Sunday, June 28, 2015

1 Year/Family Photos

We have a hard time taking the classic important pictures - newborn pictures (taken at over a month old), and now with Cal's 1 year pictures (taken at over 13 months old) but hey we are trying!

Our friend and neighbor has a great eye for pictures, so she snagged our camera and helped us a couple Saturday's ago.  Luckily, Cal was somewhat cooperative and the weather was great, and we came away with some fantastic shots!  We will be getting the edited pictures soon, but I wanted to post the originals just so I don't forget.

*The only sad part about this day was the little blue chair.  Anna made that for Cal for Christmas, and it even has FOLSOM written across the back!  But, as we were taking a picture around the corner from our Car and chair, someone drove by and took it...that was a sad moment.  But, at least we have pictures to remember it by!








Turn and Burn to Colorado

Ryan was planning on doing research his entire 4 week summer break, but luckily was able to take a week off and spend some time with family in Oregon.  Then, as the end of summer break approached, his mentor gave him the last few days off since he got a large amount of the work done quickly, so we decided to make a break for it!  Flights were incredibly cheap from Austin to Denver, so we decided to pull the trigger and visit family and friends.

The first couple days in Colorado, we spent with the Croppers.  They came to visit us back in January, and we really wanted to get to know more about their lives in Boulder.  And what a fun life it is!  They are surrounded by such breathtaking scenery, and we were in awe as we hiked the flatirons.  Many times Ryan and I caught ourselves saying and thinking the same thing - boy would we love to live here!  It is open and spacious, green most of the year, surrounded by tons of outdoorsy things to do, and just felt comfortable.  If Ryan pursues general or vascular surgery, we are very tempted to try and do his residency there.

Ian and Ashleigh are incredible hosts.  We ate THE most delicious food in their home, and they showed us the crazy concoctions that Boulder had to offer (ie. sushi burrito?? what?!).  We got to experience a little "day in the life" and they are both busy with work, but we are so appreciative they let us barge in for a couple days.







We got to spend the last couple days with my sister Anna and her family just up the road a few miles.   Cal was in heaven with her 4 fun kids, and we were in heaven with her fresh baked blueberry muffins mmmm.  I would absolutely love to live in Denver just so we could be neighbors with the Winns!  We spent Friday afternoon in a really fun community pool, and just loved visiting with them on their picture perfect back porch.

Anna and Zoe took us to the airport shuttle, and watching them walk away from the bus window was way harder than I thought it would be.  Cal just waved and waved, and my heart was breaking thinking about how far we were from both sides of our family.  One day, we hope to be much much closer.




*I went to Colorado back in August of 2014, and took this picture with Cal.  Here we are in the same exact spot almost a year later!


Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Enchanted Rock

We are so behind on zillions of other posts, so I thought I'd at least share a fun adventure we had today before it fell through the cracks!

After Ryan's week in Oregon, it was back to work time.  He doesn't start school for a few more weeks, but he is doing research every day on campus.  I was a little bummed when I would send off my husband in the morning, only to find out that most my other friends are off traveling for 2-3 weeks, or their husbands just don't have a very tough research schedule.  So needless to say, I felt a little alone.  But, today was different!

Ryan slept in (never happens) so I knew something was up.  Then he said we should pack our bags and head to a place we have been wanting to visit - Enchanted Rock.  He said he would put in extra hours these next couple days, and just enjoy the entire day with Cal and I.  Yes!!!

So after a beautiful, easy drive through hill country, and through the quaint old town of Fredericksburg, we made it to our destination.  From afar it looks like a miniature half dome, and from close up it looks like a less miniature half dome - pretty tiny.  It was a 20 minute walk straight up granite rock, rising about 1100ft in elevation, and the view truly was breathtaking!  It is hard to get up and out of the world in Texas, so Ryan and I felt like we were back in Utah for a moment in time, high above the world.

Cal had a wonderful time exploring the top of the rock, and was a good sport on the way down.  We then found a shaded picnic table and enjoyed a quick snack, then found a nearby creek to dip our feet (and in Cal's case, bum) in the cool water.  We finished our day eating a late lunch in the cute town of Fredericksburg before heading home after a fun family adventure.

It was such a simple day and simple exploration, but we truly loved every minute of family time.  It was nice to get out of San Antonio and out of the same routines we find ourselves doing when we hang around the house.  We have a few more things on our list to explore before these next few weeks come to an end!