Arrival in Silverton and a day trip to Ouray

I'm finally continuing on with our big summer trip.  I'm motivated now because we have completed several major projects in our house that I want to share.  But the trip must be documented before I move on or I fear it will never get finished!
After a nerve-wracking trip to Wally world in Durango, we drove on over to Silverton for the rest of our trip.  To be honest, when we arrived to Silverton on our train ride I was nervous that we wouldn't have much to do in that teeny tiny town.  But the drive there was one of the most beautiful drives I have ever experienced and I was wrong about not having anything to do.

We didn't have much planned that day except for travel, unpacking, and exploring the town.  (This is when I wish I had more pictures of the house!)  Here is one from the website but it definitely doesn't do it justice.  

As we were unpacking, a biker from on top of the mountain behind our house yelled down "WOLF!" and then took off.  James quickly had the kids get inside and I had to stand guard.  What in the world had we gotten ourselves into?!  After speaking to some locals later that evening, we learned it was only Wolfie, the town dog. 

credit

Wolfie chases bears and coyotes away in exchange for food and comfort from the locals.  I actually felt safer knowing that he was around once we learned more about him.

With a view like this, I would play at this playground all day!The kids saw this sluice machine on train day and couldn't wait to try it out.  They "found" all kinds of minerals and gems to collect and sort.  It was the best 14 dollars spent that day.

 We were glad to have our fleeces and hats ready for the afternoon storms that rolled in every evening.

The next morning the early birds (that would be Justin and I), sorted and classified all of the treasures found the night before.  I enjoyed it as much as he did.  

After the sleepy heads woke up we packed up our gear for our first hiking trip to Ouray.  We had our sights set on a easy hike up to a waterfall.  It so reminded me of our Yosemite trip.  It's just amazing that you can see such beauty a short walk up from your car!

 And here is where the day turned for me.  Do you see that drop off to the right of my husband?  Do you see that rock right about their heads?  Do you see how that gravely trail slopes down?!  My heart is beating faster right now just looking at this picture.  I was scared to death and this was not the only moment on this trip I felt this way.  Let's just leave it at that for now.

The rest of the day was filled with more waterfalls, a rain storm that kept us waiting to swim in the hot springs pool and picking up hitchhikers and taking them back to Silverton.  We've never picked up hitchhikers before but it was such a blessing for us to help them and to have a serious talk about the dangers of drugs (she was clearly using) with our kids.  Quite a day.

And what a surprise it was to come home to hail/snow all over our deck.  The boys were picking up the jeep for the next day so Roo got it all to herself for a while.  She was in heaven!

Yes, that is the gorgeous view right from our deck.

Wanna see how Texans make snowballs?  (-:

Colorado Trip 2012 Part 2-Durango to Silverton Train Ride

On our second full day of our trip, we boarded this beauty for a scenic trip to Silverton, Colorado.

I love that this picture gives you another chance to see the views all around Durango.

When we arrived in Silverton, we made a beeline to a little restaurant called Avalanche (thanks to Yelp!).  We explored the town and got excited for the next 7 days that we would be spending there.  We spent most of the time looking for the grocery store and quickly decided that we would be doing most of our shopping in Durango and bringing it with us!  The store was so tiny and expensive.  But I was glad to know that we had options just in case we forgot something.

I have to be honest, the train ride was long and bumpy.   And because it started so early in the morning, a few of us may have been a little grumpy.   Also, our views were somewhat limited in the covered cars on the way to Silverton, so we moved out to the open gondolas on the way back to Durango.  It made the other 3 1/2 hours go a bit faster, I think.

We could actually stick our heads out and see the bridges we were going over.

And we really got to experience the cliffs that we were hugging.  This my friends, is a straight shot all the way down.

Ah, this is more like it.  Flat on the ground and a gorgeous river roaring right beside us.  

We ended the day with a good dinner with even better family conversations.  I had the opportunity to check my email and find out that J-man had officially been assigned a drum lesson time.  Roo quickly expressed that she wanted to do piano lessons instead of soccer and "Musical Fall" was born!  With hubby's crazy shift schedule, we made it very clear to the kids that for now only one child could be in a sport.  It was Roo's turn.  But now, since she is in lessons as well, we can enjoy our weekends together and not feel pressured going here and there for games.  I know it won't be forever but we are looking forward to spending more time together as a family this Fall.  And to learning and playing new instruments in our new music room.  More of that to come!  I've been busy painting.....  

Colorado Trip 2012 Part 1- Mesa Verde

We had an amazing trip to Colorado.  Like our California trip, we had to change plans at the last minute (a few weeks before).  We usually "full-out" camp in Colorado but due to the recent devestating fires there, all campfires were banned.  No campfire means no cooking and heating up water to bathe and clean.  Hubby, our travel agent, planned for three nights in Durango and seven in Silverton.  We drove and tried to save a little money staying in KOA cabins along the way.  The drive there was nothing to write home about except for a faith story that I will share after I'm done documenting the trip.  So after a long drive, we arrived in Durango and I fell in love with that town!

It was a big city that wasn't too big and had spectacular views from all around.  Seriously, this is our view from our little KOA cabin.

