Catch Up: Summer in Colorado

So much for "busting out a bunch of posts to get up-to-date." Oh, well.

Summer is my favorite time of year, and it's just beautiful here in Colorado. As we move out of the last, few dwindling days (that already feel like fall), it's kind of nice to look back on the warmth and relaxation of summer.

While we didn't hike and camp nearly as much as I would have liked this year (we're too busy!), we were able to get out for a nice weekend up in Peaceful Valley a while back. We started by killing some time in Lyons at a small, outdoor market and a delicious restaurant:

Then we relaxed at our campsite, reading and enjoying the fire:

The next morning, we headed up the trail to Blue Lake in the Indian Peak Wilderness:

So pretty.

I love flowers.

Is that Blue Lake? No, it's Mitchell Lake. Not there yet.

The many other bodies of water we crossed/passed on our journey. Is that Blue Lake? No. Is that Blue Lake? No...

We made it! Oh, hooray!

Hanging out at Blue Lake with the marmots.

Ahh, nature.

The following weekend, we took Belle up to Fort Collins to explore her soon-to-be new home. We'd spent some time up in the city with friends, so we deemed ourselves experts. We aren't, really, but I think we helped Belle feel a little more aware of where things are. And if not, it was still a good time.

In Old Town.

Belle's dorm!

Ready to conquer CSU!

Campus things.

We also checked out Horsetooth Reservoir, which is beautiful, but we stupidly did not take pictures. Guess we have to go back up for a visit!

Belle has now been off living the college life for a few weeks, and I think she's having fun - and learning tons, I'm sure.

One of my favorite summer activities is not unique to Colorado, but I think we do it better here (even though I don't really have the experience to say that). It's the Renaissance Festival! My sisters and I traditionally go together each year, and it's especially fun when I can catch sight of the prince, aka: my hero from Dark Deeds.

Cheering at the joust, being abducted by Prince Edward, and hanging out!

The delicious food! Yum!

Lounging around watching shows (Washing Wenches) and the joust.

Saying farewell to the faire (and the random unicorn) until next year!

Reliving the fun, summer activities makes it even harder to think about going to work tomorrow. But we have lots of fun stuff coming up in fall, too! Of course, with the rate I'm going, you won't read about it until next year...

Catch Up: Music and Family

Alright, friends. Things have gotten serious.

I'm so far behind in blogging. Like really. So, it's time to catch up. I'm gonna bust out a bunch of blog posts in the next few days to get up-to-date. I know what your thinking. You're doubting my ability to actually post lots of posts within a few days. Well, I don't blame you. But I'm really going to try my best.

Way back in the day, summer was in full swing and we were totally enjoying it. My dad's band, The Long Run, which has made multiple appearances on my blog, played at Rhythm on the River in Longmont. I love Longmont and rivers and music, so we were SO there.

Yay for Eagles music!

The crowd LOVED them. They even played TWO encores!

I dragged Rachel along because she also likes music and rivers and such. I keep exposing more people to the awesome music of Colorado's Tribute to the Eagles!

A few days later we went continued the music theme and went to see Ben Folds!! Again!! We love him.

Excited!

He played at the Ogden, so it was a pretty intimate venue. And he completely rocked. Seriously.

Plus, he had an awesome tambourine player. He played many other things, too, but when he took center stage for the tambourine solo, it was hilarious.

So dramatic!

Back in July, my family gathered in Arkansas for our big family reunion. Sadly, Matt couldn't come, but at least he let me take the new car! My mom, Jess, four of my nieces, and I caravanned across four states.

On the road. It took lots of stops, jello, and stickers to get the little one through it. But she was pretty good!

It just so happened that our trip coincided with the release of the final Harry Potter film. Now, I am a HUGE fan of HP, as are my sisters and nieces. But Belle (my second eldest niece) is completely obsessed. Freakishly obsessed. Because she just graduated from high school, she's drawn all sorts of parallels between the end of HP and the end of her childhood. In fact, she considered not even going to the reunion in order to make sure she saw the movie at midnight. After we made her feel really bad about that thought, she ended up making the right decision. And I decided she deserved to still get to see the movie.

We bought tickets for the midnight showing in Wichita, KS (we were halfway to Arkansas on the night the movie came out). Jess and I took Belle and Hannah, and in many ways it was a very appropriate end to the series. After all, it was Jess and I who first introduced the books to the girls YEARS ago. We were all very excited to see the end.

Aah! It's a poster! Hooray!

The girls getting SO into the movie! (Ok, not really. I'm obviously not going to take pictures during the movie. They were just pretending.)

I made fun of the girls for getting so excited, but I ended up crying like a crazy baby throughout the whole thing. It was pretty awesome.

The next day, we continued our trip to Arkansas. While we were out there, we stayed in a CRAZY house with lots of weird features.

Empty closet with 20 random spools of thread on nails, a skylight covered with a picture of the sky, and a boarded-up doorway with the writing "Do Not Push" written on it.

But it was a nice big house that fit lots of our extended family. It allowed us lots of visiting time!

Saturday was the big reunion day!

The music that is always a tradition at our reunions. Granny and Aunt May dancing!

We separated into the music group and my generation of cousins, who were more concerned with chatting and catching up.

As usual, it was great to visit with family who we don't get to see very often. And I always love seeing my grandpa play his guitar!

The rest of the week was spent visiting with family... And playing with kitties...

Stray kittens we found outside our rental house. So cute!

Playing at Granny and Grandpa's, visiting with family.

And of course, no trip to Arkansas is complete without a trip (or two) to Ferguson's!

Awesome.

Belle, Hannah, and I had to get home a few days early, so we were off for the long drive home alone. It was fun to chat with Belle about he impending departure for college (more on that in a later post) and talk to Hannah about school. Quality aunt-niece time! But I'm always sad to leave Arkansas and the family who I don't get to see often enough!