U.S. Destinations Archives - Page 7 of 12

Birthday Celebrations in the Mountains

Published on April 3, 2017April 3, 2017 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

Hi friends,

Well we certainly got lucky with the weather this weekend. I turned 34 yesterday (Yikes? Or not? I haven’t really decided yet … ), and we spent the weekend in Estes Park to celebrate. Despite the fact that it’s only a little over an hour away, we had yet to really explore Estes Park and everything it has to offer, but now that we have I’m sure we’ll be back. The hikes are glorious, the town is adorable, and it’s right next to Rocky Mountain National Park, as well, so there’s no end to the number of outdoor things you can do. I’ll need a day or two to download my photos and write up a post, but I wanted to share the above pic we took yesterday on our way home. This was my first birthday as a mom, and my first birthday without my own mom. So many feelings. But having my own little family with me to celebrate was certainly lovely, and Chris did such a good job making me feel special. I’m very lucky, that I know.

Happy April, friends – I hope your spring started with some sunshine.

From New York to Philly to Virginia & Back — a Trip East With My Little

Published on March 28, 2017March 28, 2017 by Cheryl Lock1 Comment

^^ The most amazing turnout — with the most amazing group of women — for the MS fundraiser in honor of my Mom.

Heya friends,

So we’re back from our monster trip east, and Lotte & I had an amazing time. We saw so much family and so many friends, we covered miles & miles & miles in the car together (one of these days I’ll have to actually sit down and see how many miles we really drove), Lotte saw her first monuments in D.C., she spent tons of quality time with her Philly cousins, she was the hit of the MS fundraiser my sister & I held in honor of Mom at Wine & Design in Warwick, she attended her great-grandma and great-aunt’s 95th birthday party … and oh-so-many more important and amazing things.

Before we actually had Lotte, we weren’t exactly sure how much traveling we’d do with her. Traveling with kids is hard and at times very stressful, and let’s be honest, it’s not like she’s making lasting memories here. But you know what … we are. And I’ve come to realize as Lotte grows and goes through babyhood that that is just as important. These trips we take with her are some of my fondest memories, and I will never forget them. (Neither, luckily, will she, since I take extensive notes to put in her baby travel diary — complete with pictures! — and of course she’ll always have this blog to refer to, as well.)

The point is – yes, traveling with kids can sometimes make you want to pull your hair out, but so far, I am never sorry for the trips we’ve done with Lotte, and I only hope that continues.

Here’s a look at what we got up to over the past 10 days in photos. Oh, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t give another BIG shout-out to my husband for flying out and surprising us last Friday to be there for my Mom’s fundraiser, my Grandma’s 95th birthday party and, of course, to help on the flight back home with Lotte. Funny how four hands are so much better than two when it comes to flying with Littles 😉

^^ All prepped and ready for our first solo flight as Mom & baby! In all seriousness, though, I know how lucky Chris & I got with Lotte. She’s a pretty solid, amazing little traveler, so things might be a tad different is she were more difficult …

^^ We don’t have a dog at home, so Lotte’s only real interaction with them so far has been at my stepdad’s house with Ranger. Honestly I wasn’t sure how Ranger would react to Lotte at first — he can be a bit of a loose cannon — but especially in his older age, he tolerates her quite nicely, which is nice, because she is obsessed!

^^ Quick pit stop at Aunt Steph’s & Uncle Brian’s on Saturday to pick them up on our way into Pennsylvania for Rory’s 4th birthday party.

^^ These two together = major cuteness! Peyton, on the right, is actually three months younger than Lotte, but she’s almost the same size. It’s really only when she gets with other babies that I’m reminded of what a tiny nugget Lotte is!

^^ Dad’s fancy omelette bar on Sunday morning.

^^ Jude!

^^ Rory seriously loves Lotte, and it’s pretty much the sweetest.

^^ Cuddles with my babe on our first day in Arlington, Virginia, to visit Lisa. I think I honestly was just so relieved the car ride from Pennsylvania went well!

^^ This bear was pretty amazing to use as a backdrop in many-a-Lotte photo!

^^ Driving into D.C. to take in the sites — don’t let this innocent face fool you, she screamed the entire way in and the entire way out! Those two car rides — which must have amounted to about 20 minutes total — and the one back to Newark airport to head home were the only ones she fussed (or should I say threw a tantrum) for. I guess that was … lucky?!

^^ Patriotic Baby.

^^ In front of the Reflecting Pool … not impressed!

^^ At the World War II Memorial … not impressed!

^^ Heading to the Lincoln Memorial … not impressed!

^^ At the Washington Monument … not impressed!

^^ Visiting good ole’ Abe … not impressed!

^^ I mean … you get it. Lotte was not impressed! But it was a gorgeous day, and I hadn’t been back to these places myself in many, many years, so overall it was a pretty fun day!

^^ Tuckered out from all her touristing. Is there anything sweeter than a sleeping baby??

^^ We were back in the car on Wednesday and back with Rory and Jude in no time (well, in about three hours, to be exact).

^^ I particularly love this photo from our trip. I took this after I opened up the back door of the car after our ride from PA back to New York (our FOURTH long car ride, mind you), and Lotte was just chillin’ in her car seat, giving me the BIGGEST smile when she saw me. Oh Lotte … how I love you.

^^ Deep conversations back at Aunt Stephie’s house.

^^ When your husband surprises you and flies to New York for the weekend and you can breathe because you finally have full-time help again. Single parents … I have never had more respect for you than I do after this trip! Oh and Lisa also got into town this day, too, so it was almost more than my little heart could handle, all my lovies surrounding me 😉

^^ Delicious crinkle cookies Lisa made for the MS fundraiser.

^^ Making sangria for the party!

^^ I seriously love this photo of Lisa, after we picked up balloons for the party.

^^ Lotte was a tad grumps during the fundraiser — girlfriend deserved to be! — even when seeing her future boyfriend Miles again.

^^ Between the paint & sip fundraiser and online donations, we raised more than $2,000 for MS research. Speechless. And oh-so thankful.

^^ After the fundraiser it was on to my Grandma and Great-Aunt Vicki’s 95th birthday party, which my aunt did a fabulous job setting up.

^^ Ugh these two cuties!!!! Can you imagine knowing — and liking! — someone for 95 years?!

^^ Lotte frequently gets this look on her face when she’s around her Great-Grams. I can’t help but feel like she honestly understands what this woman means to our family, and to her.

^^ Kisses after a little speech I made. I love my Aunt Vicki wasting no time before she downs her Prosecco!

^^ Not pictured: Aunt Stephie cracking Lotte up by blowing into a party noisemaker. It. Was. Amazing.

