a little birthday trip to estes

Yesterday we headed to one of our favorite places in the mountains, Estes Park! It's only about 40 minutes from our house and we love to wander along the river, people watching, and enjoying the cooler temperatures from the city.  We decided to take Everdeen to celebrate her 5th birthday and to of course find some special birthday ice cream :) 

It was such a beautiful day! Estes was swarming with people, but we were able to find a peaceful and quiet place near the river to eat our lunch and just listen to the rushing river. It was the perfect white noise to help Weston stay asleep in his wrap! 

These family outings are everything to me. We haven't been able to do as much this summer with our new little one, so the times we can escape as a family of four are so special. 

My  F I V E  year old! 

Other Estes Adventures :)

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horsetooth

We celebrated Martin's first official day of summer vacation with a hike near Horsetooth. Now that we both work for the school district, our summers are spent as a family, which we know is a truly amazing gift! We needed a pretty easy trail for our first hike as a family of four, especially with me only being two weeks postpartum.  With a short fifteen minute drive we found the perfect trail, although I've realized now that my husband's version of 'an easy hike' and mine are completely different. It's sort of like that time when I was 7 months pregnant and basically hiked up the side of the mountain in flip flops because he told me we were going on a picnic lunch at the park...;)

We love being able to take Everdeen hiking and showing her all the beautiful places near our home.  She always does so well keeping up, even with an armful of stuffed animals.  Weston slept the whole time, but I know he could hear the birds singing and feel the breeze in his hair :) I have absolutely loved wearing my babies and it makes it possible to do things, like hiking, with your little one wrapped closely to your body! 

Here's to being brave with a newborn and many more hikes and outside adventures together! 

a little escape

We headed out on a whim today to the mountains. I'm getting better at being spontaneous...especially with a four year old :) It's been so incredibly hot here, it's amazing how in just a short drive we are surrounded by cooler temperatures and beautiful, beautiful scenery! We drove up to Estes Park, one of our favorite places to visit. We walked along the river, had a picnic lunch, and put our feet in the cold river. I needed this so much today. I have 4 more days of summer vacation left and still can't believe how fast 2 1/2 months can go by. I am so grateful for this time I've had...especially being able to spend so much time with my family. These last few days you will find us soaking in every moment together before the three of us head into a new school year! 

*I still can't believe I have a four year old!! 

Soaking in the Hours

My twin sister headed back to Florida yesterday and as always, goodbyes never get easier. So we count down the days until winter when we will be reunited again!

We soaked in every moment we had together and ended her week here with a hike at Eagle's Nest! The last few times we've been has been in the dead of winter so it was nice to go when the flowers are blooming and the grass is a bit more green! This state of ours is so beautiful. Sometimes I forget to look around...I mean really look and take it all in :) 

Spring Break Part One | Estes Park!

I think Spring Break is my favorite break from school. It always gives me just the right amount of rejuvenation to finish out the school year strong (9 more weeks!) This year I was blessed to go on two adventures. I was actually lucky I was able to go on either because the Friday before break I came down with something terrible...fever, chills, aches. I laid in bed praying I would feel better by the time we left for the mountains on Sunday! 

We took it easy all weekend and took our time heading up to Estes Park Sunday afternoon to meet my parents and my older sister and her family. We found our cabin, which was pretty swanky with two levels, a gas fireplace, and several T.V.s. We spent the first day exploring outside, watching deer pass by, and getting settled in. The next day we woke up to the sun shining and the snow sparkling as it fell to the ground. It snowed the whole day and we watched the world turn white from our windows. There's just something so special about a family vacation...even with the chaos that little ones bring. It's fun to watch our own children partake in sacred family traditions and make new ones too. I hope our children always remember these times we shared together. 

And now for a little picture overload!