Memorial Weekend 2014

Memorial weekend was such a blast spending time with my favorite people! Goodness I just LOVE living in Colorado and getting to enjoy all the wonderful and beautiful things that this gorgeous state has to offer! This weekend was full of lots of "firsts" for me and my family and I think we started some new traditions :)

Heading up to the hills :) No greater joy for me than the sight of these majestic purple mountains.

We kicked off the weekend on friday afternoon as we drove up into the hills.  Justin, Laurie, Colin, Bella and I loaded up the car with our gear and we were off! We found the most PERFECT camp site near Red Feather Lakes! We set up camp and got a fire going, and played a necessary game of beer pong :) That evening, Justin's mom, Jan and brother, Derek met us at the camp. We ate, drank, and laughed, and stayed up waaaay too late waiting for the epic meteor storm that was to take place that night, only to be so disappointed by the never ending rain and clouds.  We were all super disappointed to miss out on such an event, but nature just didn't want to cooperate with us.

Setting up camp in the PERFECT site!

Bella LOVES camping :)

My Bro-in-Law acting being a stud and cutting up the fire-wood

Family around the campfire = happiness

The next morning it was up and at 'em! We got the fire going and thanks to Jan and my sister, we had a wonderful meal of coffee and breakfast burritos! Then Colin broke out the gun for a little shooting practice. I had never shot a gun before, so I was very nervous! It was fun, but also super terrifying! I don't think I'll be making a habit out of shooting guns :)

Yikes! First time to ever hold and shoot a gun!

Then we packed up our gear and spent the rest of the day down by the lake fishing. Not only did I catch my very first fish, but it was also the first catch of the day!  I was way too excited about this :) My sister was having lots of issues getting her line snagged in the water, and even managed to get caught on her own chair! Unfortunately she did not snag herself fish that day. And then we were all shown up by Derek who managed to catch two fish on one line! What the heck?!

First catch of the day!

Poor Sister got snagged in the bushes....

and then again on her own chair! haha

Wow, Derek! Two fish on one line?!

It was a perfect day on the lake :)

We fished and picnic'ed all day. It was such a wonderful time. We stopped at the market for some fuel and some dry fire wood. All our wood got soaked in the rain so we had to stock up. We got back to camp and got another fire going, just in time for another rain storm to come through. We partied in the back of the cars and passed the time laughing and playing games. That night I also learned the joys of cleaning out the fish to eat! I may be a weirdo but I actually kinda liked it :)

We went to bed that night with full bellies and happy hearts, snuggling for heat and listening to the rain. As fun as it was, I think we were all ready to go home the next morning, to get warm and dry :)

We cleaned up camp and made it back to Fort Collins. After a nice little nap, Sister, Justin and I finished off the night with dinner and margs at the Rio.

I just love my family so so much, and all the fun we have together! Can't imagine a better group of people in my life :)

Monday morning it was up bright and early to run my 4th annual Bolder Boulder race! This is one of my absolute favorite races! This was my second year to run with my sweet friend, Wendy. Neither one of us have been running regularly this year, so needless to say, it was definitely not our best race....but we enjoyed each other's company and it was such a beautiful Boulder day, and it's such an awesome event to be a part of every year!











Yay for summertime in Colorado! Excited for all the adventures that lie ahead!