^^ As if that weren’t enough partying for you, everyone surprised me with an early birthday cake back at Steph’s house that night. Sigh. The love.

^^ Headed to the airport on Sunday.

^^ These two.

^^ So many toys to keep her occupied, and all she wanted to do was play with the free airplane cracker packet.

^^ Home. That makes six plane rides for this little 8-month-old.

And those were the highlights, my friends. Usually trips like these tend to feel like a whirlwind (I feel like I use that word a lot when describing my trips!), but this one actually didn’t. Sure it was busy and hectic and hard at times, but overall I felt really good about everything we did, and so happy about everyone we got to see. It was a trip I’d repeat over and over again, with my Little by my side.

Bis bald, friends! Till next time …

We’re Home From Our Trip Back East!

Published on March 27, 2017April 10, 2017 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

Well friends, Lotte & I are home from our epic trip back east, and while it will likely take me at least a couple of days to go through all my photos, here’s just the slightest of tastes of what we got up to:

1. Lotte attended her first birthday party — it was for my nephew Rory’s 4th.
2. We traveled in the car a lot! Trips included from NY to PA, from PA to VA, back from VA to PA and finally from PA back to NY … not to mention to and from Newark Airport ;).
3. Lotte took her first trip into D.C.! We visited quite a few sites with Lisa (see above photo), but I’ll have more on that later.
4. CHRIS SURPRISED ME AND FLEW BACK TO NEW YORK ON FRIDAY TO HELP ME OUT WITH LOTTE & ATTEND THE BELOW EVENTS!!! If that’s not an awesome husband, I just don’t know what is.
5. My sister and I hosted an MS fundraiser this past Saturday in honor of our Mom, and it was awesome. We raised over $2,000 in total, and I think it’s safe to say everyone had a great time and our Mom would have been (is) proud.
6. After the MS fundraiser we went to celebrate my Grandma and her twin’s 95th birthday … how utterly amazing is that?!

I’m sure there is more I’m forgetting, but hopefully going through all my photos will jog my memory. For now, check out my one photo from the sad cherry blossoms in D.C. (a recent frost killed them all!), and a pic of Lotte checking out our landing back in Denver. That girl loves herself an airplane landing <3

Bis bald friends! And happy Spring!

A Girls’ Week Bonanza

Published on March 6, 2017 by Cheryl Lock1 Comment

Chris has been in Australia this past week for his brother’s wedding, so to keep us company (and help me out!), my darling friend Lisa flew in from D.C. to have a girls’ week with myself and Lotte.

We. Had. So. Much. Fun.

Not only did she help me immensely by being here, but she also surprised me with an early birthday celebration — complete with strawberry shortcake, carrot cake cupcakes, presents and adorable decorations (she made a shirt for Lotte!) — since we were together.

One of my highest hopes in life for Lotte is that she finds friends like Lisa. They are invaluable.

^^ Among the many reasons that I love when Lisa comes to visit are the millions of photos that she takes of Lotte and of Lotte & me. Since I am usually the one behind the camera in our everyday life, it’s nice to have these memories.

^^ I am so glad Lisa was here to watch the Oscars with me, wine glass in hand.

^^ Lisa did most of the cooking while she was here (because again, she’s a doll), but I did make this homemade hummus dip for us, which is something I used to make back when we lived in NYC. Sigh. Memories.

^^ Shirt 1 of 2 Lisa made for Lotte. I cannot. And she even made a big-girl version for me.

^^ Who doesn’t LOVE an early birthday celebration?! No one decorates or celebrates like Lisa. No one.

^^ This shirt. Look for it again on my actual birthday, because I cannot WAIT for Lotte to wear it then!

^^ Lisa made this Penne Alla Betsy dish from Ree Drummond as part of my birthday celebration. I highly recommend trying it.

^^ We checked out Majestic View Park (which also has a nature center) while Lisa was here, which is something I’ve been meaning to do. I’m so glad we did, because although it was the windiest day ever, it was still beautiful, and I can’t wait to go back.

^^ We also took a walk over near the eagle habitat side of Standley Lake which, if you’ll recall, I had visited last year when my stepdad was in town and I was still pregnant.

^^ After Lisa left on Saturday I took Lotte to the Arvada Library for Family Time, and we were the only ones there! We stayed for Baby Time, too, and there was only one other baby. (He didn’t enjoy Baby Time as much as Lotte did, I don’t think :/) Anyway, it was only so-so. There is a library much closer that has the same types of activities, but we’ve always missed them because of Lotte’s naps. I’m hoping we’ll be able to try out a Baby or Family Time at the Standley Lake Library some day soon.

^^ All alone … and loving it!

^^ Lisa sent me this compilation of Lotte photos after she left. Seriously. She’s the best ever. I can’t say it enough.

And that was our little girls’ week in a nutshell, friends. The week after this one Lotte and I are jetting off to the east coast (my first flight solo with the babe … yikes!) for some events. I’m looking forward to it, but it’ll be nice to have Chris home and to have our little family together for a couple days, as well.

Bis bald, friends!

President’s Day Weekend in Steamboat Springs, CO

Published on February 20, 2017 by Cheryl Lock1 Comment

Even the ride to Steamboat Springs is amazing, friends.

This past weekend Chris, Lotte and I packed up the car and headed over the mountains to meet family in this beautiful mountain town, which will always hold a special place in my heart because it was, if you’ll recall, Lotte’s first-ever trip as an almost-3-month-old. It was also our first trip together as a family of three. (Blogged about here.)

Sigh. Time flies.

Anyway, we had a really amazing time, and Lotte got to meet family she’s never met before and the weather was gorgeous and it was all just really, really lovely.

Here’s some of our weekend, in photos.

But actually … before I get to that … can I do a shout out, yet again, to our amazing daughter, who continues to be the best little travel companion ever. Seriously, we could not have asked for a more chill baby. She’s simply the best.

Okay, now here are some photos 😉

^^ The cutest kids on the slopes, bar none.

^^ This little snow bunny and her absolute enthusiasm for everything. Some days I cannot even stand her (in a good way!).

^^ Lotte’s first gondola ride!

^^ We ate in both nights we were there, which was nice, but before heading home on Sunday we stopped off at T Bar for a drink, which was the cutest little dive bar on the side of the slope.

And that was our President’s Day weekend Steamboat adventure, friends – hope you all had a great weekend as well!

Bis bald!

A Weekend Getaway in Breckenridge With Friends

Published on February 6, 2017February 6, 2017 by Cheryl Lock1 Comment

Hey friends,

Happy Monday! Things are in full swing over at the Connor house today! Our new nanny who was supposed to start today never showed up (grrr), but our basement remodel has begun (I’m so excited!) and it’s my grandmother and her twin’s 95th birthday, so we’ll be facetiming with them later to send some love.

