Imogene Pass Run 2014

The start in Ouray:

Trent and Brian at the start. 

The racers and Isaac

The Vanbergs

The Telluride side:

So adorable. He crossed the finish line with Daddy!

Congrats to the finishers! I'm told next year it's my turn again. . . 

Annual Imogene Weekend

We're here! Our favorite weekend of the summer is finally upon us, and to make things even better, Meagan and Dave have returned to Colorado from their summer of travel to spend the entire month with us. We are so happy to see them, so happy to be here in Ouray!

Wedding Anniversary

Today is our wedding anniversary. Ben and I have actually been married nearly two years--we were officially married on New Year's Eve in 2012--but on this day last year we celebrated our marriage with family and friends. With all of the holidays and birthdays (and soon the birth of our baby girl!) surrounding the date we were officially married, we've decided to celebrate our anniversary on September 1st, the day of our wedding, instead. September is already a special month for us. We met and began dating in September 2007, so celebrating our wedding anniversary in September, too, just feels right.

Ben and I talked about marriage before our pregnancy with Isaac, but when we became pregnant first, we knew we wanted to wait until after Isaac was born to be married. Both events--the birth of our baby boy and our wedding--were tremendously important to us, and they each deserved to be celebrated in their own right.

We had an intimate wedding ceremony, inviting only our families to join us as we exchanged vows. Everything about the ceremony was meaningful to us, and because of that, I think it was my favorite part of our wedding day. We were married on Flagstaff mountain in Boulder, outside of a small stone shelter built in 1919. I dressed inside the beautiful little building with my mom, my stepmom, my sister, and my cousin Jessie there to help. We had no wedding attendants, but Isaac and our nieces all walked down the aisle before me, and my sister sang while my cousin's husband, Kyle, played the guitar. My my dad officiated, and Ben and I exchanged the vows we wrote together in front of those we love the most. The ceremony really represented who we are as a couple, and looking back, I really cherish what we made of it.

The reception was held in our backyard, and we have our family to thank for their hard work in the week leading up to the wedding to get it ready for the event. It was beautiful, full of fresh potted flowers, wood chargers made by my uncle, succulents I grew all summer long, and many other handmade decorations. We served barbecue and local beer, hand-chosen by Ben, and for our little man, an ice cream truck from the local ice cream shop came to serve dessert. The night was spent with as many of our closest friends and family members as could make the trip to Colorado. We ate, drank, laughed and danced--the makings of a fine night, if you ask me. It's hard to believe it's already been a year since then.

Now here we are, one year later, about to grow from a family of three to a family of four. I couldn't ask for a better man to raise my children with, to walk side by side through this life, with all its ups and downs. Happy anniversary, my love. Here's to many more.

Historic Hotel Boulderado

To celebrate our wedding anniversary, Ben and I spent the night in downtown Boulder at the historic Hotel Boulderado, which opened in 1909. It was a lovely way to celebrate our marriage--our room even had a view of our ceremony site on Flagstaff Mountain. That alone was pretty neat.

A Visit to Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport

Daddy and Isaac had quite the adventurous day today. This morning they went on Isaac's very first single track mountain bike ride. Since learning to ride his Strider, Isaac lives and breathes for biking. He asks to ride constantly. The other day, out of the blue, he asked me, "Mommy, do you want to go get some ice cream?" and when I told him it wasn't a good time for ice cream, he offered instead, "Mommy, do you want to go for a bike ride?" with excitement shining in his eyes. His love for biking is a close second to his love of eating ice cream, which is really saying something (he literally dances with joy when we enter the ice cream shop)! Apparently after more than a mile on the trails today, Isaac still didn't want to turn back for home, and Ben had to cajole him into starting back toward the Jeep. Isaac led the way on the trails, through puddles and over bridges with no fear. As his mama, I'm both inspired by and terrified of his fearlessness.

After the bike ride, I got a text from Ben asking if I'd join them for lunch. The boys had continued their adventure at the small airport close to our house. If ice cream and bikes are top on Isaac's list, airplanes are a close third right now. Since he was very little, Isaac has pointed out every plane and helicopter in the sky. This habit has continued into toddlerhood, but now he also asks us what kinds of planes we see--a good refresher course for Ben, who has his pilot's license. At the airport, we sat out on the restaurant patio watching the comings and goings of airplane traffic while enjoying lunch, with the scenic foothills as the backdrop. As Isaac put it, it was a "wi-wee, wi-wee fun day."

24 Weeks

24 weeks and still running!

I'm so thankful I'm still able to get out for easy runs at this point. I distinctly remember being 24 weeks pregnant with Isaac and trying to run in Ouray one cool morning. It was uncomfortable with a great heaviness down low. I knew that meant I wouldn't run again until Isaac was in my arms instead of my belly. But my pregnancy with Baby Green has been very different than with Isaac. In a lot of ways it has been much more difficult, but one positive change is that I still feel pretty good while exercising. So this pregnancy running adventure continues. And with the cool mornings that welcome us into September and my favorite season, I'm finding more energy and renewed motivation to get out there a bit more often. Yay, fall!

Pro Cycling Challenge

After our hike, we came out of Eldorado Canyon to find the road closed for the Pro Cycling Challenge race. We made the most of the 45-minute wait and got out of the car to watch the racers pass by. This was Isaac's second time watching the race, actually. When he was about 7 months old we watched the race from downtown Boulder, which was really fun. And I've been one other time as well--when I was about six months pregnant with Isaac. It was 95 degrees out and we were in downtown Denver to watch, then. I don't remember it being all that pleasant an experience for me.

 Waiting for the cyclists. (I love his hand-on-hip stance.)

The Peleton

The rest of the pack. Forty-five minutes of waiting and about 1 minute watching the race!