Burning River

Last year my dad ran the amazing Leadville 100. He had made it 60 miles when his legs couldn't take him any further. It's quite the story involving pitch black conditions, the middle of a mountain, and a rescue team.  But that hasn't stopped him. He has been training for the past year for a new race, a new opportunity to prove to himself that he can make it the 100 miles. 

He's in Ohio today running the Burning River 100 Mile Endurance Run.  My Uncle is with him and I know that he can make it. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers today. It will be an incredibly challenging day, physically and mentally for him. 

I'll keep you posted :)


*Post Edit: My dad missed the 74 mile time cut off by 10 minutes :( 
A truly amazing accomplishment! We are all SO proud of you daddy!

home sweet colorado

I'm home.

It's bittersweet. 

I love coming home, I can't wait to see Martin after he gets home from work...seeing my sweet Wilson and Margo. 

But I already miss my sister. It was hard to say goodbye. 

My last few days were spent cramming in everything we could think of before I had to leave. I even got to work on a special little project with my future brother-in-law that I can't wait to share with you!

Now it's time to start wrapping my head around the fact that I report back to school on Tuesday. It's that time of year again...new ideas twirling around in my head. I'm excited for the school year and excited that my mind has had the rest it needed. 

It's time to put away the tank tops and shorts and dust off my school clothes.  Replace my flip flops with my trusty Danskos. But this year, I'm ready to take the me I rediscovered this summer with me.  I feel refreshed...rejuvenated.

It's going to be a good year.

the everglades have scary bugs...

 I woke up too early yesterday, before the sun. My sister's drive to work takes an hour passed road signs that have the words alligator, panther, and snake in them.

 We drove along canals filled with alligators until we came to the Big Cypress Seminole Reservation...smack dab in the middle of the Everglades. This is where my sister works as a Collection Manager. We kept driving through the reservation, passing homes and schools until we came to the Tribal Historic Preservation Office just a few steps from the thick, tropical, overgrown vegetation. 

 Every girl needs a necklace made from two different animal skulls and a good pair of snake boots.

 My sister put me to work right away, she didn't care that it was my vacation :) I helped her organize her department's library and looked through books about Florida Indians and bones.  She has created an amazing space...shelves full of artifacts that have been found on the reservation, each one telling a secret story.

 We finished up our morning work and decided to have lunch under the chickee. It was hot and humid and we could hear large insects buzzing around the roof. We were even graced with the presence of a spider that would fair well in a horror movie.

{In front of the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum}

 We explored a little around the mile long boardwalk that surrounds the area, but cut it short because of the thousands of dragonflies diving around our heads. Summer time brings out all the insects...my sister was longing for winter already.

We finished up our days work in the freezing cold vault just as the dark rain clouds were starting to hover over the glades. We could hear thunder rumbling in the distance as a strong breeze was welcomed, bending the palm trees and cooling off the muggy air, even if just for a few minutes. I loved spending the day with my sister...seeing what she gets to do everyday. She has an amazingly unique job of preserving the Seminole Tribe's history. 

no shoes, no makeup, no worries

Today I counted over fifteen lizards. I spent most of my day on the screened in porch, which doesn't do a very good job of keeping lizards out.   It was just me and my thoughts. I've spent the last week with my true self, no makeup, no shoes, not caring what my clothes look like.  It feels so liberating. I love feeling the cool tile on the bottoms of my feet and putting my hair up without even looking once in the mirror. I have no where to go and nothing urgent to do.

Every morning I wake up with the sun and head to the pool.

It's quiet. 

It's warm. 

I love tilting my head back in the water when all I can hear is the beating of my heart.  I feel lonely for just a minute and then remember soon enough I'll be surrounded by people all day with a million things to do. I can't help but feel so small looking up at the sky...and my thoughts begin to wander.   

Lately I've been thinking about me. I love the way I've felt this week...consuming my mind with more important things rather than concerns about what I see on the outside. I want to go back to the time in my life when I wasn't so concerned with these things...my hair, makeup and clothes. I remember the exact moment when all that changed for me. It was the time in my life when I was just learning who I really was.  I wish I could go back and change that...tell myself that none of it matters. 

For now though, I'm enjoying this side of myself...this old side of myself that I've missed.  When you spend all day with yourself you forget how you're supposed to act and you start acting like who you are meant to be. It's funny when you don't have the daily distractions around you how much more right the world feels. This is how it should always feel.  

I have three more days here. This time that I've had has been such a blessing...I know that not many people can just take off for two weeks to think and have a mental vacation.  I feel like I've been able to reconnect with myself again...and I'm ready to keep hold of that for longer this time.

a little paradise up close

Florida Postcard

how do we celebrate two years?

We headed to Boulder to experience dining at Frasca....one of the top restaurants on my husband's list of places to try. He'd been talking about it for months so it was due time that we went to eat there.

Martin expertly ordered the wine and I felt proud watching.  The staff caught on quickly that he was in the industry and he and the waitress talked shop for a few minutes. 

The restaurant was one of those beautiful places that after almost every sip of water someone is there filling up your cup.  We enjoyed a true Italian feast...real Italian food that my grandparents would have been proud of.  

I even ate things I wouldn't have tried before like beets, duck egg in my carbonara, and lamb.  I didn't want to embarrass my husband and pick at my food...and surprisingly I really loved everything I ate.  Imagine that :)

We watched a lightning show outside the restaurant window as we talked and laughed. We realized as the restaurant crowd was thinning that we had been there for almost three hours. It's so nice to enjoy an evening of just talking and no other distractions. I always feel reconnected with my husband.  We drove home in the rain as the sky was illuminated from every direction from lightning that I thought should be on the cover of a National Geographic magazine. 

It was the perfect way to celebrate two years. 

Just the two of us.  

Two Years

Today is my two year wedding anniversary.

Where has the time gone?

Am I no longer a newlywed anymore?

These past two years have been an incredible journey. Sometimes I just stare at Martin and can't believe that he is my husband, that he chose me to be his wife...obviously not because of my cooking skills. My other qualities, like being a good kisser, must suffice. 

We've learned that merging your life with someone isn't always easy...and then throw in a bad economy and you have your fair share of moments that you kind of want to forget.  We've made sacrifices and compromises as we're learning how to create the life that we both want, while at the same time creating a life we can share together. 

These last few years we've had to do a lot of growing up.  It's about us now, just the two of us, and we're learning how to do grown-up things even when we don't feel like grown-ups.  And occasionally we still have one of those evenings when you know a big talk is coming about where we want this life of ours to take us, when we'll be able to buy a house, or when we'll finally be able to start our family...but it always comes down to one thing.  Even if we disagree, there is no one else in this world that we would rather be sharing our life with and making these big life decisions alongside.  

Every morning I get to wake up next to my best friend and know that whatever life throws our way, we're never alone. We're in this together. And that is one of the most comforting feelings in the world. 

It has been an incredible two years...an incredible decade of knowing Martin and the amazing man that he is. 

I found my journal from high school and was reading through it the other day and on January 8th, 2003 I had written this:

 "About a month ago I had such a strong thought come over me that Martin is the one I'm going to marry. I know, I know it sounds so crazy and weird, but who knows, instincts are funny sometimes..."  

I am so glad my instincts were right. 

Roar

hello. i'm a lion.

Did I really say I was giving up my blow dryer and straightener? Oh yeah.  

That was me. 

4th of July Weekend in Pictures

One of my favorite family traditions...pie on the 4th of July.  My mom makes cherry and apple pie for everyone to enjoy during the fireworks. Even us Paleo eaters couldn't resist...

Look who was able to join us after all! My lovely husband :)