Meanwhile, we spent the weekend in Breckenridge with my old college roommate, her husband and their one year old, plus my friend’s mom, who was a little angel and watched the babes for us while we snowboarded/skied on Sunday. How lovely is that?

And what a gorgeous day we had! It honestly was the perfect weather for a day out on the slopes. Here’s our weekend in photos, friends.

^^ We stopped at Breckenridge Brewery on our way into town for lunch and Lotte was, as usual, perfect 😉

^^ My friend found the place we stayed at, so I can’t take any credit for that, but it was perfect — right on Main St. and about a 10 min walk to a gear rental place/one of the lifts. I would highly recommend The Loft at Ruby Jane for a group of friends wanting a weekend in Breck.

^^ These two together are just too cute for words.

^^ See what I mean?!

^^ I didn’t have the best day snowboarding (aka I fell A LOT), but it was still super fun and so nice to be outside in such beautiful weather. And I did more runs than I’ve ever done in my life so, you know, go me 😉

^^ I love this picture. I wanted a photo of all four of us at the top of the mountain so badly, but I could not stand backwards on my board if someone paid me to, so I ended up holding on to Ryan for dear life, while Chris could barely get himself in the shot. Oh well, we tried!

^^ And this one of Ryan and Carla would have been so gorgeous … if Chris weren’t sitting right smack in the middle of it, totally oblivious 😉 I guess the lesson is, snowboard on the mountain — don’t try to take perfect pictures.

^^ Of course I kept trying anyway.

^^ Our loft was right above this store right on the adorable Main Street in town.

We’re off to Steamboat next weekend to hang with some family that’s in town, too. I’m glad we’re making it to the mountains a bit this season, even with our little baby. It’s super fun bringing her places, and she really is a good traveler. Shout out to you, little Lotte, for being so totally awesome.

Bis bald, friends!

Pennsylvania, Brooklyn & NYC — A Tale of a 5-day Trip

Published on January 16, 2017January 30, 2017 by Cheryl Lock1 Comment

^^ Gussied up in our fanciest for a very pretty (if somewhat cold!) Central Park wedding.

Hi friends,

Well we just returned from a super quick and very fun trip over to the east coast. We headed out last Friday, arriving in Pennsylvania around 10:30 p.m. for a second Christmas with my dad and stepmom, sisters and their husbands and Rory and Jude. Nan and Aussie Poppa came, too, which made the trip a super lot more fun.

Second Chrissy was only one of our objectives with this trip — we also rented a car and drove to Brooklyn on Monday, where we stayed with a friend of mine in her gorgeous brownstone and attended a wedding in Central Park on Tuesday and the reception at the Wythe Hotel.

This was Lotte’s second trip out to the east coast — a trip that followed quickly behind her trip out the mountains at the end of last year — and she was nothing but a wonderful pumpkin full of smiles the whole time.

Something tells me we got super lucky with this kid of ours.

Anyway, here’s what we got up to, in photos 😉

^^ Super pumped for her second trip out east!

^^ These two together … it seriously always warms my heart.

^^ My family has a little tradition of doing a taste-testing competition for one holiday (usually it’s Thanksgiving), and although we’d already done wine in the past, we decided why not do it again 😉 After what was meant to be a tie-breaker using beer between the three wine-tasting winners (my dad and both my brothers-in-law), both of my brothers-in-law won the beer round. This was not in the least surprising 😉

^^ Steph and I chipped in to get Rory an actual excavator toy that he can ride, and I think it’s safe to say he liked it. (Thanks Uncle Brian for setting it up!)

^^ The chef — aka my brother-in-law — hard at work.

^^ My delicious dinner plate. These shrimp with Kev’s homemade barbecue sauce were to die for.

^^ At the sports bar the next day with the fam!

^^ A poopy diaper explosion meant Lotte was taking photos with her cousins in pjs instead of her super cute daytime outfit. Oh well, still cute, though!

^^ Yup. Parenting is tiring.

^^ Sleeping on the ride from Pennsylvania to Brooklyn.

^^ The gorgeous setting for Tuesday’s wedding in Central Park.

^^ Almost four years ago, exactly, Chris and I stood under those very same arches and sat on those very same steps, taking photos of our own after we had just been married 😉

^^ Meanwhile, my friend Carla manned the fort back in Brooklyn with both of our babies … and her dog Simon helped.

^^ After a short hiatus, the reception took place at the Wythe Hotel in Brooklyn, which was nice because I had never been before. The views of Manhattan were spectacular, and the food was super delish. All-in-all, it was a very fun wedding.

^^ At one point during the night Carla sent me this picture, which I seriously adore. She even said Lotte went down super easy that night, which may have been because of …

^^ This amazing sleepsuit! Have you heard of this?! Baby Merlin’s Magic Sleepsuit is, as promised, magic! Lotte simply loves it, and although I’m pretty sure I’m not meant to be using it anymore since she can roll over, for now I’m just grateful it’s helped get her to sleep after the disruption of her routine over the past couple weeks. Thanks Carla, for letting Lotte borrow Fiona’s!

^^ Fiona and Lotte the morning before we left to fly back to Denver. It is my sincere hope that these two become good, lifelong friends. At least I know Carla and I will do everything in our power to help make that happen.

^^ Home. There’s no place like it.

And that was our trip in a nutshell, friends. We’ve got a pretty busy couple first months coming up, with trips planned and visitors coming out. But busy is how we like to be 😉

Until next time – bis bald!

New Year’s Eve 2016

Published on January 5, 2017January 30, 2017 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

^^ 2017 is looking infinitely better than 2016 already 😉

Since my wonderful in-laws were still in town for New Year’s Eve (which just happens to also be the anniversary of when Chris and I met, got engaged and got married … it’s kind of a special day for us!), Chris and I took advantage of their babysitting abilities and had a couple mini dates. We headed back to the Arvada Tavern the night before New Year’s Eve (I blogged about our first date at the Arvada Tavern here) with Chris’s two sisters, who treated us to a delicious dinner and drinks. Then on New Year’s Eve we cashed in on my stepmom’s Christmas present to us from last year and took a sushi-making making at Sur La Table (amazingly fun!) and met up with Kate and Sarah for cocktails at Corridor 44 in Larimer Square in Denver.

Then, after trying to have dinner at the new restaurant — The Butchery — in Arvada and finding out the wait was going to be hours, we ended up at Olive Garden instead! And you know what … we certainly didn’t regret it.

Some photos from our New Year’s Eve Eve and New Year’s Eve itself. Hope you guys had an amazing time, as well!

^^ Cocktails and live jazz music in the upstairs section of the Arvada Tavern before dinner.

