Snow Day.

Today was our first official SNOW DAY here in Estes. We arrived home yesterday afternoon, just in time to get excited for all the snow that was already here. And then to find out we were getting inches more. Ecstatic. We woke up to inches and inches. YAY! Which can only mean one thing when you don't have to work and it's the first decent POW (short for snow powder FYI). GO SNOWBOARDING. This will be our first time this season in backcountry!

I am overjoyed! We've been praying and hoping, even dressing for snow in hopes that it would appear. And it did. I'm sure pictures will follow but if you wonder what we will be doing today, imagine us up on the mountain side snowshoeing all the way to the top (Split boards would be nice but way to expensive for us folks) and then taking that sweet little ride to the bottom. In company of good friends. Cheers!

A refresher last from last year.

Indiana

I just listened to "Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas"  -Frank Sinatra style. Talk about putting me over the edge. Lately, as I currently have my own home (or rental, however you call it), I can't stop thinking about home. My home in Indiana. My mom was the best Christmas decorator. She went all out and we have boxes and boxes of unique things. I used to think she was crazy for this. I mean seriously, the decor is only up for a few weeks. Now I am wishing I had a million boxes so I could decorate too. 

Listening to this song, it took me back to my home with cookies baking and snow falling. The fire in the living room and watching christmas movies. Waking up to my dad playing the very best Christmas music on the piano (He's really talented) every Christmas Day and eating cinnamon rolls. Lounging in our pajamas all morning, opening gifts and just enjoying the company and season. 

Hanging out with my best friends and shopping with them. The mall is so magical this time of year. Every store has Christmas music. 

Getting to see my very favorite extended family. I am really looking forward to at least seeing one side of my family this year. And hopefully seeing a few from the other :)

Now I have two families (lucky girl! I know!) and I know it will never be the same as it was but that's okay cause I have those wonderful memories and some day I will have my own little family. As much as I don't want to admit this, I am hoping I have boxes and boxes of Christmas decor. 

Winter 2009- before Kev went to Breck

mom and me... baking

snow playing at home.

Home

House House... It's a home!

Well folks, this is a little late. Don't they say something about all in due time...right? Anyways, I finally got a hosue picture for all to see! I know my family is super stoked about that one:) 

We moved into our house and waited two weeks for our furniture which my gracious in-laws kindly drove to us. (Thank you). You wouldn't believe how hard it is to get organized without your furtniture. Needless to say things might still be sitting on our kitchen table in boxes. It's a process. I am waiting to find the perfect piece to sit next to the door so we can store hat and gloves and dog leashes, sunglasses and chapsticks. Until we get that those boxes will just have to wait although I think Ikea might have what we are looking for!!

I think it's true what they say, when you get a bigger house, you get things to fill it. I never was a beleiver but after moving from a 500 square foot house to a 1400 foot one, we had a lot of filling. Oh my goodness I've never bought so many chairs at once! Of course, we have a lot of friends over frequently so they were needed. The best thing about our house is the dog room/work room. Don't worry, if you plan on visiting, we have the best rated air mattress and will gladly clean it up. We like company!!  But I love this space. I couldn't complete any of my little projects if it weren't for that room. 

Don't get me started on that gear room. Oh my. Finally, a living area where snowboards aren't hanging on the walls and climbing gear doesn't hit my head when I open the door. YAY

So originally I only took one picture because every where else is a mess. That's what traveling and puppies will do to a couple. But I changed my mind.

ENJOY!

Living room. Windows look out to mountains

Our deck. off the living room

View off the deck

I love you laundry machines!

Kitchen. Not what I would prefer but it works! 

odd window off the kitchen. what do you even do with this space? 

some of the chairs I was talking about.. off the kitchen. and those curtains are horrendous. but at least they are free and functional. 

off the kitchen, with the room full of chairs. At our old house we have lots of storage for all this, but not anymore. The kitchen actually has less cabinet space then our old house.

Stairway off the living room. We love all the windows!

Spare Bedroom/ current work room. Latest project. Twin bed and night stand!! can't wait to sell them and reap in my hard work :)

Our gear room!! sure it has a little leak but we just avoid that spot. 

We have a jecket/coat problem. Entrance

From the outside. 

is it really already November 10th

Oh my goodness friends and families, time passed by. I mean, is it really already this late in the year. I am so so very excited for the holidays coming up! We will be visiting both of our families! The snow will be falling and tis the baking season!

