colorado

Tyler and I  were able to get away for a little 2 night/3 day vacation a couple of weeks ago.  It was lovely.  We hadn't really had a vacation the whole summer and weren't sure if we were going to be able to make one happen at all, but we did!  Tyler actually took a week off of work.  We went to McCook for a few days first (pics to come) and then we took off for our little getaway to Estes.  Tyler's parents were so nice and let us borrow their 4-wheelers for the trip.  We went 4-wheeling everyday and loved it.  We fell in love with 4-wheeling in the mountains during our first trip to Colorado together back in 2006.  We have gone a number of times since then. 

(A huge thank you to Tyler's Mom and Dad for keeping our kids as well!  You guys are such a blessing - thank you!)

We got to Estes a little later than we wanted, but that didn't stop us from unloading the 4-wheelers and checking out some trails!  We were greeted by snow in some spots. 

I never get tired of seeing these mountains.  I'm so glad Colorado is so close...it really is an easy trip for us.  Tyler and I were talking about how familiar the Estes area is becoming.  It's kind of fun to get to know an area so well.  We would like to explore other areas as well, but for quick trips Estes is perfect.

SO good to spend this time together.

Tyler's photo of the Rockies.

Out to eat the first night...shrimp enchiladas and a margarita.  Yum. :)

Getting ready to head out on day 2!

It was a beautiful day!  The high was 62 that day.

This was one of the easier trails...there were all kinds.

We experienced this quite often...gates keeping us from where we wanted to go.

We found an awesome app for our phones that had gps and showed us all of the trails.  It was really nice because it would track our path as we went.  I get nervous about getting lost, so it helped me not freak out. :)  Though I did still have some nervous moments.  I'm thankful Tyler put up with me.  If he had his way, he'd be out in the boonies with a tent on the back of his ATV. 

 

What a beautiful view.

We stopped to eat lunch in this spot.  Awesome view.

Looking out over Estes.

We went to the famous Stanley Hotel on Halloween night!  We both had never been there before, so we thought it was the perfect night to go.  We were bummed that the tour was sold out (we had called ahead of time and asked if we needed to reserve tickets and they said no...but then when we got there they were sold out).  Oh well.  We still explored the area a bit.

Tyler's instagram picture...:)  We watched The Shining in our cabin after dinner.

Ha!

Downtown Estes on Halloween night.  Everyone goes trick-or-treating on the main street where all the shops are instead of going from house to house.  It was pretty cute to see all the locals dressed up.  The shop owners closed down their shops and stood in the doorways with candy (and caramel apples! yum!). 

Our room at the Fawn Valley Inn.  October is the perfect time to go to Colorado...one of the reasons being is that you can get great pricing on hotels since it is the off season.  We got a great deal at this place and I thought our room was just perfect!

Getting ready for the 3rd day of 4-wheeling.  A latte + a Red Bull. :)

Another gate!

Another awesome view on Storm Mountain.

It was fun having the snow on parts of the trails...

I sure do love this guy! 

A stop at Chick-fil-A in Loveland.  The same day Omaha opened two stores of their own!

california.

So last week I got to go to California for the first time. Well, if you don't count the quick trip to the beach when I was 4 years old, on our way to Japan. I'd say that doesn't count! I had the opportunity to go work the tradeshow booth at a conference in Anaheim for work. I love to travel and was excited about the opportunity! I really do enjoy working the booth, too. It was a great work experience, and it was so much fun to see LA! A good friend of mine started working with me last fall, and she went with me to California. So fun to travel with a good friend. We worked everyday until about 4:30 or so, and then headed off to see the sights...well, beaches. We both love the beach and so we made it a priority to go to as many as we could. We were super close to the ocean, so it worked out great.

laguna beach

we were so excited to be on the beach. it felt, sounded, smelled, and looked so good.

watching the waves roll in.

i loved this little alley way that lead you out to the ocean from the main street. so cute.

happy hour in laguna beach, on a patio. (i love all the patio restaraunts there!)

the cutest little firestation i've ever seen.

another night...huntington beach with my first in-n-out burger and milkshake. so good!

huntington beach pier. we were so cold when we ate dinner that we had to go buy sweatshirts!

proof that i did work. :)

santa monica. this was a bit more of a drive for us, but it was so worth it!

jean conquered her fear of heights on the ferris wheel!

it was our mission to find a cute little seafood restaraunt while in california, and we found one.
blue plate oysterette, i think you are charming!
and your food is delicious, too.
i wish we had a place like this here.

the santa monica pier.

I had a lovely time in california, but was soooo happy to see this little guy on monday! I missed him so much. I can't believe he was gone for 8 days. It was too long for this mommy. He didn't seem to mind though...he was having a ton of fun in McCook with his grandparents, his cousins, and his auntie. I will post a few pics from his fun week later on. Thank you so much to Tyler's sweet mom for taking care of him all week. He was so loved and well cared for. It made it just a wee bit easier leaving him. :)