^^ Being an amazing husband, Chris got me some anniversary presents and I got him nothing. Sorry dear — I do love you, though!

^^ Celebrating a new year with this little bundle … and things are certainly looking peachy 😉

A Final 2016 Trip

Published on January 4, 2017January 4, 2017 by Cheryl Lock1 Comment

^^ The gang’s all here …

The day after Christmas we all packed up and headed to Keystone to spend a couple days in the mountains. We rented a cabin in Gateway Mountain Lodge, which was super close to the slopes and the little shopping area, so everyone was happy.

And while my day at the mountain was cut painfully short when my lovely daughter refused to take a bottle from my sister and stepdad, who were babysitting (long story short, it was actually my fault … lesson learned), I still had a lot of fun, and I think everyone else did, too.

^^ Ready for her mountain adventure!

^^ Could the back of these pants be any cuter?

fullsizerender
^^ Darkest photo ever of our pit stop at Red Rocks on the way to Keystone.

fullsizerender1 _dsc6977
^^ This window in our cabin … can I have one in my house, please?

_dsc6967
^^ Although I missed out on snowboarding last season since I was pregnant, this was the first time I got on my snowboard and really just felt it all click. So. Much. Fun!

_dsc6971 fullsizerender2
^^ Somebody had a five month birthday celebration at the mountains, surrounded by family. Not a bad way to spend a birthday, my friends.

_dsc6968
^^ My stepdad bought all of us these New York shirts for Christmas and we wore them to dinner on our last night. How cute are we?!

_dsc6979 ^^ So long mountains, see ya in a couple weeks when we head to Breckenridge with some friends!

And that was our little mountain getaway in a nutshell. It was only three days, but it felt longer for some reason, which was nice. We’re off Friday to Philly and then New York to celebrate second Christmas with my Philly fam and then to attend a wedding in Central Park on Tuesday. (Ummmm … how much do I love how much we’re getting back to NYC with Lotte lately? A LOT, let’s just say!)

Bis bald, friends! I’ll just go ahead and leave you with this video of me rockin’ out on my snowboard 😉

Year In Review: So Long 2016

Published on January 2, 2017August 27, 2019 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

thumb__dsc6597_1024
^^ A very merry, happy, jolly 2017, from our little family to yours.

Well friends, 2016 is over and I have to say … I don’t miss it one bit. Of course Lotte being born was the best thing that’s ever happened to me, but other than that, 2016 was kind of awful in a lot of ways. So we’re moving on over here, embracing 2017 with open arms and hoping that it’s a much kinder year.

We’ve had family in town since before the holiday so I’m way far behind on my WW postings, but for now, here’s a short look back at what we got up to in 2016 …

Continue reading “Year In Review: So Long 2016” →

Meeting Santa in Olde Town Arvada

Published on December 12, 2016December 12, 2016 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

thumb__dsc6260_1024 ^^ Thoroughly unimpressed by Santa.

Hi friends,

Happy Monday! Saturday was a gloriously sunny and upper 50s day here in Arvada, so we packed up Lotte and headed to Olde Town so that she could meet Santa for the first time. Even though we’ve only been twice, I really like this cute little section of Arvada. Lucky for us the line wasn’t too long, and they were playing Christmas songs and selling hot chocolate with all the trimmings — it was a great first Santa visit for Lotte … except for the fact that she couldn’t care less.

Oh well! The pictures were still cute 😉

01_arvada_square 02_mischeavous 03_carolers 04_square 05_square 06_treats
^^ Sustenance from the nearby bakery for the *long* wait. (It wasn’t long … these were just delicious and necessary!)

07_carolers 08_tree 09_sneakingview
^^ Santa was visible to Lotte before she actually got her turn to sit in his lap, and she was hard-core checking him out. I think this might be part of the reason why she was so completely uninterested when she got up-close and personal.

10_santa
^^ Still cute, though!

11_santa 12_santa
^^ Oh and by the way, after sunny, warm weather on Saturday, it snowed on Sunday. Oh, Colorado. Still, that gave me a chance to put Lotte back in her snowsuit and make a (albeit sort of lame) snowman with her.

And that was our weekend, friends. Sun. Santa. Snow. Snowsuits and snowmen.

Bis bald, all!

Oh, Christmas Tree …

Published on December 5, 2016 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

^^ Our first Christmas tree in our new home.

Well friends, we had to miss a holiday party this past Thursday at the Denver Botanic Gardens (which is currently displaying their awesome holiday lights … at least we’ve heard it’s awesome, we haven’t been yet) because Lotte was pretty stuffed up and sick after we got home from our Thanksgiving travels.

The things you do when you’re parents 😉

Anyway, she was somewhat better on Saturday, and the weather was gorgeous (although as you’ll see from these photos, we still dressed our child like it was a snowstorm outside. Oops.), so we hopped in the car and headed off to the Christmas tree lot to find ourselves our first ever Christmas tree for our new home — and Lotte’s first Christmas tree ever.

thumb__dsc6151_1024 thumb__dsc6152_1024 thumb__dsc6155_1024 thumb__dsc6157_1024 thumb__dsc6162_1024 thumb__dsc6163_1024

fullsizerender

thumb__dsc6164_1024 thumb__dsc6169_1024
^^ Still a bit grumpy and snotty, as you can see :/

thumb__dsc6181_1024 thumb__dsc6187_1024

Our home is definitely starting to feel festive for the holidays, friends. How early do you all get your holiday decorations up? It seems like everyone in our neighborhood had their trees up and the front of their houses decorated when we came home from Thanksgiving. I mean, I probably wouldn’t have minded doing that either, had we been home, but still, for some reason I was surprised.

Now I just have to wait for allllllll the decorations to come in that I ordered this past weekend, then we’ll be done. Man, I love the holidays.

Bis bald, friends!

Thanksgiving 2016 – Part II

Published on December 2, 2016 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

thumb__dsc6073_1024
^^ These little cuties all together … it’s almost too much to handle.

