Mini Vacations

As you may have noticed, I'm a little behind on posting about the goings-on in our lives. With a very busy schedule and a new blogger interface that makes posting take forever, I just wasn't sure if it was worth it - especially considering my measly number of readers. But, as you may have read in my last post, I have a renewed interest in documenting my life - particularly my experiences in Colorado.

Ironically, this first post has nothing to do with Colorado...

Anyway, it may take me a little while to fully catch up on everything that has happened these last few months. But I suppose one good thing about being so behind is that I can connect two events of a similar subject in one post, even if they happened weeks and weeks apart. For example, during my spring semester (I can't help but separate all events in my life into semesters: fall, spring, and summer), I took a couple of mini-vacations to get some breaks from school. The first was way back in February when Matt and I flew to Washington state to visit friends who recently moved up there. Katie is completing her residency for veterinary surgery in Pullman, WA, so she and Dave will be living there for the three years of the program. Hopefully, they'll make their way back to good ol' Colorado when the three years are up.

While the weekend was a short one, it involved lots of beer and skiing. And lots of hanging out, too.

After saying hi to Roxie and Kanzi...

We went to check out all Pullman and the surrounding area had to offer. Which was basically the college (Washington State University), a few restaurants and breweries, and some grizzly bears. Yup, grizzly bears:

Behind the many fences are the bears. They're a part of the Bear Center, which is a research and conservation program associated with the university.

A couple of the restaurants we visited. An old European place with awesome potato pancakes, and a delicious fine dining restaurant where Matt had the best steak he's ever had. Yum.

Beer! Palouse Falls Brewing Co.

On day 2, we made our way to Dave's local ski resort a couple of hours away. These pictures might look familiar because I think I already included them in my skiing post. Oh, well. It's always fun to look at ski pictures.

At Silver Mountain Ski Resort in Idaho.

Driving through Idaho and Washington.

It was a nice trip, and it was great to see Dave and Katie.

The second mini-vacation was a girls' camping trip to Moab, Utah during my spring break. I was super excited to go to a destination I've been wanting to visit for years, but it was a little bittersweet because I went without Matt.. While I really value girl-time and time with friends, I also love sharing my experiences with my husband. Fortunately, I only saw a fraction of what Moab has to offer, so we'll definitely go back sometime.

Camping!

We basically had one full day to see Arches National Park. We tried to hit the big sights, which included the Windows, Delicate Arch, and Landscape Arch.

Viewing an arch from the underside.

Walking around at the Windows.

Besties!

Hiking to Delicate Arch.

At Delicate Arch.

Meryn climbing something. She did this a lot, and it got a little boring standing around as she climbed random rock after random rock. This was, like, the10th thing she climbed. At least she was having fun!

Walking to Landscape Arch.

Landscape Arch.

After a night of awkward camping on the side of the road (a little planning goes a long way, kids) and a breakfast by the river....

We went to Dead Horse Point before Kirsten and I headed home. Amazing views!

Look how close I got to the edge!

It's always nice to get out of town for a couple of days, and it helps me keep my sanity at my stressful job.

Thinking About Colorado

I don't have much to say regarding the horrifying shooting that took place in Aurora a few days ago. It was obviously a devastating event that caused me, and so many Coloradans, much grief. My sadness cannot even begin to compare to that of those who were in the theater, or those who lost loved ones. No sense can be made of events like this, and I don't see much point in trying to find elusive understanding. I want to avoid giving the bastard who committed the horrible act any of the attention he was seeking, and so I will try to simply move on with my life. I am fortunate enough to be able to do that more easily than so many who were more greatly affected by the shooting.

Colorado has had a difficult summer, first with the devastating wildfires that destroyed hundreds of homes, and now with this horrific shooting. All I can hope for myself and my fellow Colorado residents, is that we can remember the many reasons that we chose to live in this beautiful state, and that we won't let the difficulties of this summer become a part of our identity. I have had SO many wonderful experiences here, and I plan to continue to enjoy Colorado's beauty and culture, with a new-found appreciation for what I have.

My desire to make the most out of my time here in Colorado has rekindled my interest in blogging about my amazing life, so that I may happily look back on my experiences in the future. So, I'm back from my unplanned hiatus. We'll see how long this lasts, but for  now I'm looking forward to filling these web pages with examples of the many wonderful things in Colorado and in my life.