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July 17, 2015

Rocky Mountain Fiiiiiiiiive

Morning and happy Friday, bunnies! Holy guacamole I'm excited for the weekend. Am I the only one that feels the pain of the first week back to work after vacation? Please tell me I'm not alone. It has been mega tough to get back into the swing of things after our amazing 10 day adventure in Colorado and I'm hopeful a weekend of rest and relaxation will help get me back on track.

In place of my normal Friday Faves, I'm recapping my Colorado trip for y'all today. It was such an amazing time away and it was so refreshing to be in such a beautiful state. Le Husband's aunt and uncle have a second home in Breckenridge and they graciously allowed us to stay in their home and use their car while we were in Colorado. We were ever so grateful because their generosity, coupled with the fact we used our frequent flier miles for our tickets, made our fabulous vacation a lot nicer on our budget. I would pay through the nose to go back though, we had the best time and here are my five favorites of our trip. Hopefully you are ready for a lengthy recap, because that's what you're getting :)!

The Views: This is probably no news to any of you, but Colorado is just gorgeous. I thought it was beautiful in the winter, but it is just as fabulous in the spring and summer months. The mountains create the most majestic background and the snow capped peaks bring up fun thoughts of skiing. Everywhere you look there is a big sky, mountains and beautiful lush green trees. While the altitude is no joke, the fresh air is divine and the scenery makes my views at home extremely lacking. #takemebacktothemountains #clearaireverywhere #noconcretejungle











This pictures was taken our last day in Breckenridge and I sorely miss having such a beautiful horizon to gaze upon everyday. I used to believe I was a beach girl, but I'm learning more and more the mountains make my soul sing.

The Activities: Even though we were on vacation, Le Husband is not a lounge around kind of guy. We are always doing something active on our vacays and this one was rife with fun outdoor activities. There was quite a bit of rain on our trip, but every clear morning I enjoyed some morning yoga on the balcony. Even though I'm no yogi, it was nice blending into the scenery with some #treepose and rejoicing with a lil #dancerspose.


After spending the 4th in Breckenridge I am quite sure little towns put on some of the best 4th of July festivities. Obviously nothing will hold a candle to the fireworks in Washington DC [hands down THE BEST], but lil towns do it up right. The parade was so much fun and well put on and everyone was so in the spirit of America. Seeing the red, white and blue everywhere made me happy to be a citizen of the good US of A.




After the 4th of July parade and activities, Le Husband and I went on our first hike of the trip and it was a short two hour jaunt. There were many different hiking paths right around our front door and we chose to hike 'backward' going down the mountain first and then ascending it back home. Looking back this was our only hike without rain and even though it was easy breezy it was still a lot of fun. #onlyhikewithoutrain

The next day Le Husband we decided to bike seven miles to the Continental Divide. This was our second lil outing on the bikes, but it was no easier than our first. They call Denver the Mile High City, but Breckenridge is the Two Mile High City and the altitude kicked my lil pink behind. The fact the bike ride was continually uphill didn't do much to help either. I definitely had a few pep talks throughout the ride and there was a time we both thought about turning around, but thankfully another biker came down the path and said it wasn't much further [thankyou whoever you are, you saved our ride]. We were both extremly ecstatic when we finally saw this sign, as you can hear.




Since the ride took so much out of us, we stayed along the divide a bit longer than planned and got caught in a rain and hail storm. Luckily there was a small place to take shelter with our bikes and we just hung out and watch the clouds and rain move around. Thankfully it wasn't too chilly and soon we were back on our way home, before the next storm blew through the mountains.



Even though we were staying away from TV, you know I couldn't miss the Women's World Cup Final. I convinced Le Husband to go into town on Sunday and we found a quiet sports bar to watch the game. Throughout the tournament I had joined many friends at loud noisy bars so watching the final on a small TV in a tiny bar was quite a different experience. I did enjoy one of the best drinks of the trip at the bar and was super stoked when Abby finally got her World Cup. #cheerstotheUSA! #redwhiteandblueprompose




Climbing one of the 14s in Colorado is a big thing for hikers and on Monday we attempted our first hike to over 14,000 ft elevation. It was a bit of a mess with the rainy and dreary weather, along with missing the trail start turn off #directionsareoverrated. Somehow we ended up on the backside of the Quandary hike and attempted to ascent the top before an impending rain storm. This hike had NO trail and we kind of made it up as we were going which was fun, but man was the grade steep. There were a lot of lil stops along the way and even though we didn't make the peak, we did make it to the snow, which was our original goal.