Last Friday after Thanksgiving we packed up the car and headed to Pennsylvania to spend the weekend with my dad and stepmom, sisters, brothers-in-law and nephews. We had another Thanksgiving and my parents threw a little party for family to meet Lotte, so it was hectic, but a whole lot of fun.

thumb__dsc5737_1024
^^ Starting second Thanksgiving morning with donuts and coffee is pretty amazing in my books.

thumb__dsc5739_1024 thumb__dsc5751_1024
^^ These two had a bit of a love affair going on, and it made my heart so, so happy!

thumb__dsc5756_1024 thumb__dsc5764_1024 dad_lotte
^^ Watching football with Papa. Hey it was a holiday, why not 😉

dad_lotte2 thumb__dsc5802_1024
^^ This cute little family …

thumb__dsc5936_1024 thumb__dsc5947_1024
^^ Both Jude and Lotte’s faces crack me up in this picture!

thumb__dsc5927_1024 thumb__dsc6081_1024 thumb__dsc6089_1024 lotte_judy rory_lotte thumb__dsc6107_1024
^^ Party food!

thumb__dsc6125_1024 faye_moe
^^ Back at my mom and stepdad’s on Sunday night we had a couple people over to meet Lotte, as well. One of my best friends from junior high just had her first baby, too — baby Miles — so Lotte got to meet him. That’s auntie Moe in the middle. I’ve known these ladies for oh-so-many years, and I’m just really grateful for their friendship.

lotte_miles
^^ Miles is only about 2-months-old, so I love that Lotte is his older, wiser friend 😉

^^ This picture cracks me up! Look at my little Lotte makin’ moves on Miles!

lotte_steph
^^ Fell asleep in Aunt Stephie’s arms on Sunday night. She was totally exhausted after all her meet and greets, but it was just about the best time ever.

thumb__dsc6149_1024
^^ Grandpa Robert sure knows how to multi-task 😉

airport
^^ And suddenly, before we knew it, we were back at Newark for our flight home. Amazing how fast time flies when you’re having fun.

lotte_plane
^^ This little angel mostly slept and ate on the way back home, which was so nice!

And that was it — our incredibly hectic, fun and full-of-love Thanksgiving break. I hope you guys had just as much fun.

Now … on to December!

Bis bald, friends!

Thanksgiving 2016 — Part 1

Published on December 1, 2016 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

02_roseandgirls ^^ The meeting between Lotte and my grandmother was one of the biggest highlights of this trip. I’ll never, ever forget it.

Well friends, last Thursday was Thanksgiving. And while I can hardly believe it’s over, and that we’re on to December and Christmas now, I can say without a doubt that we had a really good one. As our first Thanksgiving without my mom, I’ll admit I was a little worried about how it might go. But having a baby and being constantly on the move kept me from dwelling too much on the sad part of the holiday and helped me to focus on how much I do have in my life, and how much Lotte is so loved by all these friends and family of ours.

The day before Thanksgiving we stopped by the assisted living place where my Grandmother lives to surprise her with a visit. It was my sister’s idea to do that, and I’m so, so glad she thought of it.

01_lotteandrose
^^ Did I tell you about this child and her side eye?! I have tons of nice photos from my Grams and my daughter’s first meeting, but this one just makes me laugh every single time I look at it. Both of these ladies are too, too much.

03_roseandgirls 04_funnyrose ^^ Chris just kept taking shots while we were moving around the room, and this totally candid and ridiculous one has got to be one of my favorites, too.

We stayed at my sister and brother-in-law’s new house the night before Thanksgiving, which is only about 15 minutes from my aunt and uncle’s, where we would be spending the holiday. It was nice to have a little down time in the morning and to not have to rush too much to drive somewhere far away.

^^ #parenting 😉

05_thanksgivingoutfit
^^ Aunt Stephie and Lotte, in the outfit (shoes included) that Aunt Stephie bought for her for the holiday. Too. Stinkin’. Cute. Too bad a poop explosion caused her to only wear it for about two hours on the actual day. Oh well – at least we got a couple photos!

06_thanksgivingday
^^ Meeting the extended fam.

07_thanksgiving-day 08_thanksgivingday 09_thanksgiving-day
^^ My Grams and her two great-granddaughters – priceless.

10_thanksgivingday 11_thanksgivingday 12_thanksgivingday 13_thanksgivingday 14_thanksgivingday
^^ The meltdown post diaper blowout and pre-outfit change.

15_thanksgivingday 16_thanksgivingday 17_thanksgivingday

^^ You know a holiday was great when it ends like this 😉

It was really so great spending time with our family for Thanksgiving, and the following day we loaded up the car and headed to Pennsylvania to do it all over again with my Dad’s gang. Can’t complain about two Thanksgivings, that’s for sure!

I’ll be back tomorrow with photos from our final couple days back east. Until then – bis bald!

Welcome to the Winter of 2016

Published on November 18, 2016November 18, 2016 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

9lottefirstsnow

Well friends – winter has arrived in Colorado. And this winter is special, since it’s Lotte’s first one. Of course at the first sign of flakes yesterday I grabbed my camera and my child, shoved her in a snowsuit that is still way too big for her, and rushed outside to snap some shots.

This holiday season will be filled with mixed feelings for me – my first baby’s first Thanksgiving and Christmas … my first Thanksgiving and Christmas without my mom. How do you even deal with those conflicting things?

For now, I’ll deal by spending as much time in the winter wonderland with Lotte as I can. Next week we’re off to New York (baby’s first flight!) to spend Thanksgiving with the family, and then only a couple weeks after that Chris’s parents and sisters, as well as my sister, brother-in-law and stepdad, will be heading out way to spend Christmas with us. I’m looking forward to hosting our first holidays in our brand new house.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

1lottefirstsnow ^^ Snowflakes in front of my face … love it!

2lottefirstsnow ^^ Oh you know, just sittin’ on a bench in the snow. No big deal 😉

3lottefirstsnow
4lottefirstsnow
6lottefirstsnow
7lottefirstsnow
8lottefirstsnow ^^ I’m sorry Chris didn’t make it home from work before it got dark (at like 4:30 p.m., mind you!), because we couldn’t take pictures with him in them. Something tells me we’ll have plenty more opportunity, though!

Scenic Sunday Drives in Golden

Published on November 7, 2016 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

fullsizerender-90

Happy Monday, friends!

Upfront I want to say that this is not an advertisement for Subaru, although we did pick up our new Forester on Friday and take it for a drive around Golden on Sunday, and it was just a little bit of fabulousness!

We decided to take the wheels for an introductory spin up the Lariat Loop National Scenic Byway and stop by Buffalo Bill’s Grave. We also hit up Golden City Brewery on the way back home. (I’ve blogged about these places, as well as a few other Golden hot spots, here, if you’re interested.) If you’re ever in the Denver/Golden area, I would highly recommend checking out these spots, even if only for the amazing views you’ll get …

16img_7267

fullsizerender-92

fullsizerender-93

fullsizerender-94

fullsizerender-96

fullsizerender3

fullsizerender-97

fullsizerender-98

fullsizerender4

fullsizerender-99

fullsizerender-100 ^^ I let the hubs do the heavy stroller lifting these days 😉

fullsizerender5

fullsizerender7

fullsizerender6

fullsizerender8 ^^ That’s Denver there in the distance … oh hey, Denvy!

fullsizerender9 ^^ A pixelated up-close view!

fullsizerender11

Is it just me, or does having a great Sunday make heading back to work on Monday just a little bit easier?

