Boulder's First Snowfall!

Talk about going from fall to winter in just a few days! On Monday we had temperatures in the mid to high 70s, but by Wednesday morning, we had over 12 inches of snow! It was absolutely gorgeous outside with all the snow, so I was actually glad for it. I didn't get a chance to take a ton of photos because I was at work, but I was able to capture a little bit. I am sure I'll have plenty more opportunities to photograph fresh snow here in Colorado, so I'm not too worried! I also took several photos of all the tree limbs that had come crashing down from the weight of the snow on all the trees that still had their leaves. It was a mess in the parking lots and on the sidewalks (lots of dodging fallen tree branches and avoiding walking under trees!).

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!!