Mmmm....Colorado

Our family was never really the type to go on beach vacations. One vivid memory is our trip to Corpus Christi, where I saw the ocean for the first time and got stung by a jellyfish. And we have traveled to Florida for Disney World and the beautiful white sandy beaches of Destin. We loved those trips, but we tended to visit the mountains more frequently. I was perfectly happy doing that...I sunburn easily.

When Aunt Jana, Uncle Ned, Hilly and Andie moved to Littleton, we had a permanent reason to go often and a comfortable place to stay. I am thankful for the many ski vacations at Winter Park, but I must say that summer in Colorado is truly ideal. When I can leave the 110 degrees in Kansas and ride in the car with my grandparents for seven hours and eat wonderful food and spend time with people I love, bliss is my permanent expression.

The first beautiful site was this, the dining room table. This image means Christmas Eve to me, but Jana and Ned cook just as splendidly in August. 

And in August there is the option to sit outside, if you bring a sweater.

My hilarious baby cousin Andrea, who is not a baby at all and is in fact a senior at KU, can hold her own in the kitchen too. She whipped up a great salad and still had time to text and look super stylish. Grandpa was there to oversee. I love my family.

Our dinners included beef tenderloin, cheesy potatoes and peanut butter pie one night, then some awesome fish tacos the next. Might as well have been Christmas.

I earned my keep as sous chef.

Needless to say, it is best to embrace the active Coloradan lifestyle on your stay. I happen to know other great people who ended up in Denver, poor things. My (maternal) cousin Emily and her new husband Joe moved there this summer, joining the incomparable Ken Chang, who has appeared now twice in the last two posts. Obviously great. It was wonderful to hang out with Em again -- before her fam moved way north, all of us cousins were really tight-knit. And really weird. (But that's for another time.) Joe is the perfect addition to our set. I loved bonding with him and connecting those two with Ken. Making connections is key in the big city, so I've heard.

On Saturday morning, we got up bright and early and drove to Estes for some good ol' fashioned hiking. These Denverites were well-equipped, thankfully.

I literally found it hard to stop taking deep breaths, and I don't think it was all because of the altitude. It was too good.

We weren't the only ones with the idea. And while it would have been great to have the mountain to ourselves, there is something pretty neat about sharing that beauty with other people who appreciate it. I didn't mind.

As long as they don't scare the elk away.

At times during the strenuous (debatable) trek, the only thing keeping me going was the promise of this:

Indian food al fresco. Ken is a good connection to have. He has good taste.

Then we drove back to Humidville, Kansas, and Sarah and Kelsey helped my transition by visiting for a couple days. The tornado sirens went off the night they stayed, which was exciting, but mostly we just laid around, rode bikes, ate Braum's fro yo and took photos like this: 

This time off is good for my soul.




With love.