that hasn't happened since 2009.  who knows, maybe we'll get all crazy and do it again this weekend.  i seriously can't explain how nice it is to be able to do these things with a baby again.  especially because of everyone who said when i was pregnant 'oh, just you wait until the baby comes. everything will change'.  that was charlie's least favorite piece of advice from people.  obviously things have changed, but not in the way that we sit in our house all day because we're afraid to mess with avery's nap schedule.  i mean, maybe if my daughter had a nap schedule this might be more true, but regardless, we're getting out of the house.  

anyway we drove up to the indian peaks national forest to do this hike that charlie had done a few years ago with a friend.  i hadn't done it yet and it was definitely a pretty popular location.  we had to park at a different trailhead but it turned out to be just fine because it still linked up with the trail we were planning on hiking.  this time of year is my favorite for hiking because the temperature is perfect and the leaves are changing.  unfortunately there's also a lot of people out driving around and taking pictures of the aspens so things can get pretty crowded.  

i forgot the camera this trip so we had to use our phones.  charlie had avery in the backpack the way there and i had the dogs.  as a general rule i hate hiking when the dogs can't be off leash.  and they couldn't for this trail.  i'm normally not a rule follower but it was crowded enough that it was easier just to keep them with me.  luckily they've gotten much better about being on-leash in their old age.

this was right in front of long lake.  appropriately named.  we hiked along this lake for a bit until we got to isabelle lake, which was where we stopped.  the trail does continue to the glacier (isabelle glacier), which feeds the lake but to the lake and back was about 6 miles and we decided not to push our luck with avery.  

the lake was actually really low, which meant there was a pretty substaintial beach area.

that's me with the dogs attempting to get henry to stay.

i took this picture.  and then henry took off.  you can sort of see it here, that he's not going to last too much longer.  he ran over to some sunbathers, jumped over them, shook sand all over them and their stuff and then ran back.

in this picture you can sort of seem them in the distance.  henry was now tied to a rock but you can see he's looking for more trouble.  

the best part was that this was avery's first time in the sand!  we're heading back to maryland in october and i've been telling charlie that we have to take avery to the beach so that she can see the atlantic ocean for the first time.  but it was pretty cool that she got to experience sand here.  she loved it and was content to sit there and pick handfuls up and let it run through her fingers.  we even took her socks off so she could walk around in it but all she wanted to do was sit and play with it.  she wasn't too happy when we finally made her stop playing so she could eat her lunch.  squash!

we headed back to the car and stopped in nederland for lunch on the way back.  we've driven through the town a few times but never stopped.  it's definitely an interesting place.

during lunch one of the guys who worked at the restaurant came up to us and started talking about avery.  

dude: cute baby, what is she four months?

me: nope she's 9, just really tiny.

dude: wow no kidding. my baby was a premie too.  was she a premie?

me: nope, she was 2 weeks late.  we're just small people.   

dude: no kidding.  

sometimes i really don't know why people talk to me.  another woman there asked me if she eats food.  like literally, 'does she eat food?'.  no lady, we don't believe that humans should eat food.  that's probably why she's so tiny, we make her hunt for her own meals.  

a little saturday hike.

this saturday we headed to breckenridge for a quick hike.  fall is my favorite time of year in the mountains and we always try and get up there to see the aspens changing colors.  last year we were lucky and spent a weekend in steamboat springs when the leaves were at their peak and it was such a nice relaxing trip.  this year we're headed back to maryland in october so we knew we wouldn't be taking a weekend trip anywhere but breckenridge is one of our favorite quick day trips.  a few years ago we did the mccullough gulch hike and then had lunch in town and i was thinking we could do the same thing again this year.  i heard that the aspens were already changing and i wanted to make it up to see them before it was too late.  

the hike is pretty short, only 2.8 miles but pretty steep in parts, and ends at a beautiful lake.  since avery's still not really into the backpack and is getting to the age where being in a carrier for hours at a time isn't the most fun, i've been looking for some shorter hikes that we can do.  since we don't get to hike nearly as often as we used to i like to make sure our hikes are either really pretty during or worth it at the end.  this one is definitely worth it at the end and was a perfect distance to do with a baby.

for the first time aver actually made it up the entire hike in the backpack.  this is pretty huge progress, especially considering we didn't even have to stop to take her out once on the way up.  

charlie carried the backpack and i carried a regular daypack and the ergo because after our hike up royal arch i knew i wasn't going anywhere without it.  this was a pain on the way down because i had avery in the ergo on my front and the backpack on my back, until charlie took the backpack form me about halfway down after complaining that i was taking too long.  

it was pretty chilly and windy once we got to the lake but at this point avery was just happy to be out of the backpack and ready to explore.  her little socks got pretty dirty from walking around (not on her own, people!) and i'm pretty sure she ate a rock at some point, but she was happy to be free.  this was also her first hike above treeline.  the lake is at about 12,000 feet and right below quandary peak, which we hiked before baby.

