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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

WARNING: Pic overload! Colorado trip part 2

Wow, I've really neglected to put this up...I've been super busy, and I still am, but I need a break.  School is almost over for the spring semester, so I've been studying for finals for what feels like weeks...oh wait...it HAS been weeks....

That's the thing about nursing school I suppose.  You don't pass, you fail.  Out of the program.  So yeah, I've been busy...

ANYWAY!

After our stay in Boulder, we traveled to Colorado Springs to visit one of my bestys and her family.  My besty there is actually my husbands cousin.  She used to hate me.  Can you believe that?  I've known my husband for so long (19 years), I've known her too.  I used to be super quiet and shy, so I came off as a bitch most of the time to her (and other family members).  Anyway, we are very good friends now.  Like the best.  (of course I have two other best friends)  Is that weird?  (okay, maybe in another blog...)

SO!!

Colorado Springs is nice.  A little more desert like though.  And it's larger than I thought it was going to be  (<-----  HA!  That's what she said!!!!).  I just assumed that is was going to be small like Boulder.  Not sure why.

So we arrived in Colorado Springs on Friday afternoon.  We did lots of catching up, went to eat then hit the bowling alley.  My son and her youngest daughter are the same age.  We were pregnant at the same time, and actually had the same due date.  Weird, right?  Well her kid came 2 weeks early, and mine came 1 week late.  Hence, they are 3 weeks apart.  They could almost be twins!  Cutest kids, and they are so funny.  My besty and her husband have basically the same parenting skills (if that's what you want to call them) as my husband and I, so the kids are alike in so many ways.  They had us rolling all weekend.

Cheryl and I, it's a bad pic, but the first one of the weekend!



Brylee and J, cousins that could pass for twins.



Saturday the plan was to go snowboarding.  We traveled up to Monarch Mountain, which was about a 2 hour drive from where they live.  Not too bad.  This was my second attempt at skiing/snowboarding.  I tried skiing in 2009 in Oregon.  Lets just say it was not the best experience of my life, okay?

Anyway, so I decided I was really going to try this snowboarding thing.  Like for realz.  At first it was so hard, like OMG hard!  Like, I for real wanted to quit.  But I didn't.  I fell a bazzilon times that day, sometimes really hard.  I swear the snow had it out for me.  But by the end of the day I made it down the bunny hill with only 2 falls, and at the end of the hill I was still standing.  I'd say that was quite an accomplishment.  Yeah.  I'm awesome.  I was on the bunny hill for the entire day.


Me getting off the caterpillar lift
About to wipe out!

Steady, steady


YES!  Finished standing up!




Sunday I woke up and was super sore!  I decided to go for a run to loosen things up a bit.  The besty has an awesome dirt/light gravel/rock trail behind her house.  Like literally BEHIND her house!!!  It goes on and on.  I'd be in heaven with that behind my house!!!  The trail had some pretty freaking awesome views!!  I ran 4 miles that morning.

Seriously awesome trail!



After my run the hubby wanted to hike up the Manitou Incline (check out the website here) in the town over.  We saw it our first day and knew we totally wanted to do it.  It's a mile hike up a mountain, with a 2,000 feet gain in altitude.  Yeah, we rock like that.  Not your typical trail though.  It was a workout for sure.  After you make it to the top you have to go down a different way mostly because it's too dangerous to go down the same way you came up.  Of course we saw plenty of idiots doing that.





Seriously could take a leg off!

This was eye level!

We look so happy to have finished!


After the hike up, we had to hike down on trails.  These trails were a lot more friendly than going up, although it was 2.50 miles down.  We ran most of the way down, it was so fun!  So yeah, it was a total of 3.5 miles on top of the 4 I ran that morning!!  Whew.  We were so tired after, and hungry, so off to Taco Bell for some grub!


A for real chipmunk!!!  I've never seen one this close!

Trail down the incline



The next day we left to come home.  It was perfect timing since it snowed later that night and flights were cancelled due to the weather.

I ended up running 21 miles while on vacation.  I didn't do anything but run and snowboard, but it was awesome to run in new places!

Colorado was amazing.  If I can find a way to move there, I will.  I've been researching things out there, so maybe within the next few years we can make it happen.  If I can't live in Boulder though, I'm not going to move.  Boulder is my kind of city.  By far my favorite!

Have you ever visited somewhere and decided to move to the place you were visiting?


4 comments:

  1. I would totally move to UT after visiting there ;)

    That is interesting that your husband's cousin used to dislike you! I hear that a lot from quieter people - people think they are bitches. I am so loud. People think I am a bitch because I am. Ha.

    Your kids totally look like they could be twins!

    Good for you for trying snowboarding. The idea of having both feet secured in one device (as opposed to skiing) freaks me out!

    That hike looks like so much fun. Sigh. Of course the idiots were going the wrong way. Of course. It seems like the downhill is sometimes harder than the up, if you lose your balance.

    Happy to hear you had a great time and got to be so active! :)

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    1. Well if you move to UT and I move to CO, we would be so much closer! :)

      I am far from a good snowboarder, I wouldn't even call myself a snowboarder. But it was fun after you get over the fear of having your feet secure in a board flying down the mountain...

      We had a blast the entire week. I lost like 4 pounds only to find them again in VA...

      I wonder how much I'd lose and KEEP off if I lived there....hmmmm....motivation to move!

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  2. You rocked that snowboard my dear! :)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, but no, I really didn't. But that's okay. I'm better at other things...

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