Westminster, Colorado
November 29th-December 6th
- Breakfast burritos as big as a dirty diaper
- Mushroom Carbonara my sister Erika whipped up in 15 minutes
- Craft night consisting of safari landscapes and Santa driving a Bass Boat
- Baloo wanting to be completely independent, but showing affection to his Auntie and Uncle every once in a while
- Walking, Biking and running around Ketner Lake, Baloo walks 1mph and Berkley wants to sniff every single blade of grass
- Cooking pulled pork in an Instant Pot for the first time and pairing it with “Famous Dave’s” cornbread and two games of “Train to Ride”
- A homeless woman knitting a blanket on Pearl Street
- Thrift Shopping in Boulder, where all the best thrifting takes place, because people with money donate their brand new clothes and books
- Feeling like we’re on the TV show, Super Market Sweep because we have exactly 45 minutes to thrift
- Boulder bananas covered in chocolate and tiny nuts
- Hot tea, green tea, English Breakfast, you name it
- Climbing the red rocks trail in Boulder
- The boys mountain biking at North Table Mountain and enjoying a few IPA’s at New Terrain Brewing as a reward
- Terrifying Swedish horror movies in the basement, followed by two comedy specials to ease our minds before we slept
- More breakfast burritos made by my awesome brother-in-law
- Youtube videos from 2012 making us ROFL
- Big Brotha Thunda
- Butt Naked Wonder
- 360 degree mountain views
- Ab and booty workouts because it’s “Donk December”
- Testing out my sisters full suspension bike through the thick mud around Standley Lake
- Baloo being rewarded with carrots after his lap around the lake
- A new bike rack from a nice Asian man named Huan
- Tyler Childers on the radio everywhere we drove
- More hot tea and seltzers
- Berkley slurping down a gallon of water everyday, it’s the altitude
- The water dripping out of Berks jowls and all over my sister’s hardwood floors
- Four miles runs with my older sister at a sub 8 minute pace, at elevation, in the cold
- Prairie Dogs popping in and out of their homes to say hello as we ran by
- Fruit Flood, smoothie style Sour Ale
- Phone calls with my Grammy who I miss a ton
- Decorating the only Christmas palm tree in all of the state of Colorado with thrifted ornaments and a giant chicken
Denver, Colorado
December 6th- December 21st
- The Grinch Musical
- An early Christmas bike wrapped in adventure and a Tread lightly Ale
- Mountain Biking through ice blocks and mini boulder trails at Green Mountain Trail
- Getting yelled at by an angry lady on the trail.. should have told her to have a nice day
- 19 holes of Disc Golf followed by drinks from Denver Beer Co, in Old Town Arvada
- King Soopers freshly made sushi with spicy mayo, spicier than normal
- Cancelled wedding dress appointments
- Watching The Greatest Showman with the greatest Aunt
- Bouldering at the spot with my sister Lauren
- Forearms so sore I couldn’t wash my hair
- A caramel macchiato for 8 cents after using my two Starbucks gift cards
- Taylor Swift shocking the world by releasing Evermore, shortly after the epic release of Folklore
- 5 miles at an 8:45 pace due to high altitude and cold air…24 degrees to be exact
- Berk carrying around fake Bailey everywhere
- Homemade Manhattans and Lemon Drops tasting like College
- Clif Bars to keep my husbands snacking self satisfied
- Online Christmas shopping with minutes to spare on Black Friday
- Leftover Turkey soup made from our Thanksgiving Turkey
- Breaking the wishbone and getting the bigger piece… hoping my wish will come true
- Berk and Bailey eating tortilla and Aunt Seana thinking someone broke in
- Little trees covering mountainsides, like crumbs from a distance
- My husband a chef, making personal Beef Wellingtons with filets from Kansas City
- Wrapping Christmas presents to Justin Bieber’s 2012 Christmas album, obviously
- Stopping for Elk as they cross the street in Rocky Mountain National Park
- Hiking through the snow with Luna and Berk for the Rocky Mountain 14’er views
- Tons and tons of sister time
- Wedding dress shopping for Lauren
- Sushi and seltzer dates at Kona Grill with Aunt Seana
