Fall Visitors

As I mentioned in my last blog, David and Teresa came to visit us last Thursday for a long weekend. We had such a wonderful time eating delicious food and seeing some beautiful scenery.

Thursday night we ate a delicious dinner at outside at Houstons. The weather was unseasonably warm all weekend but still very nice.

On Saturday we started our journey to Aspen. The drive there was very scenic with many different mountain views and lots of fall foliage. I love driving through Independence Pass this time of year.

After our lunch in Aspen, we drove over to the Maroon Bells to walk around for a little bit. The sun had kind of cast a shadow on the mountains so they weren't as brilliant as they are in the morning, but they are still a sight to see.

The David head tilt.

The other way.

 While we were walking around Maroon Lake, we noticed some people staring at a hillside nearby. They kept pointing to something and we soon realized that they were looking at a mama and baby bear eating out of some red bushes. They were very small on the hillside so it was hard to tell but they would walk back and forth a little bit and you could see them better. I'm sure they are so very difficult to see in this picture, but they are there. Trust me.

Ok, one of them is the dark spot on the rocks close to the left treeline. The other is righ across siting in the red bush. If you look closely, you can see the ears on the one on the left.

Whether you can see them or not, we know they were there. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around in Aspen before dinner. We found a delicious italian restaurant kind of on accident for dinner and had a delightful dinner outside on their patio. They even had outdoor heaters to keep us warm when the sun went down. We spent the night in Aspen and got up Saturday morning to make the drive to Crested Butte.

This is just one of the beautiful views on the way.

How cute are they?

T-bird with her "Rynie"

Dabid!

This is another one of our views.

Love Birds

Our first view of Mt. Crested Butte from the drive in.

It looks very different without snow covering it.

 The Simmons have been going to Crested Butte to ski since the kids were really young so it holds a very special place in their hearts. It was so fun to get to see the city in a different season. There were flowers everywhere and a lot of the aspen trees had turned bright yellow.

I love this picture. The boys were sitting outside of Camp for Coffee, a favorite coffee shop.

This picture makes me laugh so hard. The best part is that Teresa didn't even know what the picture was of before she got back there. I just told them to make a surprised face. Loves it.

 We decided to ride the lift up to the top and walk around a little bit. This is just a taste of what it looked like on the way up.

View from the top of Silver Queen Lift

 The boys decided to venture around a little bit and the girls found a good spot to sit and enjoy the scenery. While we were chatting, I noticed a paraglider flying around the mountain. Little did we know, the boys got a firsthand look at him taking off. Ryan even shot this video. Make sure you watch for David hopping down to take some pictures. Can't blame the guy for wanting to fly above this scenery, right?

If you were wondering what a Cool Guy hat looks like, here it is. Old School Crested Butte right there.

One victory I have to share is that of finding a can of pumpkin in the state of Colorado. The decision was made that pumpkin bars were the perfect treat for the weekend. After deciding that, I looked at 3 different grocery stores for canned pumpkin and all 3 proceeded to tell me about a bad pumpkin  harvest and how they may not have pumpkin until October. That was just not going to work. I already had all of my ingredients. Except one can of pumpkin. Our last resort was the City Market in Crested Butte. If you have ever been, it is no exactly as big or extensive as your big city grocery store. I was doubtful that they would have pumpkin. But Teresa believed in the cause, and if you know her at all, you know she makes things happen. She talked to a clerk and they sent us to an isle that had PUMPKIN! I couldn't believe it. Crested Butte/Teresa to save the day! After doing a small victory dance in the isle, we headed to check out with 2 cans for good measure. Here's the finished product. It was and still is delicious. I wish someone would come take the rest off my hands.

Sunday was the day for Teresa and I to do our running around while the boys watched football. Both parties were totally fine with this. We ate a huge and delectable breakfast at Snooze and then parted ways. That night we ate a wonderful dinner downtown at Vesta Dipping Grill . There are so many different dips to choose from and you get 3 with your meal that you can chose or have the one suggested by the chef.  It is such a unique restaurant with so many delicious options. Yum.

Monday morning we woke up and ate a delicious breakfast at Devil's Food Bakery and Cookery. Teresa and I looked at a menu for it last February and put it on our to-do list for the future. It was a more traditional feel than Snooze, but still very delicious. It was a perfect little ending to our fun weekend. I wouldn't have changed any of it, especially how much we laughter filled the weekend!

Up next, Megan Shaub. She arrives on Saturday and I am giddy to say the least. I feel so thankful for Fall to begin with wonderful visitors!