A Beautiful Day for Skiing

Well, it's been a couple of months since we last went up to do some skiing, and we're running out of time before the season is over! We're trying to fit in a couple more ski days before all the snow is gone, so last weekend, we got my Spring Break off to a good start by heading up to Loveland.

Matt and I are both improving, though Matt at a much quicker pace than me. I'm still spending most of my time on the bunny slopes while Matt is off exploring much more difficult runs. But I'm not falling anymore, which is really the important thing.

It was a gorgeous Spring day, with crisp air and blue skies. It was one of those days that really makes me love living in Colorado.

Some runs that are way (WAY) too difficult for me.

Lots of skiers (and snowboarders).

Me, in action.

Playing in the snow is fun!

By the end of the day, Matt was able to go on a blue run a couple of times. That made me really angry, but also kind of happy. It was a fun day, and I'll be sad when the season is over. But there's still time for a little more ski fun!

Weekends are awesome - Spring Break is better

I am 3 days and counting away from Spring Break, folks! 3 DAYS AND COUNTING! I can't wait. In case you didn't know, kids act crazy during the week before Spring Break. But that's ok, because I only have 3 MORE DAYS!

Anyway, since Spring Break has not arrived, every moment that I have not been working has been especially precious. Therefore, last weekend was pretty cool.

The weekend began with an evening in an Irish pub with my folks listening to Irish music. I have no pictures of this fun evening, but some of you may know that I really wish I was Irish, so this is still worth noting. At times, I imagined that it was a real Irish pub in Ireland. Now, I'm completely looking forward to St. Patrick's Day tomorrow. My teacher is bringing green mashed potatoes!

Saturday was a huge day for one of my oldest and best friends, Melissa. She was moving into her new apartment! Matt and I went to help her move with champagne in tow!

Struggling with the bottle.

The mess.

Friends toasting!

Mel's beautiful living room furniture.

Matt's birthday was last week (I made him enchiladas and brownies) and Melissa's birthday was Sunday, so a party was certainly in order! My family came over for a bar-b-que and evening of fun!

Birthday cookie-cakes!

Blowing out the candles!

After the typical birthday activities (dinner, presents, cake), it was time for Apples to Apples!

Playing the game. I lost.

Of course, a weekend would not be complete without snowshoeing (at least not since last month)! Sunday morning, we headed out for a short hike up by Idaho Springs.

Our new shoes! Now that I know they don't suck, I can show you how pretty they are.

A pretty, wooded trail.

A clearing.

Matt.

Me.

Trees.

Us.

On our hike, we came across a campground that is usually hopping in the summer. It was kind of cool to see it covered in snow and completely abandoned.

It was a nice weekend. And soon, I will have a week-long "nice weekend"!!!!!!!!!! Yay!

A Squirrel... and Other Cool Things

Yes, I know. I've failed at the blogging thing for the last few weeks. [insert lame excuse here] Moving on...

A few weeks ago, we took advantage of the beautiful weather to do some more snowshoeing. We headed up to Rocky Mountain National Park with new (and much better) snowshoes.

Look, a squirrel!

The sun was shining, and the weather was not too cold. In fact, we actually got pretty hot at times and we had to do some layer shuffling.

Walking by a snow cupcake.

Not only was the weather gorgeous, but the scenery and the terrain was pretty cool, too.

Twisted tree. Cool.

Hiking.

We climbed up to a couple of different lakes in the area.

The first lake, Mills Lake.

Dave, doing his photography thing.

Walking across the lake. This is why snowshoeing is cool; you can't be in this spot in the summer... at least not if you want to stay dry.

To head up to the next lake, we had a pretty steep climb ahead of us. It was a workout, but our new snowshoes certainly did their job.

Steep climb.

The second lake, Loch Vale.

Matt fell over. I don't know why.

The following pictures were obviously not taken by me. Again, these awesome pictures are Dave's handiwork.

Mills Lake.

"Ooh, look!"

Mills Lake.

Loch Vale.

After our hike, the guys had beer waiting. The beer they'd worked so hard on had been fermenting for a couple of weeks, and it was time to bottle. I, as usual, had tons of homework, so I hid in the back and worked. I seem to do that a lot.

Beer.

In a couple of weeks the beer will finally be ready for drinking. And that's my favorite part.