we let her play for a bit and then headed back down to find some food.

since there weren't really any aspens on the hike we had to take some pictures that proved the leaves really were changing.  this is avery grabbing my nose.  if you ask her 'where's my nose' she'll grab and and then clap for herself.  we're raising a child who must cheer for herself after she accomplishes anything.  she's going to have a hard time in school where they don't give breaks for cheering every time you sharpen your pencil.  (yes, there is a leaf in my hair).

a happy baby = a successful hike.  my how times have changed.  :)

labor day weekend and hiking with a baby.

i love labor day weekend, well really any weekend that has three days is okay in my book, which these days is every weekend since i don't work mondays.  but it's always nice when the people i love are off with me as well.  this labor day weekend we were extra lucky to have visitors spend some time with us and it was also my birthday, which makes me even happier.  we had plans to hike royal arch on saturday but we got caught in a rainstorm and spent most of the afternoon in a shelter waiting for it to stop raining.

after the storm passed we decided to head back down to town.  i didn't have enough clothes for this lady if we kept hiking and the rain came back.  so we left the car at chatauqua and walked to downtown since we were covered in mud and didn't want a muddy henry in the back of the jeep.  we ended up eating at centro, a place we've been meaning to try for years but it's across the street from pasta jays where we always seem to end up.  the most memorable part of the day was that charlie had the first (and second) margarita of his love.  

at the beginning, when the backpack was acceptable.

we went back to chatauqua on sunday to hike again, and unfortunately this time we forgot the ergo.  biggest mistake ever.  we bought a backpack for avery before we went to telluride and found out there that she didn't like it at all.  since she's happy in the ergo for hours i like to just use that but charlie likes to bring both so that she gets used to the backpack and then we can switch her to the ergo when she's had enough.  we hiked for a bit and then stopped for lunch when avery started to get fussy.

that girl loves her some food. 

after avery ate we attempted to put her back in the backpack and she was all 'haha suckers that's not happening'.  in her book it was naptime and since she can't nap in the backpack she was over it.  she wanted to be carried by me and only me.  considering the fact that i'm still not in the best shape after having a baby it was quite a fun hike with her in my arms.  when we were almost at the top i remembered the aden & anais blanket that i had brought with us and fashioned a makeshift sling which helped a lot.

we finally made it to the top after stopping again to feed avery and started down.  as soon as we started down she feel asleep.  how she can sleep while i'm walking down a mountain but still manages to wake up twice a night is a mystery to me.  anyway, the moral of the story is don't go anywhere without the ergo.  i would only consider that a semi-successful hike.  the crying baby and worrying about making it safely down the mountain weren't the most relaxing things to deal with.  next time we're leaving the backpack at home and just bringing the ergo.  i have  feeling the backpack will be much more popular when she gets a bit older.

i can't forget this guy who we also brought with us.  we had to leave dunkin at home because we weren't sure that the hike would be the best thing for his hips, but he did get a bunch of ball playing in this weekend.  henry was his usual crazy, animal chasing self and almost launched himself off some rocks at the top.  he also is apparently a very successful beggar, acting as if we don't feed him at home.  in the middle of the hike we passed some people having a picnic on the side of the trail.  henry ran up to a woman who was eating, sat down directly in front of her and whined.  he was appropriately rewarded with a piece of cheese.  apparently i'm not the only one who can't resist those puppy dog eyes.  i think he enjoyed his hike a lot although he's been spending the past few days trying to recover, even declining going on a walk because apparently he was too tired.  silly dog.

* a big thanks to alex for all the non-iphone pics. 

weekend in steamboat springs.

charlie and i spent the weekend hanging out in steamboat springs.

it was a really short trip but i swear we have to do more of these.

it's so easy to get away for the weekend and we're surrounded by so many beautiful places that are a pretty quick drive away.

we left friday after work and were home in time for the broncos game on sunday but there's just something about being away from home that's so relaxing.  

the aspens were beautiful which meant that the mountains were full of yellow.

the only thing i wanted to do was to go for a hike.
we ended up doing a really pretty one about an hour or so out of steamboat.
it was down a long, dirt road which probably didn't work out so well for my car.  but it was pretty.


henry had fun running around like a crazy man.  charlie was worried we all were going to get eaten by bears.

we went right.

we turned around at the waterfall even though the trail continues up to the lake in another 2 miles.

saturday morning we got coffee and then walked around a park in steamboat before we left.
while we sat on a bench and drank coffee, henry ran around like a crazy dog.

and then we walked along the creek for a bit before we left. 

we came thisclose to seeing a bear.  there were some flyfishermen in the creek who told us that there was a bear in the creek up ahead but it crossed the creek before we got there. 

charlie was happy and i was disappointed.

it was so nice to get away.

i'm thinking we're going to have to do a weekend trip once a season.

or just winter, summer, and fall since spring is just cold and muddy.

charlie's vote is for telluride this winter although i'm thinking something closer and cheaper might be nice since it'll be three of us instead of just two.