- Babysitting Zuko and Turbo, taking them on their daily 1 mile walk (Aunt Seana’s friends dogs)
- Inkwell & Brew, an adorable coffee shop/bookstore in Estes Park, Colorado
- Muley Bucks climbing up the rocks along the cliffside as we drove past
- Sunset selfies and soft smiles
- Tree pose on top of Kruger Rock (Estes Park)
- A chai Latte and Christmas postcards covered in Ferns
- Eating outside when it’s 20 degree because we’re in the midst of a pandemic
- Feeling blessed we can still travel despite the pandemic (Thankful for our small home and the isolation it provides us with)
- Listening to Evermore non-stop
- Watching football with Aunt Seana while writing yet another Christmas postcard
- Taking a Zoom class about Relationships
- Finishing my book ”Writing Wild” by Tina Welling and feeling like I can successfully go for a nature walk and engage with my surroundings through all five senses
- Axe throwing with old High School friends who I hadn’t seen in seven years (Bad Axe Throwing)
- A cave tour through “Cave of the Winds” (Manitou Springs, CO)
- Asking one million questions on our cave tour because nobody else would
- Flamingo masks made by my mother-in-law
- A side of the freshest avocado ever
- Adirondack chairs made out of skis
- Border Burger Bar buffalo chicken bites next to the Manitou River
- Horseback rides through Garden of the Gods magnificent landscape
- “Thor,” the horse in front of me farting the entire two hour ride
- Michael wishing he brought his cowboy hat, to complete the experience
- Bonnie and Lilo, our horses
- Chair yoga with Aunt Seana
- Berks drama laying on Lauren and Oakleigh’s couch in preparation for his week-long stay
- Lauren saying YES to the dress
- Celebrating my brother-in-law Pat’s new job over beers
- Taylor Swift’s folklore documentary and sour craft beer from 4 Noses Brewing
- Peach sunsets through the trees
- The COVID vaccine being delivered to our healthcare heroes
- Early morning wakeups and direct flights home for Christmas
Vestal, New York
December 21st- December 28th
- Lucy (My parents basset hound) wearing her Mrs. Claus outfit
- Visiting Grandma outside of the nursing home, 6 feet apart, with marks, yelling back and forth because she can’t hear anything I’m saying
- Negative COVID tests, self-administered
- Girl talk until 1am
- Baby pictures of Michael melting my heart because he looks exactly the same
- Makeup for the first time since October, feeling like a queen
- A socially distanced Christmas eve mass because my Grandma made a reservation
- Listicles, like Scattergories, but causes more disputes
- Finding a lump on Gunner’s chest the size of a clementine and cuddling him extra hard
- Christmas eve slumber parties with Joan (Mike’s Grandma)
- My MOL making a handmade ornament that looks exactly like the Dutchmen
- A beef tenderloin, perfectly juicy, so full of flavor
- Grandma Louise’s homemade pies for all to eat, except her because of COVID
- My parents house and trees in the yard lit up so lovely, like the houses in Whoville
- Lucy fireside, laying spread eagle
- Magazine cut outs and admiring our completed 2021 vision boards with my sisters
- Dad disappointed because the Giants lost, again
- Reading “The Gifts of Imperfection,” by Brene Brown, thanks to my sister Nat
- Quoting every line in Elf and thinking it’s as hilarious as when it was released in ’03
- Brozetti’s pizza that tastes like candy and the old Jumanji with Robin Williams
- Snapping pictures of Lucy and Gunner using each other’s butts as pillows
- Brie cheese and raspberry jam appetizers for Christmas dinner
- Kampai sushi and watching my Grandma scream as she tries to nail the shrimp toss
- 2am wine nights and Nirchi’s Buffalo Chicken pizza with long lost high school friends
- Missing Berkley all seven days we were home
- Light pink Christmas cocktails made by my little sis, Nat
- Elliptical mornings while watching the news like a seventy year old
#rockymountainnationalpark #estespark #krugerrock #colorfulcolorado #hikecolorado #gardenofthegods #coloradosprings #manitousprings #horsebackriding @academyridingstables #merrychristmas #homefortheholidays
Travel the Fernweh 