Fall

An Aunt and Uncle

The last few weekends Tyler and I ventured off the hill. First Steve and Karen were in town, and then we catered a dinner for Ian and Michelle. As we were driving home last Thursday, we realized how much we loved spending time with our nieces.

When we first moved here, you could tell Mazie wasn’t completely familiar with us. She always is warm and welcoming to everyone, but now she remembers us and we can pick up right where we left off. Our dogs even have nicknames with her now (Asp-e and Mo-e).

I think we’re getting better at the aunt and uncle thing. It’s still hard remembering to be prepared for every possible scenario when hanging out with kids. But we aren’t fooled anymore when Mazie says she isn’t hungry, and then asks where her sandwich is a half and hour later. We know now we’re supposed to state her options in different day-today activities; and we can play, act, paint and draw with the best of the 3-year-olds.

And recently Athena entered our lives. We were able to drive down and see her on her birthday, and it’s amazing how much she’s grown already. I can’t believe how much stronger she is within a week of seeing her last. She keeps trying to lift up her head and check out the world around her.

We like seeing our nieces milestones. I documented Mazie’s first soccer game two weeks ago, and it made me wonder where she’ll be in the coming years. Will she be a soccer star? Will this be a funny story to tell her when she is an accomplished artist? Who knows — it’s just awesome to see the transformation from the baby I met in North Carolina, to the loving big sister who likes to “mess on” her little sister. So far Athena is very reflective, but I know she’ll be running around and expressing herself soon enough.

Now for all of our parents out there: don’t get too excited. We’re still planning on just being the cool aunt and uncle that can leave our nieces with their parents and the end of the day.

I can’t wait for my brother to have kids.

Camping and Tammy

Kent, Tyler and I returned to Coffee Pot this last weekend to explore the area more. On our way, we stopped in Eagle to purchase gas a beer. Upon entering the liquor store, we were greeted by an overzealous clerk who we came to refer to as “Tammy.”

We chose this name because it fit her appearance and personality: white trash West Sloper with caked on foundation, sparkly blue fake nails, cut-offs with a faded Old Navy sweatshirt. Not only did her she look the part, but her art of conversation matched as well.

“How y’all doing today? We got a lot of great specials — you like dark spiced rum? Great package deal here. Y’all see the new Jack Daniel’s bottles? They’re pretty mean looking.”

We told her we were just looking for cheap beer to take camping. She tried to derail our path to the Coors, and proceeded to take us over to the micro brew section.

“Got a lot of great package deals for Colorado brews. Ya ever have Dales? Sam Adams also gots a nice variety pack. We also got Shocktop on the other side of the store. You need gluten-free beer? Cause we got that too.”

After finally succumbing to a 12-pack of Dale’s, and two suitcases of Coors, the boys stopped to grabbed a bottle of Jim Beam.

“Is that glass? You should take plastic if you're camping. Don’t want any accidents by the fire and all.”

Since the store gave customers a free bag of ice for every case if beer bought, Tammy happily helped us carry the ice to the car, where she talked about being a member of the four-wheeler club in high school, all of her favorite campsites, and how she jumped out of the boat to wrestle her trout back after the line broke.

After what felt like an eternity of conversation, we were on our way to the Flat Tops. After an hour long Forest Road detour proved to be unsuccessful (warning: FR 62o SUCKS), we settled on a satisfactory campsite.

Then the rain came.

Scrambling, we managed to put together an okay shelter. The blue tarp covered the campfire, and enough room for three camp chairs. We feasted on hot dogs, beer and planned for a more successful outing in the morning.

The next day we found an awesome campsite on Heart Lake (as seen above with Moses). We moved our camp, and enjoyed the rest of our time at the lake. We watched a military helicopter practice landing (my pictures didn’t turn out), a lightening show from about 40 miles away, and did a little rock cookery again with burgers.



All in all, it was a very fun, memorable trip. My only regret is that I didn’t get a picture with Tammy. Here are the other photos though. And if you ever want to, I’m sure she’d love to chat you up at the Eagle Liquor Store if you ever have a minute or two.

Camping with Logan

We went camping one last time with Logan before he went back to school. As you can tell from the above photo, we had an awesome, crazy time that was filled with Xtreme Croquet, dangle balls, Bocce Ball and a cardboard & duct tape boat race. To top it off, we saw a porcupine, and buck while we were hanging out. Here are a few photos from the trip.

One year

home noun \ˈhōm\
1 a: one's place of residence : domicile
b: house
2: the social unit formed by a family living together

Today is our anniversary. So far we've stayed true to our vows — especially to be goofballs and make sure we make each other laugh everyday. You have an uncanny ability to carry this out effortlessly. I do keep up my end of the bargain, but I think you laugh at me a lot when I’m not trying to be funny.

I knew when I married you that we probably would end up moving a few more times, so our home would change a lot. But as long as I can wake up next to you, solve crossword puzzles together, snuggle while watching watching movies and share a nightcap after the end of the work day, it’ll always feel like home wherever we are.

I love you Tyler, and I can’t wait to hear what crazy plans you have for us in the future.