  The first night we all witnessed a storm with a lightning show up on that mountain.  We didn't spend too much time in our cabin though because we were up early and getting ready for our adventures during the day.  Mesa Verde was our very first one and it was everything I had hoped it would be.

You have to climb this ladder to get there.  

 Not for the faint of heart but I made it.  One step at a time.  Don't worry Mom, it was very sturdy and the kids had a blast climbing it.  

I could have stayed up there all day and imagined about what it would have been like to live in that time period.  What I took away from our trip that day was a sense of community.  I could feel it from those walls.  And how it was out of necessity to work together or they would die.  I think there is much we can learn from those walls.

 Roo's wish was granted when she got to go down into a recreated kiva.  It was dark and dusty and SMALL.  I could not imagine being stuck down there with so many other people to keep warm in the winter.

We are peering through a window(door?) to look way up and see this beautiful ancient artwork.

And we ended the day with this amazing sight.  It's a view of 100 miles all around and this site was originally used for watching for wildfires.  Some things are worth turning around for.  Thanks honey!

We're back....

from our vacation to Colorado.  We took over 400 pictures and I still think I didn't take enough.  Until I get done going through them and editing them, I'll share with you with one of my favorites.

This is how I felt during most the trip.  Taking leaps of faith and not too gracefully I might add.  Who would have thought that a straight forward trip to Colorado would be filled with so many thrills?!  More to come and I'm glad to be back.

The Beachbody 21 day Ultimate Reset

Wow I took a long bloggy break, didn't I?  We are in full summer mode here but Hubby and I just finished the 21 day Beachbody Ultimate Reset and I wanted to tell you about it.  It's a 21 day gentle cleanse to rid the body of toxins and learn to eat cleaner.  Complete with daily breakfast, lunch, and dinner plans.  The program comes with all of the supplements you need along with a participant portal to keep you on track and motivated to finish.

• I love roasted beets.  And the kids do too!
• I CAN drink lots of water.  This was honestly the scariest part for me.  I got used to all of the extra potty trips quickly. I've never been a huge drinker of water but now I'm converted.   This little smily face on my water bottle might have had something to do with it:

• Before the reset I hated eating fruit in the morning.  It kind of interfered with my coffee drinking.  Sort of messed up, huh?  Most of the mornings we were assigned a fresh fruit plate for breakfast and I can't get enough now. 

{yummy looking, huh?)

• I missed my morning coffee but I didn't die.  James found me some fake coffee to drink which leads me to believe that my morning coffee was more of a comforting ritual than the need for caffeine.  I'm drinking a cup of real coffee right now and it's not like the heavens opened up or anything when I finally got to have that first sip.    
• I will forever eat toasted walnuts in my oatmeal.
• I will forever eat toasted nuts/seeds in my salads.
• We have decided we don't need meat at every meal!  Don't worry we haven't become vegetarian or vegan.
• James lost 9 pounds and I lost 4.  I have to say that the Ultimate Reset is NOT a weight loss program or starvation diet. When you look at the meals in the guide it sort of looks that way but once you get into a groove of eating super clean, you actually eat less and feel more full.  I honestly didn't believe that until I experienced it.  People have lost a lot of weight but that's simply because they have cleaned up  their eating habits for the better and it shows for them in weight loss.  We weren't in this to lose weight (don't hate me) so when we started getting too low and losing energy we upped our food intake.  We added oatmeal in the morning along with the fruit and I started adding eggs and small amounts of protein the last few days.  

{I know these are the worst pictures of me ever!}

• I didn't miss working out much until my PMS kicked in and I realized that working out is like therapy to me.  (They advise you not to work out while doing the program because you are taking in less calories than usual.) 

• But mainly I learned that diet is essential to getting the body that you want.  Not just exercise!  Don't get me wrong, I'm not out for perfection and rock hard abs.  I'm a 38 year old mom with other issues to deal with.  But when I see people pinning the next new 10 minute rock hard ab workout along side the best chocolate cake recipe ever, I'm not expecting them to see the changes that they want to see. I know it sounds harsh but it's no coincidence I caught myself thinking time and time again during the reset, "this is how they do it"!  All of the trainers that I see on a daily basis while working out with my dvd's at home.  They do a super clean healthy meal plan along with exercise!  And at the risk of sounding like a commercial, Beachbody has it for you.  Not only for them, but for YOU, too!  Exercise plans and meal plans to get you on your way to not just a better looking body, but one that works more efficiently to give you a more enjoyable life. 

Sorry, I'm stepping away from the microphone now.....

Anyway, So why did we do this?  

Honestly, we have been working out hard for two years straight.  Going from one program to the next without a long rest.  We thought this would be a good way to give our bodies the rest that was needed.  Well, we rested our muscles but don't be fooled about the rest part.  It was hard work to eat so clean all of the time.  More shopping trips, more chopping, more planning.....But it was all worth it to take away the small things from this program that, when put together, add up to a big change for us.  Also, since we know that Beachbody doesn't do anything less than awesome, we wanted to be able to personally recommend this product to others that are needing a big change in their diet.  

All in all, James and I are glad that we did it.  It was another challenge to conquer together.  If you have any questions at all about the reset, or making healthier choices in your life, just email me!  I'm only a click away.