Painting Class - 01.14.12

My finished painting. I have a new favorite thing to paint... dead trees! I love the texture and the colors. Below is the short version of the class and the stages of the painting.

Day 14 of 365 Days of Thanks

I just have to start out by saying WOW!! Woke up this morning to the trees outside covered in ice. The white of the ice against the dark wood of the tree - photo heaven!!! I am so thankful for God's beauty! Just looking at the way the ice forms on the branches, not a one the same. I brought my camera with me today so I could capture His beauty on the trees around me. I have already taken tons of pictures! Of course at one point, I was pretty sure my fingers were going to fall off :). It is really hard to wear gloves and take pictures at the same time - but I persevered :) Here are some of my favorites from this morning...

Homegrown Potatoes

I LOVE getting my hands dirty. So digging up our potatoes, was like being a kid again! Earlier this year we (me and my friend Britney) planted our shared veggie garden. It was so much fun and we dreamed of the meals we would make with the crops. A few weeks ago, our garden got ravished by grasshoppers. (oh I really don't like those little things anymore!) We were stuck, we knew we couldn't "exterminate" the garden with chemicals, so we lost almost everything!

One thing that we didn't lose, because they grow underground, were the potatoes. The grasshoppers did manage to eat all of the plant above (basically killing it), so we had to dig up the potatoes so they didn't spoil. Even though it was a huge bummer, we had fun anyways - we dug up the Red Potatoes, the Yukon Gold Potatoes, and some of the Purple Fingerling Potatoes.

I know this looks really gross, but I found it fascinating.

Quiet and Relaxing - Day 3

Day 3 started out with me kissing my hubby on his way out the door to go on a very long hike with his sister. Why didn't I go, you ask? Well here is why... He and his sister (workout feens) planned a hike up the Lawn Lake Trail in the Rocky Mountain National Park

Difficulty moderate
Distance 6.2 miles one-way
Starting Elevation 8540 feet
Ending Elevation 10987 feet
Elevation Change 2447 feet

Stats compliments of the Rocky Mountain National Park website

If those stats didn't convince you, then take a look at this graph...

I figured, why not let the fitness guru's tackle this together - I wouldn't want to slow them down. How long does 12 miles take? About 6-8 hours... did you catch that... 6 to 8 hours of hiking. And a good majority of that uphill!

So what did I do while they went on this fitness expedition? I slept, relaxed, watched some HGTV, and painted my toes. Plus I spent quite a bit of time praying that they would come back to the cabin in one piece. I mean there are Bears, Elk, Mountain Lions, Snakes, and more out there.

Thankfully they got home in one piece! It took them about 7 hours (with stops for pictures). I loved hearing their stories of what they saw and who they encountered on their hike. There was one guy that they stopped to talk to (pictured below), he was walking his horse up the trail... because his horse likes to go for walks! My hubby thought it was strange that you can't bring your dog out there for a walk, but you can bring your horse. Guess we better get a horse for next time! :)

Here are some of the pics from his hike. They made it to the top where there was a glacier lake. I love the photos he took, such Amazing Beauty!

10-Year Anniversary Trip - Day 2

After having such and AWESOME first day, I was anxious for what the second day had in store. My hubby and I spent most of the morning downtown, looking at all the fun stores - dreaming of what we could buy :). (There was more dreaming than buying) Then we headed back to the cabin so we could get ready for the family BBQ / picnic we were going to have in the Endovalley Picnic Area of Rocky Mountain National Park. When we got back, everything was already put together - so we got ready to head out. While I was upstairs changing, I heard our family downstairs calling to me to come quickly downstairs...and BRING THE CAMERA (yes that is what they shouted) :). Here is what we saw...

This guy was HUGE!! He was so close, but luckily
I had some trees between me an him in case
he wanted to meet in a very unhappy way.

So we all stood there and watched him eat. I know,
I don't like it when people watch me eat, but this is SO different :)

Every once in a while he would look at me
as if were saying "Are you still watching me EAT?"

I started giggling (I know, it's the little things that get me)
'cause he started scratching under his hind leg with his antlers.
I had NO idea they were that flexible... hee hee

Around the corner (on the lawn) were more Elk relaxing and enjoying their visit.

They BBQ'd SO much yummy food! On the right we have a large

Salmon filet, then hamburgers, corn & potatoes wrapped in foil, and italian sausage.
You would think we were cooking for an Army :)

Here is the Salmon once it finished cooking - the picture doesn't
do it justice. It was cooked with fresh Dill and Lemons - turned out
SO yummy!

Here's our fam and friends enjoying the feast! Thanks goes to those
who prepared, cooked, cleaned, and made this dinner amazing!

As we drove out of the park that night, we spotted a field FULL of Elk - there were atleast 200 Elk in this field. It was quite a site! I wish I could have gotten a picture to share with you, but it was way too dark to get a good one. So you will just have to believe me :)

10-Year Anniversary Trip - Day 1

This July my hubby and I will celebrate 10 years of marriage. Everyday is a new adventure and I find that I love him more and more with each experience. I will admit, it isn't always bliss or easy, but through the tough times, I feel, we have made our relationship stronger. We are learning new things everyday, applying them to how we interact and relate to each other. Knowing that trust is essential to genuine love.

This week my hubby's mom & step-dad took us to Estes Park, CO to celebrate our 10 years of marriage. We have had so much fun enjoying our time away together. Having lived in Colorado for 4 years, it has been such a treat to see again all the beauty that we once enjoyed everyday. Here are some of our pics from Day 1.

Me in front of the river that ran in front of our cabin.

We couldn't believe how fast the water was running,
but it made for some really pretty photos.

 

We were "window" shopping one evening when we saw this dog
come in and drink out of the water feature (for sale) in the store.
It was SO cute, and the store owner didn't mind at all (which I thought was so nice)

My in-laws treated us to a guided tour of Rocky Mountain National Park.
What a GREAT adventure! I highly recommend if you visit.

One of the falls the tour guide took us to. (I have been to RMNP
many times, and never saw this - tour was totally worth it)

Our tour guide, Art, was a great guide...but wasn't that great at
taking pictures. :)

20 feet of snow we were standing in front of.

We are at about 11,000 ft above sea level. The views were amazing!

My sister-in-law had this cute idea for a family photo - it reminds
me of Sound of Music :) By far one of my favorite photos! (except my
hubby isn't in it, cause he is taking the picture)

Storm started moving in as we were going back down Trail Ridge Road,
it was cold, about 59 degrees. But I LOVE the images I was able to get.