And then, we climbed another 14er

Just a week ago, I climbed my first 14,000+  foot mountain.  And before I knew it, we were going up another!

Meet Mount Sherman.  He was a rocky fool.

A storm rolled in just as Beth and I were about to summit -- the boys had already  made it to the top and we knew we had to hustle.

We pushed and pushed and pushed to finally make it to the top, took ONE group photo (this is not acceptable for me), and hauled back down.  Ryan was really worried about the storm and told the group to walk as fast as we could, without falling down the rocks of course.

It rained on us a lot and Zia had to get a free ride in Ryan's jacket because she was so cold, but we all made it back safe and sound.

More of the Great Outdoors

... I realized this morning just how much this blog has evolved since we moved to Colorado. And with those changes, I'm sure a few followers are probably bored to death with all the outdoors-y photos, lack of crafty projects, or kitchen creations.  But I've always wanted to stay true to myself through blogging, and well, this is sort of what I do with my extra time now.  And I'm pretty darn happy.  Thanks for following along on this new journey with me!

Without further ado, here are a few photos from the weekend:

We got in a great hike on Friday before the storms rolled in for the weekend.

Zia is OBSESSED with chipmunks -- obsessed as in, capturing these little guys  must happen or life is amiss.  

My friend Josh visited us this weekend for a mountainous escape from Phoenix.  He and Zia were best buddies.  This is also one of my favorite pictures of all time.  Pure Joy!

Rainy days ahead. 

 Our campsite for the weekend.  The rain put us right to sleep.

On our screen lately...

As much as it might look like we're out and about all of the time, we really do relax at home quite a bit.  We're the family that eats dinner around the TV, gasp I know.  We always cook dinner together, so that's our time to catch up on our day, then when it's time to eat, we pick a show to watch for the rest of the evening. 

Lately we've been glued to the Olympic Trials, I can't wait for the real deal in just a few weeks.  Each commercial makes me tear up too, they are so inspiring! 

Every Monday a few of us girls get together to watch The Bachelorette.  We're all on edge wondering who Emily is going to choose as her fiance!  (I personally thought Arie was going to take it home, but Jef and Sean are both creeping into the lead, in which I'm A-okay.)

On Netflix we're in Season 3 of Friday Night Lights and just started Parenthood, both really great shows.  The latest documentaries I've enjoyed are The Business of Being Born and Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey, both inspiring in their own ways.  We're not talking about having kids any time soon, but the documentary about home births was very interesting.  And Being Elmo is just a great, feel good story of a boy who had a dream that he worked hard to make into a reality. 
 
What are you watching?  Any recommendations for us?

Roller Derby

Roller Derby is awesome, guys. 

It's a physical game, chalked full of strategy and quick decisions.  The teams are made up of women of all ages and sizes and they are seriously rocking it out there.  I got to meet some of the nicest people; the whole derby community feels warm and welcoming.

I had such a great night!

Thanks for taking me to my first bout, Beth!  Cheers!

Atop

WE MADE IT.

So much work to snap a photo of this land marker!

The adrenaline kicked in and we all hauled up to the top of this mountain.  And right as we reached the top, it started snowing.

Best PB& J, ever. Seriously though.

We worked really hard to get to the top, so pictures of our accomplishment were in order. And just look at the views.

A huge accomplishment for me and honestly I don't think I could've climbed the mountain without our little group. They were my cheerleaders and much needed comic relief and I truly had the best day.

Hiking my first 14er

My friend Heidi and her husband moved to Colorado recently and wanted to go on a hike with us this past weekend.

As we were figuring out plans, I had this little convo with Ryan Friday night...

Kendra - what hiking trail do you want to do Saturday?  I need to let Heidi & Marshall know our plans.
Ryan - bierstadt.
Kendra - the mountain?
Ryan - yep, the mountain *big smile*
Kendra - hike to the top of a mountain?!  My first 14er?! 
Ryan - yep.

Side note: don't you love how calm he is?  And cra(z)y I am.  

So, here we go on my first 14,000+  ft. Colorado mountain...whoa... 

Mt. Bierstadt is a popular mountain to climb, mostly because you start a little higher than the other 14,000 ft. mountains so it takes a shorter amount of time to summit, but also because it's so close to Denver.  When the boys tried to check in, there was no paper left!  The mountain was pretty crowded on Saturday.

Our pup, Zia, can climb a mountain, but she refuses to cross a stream.

Can you see the tiny little specs at the very top?  We thought that was the top, and had the same thought multiple times through the hike.. it was never really the top, there were so many turns.  And everyone we passed said "just 15 minutes or so".  Lies.  I guess that was our fault for asking so much!

I had to stop a lot to catch my breath.  My muscles felt fine (well, sort of), but the closer we got to the top, the harder it was to breathe!  So, I had to "stop and take a photo".  It was my excuse to take a little break, but also to really capture some of the vegetation -- aren't these little succulents darling?  I wanted to scoop them up and put them in my pocket.  But I didn't. 

Zia went exploring...
Heidi started dancing.
Whatever it takes to get up this thing.

After a quick bathroom break (yep, Heidi and I went there) and an adorable photo-op, it was time to scramble our way up to the top of those boulders!  It got real.

Summit photos tomorrow... oh, the anticipation.