LA or Bust...My First Epic [half] XC Road Trip!

Just a little over a month ago, I was having lunch and chatting with my cousin Jacob (who had just moved back to CO from LA). I was looking through photo after gorgeous photo from his numerous journey's he's made driving to and from LA over the last several years. I exclaimed that, as many times as I've been to California, I've always flown but I would just LOVE to make a drive and see everything there along the way! Well a week later I was out to lunch with my friend, Kenny, and he was telling me that he had just been to LA for a job interview, and they offered him a great position but he was unsure if he would accept. He explained that it wasn't the most pleasant experience making the move from Northern CA to CO the first time, and he wasn't looking forward to doing it again. I suggested we take all the bad experiences from the first time, and turn it around into a fun road-trip! I'm fortunate enough to have a pretty flexible job schedule, and let's face it, I'm ALWAYS up for something fun & new, and after-all, wasn't I just saying that this was exactly what I wanted to do??  A few days later after thinking it through, Kenny accepted the job and asked me if my offer still stood. We were going to LA!


Wednesday, June 12 was Kenny's last day at work. We were hoping to leave Denver early afternoon, but there were a few minor *ahem* packing setbacks... ((side note: To any friends planning on moving, recruit me to help you pack! After 8 moves in 7 years, I consider myself to be a master at effectively and efficiently packing.)) We were finally on the road at 4:30p.

Loaded up and ready to roll.

See ya later, smokey Denver.

The windmills of Wyoming

 First stop: Salt Lake City!
Once we got out of the Denver city traffic, it was smooth sailing to Laramie, WY. We stopped for a bite to eat and a driver swich. Kenny had been up and at work since 4am, so I drove from Laramie to SLC. At almost 400miles, I think that might have been the longest drive I'd ever made!  I loved the beautiful scenery and sunsets that WY had to offer us, but I was so happy to have reached SLC where the promise of sleep awaited.

Thank you for the beautiful Sunset, WY

Thursday we met up with one of Kenny's HS friends for lunch and coffee. We stayed downtown for some SLC sightseeing and shenanigans: checked out the capitol & the mormon temple, but didn't stay too long. It was off to Reno that day!

The Mormon Temple

Utah State Capitol Building

Just clownin around.

Pretty sure there's a sign that says "Please keep off Buffalo"

It was back on the road for another long day of driving. After we passed the Great Salt Lake and the Salt Flats, there really wasn't much in the way of scenery.... So we made our own fun with endless jokes and jammin out to fun music. I learned so much and was introduced to quite a bit of new stuff on the road with Kenny! My music file of knowledge has exponentially grown to include, but not limited to, hard core rap.

The Great Salt Lake

The Salt Lake Flats

Staying entertained in the car is easy with this guy. #duckface

Almost to Nevada!

As soon as we crossed over the Nevada border we were greeted by a big casino in the middle of no where! ((it's quite fascinating, casinos at the gas stations, grocery stores.....everywhere!!!)) We did a little quick gambling ((and I may or may not have had the free drinks that came...)) and it was back on the road. We reached Reno about 9pm that night, just in time for sunset. I was really pleasantly surprised with how pretty Reno is! It's not the desert I imagined it to be, like a mini vegas. It was cool, woody, and mountainous. I really liked it there.

You didn't have to clean up for us, NV

Casino 1: Kenny 0

Big Winner.

We Made it to Reno!

The World's Biggest Little City

Friday, we got up early, found a great little coffee shop, and felt like actual humans that day. "Some people just aren't cut out for life on the road." It also helped that Kenny's mom was so sweet to lend us her awesome new BMW convertible for the day!! We ran a few errands around town, and then headed up to Lake Tahoe for the day! Tahoe is definitely one of my new favorite places. It was absolutely beautiful. A huge lake surrounded by mountains??? My cup of tea for sure! We layed around in the sand for a while, and then cruised back to town with the top down and the sun shining on us.  That evening we had dinner and drinks with the rest of Kenny's family, where I got to meet and hang out with his brother, Ryan and future sister-in-law, Meredith. It was such a great day.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeee!

The Glorious Lake Tahoe

Breathtaking

Cheese :)

Enjoying the day

Tourist!!

My new friend, Meredith :)

Saturday, Kenny and Ryan were in a wedding for one of his best friends from High School. Meredith and I got ready together and met up with the guys at the wedding. We danced, ate, drank waaaay too much, and stayed out late. This vacation couldn't have been better, haha.

We're so cool.

Wedding fun!

ohhhh, boy.

Needless to say, it was not early-to-rise the next morning... But we finally got up and around, and were back on the road for the final leg of the trip. We made a quick stop in Stockton, CA to visit Kenny's dad. He's a funny guy. He had no problem asking me how much I weighed... ummm, awkward. haha.

