Happy Halloween!!

 You know you've finally become a grown up when the perfect Halloween night involves pajamas, snuggling the puppy under a blanket in front of the fire while watching Hocus Pocus & Beetlejuice and not dressing in the least amount of clothing possible and going to a bar!  Not to say that the bar days weren't fun, but I think I'm passed it.  

Here are our happy pumpkins! 

These were carved a few days ago when our cousins Kevin & Amanda came to visit while on their way to Glenwood Springs to celebrate Amanda's birthday (happy Birthday Amanda!!) it was great to get to spend some time with them even if it was short, we cram a lot into the time we get! 

My punkin with a pumpkin ❤️! 

Half of The Bledsoes Came to Visit!

My childhood friend Lyndsi & her son Joey drove all the way out from California to visit us for a few days!  We had a great time full of many adventures- we went fishing (Joey caught a frog but no fish! 

It was a beautiful day at the lake, I got some wonderful photos. 

We also ventured to Maroon Bells & even went spelunking in the Fairy caves at the Glenwood Adventure Park! 

It was VERY chilly up there! 

We all took turns on the giant chair.. (Of course) 

This is the view from Kings Row, another cave room that was part of the tour; it was incredible! This room is sooo much bigger than this photo does it justice, there are even more rooms below it! 

Lyndsi & I reminisced about the good old days, dancing to NKOTB (new kids on the block for those of you not in the know haha) & Janet in our pjs while lugging our popples to & fro.  We always have such a great time together, no matter how long it's been, we get in the same room & it's like not a day has gone by. ❤️

Can't wait till your next trip out Lyndsi!! 

Xoxo

Fun Times with Family

We enjoyed the company of more visitors this week! Mike & Yvonne came to stay with us for a few days.  We had many adventures! 

We decided to venture to Maroon Bells (government shutdown be damned)! We arrived to discover that the barricades had been pushed aside & we were free to go in! (For free since nobody was working too!)

Maroon Bells treated us to some spectacular views & we even got to see our first moose! 

Thankfully I didn't slip & fall in the mud while scurrying to get in this picture ( although it would have been a comical photo I'm sure)  We were bundled up & nice and freezing..there was snow on the ground & ice on the lake! 

Here is our moose! 

She even had a friend! 

Loving the colors of fall!! This time last year we came to Colorado for our house hunting trip & now we live here- can you believe it?!? It still amazes me sometimes too! 

Making Changes!

I've been makin some changes... positive ones! 

Some of the changes have been eating better & cutting out salt & moving!! 

The photo on the left was taken in the beginning of July. The photo on the right was taken today! 

I feel really good about the changes I've been making & I can't wait to continue on this path to a healthier more fit me! 

           This photo on the left was July.  The photo on the right is This week! 

Missing Out

Sometimes being this far away from most of our friends & family is more difficult than others.  We keep in touch sure, but missing out is hard.  I'm missing out on a huge life event for one of my best friends.  She is pregnant! 

{Jess, I'm so over the moon excited for you & Chris that you finally get the sweet baby girl you've been dreaming of.}

I'm just bummed that I'm missing out on the excitement that surrounds her & her growing belly.  I'm going to miss her baby shower (which I should be throwing since I am the party planner).  

Sometimes it's very hard to be so far away. 

Tis The Season of ALL Things Pumpkin!!

Fall is here and that means it's time for pumpkin EVERYTHING! E-cards don't lie.

I have already had my fair share of Pumpkin Spice Lattes (PSLs if you speak Starbucks) and I will surely have quite a few more before the season is over. 

Last year, the beginning of October started the 2012 Pinterest pumpkin challenge with my friend Megan (no she's not imaginary, I'm just THAT lucky) this year.. I'm participating in the pumpkin challenge solo.

So far, I have had pumpkin oatmeal (which was sooooo yummy!) and pumpkin coffee (made at home- that counts right??) 

Tonight I attempted what I thought was a pumpkin cookie recipe. (Must learn to read FASTER) it turned out to be a pumpkin cupcake recipe; which was NOT what I was going for.  So I made some last minute changes to the recipe and baked a test cookie.  It was amazing! Like a pumpkin pie & a cupcake had a love-child, and it was a cookie! 

So here I sit, waiting anxiously for my cookies to finish baking. Maybe I'll be nice & send some to work with Mr. Wonderful tomorrow. 

Then again....

Our First Snow of THIS Winter

Yesterday it happened.  The night before, I took beautiful pictures of the fall colors on the mountain, and I woke up yesterday morning to... You guessed it, SNOW!

I was not ready for snow yet- there are still to many colors to enjoy! 

I guess it's time to unpack all the warm stuff and put the dresses & flip flops into hibernation till spring. 

Harrumph! 

Wait--- The Government is Closed!?!

For the second time in my lifetime so far, the government has shut down.  Once again, they can't agree on a way to balance the budget and once again they decide that they need to shut down the entity that is supposed to be RUNNING OUR COUNTRY.  The last time it happened, I don't remember it having a huge impact on my day, I went to school as usual- a few days later it was all over & the government was "turned back on" like a light switch; at least that's how I envisioned it. 

This time, however it did impact my week. A friend and I made plans to wake up before the sun & go to Maroon Bells and watch the sunrise. However, since Maroon Bells is located in a national park, we can't get there. I thought National Parks & Monuments belonged to the people? I mean since our taxes supposedly pay for that- I'm a little bummed that we can't go there (without risk of misdemeanor or worse- getting arrested).  Neither of the latter are in my weeks activities. 

If you're not familiar with Maroon Bells and therefore don't understand why this would be so disappointing to me. Maroon Bells looks like this right now! 

Now I took these with my phone so please excuse the graininess. But you get the idea- it's breathtakingly beautiful.  Thanks Teddy Roosevelt for the National Parks System (even if it's closed this week) I'm so grateful for the opportunity to go to places like this.