I hope you guys had a great weekend, too!

Bis bald!

Another Birthday Celebration in the Books, This Time in Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Published on October 24, 2016November 18, 2016 by Cheryl Lock4 Comments

thumb__dsc5111_1024 ^^ Have you ever seen a happier dog? Can you blame him — look at that view!

Well my friends, we made it back from our first road trip with the Little, and we’re all in tact and, what’s more, we all had an amazing time. Chris’s birthday was this past Saturday, so we decided to check out a new place — Steamboat Springs. At only a little over three hours away, it was the perfect place to get our feet wet when it comes to traveling with a baby, and Lotte obliged us by being pretty much amazing the entire time.

What can I say — she has travel in her blood 😉

For starters, we stayed at Nordic Lodge which, while totally bare essentials when it comes to amenities, was the perfect location, especially when you have a baby who needs feeding and/or a good nap every couple hours and you prefer to do that at a home base. They had a Pack ‘n Play that we were able to use for our trip, which meant we could skip taking up room in the car with ours, and they were willing to upgrade us for free to a larger room to accommodate the Pack ‘n Play, although we opted to pay an extra $50 for the weekend and actually upgrade to a suite with a separate bedroom, that way Lotte could nap in peace and we didn’t have to tiptoe around her and whisper the whole time.

I gotta say — for newbies, I think we did well!

Here’s what we three got up to …

01-img_7088
^^ You know my child would have a onesie specifically dedicated to traveling, although I can’t take credit for buying this — it was all my sister!

02fullsizerender_4
^^ Our first night in town we walked to Mahogany Ridge Brewery for dinner which, while a brewery, was in my opinion probably a little bit fancier than you should bring a baby (and a huge stroller!) to. So we really have to give props to Lotte for sleeping through our entire meal! Great job, kid! That certainly made us feel more comfortable taking you out for more restaurant visits throughout the weekend.

03fullsizerender ^^ Chris’s traditional birthday steak dinner … just one night early 😉

04fullsizerender_1 ^^ What you see here are parents who are ecstatic that their child slept through their meal!

05fullsizerender_2
^^ The cute little town, all lit up at night.

06fullsizerender_3 07fullsizerender_5

01img_7127
^^ Saturday started out with this adorable face … and some birthday present opening 😉

02_dsc5002 ^^ After presents we made our way to Fish Creek Falls, a pretty little hike that was short enough to do with our 3-month-old strapped to Chris’s chest and long enough to make us feel like we actually did something — plus it was so pretty! (Bring $5 for parking! I had read that this place gets really packed, but during the off-peak season at like 7:30 in the morning, it was pretty much us alone on the trails — we only ran into two other (very small) groups of people the whole time.)

03thumb__dsc5066_1024 04thumb__dsc5060_1024 05thumb__dsc5033_1024 ^^ The falls!

06thumb__dsc5064_1024 07thumb__dsc5082_1024 ^^ The rising sun was not my photography friend on this hike, but the falls are there, if you look hard enough!

08fullsizerender_7 ^^ Again, slept like a champ throughout the whole thing! We made sure to rug her up so she was nice and warm, all cozy-like against dad’s chest for the hike.

09fullsizerender_10 ^^ After the hike we had a seriously delicious breakfast at Creekside Cafe & Grill, which just happens to literally be almost in the parking lot of the hotel where we stayed. Score! The back porch was closed for the season, but it was such a glorious day we could easily have eaten outside and been happy. Oh well — next time!

10fullsizerender_11

11fullsizerender_12 ^^ Bloody Mary’s all around!

12fullsizerender_13 ^^ Under the table and dreaming 😉

13fullsizerender_14

14fullsizerender_15

15fullsizerender_16 ^^ See? How cute is this back patio?!

16fullsizerender_8 ^^ After breakfast we went for a little walk in town to do some shopping and check out the fall colors. Although some things were unfortunately closed for the season (like back patios, for example, and the gondola), I would highly recommend traveling during this time. It was really quiet, which was nice, and the views were spectacular.

17fullsizerender_9

18fullsizerender_17

19fullsizerender_18
^^ If you’re looking for a quintessential Western shop with cowboy boots, hats and the like, check out F.M. Light & Sons. It’s sort of an institution in town.

20fullsizerender_19

21fullsizerender_20 ^^ Cowboy boots for days!

22fullsizerender_21 ^^ They had ’em for kids, too!

23fullsizerender_22

24fullsizerender_23 ^^ See what I mean about the fall colors? Glorious!

25fullsizerender_24

26fullsizerender_25

27fullsizerender_26

28fullsizerender_27 ^^ Elevated Oil is a fun place to check out if you’re an olive oil connoisseur. You can even taste test the oils, which I thought would be totally gross but actually turned out to be delicious!

29fullsizerender_28

30fullsizerender_29 ^^ After shopping we hopped in the car for a (super) short ride to Storm Peak brewery, which was a really fun little brewery with tons of delicious beers on tap. Plus the weather was so nice they opened the garage doors, making it even more fun to hang.

31fullsizerender_30

32fullsizerender_31 ^^ Again, ecstatic parents that their child is cooperating …

33fullsizerender_32 ^^ Lotte did wake up from a short nap here, which allowed us to take some silly pictures. Always a plus in my book.

34img_7208 ^^ Silly pic No. 1 …

35fullsizerender_34 ^^ And 2 …

36img_7202 ^^ And 3 …

37img_7207 ^^ And 4 … and trust me, there were many more, but I’ll spare you. You get the picture.

38img_7116 ^^ We tried to hang at Butcherknife Brewing after Storm Peak, but Lotte had had enough, which was fair enough — you did well little one! So we headed back to the hotel so she could nap properly, and Chris and I ordered take-out from Rex’s American Grill & Bar. In all honesty, we only ordered from this place because I thought it delivered (it does not, I had to go pick our food up), but it turned out to be delicious, so it was a win!

01img_7249

02img_7254 ^^ On Sunday morning we had to get rugged up again (which someone was not happy about at first), because we took a walk down by the Yampa River.

03thumb__dsc5093_1024

04img_7257

05thumb__dsc5097_1024

06thumb__dsc5098_1024

07thumb__dsc5106_1024 ^^ On the way back to the lodge to grab the car we stopped in Off the Beaten Path, an amazing local bookstore that I highly recommend, if you’re into that kind of thing 😉

08thumb__dsc5107_1024

09thumb__dsc5120_1024 ^^ We definitely wanted to check out the area near the mountain while we were there as well. It’s really cute with lots of little shops and restaurants, and while you can tell it would probably be crazy packed in winter, again, at this perfect time of year, it was pretty empty, which is always amazing for a ski town.

