Oh, what an amazing trip we had to Colorado! Our trip started with a single flight, which felt easy peasy compared to flying across the country to visit my mom in Florida. My sister, Sam, picked us up in Denver and we stayed overnight in Boulder. She got a new job in Boulder and I had never been there before. The first night we got to see her cute apartment and the next day we got to explore Boulder a bit. What a great place! My sister, mom, grandma, aunt, cousin, Bracken and I got to spend some time together, which was such a gift. My cousin just moved out to Colorado as well, so we lucked out in getting to see them.

We discovered an amazing restaurant called Shine. I was so excited about that gem of a restaurant. I think it’s safe to say that it’s my favorite restaurant of all time. They even had a label system to mark everything on the menu that was paleo. I enjoyed a self-love elixir, just the thing I needed since I’d been way too hard on myself lately, and it was delicious. I loved the cauliflower rice and grass-fed lamb. And the sweet potato fries were the best I’ve ever had.

Later that day we said goodbye to my aunt and cousin, who had other travels, and we headed to Keystone. (I only got one picture in Boulder at the very end because I had forgotten my camera in the car, I didn’t have my camera with me until we were in Keystone.) I got to see where my sister works before we left Boulder, and I was so grateful to get to see her world there. (She’s temporarily living apart from her husband, since their jobs are in different cities, and this limbo period is hard for both of them, so getting to be with her at this time meant a lot to my mom, grandma, and I.) We got to drive through the most beautiful mountains and scenery on the way to Keystone. There were so many charming towns along the way. I hadn’t seen much of Colorado before, so I was delighted to get to explore new places. We met my mom’s boyfriend in Keystone and the company he works for owns a condo there for employees to use so we were able to stay there. That night we went to another great restaurant- Vinny’s.

The next morning the ladies (and Bracken) sat around in our pajamas and talked and talked. I could have sat there and done that all day. The closeness we share- my mom, sister, grandma and I, is something that I know is really special and something I couldn’t even begin to express my gratitude for. Oh, how I love them! I can bare all my vulnerabilities and struggles and they are so supportive and encouraging. With some things that I’ve struggled with, my grandma had the best advice from a lifetime of experience and I took what she said to heart. I sat there, looking around at all of them, and thinking: these are my peeps. Oh my goodness, how I love these people. 

We did eventually change out of our pajamas and stop talking (or rather moved our conversation from around the table to walking around Keystone.) We went up the mountain in a Gondola. As you can imagine, Bracken really liked that adventure. There were beautiful views from the top and we even got to watch a wedding. We saw more brides that day, I think there were at least three weddings that day, with all the guests riding up the Gondola. When we headed back down, we saw Keystone village. There were restaurants and shops and giant games to play. They had chess, checkers, and more. It wasn’t super busy, since it wasn’t ski season, but there were still plenty of people there.

That afternoon Beth, my best friend from high school (who now lives in Colorado), came with her husband to meet us in Keystone. We tried to figure out how long it had been since we’d seen each other and both of us thought it had been 10 years! So much had happened in that time. We both got married, she started a farm, and I had a child. I got to meet her husband and she got to meet Bracken. I can’t say how wonderful it was to see her! (The song started going through my head- Reunited and it feels so good– and it really cracked me up.) I haven’t spoken much of my teenage years here, mostly because I have too much in my current life happening to really think about it much and the fact that it was a painful time, but I was pretty much a train wreck back then. I lived with Beth and finished high school while I was living in her house. I told her I have no idea why she was even friends with me back then and I have so much gratitude for all the nights she got me home safely, how she was always there for me, and how much she helped me in so many ways. Oftentimes she was my rock. We’ve both changed a lot since then, but we’re also our same old selves at the core.

That night we celebrated my birthday. My mom’s boyfriend grilled us some steaks. Beth brought some zucchini from her farm (for those of you in the vicinity, her farm is Trout Creek Farm) and my mom sauteed them up. My sister and mom made dessert. I appreciated all the things everyone did. My birthday celebration was so special. It was such an incredibly fun night and I don’t remember the last time I laughed so darn hard. We had a blast.

The next day it was time to head back to Denver to fly home. I savored that last bit of time we got to spend together during our car ride. Colorado is beautiful. (Have I already said that?) I love how sunny it is there. I loved driving through the mountains and seeing more of it as we took a new route than we had going there. One thing that broke my heart, though, was seeing all the dead trees from the beetles. I couldn’t think about it much without wanting to cry.

Bracken went a total of four days without a nap, and also with less sleep than usual. He might skip a nap once a week or twice, on town days, but whenever we’re home his naps are a part of our daily rhythm. I wasn’t sure how it was going to go skipping so many in a row. Every time he was having a hard time, a helpful family member would step in and work their magic. My sister and grandma took Bracken on a “nature walk.” When my sister and I were little, my grandma would give us each a bag for our treasures, and then would take us on walks. We would come home with pinecones and leaves, and anything else we came across and found interesting. When Bracken walked through the door, holding his bag of treasures, it took me back to that time and filled my heart. I was happy to see that tradition continue and knowing that we had four generations together during this trip? That’s really special.

We said our goodbyes and Gee Gee (great-grandma) got to walk us to our gate at the airport, which was a treat to get to see her just a bit longer. When she left to head to her gate, Bracken turned to me and said “Do you miss Gee Gee, mama?” I said yes. He told me not to worry, that he had something to make me feel better. He held up his camera and showed me a picture of her. Bless his little heart. He asked me if I missed Aunt Sam and Grandma Julie, and then told me not to worry again, and showed me pictures of them. He had an old digital camera of ours that he brought on the trip. It has broken so many times and barely works, Jeff keeps fixing it, but luckily it worked for him well enough on the trip. He would ask us “You want I camera you?” and then he would pose himself and say: “You want camera me?” He’ll eventually stop phrasing it that way, but in the meantime it’s so darn cute to me. He also knows what “selfies” are now and I can’t wait to look through all his pictures from the trip because there are a lot of those in there, with whomever would join him for one at the time.

We were gone only a few days, but we did so much! I know I’ve said this many times, but I always love seeing new places. It wouldn’t have mattered where we had been, I would have enjoyed being with my loved ones, but having it in a beautiful place like Colorado was pretty great. Stepping out of my day-to-day life for just a bit is always a good refresher for my perspective on things. I packed my computer, but didn’t even turn it on once while we were there. It felt wonderful to be unplugged and fully enjoying our time there. My mom is the one responsible for organizing this trip and making it happen and I’m so grateful to her. (Thanks mom!) She had been planning something special for my 30th birthday for awhile now and when we knew my sister wouldn’t be able to travel to Oregon this year because of her extra busy travelling schedule, we planned on all of us meeting in the middle. I’m so glad we did. This trip meant so much to me.