Peaks and Valleys

   Here I am.  I think this is the third or fourth time that I've tried to start a blog.  Even the most recent attempts have started out similar to this.  "I'm really going to stick with it this time."  Well, no promises this go 'round, but I am motivated by getting over the Facebook hump.  I really can't stand Facebook, but it's SO easy!  I love to be able to share pictures and keep in touch with other people, and that application makes it really simple.  But, really?  Do I really need to know what my second grade boyfriend is up to these days?  Nah.  Do I really need to accept you as my "friend" just because we hung out "that one time"?  I don't think so.  But, I'm not ready to fully recede from the Facebook phenomenon...yet.  I'm like a newborn.  I need to be weened.  Now is a great time to graduate from Facebook and get on with my life! 


   This blog is a long time in the making.  I've brainstormed ideas for quite some time now.  I've even narrated the passages in my head and I sound just like Carrie Bradshaw.  Instead of talking about Christian Louboutin's, I'm talking about crafting, or baking, or hiking, or reviewing the latest episode of Ally McBeal - yes, I know.  The show is over ten years old and I'm just now catching on.  Bygones!  The point is, I never knew what to name my blog.  Silly, right?  I mean, how do you name something that you hope to be a representation of your life?  A piece of history for your family?  I was caught up on a name for this blog until this past weekend.  An epic weekend, if I so say so myself.


   Nathan, my husband, and I planned a semi-last minute camping trip with some very good friends of ours, Matt and Tyler, who live in Denver, CO.  We live in Fort Collins, CO, and I rarely have the weekends off.  Matt and Tyler usually plan their time-off far in advance, so we weren't quite sure if they would be available for some Colorado shennanigans on such short notice.  Fate should have it that they were, indeed, plan-less for the weekend.  The perfect storm began to brew!

   
   Nathan was the Mountain Man Mastermind behind our perfect weekend.  We (and when I say "we", I mean "I") were semi-demanding about what we wanted to be surrounded by, and that's a lot of pressure for someone who's planning a trip!  We wanted breathtaking views, we wanted altitude, we wanted fishing, we wanted campfires, we wanted hiking, and the list goes on and on and on.  Mountain Man Edberg did not fail us.  His planning was flawless, and he could not have made these campers any more happy!  Here are some pictures of our first Colorado Camping Adventure!

                                               Yep.  That's my Mountain Man, gathering firewood.

    Home Sweet, Element.

  Mustache you ask if I'm having a wonderful time?

 Rise and shine for a sunrise hike!

 Rocky Mountain High

                          Mountaineer Mallie, and her Dad, Matt.

Tyler, the snow-trekking Sensei.

I guess Nathan was happy to be done with the hike....

Hiking up to a pioneer's gravesite.

Big mountains have small flowers.

Our niece, Mallie the bird-dog.

Big 'ol beaver house in that pond.

Nathan's catching trout and Mallie's first swim!

   And there you have it.  The weekend that chose the name of this blog.  Peaks & Valleys.  Because, after all, that's what life is.  I look forward to sharing our adventures with you through pictures of our hikes, camping trips, recipes, crafty projects and music.  Cheers to you and thanks for reading :)