Let me update you! We've officially moved, we have all our furniture and kitchen utensils. We are set and it feels great to have your own "stuff". I know, I know, you people need pictures and I haven't taken any and right now isn't a good time cause the place is a mess! But next time.

Plus, it's really hard taking pictures of your house when you can't stop taking pictures of little pup-girl, Neela. She is adorable and wild, growing everyday! Her and Callahan play nonstop.

I've found a new hobby and it's so fun and relaxing. It's refinishing furniture!! Now that I can take a picture of. This was an old, ugly end table. Now it's pretty and stores our blankets! Trying to decide between the blue lamp and the aspen tree lamp that the hubs made. Any opinions?

I hope everyone is doing wonderful. I feel like I'm over worked and exhausted but that's what working overtime and having a puppy in the house will do to a girl. 

Cheers! Meg

JONES BOARDS

A few weekends ago we went down to Ft. Collins for a showing of a snowboarding movie. It's one of those "big deal, awesome people are in it, lots of cool stuff given away" movies. Do you remember the old school ski videos where they jumped off rocks. I remember my parents would get them and we would just sit down in the basement and watch them with amazement. Well, things have come a long way.

Jeremy Jones, creator of JONES snowbaords, made a movie. He's actually made two so far and I believe the third one is probably already in the works. These movies are awesome, especially for us rural mountain folk who actually board backcountry and use split boards (I really want one. HintHint parents).His first movie was Deeper, second is Further. 

I just had to share the trailer. I want people to get it. To understand why we do what we do and why we are so in love with snow and mountains. Anyways, it's an awesome little trailer none the less, whether you snowboard or not. Check it out!

He also started this cool nonprofit called Protect our Winters (POW). "We represent the global snow sports community – there are 21 million of us in the US alone. Clearly, it’s time for us all to step up and take responsibility to save a season that fuels our passions but is also the foundation for our livelihoods, our jobs and the economic vitality of our mountain regions."

Jeremy Jones' Further Trailer - Teton Gravity Research's 2012 HD Snowboard Film from Teton Gravity Research on Vimeo.

JONES BOARDS

Intorducing NEELA (knee-la)

Well everyone, we did it! We got a second dog, not even a dog but a puppy. I am not sure what we  were thinking, with moving and getting a puppy. Life is busy busy. Nela is just the sweetest little joy. Quieter than Callahan was as a puppy and sweeter too! She loves playing with her big brother. They are just adorable together. Both are Australian Shepherds and both came from farms. 

Everyone keeps asking about the name Nela. Not sure what it means but ever since Kev lived in Breckenridge, we have loved the name. His neighbor had a dog named Nela and she was the sweetest.

We've been taking lots of early morning walks and my goodness, this pup eats all the time! Having a puppy has been problematic when I come home after working a night shift. All she wants to do is play and I want to sleep but we are working that out.  

Cheers! (Kev has more photos and videos that I will post later)

On her way to meet us!

playing with her sister. 

playing with Callahan

napping

Thankful Thursday (or Friday)

So my bestie, Tori has been doing this and I thought I would give it a shot.

A few weeks ago, on Sept 21, I saw my life flash before me. This is no joke but I wish it was. Even writing about it now makes me emotional but I think it's probably healthy to get it out.

As you all know, the husband and I truly enjoy rock climbing. We know it's dangerous (I might be more aware of it then Pula but who's counting) but it's also awesome! Nothing is better then being 200 feet off the ground with a harness, rope and the best views.

We were climbing a really cool route, or so we thought. We were on our second pitch, meaning we were already 70 feet off the ground and were bolted to the vertical rock wall (all 3 of us which is normal; Kevin Seth and I). Kevin went ahead and lead the next pitch while Seth belayed and I leaned awkwardly on the wall, talking to Seth and taking pictures, occasionally looking at Kevin. Thank God it was only occassional.

There was an run out so he started placing his trad gear (Click here to learn more). He was resting his foot on a large ledge, taking a break and all the sudden, the ledge broke. His placed piece of gear (which wasn't the correct size to begin with. lesson learned there) snapped out and he went tumbling. This whole time I didn't see it, only heard it. I turned to see him hitting the wall from below us. He had fallen nearly 60 feet and tumbled.

I am pretty sure I went into shock. If the tables were turned and we had been doing this from the ground, he would have hit the ground. He was badly injured as it was. And when I say badly, I mean Kev was actually in pain. For me, that was serious because he is very active and get hurts a lot but he always blows it off. Not this time. His hand had some deep burns in it from trying to save himself and grab ahold of the rope, as he was falling. His shirt was totally ripped and his poor back, bloody. the worst injury was his ankle which nearly made him vomit, it hurt so bad. He couldn't walk on it and had to lean on Seth the whole hike back (Thankful this was a very short, easy accent to the rock).

