Adam's Parents Visit!

(Einstein's Bagels at 6am- I was drinking as much coffee as possible!)

Last weekend Adam's parents were able to come up to Boulder for a short trip. It was great showing them around, eating at some yummy places in town, and visiting Rocky Mountain National Park. We also stopped by the CU Bookstore where we all got equipped with some CU gear (25% off even!). It was a great weekend and hopefully they'll be able to make another trip out soon!

This little guy was watching us as we picnicked at the park

Lake Irene, where we picnicked

It's elk rut time- here's a bull elk with his harem of ladies

Keeping a closer eye on them

Adam and his mom at Bear Lake

Another little guy- he had his hands up like that for a while. So cute!!

Adam and his dad at Bear Lake

Margaret and David at Bear lake- such a nice day!

We also took a short hike to the Alberta Falls- so many gorgeous trails in the park

It was Moon Festival on Sept. 12 too- no moon cakes but I got this great shot of the full moon

Our visit to the CU Bookstore was super fun. We didn't buy these cute buffalo beanies, but I was tempted!

I can't believe Adam posed for this shot... but it made my day!

I didn't realize until after the fact that I don't have any photos of all of us together. I need to work on asking others if they'll take a photo of us!

Baking Highs and Lows =D

I haven't done a food post in a while, so I thought I'd share my baking snafoos and successes as of late!

For Adam's birthday, I decided to make lemon cupcakes with a blueberry lemon frosting. It was a disaster from the cupcakes to the frosting- and sadly I used the cute and semi-expensive cupcake liners. Adam ate them nonetheless, but I used too much butter, not enough flour, and didn't account for elevation. And I have no idea what happened with the frosting- it was supposed to be a buttercream but it never turned creamy- mostly soft and oily. Possibly because I didn't have a hand mixer at the time. Now I do, thanks to Betty!

Last week, raspberries were on sale at King Soopers- 4 containers for $5! Really great deal so I couldn't resist buying a bunch, and then I scoured the internet for a good recipe where I could put those raspberries to use (though we did eat a lot of them fresh!). I ended up making a recipe that I saw on Smitten Kitchen for raspberry breakfast bars. I cut down on the amount of butter since it called for a total 1.5 sticks of butter- so mine came out more crumbly but that's ok!

I'm not sure what else to bake next...if you have suggestions, let me know!!

Betty Visits Boulder!!

Betty was our first visitor in Boulder- she came out over the weekend and flew on Monday night...I miss her already!! We had a great time cooking, baking, walking, watching movies,and catching up! We took her out to Rocky Mountain National Park where she got to see up close and personal a marmot, tons of elk, and a few deer! She also experienced the thunderstorms and sunny days! It was fun times and I only wish she was able to stay out here for another week!

Betty had to work and Adam had schoolwork- so I played photographer!

Betty in Rocky Mountain!!

We went on a great day- even enjoyed some afternoon thunderstorms!

Sisters! Practically twinsies!

Betty handled the elevation like a rockstar!

Betty loved seeing the marmot!!

Isn't he so cute?

Another shot!

Love the lakes nestled around the park!

One of several herds of elk that we saw out grazing

A couple deer close by the road

Female elk that was in a herd that was right next to us (we were in the car). 

Male elk that was watching over his cows and calves

Someone honked their horn and away they took off!

Betty and Adam at Bear Lake

Betty being a pioneer!

Another elk on the side of the road, totally unfazed by us!

There are some more photos that I'll post in a bit, but these are Round 1! =D

Adam started school this week!

So of course, I had to take back-to-school photos. Since Adam isn't a kindergartner riding on the schoolbus for the first time, I don't have any cutesy photos like that. But I did catch Adam heading out the door on his way to class...

But don't be mistaken...I had to actually convince him to smile for me (it's never easy)...hence the photo below:

Adam waving his hands and saying "Hurry up and take the photo!" Hilarious!!

Hi Ho Hiking!

Adam and I have been taking advantage of the amazing summer weather and beautiful places in Colorado!! There is so much to see and do, so we crammed in what we could before Adam starts classes (next week!!!). Betty is coming next weekend for a visit (our first visitor!!)- get ready Betty because we are going to be doing some walking!

We went down to Colorado Springs last week to visit the Garden of the Gods, a National Natural Landmark. We packed up a picnic and did a few hikes- we even saw a group of bighorn sheep on a hilltop in the park- very neat!

Just some perspective- you can see some of the paved trails and the rocks that rise above

You can't really see, but in this image there are 3 other bighorn sheep

 We also spotted this ever-so-tiny lizard who was too tired to move!

Adam and I have also managed a few more trips to Rocky Mountain, where we've listened to a ranger program on the Mountain Pine Beetle, a beetle that is killing off some of the older trees in the park, and another talk on the black bears of Rocky Mountain National Park. Apparently there are only about 20 black bears in the whole park! We also saw one bighorn sheep (it was a young ram, between 2-3 years old so his horns aren't as impressive as the ones we saw in Garden of the Gods) and listened to a talk about them. There are about 200-300 in the park, but they hope the population grows. Definitely no shortage of elk though, as we saw more elk off of a trail when we were hiking.

Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain

A female elk that was right off the Nymph Lake trail- she was with a group of about 5 other elk!

Nymph Lake in Rocky Mountain- lots of lilypads and you can see in the background the trees that have been killed by the Mountain Pine Beetle.

A tree stump from a tree that was killed by the Mountain Pine Beetle- you can see all the holes that they've burrowed through the tree! The NPS has been cutting down dead trees along trails so they don't fall down on people 

Dream Lake- the water was so clear!

Another view of Dream Lake

Here's the bighorn ram that was across the road from us! He hung out for a while, trying to decide if he was going to come down or not...he ended up taking off after half an hour! The rangers said we were lucky to see him because it was the first sighting in 18 days!

Sheeps Lakes in the park- apparently the sheep come down here, not to drink the water or graze on the grass, but to eat the mud for its nutrients!

Adam and I are going to try and check out more of the local hiking trails. We've only been to Chautauqua trail here in Boulder a few times, but there are several in the area that we hope to visit. Here are a few photos from the Chautauqua trail- right up against the mountains! Gorgeous! Adam and I did the hike up to the Royal Arch yesterday- it was uphill and a natural stairmaster for sure! I can still feel the burn! =D

Sweeping views of Boulder below! We were definitely up high!

Our fellow hikers enjoying the views

And finally, rather than repost about our trip down to South Fork from the end of July, I'll post photos of my Week in the Life Project that I am just about finished with. I want to add a journaling page to one of the sections and then I'll be about done.