Things I Love Lately

~New running shoes!

~Frozen yogurt. So many combination choices, it’s almost mind blowing

~Getting to visit with my Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin for a few days

~My husband. (Well, I always love him, but this last month has been really great for no particular reason! And celebrating his birthday is fun)

~The Tour de France. I’ve never really been into cycling, but Ben is and the French scenery is amazing!! Plus, there have been some intense crashes. I even have a few favorite riders picked out

~The new Colplay song, Every Teardrop is a Waterfall

~Dinner with just my mom and sister

~Cooking light magazine. So many delicious looking recipes that are good for you

~M&M caramel apple from Laura’s fudge shop in Estes

~Counseling sessions. I know this has been on a past list recently, but this has seriously been the best thing!! As an added bonus, our friendship with Pastor D and Amber has grown

~Getting letters from little Franklin, my sponsored child in Ecuador. I’ve sponsored him for the last 4 years and I love getting his letters.

~Thunder storms

~Getting back in shape. I can now run 4-5 miles 5 days a week and a longer run 1 day a week and not feel like I’m going to die!

~Monthly dinners. Life has been super busy, so it’s nice to schedule just once a month to get caught up with friends

~Target

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow
~Swedish Proverb

Ben's b-day

Saturday was Ben's 29th birthday. He had a work function that afternoon and evening, so it was pretty low key, but we still had a good weekend!

Friday morning when Ben walked into work, this was hanging over his desk!

I love that it has Snow White on it and it says "Happy Birthday Princess." Hilarious.

And, I think his desk is WAY too clean!

Saturday morning I drug him out of bed super early to open presents. He wouldn't open a thing until his actual birthday. He has WAY more self-control than I do!

Ben in his bed head glory.

Enjoying a cup of coffee while showing off his new boots and shirt

Later that morning we met up with Jeff and Paul for some breakfast. We went over to Cafe Terracota in downtown Littleton

Happy Birthday, Ben! I hope this year is all you hope for and more!

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.
~Albert Einstein

Camping!

This weekend we went camping with our friends Eric and Erin. We had a great time hiking, talking, and sitting around the campfire. And thankfully, this trip was a lot less of a workout than our camping trip last year! Ben didn't make me backpack in, and instead we found the perfect little spot up the Poudre Canyon near Pingree Park.

We set up camp and then headed out for a nice little hike. It was thundering like crazy so we cut it short.

The trail

One of the beautiful views

Ben and I

This is why I hike. You just can't beat the incredibly views

A meadow full of aspens

Group shot mid hike

This little stream was right next to our campsite

Camp

Erin and I enjoying some s'mores- a camping tradition

Enjoying our night around the fire

Weekend with the Witters

Last weekend Ben’s parents came to town. Ben had another tri on Sunday and they came out to cheer him on. Saturday we went over to Hudson Gardens to walk around. It was a gorgeous day and the flowers were in full bloom!

Ben, Pam, and Boyd in the rose garden

LOVE this flower

The lily-pads

Ben and I

Sunday morning we were up bright and early to head down to Boulder. This race was a little longer than the last one- 1 mile swim, 25 mile bike, 6.2 mile run.
The sunrise that day was worth the 4 am alarm

The Boulder Reservoir before the first wave

Ben relaxing before hitting the water...and the bike....and the pavement

Jeff brought his bike down and headed out with Ben for a bit

We had a great weekend and it was a nice visit with my in-laws!

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

The good Lord gave you a body that can stand most anything. It's your mind you have to convince.
~Vince Lombardi

All American

Over the 4th of July weekend, our friend Casey Lansing nominated us as the All-American couple and decided that we were worthy of a quick photo shoot. He went all out and even hung an American flag for a backdrop. I thought the pictures turned out pretty cute and were worthy of a blog post

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

Success does not come to the most righteous and rigorously disciplined, but to those who continue running

~Amby Burfoot

4th of July Weekend

HAPPY 4TH! Hope everyone had a great long weekend. We had a great weekend, but now I need a weekend to recover from the weekend! Friday night my sister and Casey came down and we went to see a fireworks show over at Clement Park in Littleton. Afterwards we walked a few holes on the golf course throwing golf balls instead of hitting the clubs.

Saturday we headed up to Chicago Lakes by Mount Evans for a day of hiking. Ben and I went camping there last year.

Casey was so excited!

On the way up. The trees look so lush and green!

Bear prints on the dumpster at the bottom of the hike

Echo Lake. It's so pretty

Melissa, Ben, and Casey heading up

Self portrait

Idaho Springs Reservoir

This was a view towards the top

That night Ben and Casey made us homemade pizzas while Meliss and I relaxed. Afterwards we fired up the grill for some s'mores! Not quite the same as a campfire, but it'll do!

So delish!

Even Casey got in on the s'more action

Sunday morning we headed back over to the Denver Biscuit Co for breakfast. It's Casey's new favorite breakfast joint.

Sunday night Ben and I rode our cruisers along the Platte River Path over by Hudson Gardens. They were having a concert and fireworks.

Enjoying our time together

After the fireworks we met up with Ben's friend Adam and his girlfriend. He was in town for work and it was fun to hang out for a night.