Thank you God for not letting him injure his head.  There wouldn't have been I could do. Oh so horrible. I realize later that if something worse had happened, I wouldn't have been able to get there soon enough to help him. I was tied to the wall and I couldn't just untie myself or I would have fallen to the ground. This trip really made us shaky.

His injuries are slowly healing but I am so THANKFUL my husband is still alive. WE have climbing helmets and will start wearing this on these types of routes. Too dangerous not to.

Even two weeks later it still makes my eyes water. I literally thought about all the possibilities from that fall and I will forever be grateful that my husband is still by my side. I love him so much. Life without him just wouldn't be worth it. He is such a standup guy and I am so fond of him. I hope he never leaves me. But I also know he loves climbing. Let me tell you folks, the next time we go climbing (not until next season for sure), it is serious.

I haven't really shared this cause it's a bummer to bring up but it feels good to get it out. Below are the awesome pictures I was taking before the big tumble. They're cool.

arriving. the rock we climbed it behind. 

Seth leading. He's also the birthday boy!

Seth

up at our second pitch. all attached.

people actually got out of their car and took pictures. 

A few of his injuries after he got cleaned up. yuck

So Thankful this Thursday.

INSPIRATION

Found here

Isn't is so powerful. A few little words. And they inspired my weekend. 

And just so it's clear, sleeping on the peaks isn't on my to-do list but this book looks awesome. 

Courtney and Drew come to visit!!

Well folks, my best friends came to visit for a little. Wednesday through Sunday to be exact and it was awesome!! We had so much fun and it's so great to have your closest friends in your new town! So much exciting stuff happened but let me start with their visit.

Day 1

Picked those kids up from the airport on the wettest, most cloudiest day Colorado has ever seen. They couldn't even see the mountains but they didn't care, we drove straight up to New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins. My second time on this tour and it did not disappoint. After that, we raced up to Estes Park cause Kev was bar-tending that night. We stayed home, watched a movie and enjoyed some delicious grilled cheese and tomato soup.

Day 2

Courtney, Drew and I went to the farmers market and decided to take a little hike up around Kevins work. One of the best views of the mountains and we couldn't stop taking pictures. It was just the perfect day. That night we went out to the Stanley and got all excited for the husband to lead trivia but due to the craziness of the Packers vs. Bears game, the bar was way too full. Trivia was cancelled but no worries, we found our selves at the Wheel Bar playing darts. So fun and even enjoyed a little dance party at our house! 

Day 3

Friday we went into the park and drove trail ridge road! Courtney and Drew had never been to the park so it was so exciting. The road was awesome as always (showing its fall colors already), I never get tired of it. That night we went into the park again with some Dominos pizzas and a plethora of picnic delights. We acted like crazy, Elk obsessed tourists and enjoyed our pizza while watching the elk. We did it for at least an hour and saw some pretty cool things. 

Day 4

We got up at a decent hour and went into town for the craft show/fair at Bond Park in Estes. There were a lot of cool things and it was just nice to roam around. Saturday was the day we were to meet with a landlord regarding a new place to rent(more on that later) so that took up some time too. We went on a little hike around Gem Lake and Lumpy Ridge. We tried to teach them a thing or two about climbing rocks but it probably just sounded like jiberish to them. We also went to happy hour at the Rock Inn where we ate baked brie and corn dip among other treats. Then we got this crazy idea to play some mini-golf. It's free at the Y where Kev works and what a view, we couldn't resist and it was a blast! Dance parties at home followed... a good night had by all. 

Day 5

We finally went on a real hike, Bear Lake before 9am (they have crazy construction on the road and no cars are allowed in between 9am and 5pm). It was just gorgeous. If you ever get the chance to visit RMNP, go see all the lovely lakes up at Bear Lake. We had brats for lunch and made our way down to Boulder for the evening. Courtney and Drew few out on Sunday at 11pm. So much fun. The pictures don't even do it justice! We miss you guys already!!

In other news, WE FOUND A NEW PLACE TO LIVE!! YAY! It's hard to believe but it's a 2 bedroom, 3 bath W/D D/W with a deck and beautiful views of the continental divide mountains! And it is less than our current one bed, one bath place. Photos to come eventually. We will be in there by October 15 so between juggling a new puppy and a new house, things should be pretty eventful this fall. Cheers to friends and puppies.