Welcome to California!

We cruised on down I-5 and made the obligatory stop at In-N-Out. I was super tempted to have one of their delicious burgers, but I had the grilled cheese....It was the best meatless cheeseburger I'd ever had!

In-N-Out Love.

First time in my life I've ever had a not-hamburger.

Almost there!!

I think we're delirious by this point....

first California Sunset

we made it to la la land!!

After 1500 miles, and what seemed like an eternity, we FINALLY made it to LA!! It's been a couple years since I'd been to LA, and I forgot how much I liked it! We stayed in Studio City, and hung out on Ventura Blvd and Santa Monica Pier.  Monday night we drove down to Hermosa Beach & had dinner with my Uncle Marce and Aunt Birgit. It was such a joy to get to see them!!! Sadly I was only in LA less than 48 hours before I had to fly home so I didn't get to see all my family there, or do everything I hoped, but I sure tried to make the most of it!

Ventura Blvd. Studio City, CA

Santa Monica Pier

Santa Monica Beach

Dinner with my Uncle Marce and Birgit

Hermosa Beach Pier

Fun night on the pier after din with my family

Tuesday was Kenny's first day at work, so I got some shopping time and best of all got to meet up with a long lost friend for lunch in Hollywood! It was so good to see Ashton ((it had to be about 12 or 13 years since the last time I saw him!)), and it was a nice way to end such a wonderful week away from home.

Ashton Likes!!

Fun afternoon in Hollywood, CA

Have I mentioned how obsessed I am with Palm Trees???

That night Kenny drove me to the airport, but I wasn't ready to go home. It seemed like I had just gotten to LA and had to come home too soon. It was a sad goodbye as it sunk in that my friend wasn't coming back to Denver.  It was such a fun trip but all things must come to an end.  Five states, 1500 miles, 7 days. It was a whirlwind of adventure and life that I wish could have been a bit longer. Oh well. California will always be there, and I'll be back again one day.  And that's the wonderful thing about life and meeting new people and making friendships with people that live far away! You always have a place to visit :) 

 "Airports are always so sad..." "Except for when they're happy!"

Something to be said about a California sunset.

So long, LA.

Seeing God's Beauty from 14 Thousand Feet

As many of you know, I like to make lists. I've always got several different lists happening and sticky notes posted every where all the time. (I'm not kidding, you should see my desk top...) Part of the reason of my love for listmaking is:

• a) it keeps me organized and on task
• b) I like to be able to actually look at something written down
• c) I like adding & continuing onto lists to feel accomplishment & growth
• d) I like the simple gratification of being able to cross that item off when it's finished :)

One of the things that I've had on my own personal goal lists for quite a few years now, was to hike a 14er. It's a bit surprising to myself that until yesterday, this was something still left undone, considering the best mountains in the country are just right there!!! But alas, it seems like there was always something the past few summers getting in the way. Mostly, it seemed like the past few summers I was always training for some major running event, so my weekends were spent running miles and miles with no chance to take an all day hike. But it always stayed on "the list."

I think that I have a major tendency to get too caught up in the lists...There's always so much to get done that I think I often times forget to enjoy the simple and the beautiful things that surround me, and unfortunately, I often miss out. But this year, I've decided that I am going to just really enjoy summer. I don't need to sign up for all these crazy and treacherous runs over the mountains, and spend my Saturdays running 15 miles. NO. I am so blessed to live in one of the most beautiful places in the world, and I have access to everything. I mean, I get to live where people go on vacation! How awesome is that?? So this year (and from now on) I'm focusing on building (and re-building) strong friendships & relationships, and seeing God's beauty through the wonderful things that are just right outside my front door.

Already so far, this summer has kicked off in such a wonderful way with an icy river tube ride, concerts at Red Rocks, an easy hike up to Maxwell falls, and the mother of all my summer hikes:  yesterday when I hiked to the top of Mt. Bierstadt!!!

June 8, 2013 was the day I crossed off a major item on my life list, and it was one of the happiest days of my life! To most of my hard core and extreme friends, you might be thinking, "Yeah a 14er is really not that big of a deal, and especially Bierstadt..." but to me it was. Not just the physical challenge that it was or was not, but for so many other reasons.

The day started off so beautifully with a nice little car ride up to Guanella Pass with basically a car full of strangers. I signed up to do this hike on an outdoor rec. group. There were 10 of us total, and I really only knew 2 other girls from my church, so I was really excited for the opportunity to get to meet new people and make new friends.

It's a beautiful morning, the sun is shining. Let's go for a hike!

