Winter Park with the Fam

Can you believe it’s November already?!  We had such a whirlwind October, that it felt almost as if we skipped straight from September to November—and yet so much happened during that time!  The first few weeks were spent with my family.  My mom arrived via the Amtrak train (fun, right?), and then the rest of my family trickled in over the course of the next week; we eventually landed in Winter Park, CO, where we bunked up at a condo my parents won at the Gateway Woods Auction.  Enjoy the highlights!

Snacking our way through Shuga’s menu.  It’s worth a trip for their almond cake alone!  We may have gone twice in one week… 

 

Checking out the rides at the Manitou Penny Arcade.  They have endless amounts of kid rides, which was the perfect break for Liam after a yummy breakfast at Adam’s Mountain Café.  Honk, honk—coming through!

Hanging out with his buddy, Grandpa Popsie.  By the way, notice the sweaters?  Yup, all knit by Liam’s talented Grandma Mimsie.  People stop us all the time asking if we got them at the Baby GAP.  Lots of gushing tends to ensue.  : )

Playing with Aunt Hannah’s fun thrift store find.

Enjoying Devil’s Thumb Ranch and trying valiantly not to step in manure while taking photos.  I was only semi-successful… Although the food was just okay, we loved the atmosphere at the ranch.  I would love to go back and spend more time around the huge outdoor fire pit.  And although we didn’t get any pictures of it, the Tabernash Tavern was delish—although pricey. 

The guys golfed at Pole Creek—a course loaded with incredible views—while the ladies tried to shop around town.  Unfortunately, only a handful of stores were open, but we still had a good time. 

Aunt Hannah and Liam at the park.  Love this pic!

Completely breaking the law on the ride back to the condo—it was easier than taking out Liam’s car seat, and we figured no one would recognize Hannah all incognito in her scarf. 

We also took mini hikes around the condo each morning, which I loved.  The weather was so lovely.

Thanks for making the trek to Colorado, fam!  We loved spending time with you, and we’re so grateful that Liam has such awesome aunts and of course, a killer uncle.  Also, a huge thanks to Mom and Dad for ultimately making the trip happen. 

The whole squinty-eyed crew.  : )

Enjoying Estes Park

I did not see the mountains on my first-ever trip to Colorado.  I was in them, but I didn’t actually experience their beauty, because it was masked by an epic snow storm that completely buried our van and kept us house-bound for the entire week (although we did snowshoe to the local gas station to pick up some food, as the lone jar of Crisco in the pantry just wasn’t cutting it).  That was during a girl’s road trip to CO over Purdue’s spring break, and while I cherish those memories, I’m glad I didn’t really know what I was missing.  Now we have the amazing opportunity to spend time in the mountains on a fairly regular basis, so I think I’m over it.  : )  Our most recent trip consisted of staying with Rog & Sue (fellow Indiana transplants as of April) in Estes Park over Labor Day weekend.  In addition to hiking, we also hit up the infamous Donut Haus (best hole-in-the-wall donut shop ever!!) and the local art fair.  Plus I took a nap each afternoon—bliss! 

Liam loved pointing at all the trees while we hiked.  I mean, he did have a killer view from our hiking carrier—not a bad way to experience the mountains! 

Getting him to look at the camera is another story…

Our view during a picnic lunch up at Mill’s Lake. 

Liam thinks rocks are the bee’s knees. 

How Time Flies

If you don’t believe that time flies, then tell me how this…

is now this!?!!

Ahh!!

In honor of our little guy growing up, here are some favorite photos from summer 2013.

And no, we haven’t been hiding a second kiddo all this time…that’s Liam’s buddy in the tiger pajamas. 

Stair Runner

In case you’re thinking that I’m into running up and down stairs, let me gently correct you.  I do not exercise.  Or maybe having a 15 month old means that you are exempt from exercise because they keep you on your toes constantly.  At least it’s a nice thought, right?  : ) 

When I last left off, we had stripped our basement stairs of their rubber treads and were planning to put down a runner rug instead.  This is where I’m supposed to tell you that we simply picked up a few rugs at IKEA, borrowed a nail gun and compressor from a friend, and then installed it on a relaxed Saturday afternoon whilst  Liam played happily with his toys. 

…

Want the real story?  I know you do.  The reality is that DIY doesn’t go as planned most of the time, and sometimes you just need to know that you’re not alone in the craziness. 

Real story:

* Several months ago I picked up some striped runner rugs from the Denver IKEA for the stairs. 

* We brought them home and quickly decided that we only needed two runner rugs instead of four—yay for saving some cash—only to decide about five minutes later that the white stripes were begging to get dirty, and there was no way they would look nice for the long haul.  *SIGH* 

* Several weeks later, on another trip to Denver, I exchanged the striped rugs for some sisal indoor/outdoor ones that we thought would stand up to heavy traffic.  This time I bought a long runner and a short rug, since it seemed like we had so much extra rug previously.

* Several weeks later (are you catching the pattern?) we asked Grandma Cheryl to babysit Liam while we worked on installing the rug.  We thought it would take about two hours, give or take. 

* We buckled down to work while Grandma and Liam were on a walk, only to find that the nails we were using were too small!  They kept slipping through the rug, and it’s just wasn’t staying in place.  Matt ran to the closest hardware store and picked up several others tools, including longer nails and a heavy duty staple gun, plus some extra carpet tape.  By then it was time for Liam’s nap, so we hung our heads dejectedly and decided to wait for another day.  Oh, we also realized that we needed two long runner rugs, because we were coming up short. Apparently my vague estimates measuring skills are seriously lacking…

* Several weeks later we headed to Denver yet again, but this time for a relaxing weekend away.  On the way up we popped into IKEA and exchanged the short rug for another long runner rug.  Since the cashier and I were practically BFFs at this point, the exchange took less than a minute—whoohoo!

* Another week passed and we started talking about how we really should finish up the stairs.  Around 8:30 pm on Sunday night, Matt got a text from his friend asking for the nail gun and compressor back…at 9 pm!  We freaked out and begged for an extra hour.  Thankfully, his friend had mercy on us and the curfew was extended.

* And with that kick in the pants, we quickly got in our groove and finished installing the runner by about 10 pm that night.  It actually went pretty smoothly once we had all the right tools and rugs. 

* In spite of all the hoopla along the way, we’re loving the finished product!  In addition to looking a bazillion times better, the rug muffles sound, which makes for a happy mama when the baby is sleeping. 

A last look…