10thumb__dsc5109_1024 ^^ Improvising when no ramp is available.

11thumb__dsc5117_1024

12thumb__dsc5122_1024

13thumb__dsc5124_1024

14thumb__dsc5128_1024 ^^ We grabbed lunch at Slopeside Grill before heading out and ate on their deck. Chris was a bit upset they didn’t have more local beers on tap, but their veggie burger was pretty awesome (although Mahogany’s was better, if you’re keeping score) and the views were unparalleled.

15img_7264 ^^ Multitasking at its best.

16img_7267 ^^ Views on the drive home.

And that was it, my friends — our first road trip with Lotte is officially in the books, and it was a great one. Her next big trip will be in November when we head back east for Thanksgiving, and that one involves a plane. Yikes. Wish us luck!

Bis bald, friends!

Finding Our Inner Child at the Carousel of Happiness in Nederland

Published on October 7, 2016November 18, 2016 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

_dsc4897

This past Monday we packed up our Matrix and drove about 45 minutes to Nederland, Colorado, to ride the Carousel of Happiness.

What’s so special about a carousel, and why would anyone drive 45 minutes to ride one? (Besides the fact that we are so obviously insane?) This carousel happens to be extra special, as it’s made up of 61 hand-carved animals (including 36 animals to ride and 25 smaller ones to keep those company, all of which were hand-carved by the same person!), which turns to the music of a 1913 Wurlitzer band organ.

The ride seriously does transport you to another time and place. You can read more about its origination, and what makes it so special, here. I have to say, for Lotte’s first-ever carousel ride, this wasn’t a bad one to visit.

_dsc4853 _dsc4856 _dsc4860 _dsc4867 _dsc4876 ^^ Look at these awesomely accommodating grandparents! Honestly, though, they loved the ride, so that was a good thing!

^^ I love this photo — look at that little face, just taking in the world around her …

fullsizerender-90 fullsizerender-91

_dsc4879 _dsc4880 _dsc4883 _dsc4885 _dsc4887 _dsc4900 _dsc4902 _dsc4904 _dsc4905 _dsc4906 _dsc4907 _dsc4888 _dsc4910
^^ You can go upstairs from the gift shop and check out the carousel from the top, which I highly recommend doing. There are actually some cute little animals hidden on top of the carousel, as well.

_dsc4889 _dsc4920 _dsc4891
^^ This little kid’s face says it all, does it not?!

_dsc4925
^^ Mr. Fox keeps watch on the carousel animals from above.

thumb__dsc4850_1024 _dsc4893 _dsc4894 _dsc4895

After our ride (which costs $1, by the way!), we wandered across the street to grab some coffee. We would have stayed and explored the cute town a bit longer, but a fire had started in the campgrounds near the town and we were worried the road home might get blocked off. Something tells me we’ll be back, though.

fullsizerender-90 fullsizerender-91 fullsizerender-92 fullsizerender-93 ^^ Tuckered our from her full day of carousel fun!

Bis bald, friends!

Making Memories at Rock Creek Farm

Published on October 6, 2016November 18, 2016 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

1_pumpkinfarm

Fall has always been my favorite season, and now that I have a little one to share it with, it’s even more fun to really take advantage of everything the insanely wonderful weather has to offer. Along with long walks and fall decorations, one other thing I couldn’t wait to do with Lotte was to go pumpkin picking. So, at the ripe ole’ age of 10 weeks, we took Lotte on her first pumpkin picking (and corn maze wandering!) adventure at Rock Creek Farm outside of Boulder.

The experience did not disappoint, although I highly doubt Lotte will actually remember it 😉 Still, I do believe a tradition has been formed …

chris_lotte

chris_jump ^^ Going anywhere with a child these days requires lots and lots of mechanisms to keep said child happy, like jumping up and down in a pumpkin field. (P.S. Note the face … still not happy!)

4_family_selfie ^^ Our family selfie game could use some work …

5_familyselfie2 ^^ Hmmm … better?? Lotte seems to think not.

6-fieldfamily ^^ Much better when someone else takes the photo — thanks MIL!

7_chrispumpkin

8_chrisandpop

9_meinfield

10_familyinfield

11_pumpkins

cornmaze ^^ While the rest of the group may have been happy to take on one of the longer corn maze options, I, however, refused to. So it was the short loop for us, friends, and that was just fine by me!

cornmaze2

2chriscornmaze

3chriscornmaze

chriscornmaze

2fieldpumpkins

fieldpumpkins

gourds

rockcreekpumpkins

fullsizerender-90

^^ The kids’ play section sure seems like something Lotte will love in the future!

And that, my friends, was about the sum of our first pumpkin picking trip with our daughter. Rock Creek Farm was amazing, but I’m pretty happy we went on a Friday, because one of the workers we spoke to said they get thousands of people on the weekends. Just something to keep in mind if you’re planning a visit of your own.

Bis bald, friends!

A Date Night in Olde Town Arvada

Published on October 5, 2016November 18, 2016 by Cheryl Lock1 Comment

While my in-laws were in town Chris and I had a chance to have a date night out in Olde Town Arvada, which I’ve been meaning to get to since we moved here in May.

We’ve been busy, to say the least.

Anyway, I did a little research and found Arvada Tavern, which, according to TripAdvisor, is the second best place in Arvada to eat. After checking it out for ourselves I have to say I was really impressed. The cocktails were spectacular — especially the seasonal pumpkin flavored one I tried — and the food was even better. Check it out when you’re in town.

fullsizerender-69

And of course after dinner we had to stop off at Scrumptious for some ice cream dessert. The best part about date night these days, though, is coming home to this …

^^ I mean …

We actually got to do quite a bit while the in-laws were here. Lotte went to Boulder again, we got to visit a pumpkin patch and we even took the little one on her first carousel ride. I’ll have more on all that later, for now — bis bald, friends!

Our First Fourth of July in Arvada

Published on July 5, 2016 by Cheryl Lock1 Comment

MountainGoat ^^^Mr. Mountain Goat says ‘Hi!’

Happy July, friends. I can’t believe that July is here, and even more so I can’t believe that with July comes the fact that my baby is due next month. I can barely even say that without getting my heart racing.

But for now, friends, Baby is safe and sound still where she still belongs, and we had a visitor over the Fourth of July weekend in the form of my stepdad, who tacked on a couple extra days out to Colorado to a business trip in Arizona. We did a lot while he was here — to include a pretty rockin’ backyard revival, which was totally unexpected but awesome — so it was nice having him visit for a couple of days.

One place I knew I had to take him was the Eagle Sanctuary at Standley Lake, because in college my stepdad actually used to raise baby Bald Eagles, so obviously I knew this was something he would enjoy.