We got all our gear packed on and began the ascent. The first half mile was nothing but pure mud, but after we made it out of the mud bank, it took a quick and steep up slope. The terrain quickly turned to rocks, which were fun to climb and maneuver about, and then to snow. There was SO MUCH SNOW! We trekked upward and onward. My friend, Katherine, and I laughed and chatted the whole way up, even though I was out of breath for most of it, haha. (I was so happy to have Katherine leading me, I felt like her puppy dog attached to her right hip.) Parts of the hike were steep and difficult, but overall not too hard...The worst part was when we were about 3/4 up, I made the mistake of looking back down, and slightly panicked and was absolutely dreading coming back down that steep ice and snowpack... But I refocused, and just like a marathon, I told myself 'one foot in front of the other'. Finally, just as my tired little legs were ready for a break and I was out of breath, we climbed up and over a few more boulders and I realized we had reached the summit!

We're so excited!!!

Mountains and friends. What could be better?

up, up, and up

Almost to the top!!!

It was such a glorious moment!!! I felt weak in the knees from either excitement, sheer panic at my height upon the earth, the altitude, fatigue, or all of the above :) I was in such awe as I saw the world from a whole new angle. It was simply breathtaking to marvel at all that God has created for us to enjoy, and see His goodness and beauty all around me. It was a similar feeling I had on the volcano in Chile, but this was different; it was so much more personal because this was literally just miles from my own home. We sat at the top, enjoyed our sandwiches, and patted one another on the back for a job well done. It started to get cold and windy, and it was time to go.

Woohoo!!! (I think that's Mt. Evans behind me??)

Me & Katherine at the summit!!

God is so amazing. Look at all he created.

Man, I love Colorado.

I took a few shaky first steps down, before I realized that the snow was a lot softer by this time than it was in the morning. Once I got my bearings, it was honestly such fun just barreling down this mountain and running free in the deep snow! At times, we would stumble and fall over, but there was nothing but the soft snow to catch us. I felt like a joyous child, shrieking and squealing over and over, "This is SO fun!!" A couple of times, we found some perfect tracks and glacaded down for what seemed like a hundreds of feet. It was the most carefree and fun day I've had in such a long time. After we got passed the snow back to the dry ground, we leisurely walked & chatted, took pictures, and marveled at all the beauty surrounding us. The whole time, all I could think about was, this is exactly what God has intended for us. Nothing more than wonderful fellowship with friends, enjoying the pleasures that He gave us, and all to glorify Him. Katherine and I got to know one another a little bit more, and I enjoyed every bit of her company and friendship. When we all met up at the cars, we unanimously decided that Beau Jo's pizza was a must on the way home! We stopped in Idaho Springs for celebratory pizza and beer, and then this tired girl was ready for an N.A.P!

Haha So much fun!!!!

The whole group. We did it!

Our fearless leader, Stu. He got to lead 9 chicks. I'm sure he was not mad about that.

I know I've said it over and over, but it was truly such a great day. I'm so happy to have such wonderful new friends that share my faith. I ((clearly)) can't simply sum up what yesterday meant to me. Sometimes I feel like I get so caught up in documenting everything, via pictures and blogging... but I know the most important parts of it all are the parts that resonate in my heart. The parts that reconcile me to God. The parts that I simply feel alive and know that this is all worth it.

Thanks for reading, and always allowing me to share my thoughts and stories with you :)

xoxo

A fun weekend of family time

The older I get, the more I realize just how much I absolutely relish in the time I get to spend with my family. Don't get me wrong, we quarrel and get angry at one another, and my family is just as weird and crazy as the next, but I love them and they are mine :)

Maybe it's because it's not too often that we are all together at the same time & place, so when it happens, it's a guaranteed time of laughter, tears, and endless jokes. This weekend was nothing short of that.

Me and my sweet Mischa

Friday night we all met up and Sis and Justin's house in Fort Collins. We lounged in the back yard for a couple hours having a few drinks and playing with the dogs before my sister's big night of graduating from Colorado State University. We were so proud watching her walk and receive her bachelors degree in Human Development and Family Studies. We didn't leave campus until about 10pm, but I insisted that we go out to celebrate her big night. We agreed to 'just have a beer' and go home as we were all feeling pretty tired. But the waitress came over with a tray full of shots that the owner was passing out to all the graduates (gotta love college towns). Well, the waitress also didn't want my sister to take a shot alone, so somehow I ended up with one in front of me.... The next thing I know, a couple rounds of shots later, Dad, Sis, Justin and I were walking down College Ave. to another bar where we met our cousin Jonathan to keep the "celebration" going. Needless to say, it was a rough wake up on Saturday morning. If I think I'm too old for stuff like this, my poor dad is definitely too old :) haha. We lazed around and hydrated, as I realized, it probably wasn't such a good idea to drink so much 2 nights before a half marathon....

So proud of you, Sis!!

my sis and future brother-in-law :)

Oh hey, cutie!!