Those clouds became darker quite quickly, so we turned around at the snow and quickly walked down the mountain. We didn't quite beat the rain though, but only dealt with a drizzle until we made it to the car, then the flood gates opened. All we could do was laugh that we were almost that couple caught in the rain. Since we didn't hit the correct trail it was decided that we would attempt Quandary later in the week.


Tuesday was one of my favorite days because we had a 90 minute couples massaged booked and it was HEAVEN. By far one of the best massages I've ever experienced and it was a nice break from all the activities. We enjoyed being lazy and had a delicious dinner and drinks that night on the balcony. #vacationwinning.

Wednesday we decided to try and tackle Quandary Peak again and though we got a much later start than planned we were both ready to tackle the trail. The weather of course was rainy, but we both remembered the hike in the Alaskan rain so we put on our big hiker pants and headed off to reach the summit.


Y'all this hike was intense, tough and longer than expected. But, it was beautiful and truly an amazing Colorado experience. The beginning was fine, it wasn't until we got closer to the summit that things started to get really tough and the breaks got longer and longer. It was another mental challenge to push through the altitude and steep grade and again we almost turned around but managed to talk ourselves through the task.



Then finally, we were at the summit. We had to walk through snow on the ground and right when we got to the top the clouds really moved in and it started to sleet and snow. We quickly grabbed our pictures and I even FaceTimed my parents from 14,265 elevation because, hello, technology and then quickly began the descent down the mountain.





Our descent was a bit hairy at the beginning because the snow/wind was whipping behind us. Thank goodness we had our fantastic hiking pants and waterproof jackets because otherwise we would have been freezing. Luckily once we got below the treeline the sun came out, and we we saw our beautiful double rainbow which gave me great joy. What did NOT give me great joy was our pesky lil hiking companion. A random dog decided we were his pack and stayed with us the ENTIRE HIKE! Normally I'm a huge fan of dogs, but every now and then he decided he wanted to try and be alpha and that just became annoying. Thankfully we got a hold of his owner when we left the trail and hopefully he's back home where he belongs. After the hike Le Husband and I were extremely exhausted so we ordered in and passed out early, which ended up being a good thing as we left for Denver the next day.

ALL THE AMAZING FOOD: Y'all we Porky Pigged it up on this trip and while the number on the scale annoys me right now, it was sooooo stinking worth it. Le  Husband did some research for Denver and our first stop after landing was Denver Biscuit Company and it was INCREDIBLE! I had biscuit french toast which was the most delicious thing and Le Husband's egg sandwich was phenomenal. While in Breckenridge we chose to cook in the house we stayed in most nights [burgers, steak and grilled chicken], but went out a few times on the nights we were exhausted. Giampietro's Pizzeria was frequented a few times as their pizza, calzones and ravioli were the best ever and we enjoyed a few crepes and ice cream stops for desserts. I hope some of our workouts in Breck made up for the calories consumed and I wish I could say the same for Denver. We ate a lot of delicious food at meet and greets, baseball games and bars and I had one of the BEST burgers ever on Friday night. Le Husband and I have a food ritual before kickball games, but since we were staying in a group house and joined people for a late baseball game we kind of had to go with the flow. Well, that meant no dinner until 9pm and we stopped at the first restaurant we saw that was open, aka Burger Bar. I was a lil apprehensive because everything was kind of rich for so late at night, but the fries and the burgers were fantastic. Ready to start drooling?!!?

