My visit to Utah!!

My parents and Betty flew from LA to SLC a few weekends ago to visit Susan. Adam had a lot of midterms to study for, so he told me that I should do a last minute trip and fly out...so I did! I found a great deal on a ticket so early Saturday morning I caught a 5:25am bus to the Denver airport and I was with the family by 10am. It was great fun to be with my family, even if it was for such a short while. We went out to eat, we took a short walk, Susan taught Betty how to sew (and Susan helped her make a cute pouch for her brand new iPhone 4s), we cooked food, we went shopping at Roberts Crafts, and we had a great time overall! Plus it was exciting to see Susan since I hadn't seen her since April, and she is now pregnant with her little gummy bear and starting to show! I was so glad I went and I miss mi familia! Here are the photos!!

Me and the Bettsters!

Paul with his motorcycle

Take home outfit!!! (That's right, Susan and Paul are expecting!!)

Fits Paul perfectly!

 

Love this photo...feeling the baby kicking!

Susan teaching Betty some new skills!

Doesn't my sister look gorgeous?

 

Out on a lovely autumn stroll!

Love this!!

It was a little chilly!

Gorgeous colors!

More lovely colors!!

Another of me and the Bettymeister!

Another family photo (minus Adam, who was in Boulder studying! Poor guy!)

The shorties with Jare-bear!!

Fall is officially here!

Over the weekend, one of Adam's classmates invited us to go on a hike up in the Nederland area. I was so glad we went (despite that it was a long hike that I was not quite prepared for, haha) because the aspen leaves had changed color and was just absolutely gorgeous! The weather was also great- sunshine and fairly warm for early October. The photos just make me smile- they are sooo gorgeous!! We hiked for about 4 hours and the trail ran alongside a creek, so it was a lovely morning in the outdoors exploring new trails!

In other news, I was offered and accepted a job at CU Boulder as an academic advisor for open option students. I am super excited to be working with that particular population and can't wait to get started. It will be a bit rough, I'm sure, to transition back to a full-time work schedule, but I am so ready for it!!

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