Sunday morning, bright and early 5am wake up call. May 19th was the Colfax Marathon & Half Marathon. This was a big deal for me for a few reasons.

• The Colfax Half was my very first race I ever ran 3 years ago. It was that day in 2010 where I caught the running fever and kept at it, pushing myself to physical exhaustion that I never thought I'd ever experience and love.
• This was a goal of mine to be the race of the year that I hoped to break not only my own personal time record, but do it by running it under 2 hours.
• This was the first of all of my races that my family would be at to watch me finish.

I ran this course with waves of nostalgia, recalling my steps on this course 3 years ago and I couldn't believe what I allowed my friend Leigha to convince me to do...  Sunday's race was such a vast difference from the first time I ran. I was scared, I had no idea what to expect, no idea who I thought I was,  no idea if my little legs would even cross the finish line or if I would have to be picked up by a rescue truck; to this year when I ran with such confidence. I've done this before...I can do this, my body is strong, and I know what I'm doing :) Since that day I have completed 8 (official) half marathons, 1 marathon, and various other distance running events. And this time, my family was all there to see me cross the finish line and get my medal. It was truly one of the happiest days. I didn't break my sub 2 hour goal, but I did break my personal best time, with an official 2:04:47. It didn't happen Sunday, but I know one day I'll get there :)

such a perfect CO morning to run Colfax

What made me the happiest though, was just knowing how lucky I am to be surrounded with all the support and love from such an  amazing family. I'm so blessed with such a weird little family :)

Paramore Paramour

You know how you have your favorite band that you've been following since you were young and wild, and even though you grow up & "mature" they remain your favorite? Well, that's me and my band, Paramore! To say that they are my favorite band would probably be an understatement. I follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and yes, even Instagram. I am a dork. But I'm a dork that got to happily see my favorite band for the 4th time this week with my kid sis. It was Sister, after all, who introduced me to Paramore back in the day, so it's only appropriate that we see them together each and every time!

Sister first introduced me to this little-known alternative punk band back in 2007 right after I graduated college. I immediately fell in love with them and downloaded their first two albums off Limewire (remember that one??) For years I continuously had those CDs in my car, and it was Paramore that got me through every single drive across colorado  ((In fact, now that I think about it, I have all four of them in my car CD player right now, and those first two albums have never left my CD player since the day they were burned, except for the time I got a new car when they were transferred directly over.))

The first time we saw the band was in the Spring of 2009 at Fiddler's Green Amphitheater. To this day, that concert is my all time favorite. Sister, my BFF Angela, and I paid 15 bucks to see Paramore open for No Doubt. It was the perfect outdoor concert. 

Our first Paramore show at Fiddler's Green! So excited!

Paramore W/ No Doubt - Fiddler's Green ((May 2009))

That summer, ((after a close call of breaking up)) the band released their 3rd album and went on tour again, only this time they were headliners! The three of us got tickets to see them again that same fall at the Fillmore, but for some reason, Sister couldn't make it. So Angela and I carried on, and jammed out hard core like the tough girls we are :)

Angela & me getting excited for the show to start!

Paramore w/ Paper Route - The Fillmore Auditorium ((Nov. 2009))

The next summer, Paramore headlined the Honda Civic tour and performed at Red Rocks (with Tegan & Sara). We sang our hearts out under the summer sky, and loved every minute of it.

Sister and Me @ Red Rocks. We [HEART] Paramore!

Paramore w/ Tegan & Sara - Red Rocks ((Sept. 2010))

It seemed like a bit of time had gone by without much activity from the band, with the exception of a couple exceptional movie soundtrack singles.  It was early this year that I heard the band was releasing their 4th album, and going on tour again, and JACKPOT! Coming back through Denver to the Fillmore! There was no question. We. Had. To. Get. Tickets.

Waiting in line for the doors to open!

Another amazing show at the Fillmore ((May 2013))

Tuesday night's show was yet another brilliant performance as Ms. Hayley Williams did her thing and we fell in love all over again. I had such a great night jammin out with my sis :) Together again, Sis and I had the night of our lives singing at the top of our lungs to all our favorite songs, old and new. We left with happy hearts and ringing ears, smiling at what has become our tradition of following this band over and over again. The fact that I am 28 and rocked out hard with all the other 16-year-olds in the venue, is only a little bit funny :) It was brought to my own attention the next morning as I struggled to get to work at 6:30am, that maybe mid-week concerts should start to become a thing of the past.... But then again, nah! I will gladly see Paramore any day of the week over and over again until I'm 80! I love so much that my sister and I share this, and that throughout the years, we've always had this band to bond over. Maybe that's really what I love about Paramore more than anything. 

Paramore throughout the years :)