The Downtime: Oh my goodness, the downtime was amazing. Our cabin was equipped with WiFi and multiple TVs but Le Husband and I chose to use our vacation to disconnect. Sure, there were a few texts here and there and I totally Face-timed my parents form 14,000 ft elevation [cheers technology], but for the most part it was books and music for the two of us. The only time the TV came on was for the Women's World Cup and when we realized we were missing Shark Week, because hello #sharkweek. I know there are those that love to document their vacations [and honeymoons, what?] on social media, but that's not really our thing. I really enjoyed just being with Le Husband and in nature and not worrying about emails or blogs. Try a technology detox on your next vacation, I bet you'll be hooked :)!

The Kickball: After our seven days in Breckenridge, we drove back to Denver to meet up with a group of friends to play in a kickball tournament. Last year, Denver was one of my favorite tournaments of the year and I can now say the same for this year. The team we played on was a group of people from multiple other teams and even though we started out a bit rough, [holy right field] the day was a lot of fun. I love playing on availables teams because you get to meet knew friends and learn new tricks from people and get a lil outside your comfort zone in the field. Sadly we lost in the finals [dagger! DAMN THE WIND] and it was probably one of the most frustrating games I've ever played in due to the weather, however all in all it was a great end to a fun week away. #squints #imadeoutwithwendypeffercorn #kickballfriendsforever



Many congrats if you've made it to this point, I know that was a long post but we had so much fun on our trip and I don't want to forget it all too quickly. I'm so sad to be back home however my body is ready to get back into my normal gym and workout routine, especially since I have a race coming up quite soon. If you have any questions about anything please feel free to shoot me an email, I'll try to point you in the right direction if I don't have the answer for you.

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I can't let today pass without marking Le Husband and my five year date-aversary! Crazy, just crazy. I know now we are married date-aversaries are kind of silly, but it's still a big deal to me. I'm so incredibly thankful I stepped outside my comfort zone and joined a random team which lead me to Le Husband. Carrots and marshmellows, forever :)!

Hope everyone has a great weekend < 3!


 **linking up  Here  here hereherehere and, here this week**

32 comments:

  1. Woman; you look fierce!! Love those muscles.

    I thought of you when i heard USA won and i did not know you were on vacation and i must say i was just a tad disappointed only because i know how much soccer means to you so i expected an excited blow out post that Monday LOL.

    I am a tad jealous. I want to go on vacation. We did a weekend er (14 hour drive each way) but that is just not the same.

    I like to unplug too, mostly while on vacation. I love the ones where we can't use our phones (anywhere outside canada) for anything other than wifi and pictures cause it makes it that much easier LOL.

    I celebrate the date-i-versary. You totally should. Just cause you're married now doesn't make it any less special. After all, you wouldn't have gotten married without that date.........just sayin!

    Glad you had a great vacation :)

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  2. Dang girl! You got some ups in that picture, who knew you could jump so high?! And all of your pictures are amazing... but look cold haha! Glad you had a good time!

    <3, Pamela
    Sequins & Sea Breezes

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  3. what a fab, fab roundup and what an awesome time! this makes me wanna take a trip out there and just hike around and breathe in the air. so refreshing! and the 4th and the FOOD! loved reading your recap and hope this weekend is simply wonderful. btw you look AMAZING.

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  4. LOVE LOVE LOVE the pics - such breathtaking views!! And happy date anniversary! :)

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  5. Looks like you had an amazing vacation! Those views are stunning. And yes, going back to work is the hardest, and worst :( Have a great weekend. Winks and Eyerolls

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  6. those mountains and activities!!! i would love to visit colorado one day and hike errting!!

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  7. Gorgeous!! I just want to go now. Happy Date-A-Versary. love you guys.

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  8. What a fun trip. Your pictures are amazing. I wish I could visit Colorado but I'm too scared. I have really bad asthma and I worry about the high altitude.

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  9. Those views are absolutely amazing! Have a great weekend dear friend!

