A Visitor!

Mike's mom, Sherry, came and visited us for four days earlier this week. We had SO. MUCH. FUN! We stayed busy and really saw a lot in only four days, plus had some relaxing down time to just enjoy each others company.

Sherry arrived on Friday and we showed her all around campus. She got to see our classrooms, the bookstore, and meet some of Mike's teachers. We went to a super cute little place for lunch and relaxed most of the afternoon. For dinner, we had to show her Bella Luna, our favorite Trinidad restaurant. We ate the BEST pizza and did a lot of catching up.

Saturday was our busy day. We left in the morning and didn't get back until after dark. We took Sherry on a tour of Trinidad Lake State Park, where Mike and I worked over the summer. We then went on the scenic Highway of Legends drive up Highway 12, with a stop in Cuchara to eat lunch at the Dog Bar. This is also where we ran into a cattle drive! We finished the Highway 12 drive and then kept right on going until we got to the Great Sand Dunes National Park! It was beautiful!!!! I really love it there. After that, we decided it was time to head home.

We woke up Sunday to snow!! Our plans were to go visit Bishop's Castle, but it's pretty high in elevation so we were a little apprehensive to head up there and encounter icy roads. However, we decided to go for it, and I'm sure glad we did. The castle is a really cool experience and was gorgeous covered in snow. The roads had been plowed so the driving wasn't too bad. We stopped for lunch at a great little BBQ place called Obie's. Overall, a very awesome day.

Monday we had a relaxing morning and then walked around downtown Trinidad during the afternoon. It still amazes me that we can actually walk to numerous shops and restaurants here. I don't think I'll ever get tired of that! We enjoyed one last meal out together at a place Mike and I have been wanting to try called Cafe What a Grind. It was really good and we will definitely go back again.

Sherry left really early Tuesday morning and Mike and I were both sad to see her go. It was really good to have family around. Lucky for us, we will be home one month!!!

Birthday Weekend Getaway

Happy Monday! Mike and I had the MOST amazing weekend!!! Saturday morning we headed out to Denver. We made a pit-stop in Colorado Springs to eat lunch at Smashburger, a place Mike has been wanting to try for a long time. It was delicious! Then we went straight to the Denver Botanic Gardens. We were a bit puzzled when we arrived as to why it was PACKED! Come to find out it was free museum day, so we didn't have to pay to get in! The botanic gardens were awesome! There was an exhibit by Chihuly on display that is a must see if you ever get the chance. After the gardens we checked into our hotel and later had dinner at Bull and Bush. The food was super yummy. I had a French dip and Mike had fish and chips. We bought t-shirts to commemorate such a great day. Sunday we enjoyed a lazy morning at the hotel before checking out and then spent the afternoon doing some shopping!! We had a late lunch at Panera where I devoured my cheddar broccoli soup!! I think its had to have been close to a year since I last had Panera. I can't tell you what a perfect weekend it was. A great way to celebrate my birthday, that's for sure!!!

Here are some pictures from the Denver Botanic Gardens (sorry for the picture overload, but it was really hard to narrow it down)!

 This picture above is my favorite from the Chihuly pieces!

Happy Friday!

This was a really great week! Not only was it my birthday, but I also felt pretty productive. I got a bunch of school work done and made it to yoga three times. Here are my top picks of the week...

1. We got the cats a cat bed. We assumed they would completely ignore it and I would end up returning it. Boy were we wrong! Halo absolutely loves it!!! Pantera, on the other hand, could care less. Halo sleeps in it ALL day!!

2. I got to Skype with my family while I opened my birthday presents. It made it seem like they weren't soooo far away! They even sang happy birthday to me while I blew out the candles on my cake...which brings me to this next picture!

3. Mike made this delicious turtle chocolate cake for me for my birthday. It turned out so good!! I was really impressed!!!

4. Honestly, I just thought this picture was super funny and wanted to include it. I was trying to send a picture of some of my presents to my friend Reina, but of course a cat had to get in the way! Halo looks so upset in this picture, it just made me laugh!! As you can see from the picture, I will soon be learning to can and make soap!

