The Perfect Day

When Carter and I first met, we were living 3,000 miles away from each other. We had to rely on email and phones to get to know one another in between visits. One of my favorite getting-to-know-you questions was "what would your perfect day be?" I had forgotten about that question from 6-7 years ago until I realized I had the most perfect day this weekend.

On Saturday, we decided to head back to Rocky Mountain National Park to check out a new hike. We started the day with a family snuggle with Tally, made delicious lattes courtesy of our espresso machine and headed northwest. We began at the Bear Lake Trailhead then hiked onto Nymph Lake, Dream Lake, and Emerald Lake. It was by far one of the most scenic hikes we have done yet. Roundtrip, it was a 3.6 mile hike, started at 9,500 feet and ended at 10,000. We even discovered why everyone except for us was carrying hiking poles - there was still a ton of snow! Pretty sure that was the first time I've thrown a snowball in July.

Nymph Lake

First of many times to come that snow is blocking the trail

Fly fishing in the snow

Throwing snowballs in July

Dream Lake

Looking out over Emerald Lake

Marmot

Beautiful elk

After our hike, we stopped by Oskar Blues in Lyons for a Priscilla Wheat and Mama's Little Yella Pills 

Next, we swung by Upslope Brewery in Boulder to sample their latest and greatest and play washers

As I sipped on my dunkelweizen, I realized that today was my perfect day. A terrific day with my favorite person doing what we enjoy the most; soaking in breathtaking scenery on a great hike, sampling beers, trying new things. I felt filled with peace and happiness. I'm so grateful that our lives have slowed down a bit this summer so we can enjoy this free time together...life is good.

4th of July Weekend With the Knight's and Sigmon's

Carter and I were so blessed to have BOTH sides of our family come out to visit from Virginia, California and Florida for the 4th of July. Since Carter's last day of residency was June 30th, everyone was able to join in celebrating him officially becoming a physiatrist. He has worked so hard throughout 5 years of medical school + 4 years of residency; I am so proud of him. His next step is to work at Balboa Naval Hospital as a Navy doctor treating the 1 in 5 returning combat troops with Traumatic Brain Injuries. We are so excited for this next chapter in our lives.

On Friday, the crew flew into town and we had the official Carter's End of Residency party at the Highlands Garden Cafe. It was a beautiful evening and we had a gorgeous dinner out on the patio. We came back to the house for champagne and delicious cake from Gateaux bakery around the firepit.

So proud of him!

Saturday, we drove to Estes Park and had a great hike at Rocky Mountain National Park. We even lucked out with some good animal sightings of marmot, elk and mule deer. That evening, we went to Coors Field to see the Rockies win against the Royals. Afterwards, we saw one of the best fireworks displays I've seen yet.

Mule deer

Elk hanging out in Estes Park

Go Rockies!

And I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘ Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

On Sunday, we spent the afternoon cooking out at City Park and enjoying Jazz in the Park. I made these amazing Chocolate Chip Brownie Pillow Cookies from the Picky Palate, which were way better than the ones I experimented with a few months ago. Some really fantastic slackliners set up nearby, and Eva convinced us to give it a whirl. Good grief, I am in such awe of people who are good at this! I could barely stand on it without help, but had a lot of fun trying it out. I can't believe this guy was doing flips!

Tally wore her patriotic scarf for the occasion

Eva on the slackline

On Monday, everyone in our group participated in the 4th of July 4-Mile Liberty Run in Wash Park. We put on our best patriotic gear and all finished - go us! I was especially proud of our out of towners, who weren't accustomed to our heat or altitude. Way to go, everyone! We celebrated with a post-race brunch at Snooze - always delicious.

Thanks for coming out, everyone! We had such a great time and hope you come visit us again soon :)