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  10. O my gosh!!!!! This is the best 5 ever! It looks absolutely stunning and yall are too dang cute! I want to go so badly now! Hope yall have a fabulous weekend love! Muah! xo

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  11. Wow, you had a busy little trip!! But Colorado looks ahhhh-mazing… definitely on my bucket list of places to visit :)

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  12. Looks like you had such a great trip!! Those Colorado views are breathtaking. I definitely want to visit there someday :)
    Kelsey
    www.thepeacockroost.com

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  13. Looooove all these pictures! So gorgeous! Looks like such a fun trip. I need to get me out west stat. Colorado just keeps getting love on love on love and I can totally see why!

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  14. Going back to work after vacation is the worst. I'm already dreading going back next month after having 2.5 months off.

    Colorado is my favorite place in the world. You pictures are amazing. I really love the kickball pictures. Go you!

    Happy date-aversary with your husband.

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  15. I love how active you guys are!! Those are some serious hikes and serious weather! I LOVE Colorado in the Summer. It's beautiful like no place else!!

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  16. oh my goodness, what gorgeous pictures! and that photo of you jumping - dang girl, you jump high! hahaha i can never get that far off the ground lol.
    happy date-aversary, i totally still celebrate those. no shame!
    all the food looks amazing! i want to visit just because of the food. yum.

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  17. What an AWESOME trip!! I love love LOVE all the pictures while you guys were out hiking and biking and exploring. That one with the rainbow in it is SO COOL! You guys are rockstars... seriously! You have motivated me to work harder- as always :) Jared and I are not big social media people on vacations too- no reason to be sharing constant photos/updates and worried about rest of the world. Vacations are for quality time with my man!!! :)

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  18. Such a great vacation! Everything from the views to the 4th of July parade to the hiking (so funny about the random dog) sounds like perfection. So much fun!! Nick is heading to Denver in October for a work trip and now I'm definitely going to try and tag along :)

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  19. Totally have vacation envy right now!!! I loved all of your pictures!! Now I have the travel bug!!! Great post!!

    XoxoX
    www.ManicMakeupGirl.Blogspot.com

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  20. Loved getting to read some about your trip - those views look unreal, literally! The weather looks like it was amazing too!

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  21. We celebrate our dating anniversary - it is still time that we were together. I almost feel slightly more excited about celebrating it than the wedding anniversary.

    Stunning pictures. Colorado is one of the states that I really want to see.

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  22. SO.MUCH.FUN! And I can't get over how gorgeous it all looks... amazing! And yes I totally hear you... the week after vacation is rough with a capital woof! :-P

    Happy Friday gurlie <3

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  23. Babe!! You are so buff! You will seriously be my motivation to get back in shape after baby! Can't wait!
    Oh these pictures are GORGEOUS! I can't believe you were there for 10 days! Heavennnnn!
    So proud of you guys doing that hike! Seriously amazing!
    Now I want to escape to Colorado!

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  24. Loved, loved seeing all the great CO pics! You guys had an amazing (and long!) time away; SO jealous! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the food porn pics also ;) Happy weekend, girl!

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  25. Gorgeous photos and scenery with lots of fun activities topped off with some yummy food. That's perfection right there!

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  26. The pictures are GORGEOUS! And you look like a professional Yogi to me! What an awesome trip and good for unplugging on the technology.. I've thought about deleting the social media apps off my phone so I'm not tempted to spend so much time on there. All the food looks delish.. I wouldn't worry about the number.. you totally enjoyed yourselves! Have a great weekend!

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  27. Happy Date-Versary!! I'm so glad y'all had such a great trip! I think you did more hiking than we did in the whole time we were there, but there is SO much to do in that area! Especially in the summer. I hope we get stationed there again, but I still won't mind a long break, lol. We can play in the Smoky Mountains for awhile first ;)

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  28. What an amazing trip!!The pictures are gorgeous. And YAY you for finishing that bike ride!! And that food looks amazing. I have never been to Colorado. This makes me think I need to get there ASAP. Have a great weekend.

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  29. Gorgeous pictures!! Looks like it was a fabulous trip :)!

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  30. Sounds like an amazing vacation! I can not wait to go to CO in October!

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  31. Gorgeous pics! I have still yet to go to Colorado, but it is definitely on my list!

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