5. Mike's birthday present to me is a weekend trip to Denver!! I'm BEYOND excited! We will be visiting the Denver Botanical Gardens, enjoying some meals out, and doing some shopping. It will be so nice to get out of town and spend some quality time together! It's a super thoughtful gift and I will share more about it on Monday!

Have a great weekend!!!

Birthday Reflections

Today I turn 27! My twenty-sixth year was definitely an eventful one. Right around my birthday last year we found out Mike was accepted to the gunsmithing program at Trinidad State in Trinidad, Colorado. We quickly planned a trip to come visit the area and find a place to live. A month after that I was quitting my job that I had been at for the past three years and had really enjoyed. We celebrated Christmas with our family and friends and then said our good-byes. On New Years Eve Mike and I headed out to Colorado! My mom and dad came with us and helped us get settled in. While trying to figure out what I was going to do in Colorado I decided to also go back to school and study business. Mike and I started classes in January and have really enjoyed them so far. My family came to visit us for a week in March (post one, two, and three) and we got out and explored areas around us a bit and had a blast! Mike and I both got summer jobs at the local state park, which was really convenient since we only brought one car with us to Colorado. I worked in the visitor center and Mike was a seasonal park ranger. We managed to squeeze in a couple camping trips during the summer including one for Mike's birthday and another to the Great Sand Dunes National Park. Near the end of August we both started classes again and by October both of our seasonal jobs had ended. Since getting our weekends back we have gone to an Oktoberfest, saw Fall leaves, and visited a pumpkin patch! There are plenty of times when I really miss home or feel like I'm missing out on being there for my friends, but I still feel wholeheartedly that this move was the right decision for us and we are having fun getting to do things we otherwise might never have gotten the opportunity to do.

I gotta say I'm pretty excited for my twenty-seventh year! We have lots of fun and exciting things planned in the next year.

- Mike's mom will be here in just 15 days!!!! It will be eleven months since we last saw her, so I can barely contain myself!
- Just a few short weeks later, Shane and Lindsey are coming for a week long visit! We plan to spend some time in Denver as well as Colorado Springs. It will be good to see some friends again.
- Mike and I will fly home to Florida with Shane and Lindsey and spend two week celebrating the holidays and soaking up time with friends and family. It will have been a year since we left!
- I'm planning to come home again in the beginning/middle of March and stay for about a month. I'm looking forward to getting to stay for an extended time and seeing friends and family again. Shawna and Adam are getting married in April, so I plan to help with whatever wedding activities I can! Mike will fly in for the wedding weekend and then we will fly back to Colorado together.
- I plan to work at the state park again this coming summer and Mike is planning on taking summer classes.
- In August we are going to Yellowstone National Park with my mom and dad. This is a trip I have been wanting to take since I was in fifth grade, so to say I'm excited is an understatement!!

Twenty-six was really good, but I'm willing to bet twenty-seven will be even better!

DIY Soap Dispensers

I've been seeing do-it-yourself mason jar soap dispensers all over Pinterest and decided to make some of my own. There were lots of variations of these little guys. Many of the other tutorials I looked at spray painted the dispenser and metal pieces either black or silver, but as you can see I just decided to leave them as is. What I did do a little differently was paint the word soap on all the jars, and I think it looks rather cute if I do say so myself!

Materials
Mason Jar
Plastic Dispenser (I used the ones from my Bath and Body Works soap)
Nail
Hammer
Strong Glue (I used E6000 which can be found at any craft store)
Optional - Paint and Paint Brushes

1. You need to make a whole in the top of your mason jar for the dispenser to go through. Do this by lightly tapping the nail with the hammer in the center of the metal plate on top of your mason jar. I had to make several holes that eventually connected together to make one large hole big enough for the dispenser to fit.

2. Glue the dispenser in place on the mason jar lid. Many of the tutorials I read just said to use hot glue, so that's what I originally did. However, the first time I went to use the dispenser it immediately came unglued, so I re-glued using E6000 and it worked great. I put some around the rim of the dispenser and held it in place on the mason jar lid for a few seconds and then gave it plenty of time to fully dry.

3. Meanwhile, if you decide to paint your mason jar now is a good time. I just painted what came to mind, but you could use any color you like or paint the entire jar if you want. It's totally up to you!

4. After the lid has fully dried just pour liquid soap into the jar and fasten the lid and you're done!!