And, luckily, he did 😉

1_BaldEagle

2_BaldEagle 3_BaldEagle
^^^How completely adorable are these tipis which, by the way, you can rent to camp out in!?

4_BaldEagle 5_BaldEagle 6_BaldEagle
^^^ It seriously took my stepdad maybe about 7 minutes to spot an eagle. Then another. Then another. Of the four Bald Eagles that live at Standley Lake, we saw three … not too shabby!
7_BaldEagle
^^^ The cattle dog coming down the pathway should have tipped us off to what was ahead, but we were still caught off guard by this heap of goats in the field by the lake. So fun to listen to them chat to each other 😉

8_BaldEagle
^^^ These geese, however … not so much fun! We tried sitting at this picnic bench by the water for a hot second after eagle spotting, but clearly the geese had other ideas. If we didn’t have any food for them, they made it pretty clear that we weren’t welcome!

9_BaldEagle ^^^ I love that we also found where you can rent kayaks, paddle boards and the like at the lake … that seems like it would be so much fun!

On Friday night we ventured out into Denver to eat dinner at the Buckhorn Exchange, Denver’s oldest restaurant. While I’m not a meat-eater, I can still appreciate a fun steakhouse when I see one and this, my friends, was about as fun as it gets.

1_BuckhornExchange 2_BuckhornExchange 3_BuckhornExchange
^^^ Cheers’ing with my iced tea … always a good time!
4_BuckhornExchange 5_BuckhornExchange
^^^ Not my meal, obviously (although the salmon I had seriously melted in your mouth, it was that delicious), but the boys really seemed to enjoy their meat which, I guess, is the most important thing at a steakhouse, right?!
6_BuckhornExchange
^^^ Grainy photo, but they had a live singer upstairs who was just about the cutest old man you ever could see.
7_BuckhornExchange
^^^ Again, not the best photo, but how funny is this sign outside the restaurant?

The boys left bright and early Saturday morning to check out Mount Evans, the highest paved road in North America at over 14,000 feet. When we went to the mountains a couple weeks back I found the altitude really affected me during pregnancy, so I decided to beg off on this adventure, but after seeing the photos, I definitely plan on making it out myself at some point.

1_MountEvans 2_MountEvans 3_MountEvans 4_MountEvans 5_MountEvans 6_MountEvans

Despite all the hubbub, we did also manage to have Robert help us out with our backyard …

1_MannieFlowers ^^^ All of these flowers are now officially in our garden!

… and we took a couple pretty nice walks around the lake, to include a sunset one the night before Robert left

1_StandleyLakeFarewell

Robert will be back in August with some other family to meet our little baby girl, but until then, it was great having you, my dear!

Bis bald, my friends – I hope you all had lovely and safe July 4th weekends, as well!

A Final Weekend in June

Published on June 28, 2016 by Cheryl Lock1 Comment

01StandleyLake

Hi friends,

Long time no write :/ Sorry about that. To be honest, 2016 has been a bit challenging so far, to say the least. Despite some of the biggest “ups” of my life [preparing for our first baby, for example], there have also been some of the lowest of the lows, like losing my mom. I haven’t felt much like writing here over the past three months, really, since that happened, but I’m trying to come out of my funk a bit, and this blog has always meant so much so me, so I figured I’d give writing here a shot and see how it goes … at least for now.

In other big news, Chris and I moved out of our downtown Denver apartment and into our first home in Arvada near Standley Lake, which is about 15-20 minutes from downtown Denver. So far, we’re really liking it out here in the ‘burbs, which is something that has come as quite a surprise to both of us [and our friends and family, too!]. Having the lake so close by certainly helps — Chris runs there multiple nights a week and it’s about all I can manage to drag my pregnant self on about a 10-20 minute walk most days, but whenever I do get out there, it’s simply gorgeous.

Like Saturday morning. We grabbed some coffees [decaf for me, of course ;)] and walked the five minutes to the lake entrance, then walked about 1.5 miles around the lake and back. It was the perfect length for me, and I really needed the change of scenery …

02StandleyLake
^^ This photo is blurry because I zoomed in, but just look at those Flatirons! Gorgeous.

03StandleyLake 04StandleyLake 05StandleyLake 06StandleyLake 07StandleyLake 08StandleyLake 09StandleyLake 10StandleyLake

We’ve definitely lived in some cities with some pretty spectacular views before, but I have to say, it doesn’t matter how many times we walk around this lake … it always stuns me with its beauty.

For Christmas my sister got me a membership to the Denver Botanic Gardens, and on Saturday we were finally able to get out there for a visit, which was really quite lovely.

01BotanicGardens 02BotanicGardens 03BotanicGardens

GardenGoddess 04BotanicGardens 05BotanicGardens 06BotanicGardens ^^ Just the three of us, out for a day at the gardens 😉

On Sunday I met up with my cousin at Sassafras back in Denver for brunch, where I had the most delicious beignets and shrimp & grits that I’ve had since New Orleans!

01Sassafras 02Sassafras

So friends, those outings — coupled with lots of outdoor porch time — made for a pretty nice weekend. I hope yours was as lovely … or that you’re at least finding some way to stay cool in the heat! My stepdad will be here for a visit starting Wednesday, so we’re really looking forward to that.

Until next time, friends … bis bald 😉

My Birthday Weekend Getaway in Crested Butte

Published on April 5, 2016 by Cheryl Lock1 Comment

01 Road Trip ^^ Country road views on the way from Denver to Crested Butte

This past weekend just happened to be my birthday [;)], and my husband decided to whisk me away for a couple days to the adorable little mountain town of Crested Butte, which is about 4.5 hours away if you don’t get lost (aka we did on the way there, no biggie!). We stayed at the Elevation Hotel & Spa, which is the perfect spot for either snowboarding (because it’s super close to the gondola) or snowboard watching (because it’s right at the bottom of the hill everyone comes down). It was also the closing weekend of the mountain, which meant lots of costumed skiers and snowboarders, as well as some shenanigans that were fun to watch and not have to worry about even pretending to take part in (thanks pregnant belly!).

Chris also treated me to my first ever pre-natal massage while we were away (thanks hubby!), which was truly a little bit of bliss.

Ah, Crested Butte .. thanks for a relaxing getaway. Now it’s back to the real world …

02 Road Trip Views 03 Road Trip Views 04 Salida Lunch
^^^ We stopped for lunch in the cute little town of Salida on the way to Crested Butte. The Fritz had all kinds of tasty treats on their menu (and Shirley Temples were even listed on the menu!), plus they’re right across the street from the river, so it’s the perfect spot to stop for a while.

05 Salida Lunch 06 a Salida Lunch 06 b Salida Lunch 06 Salida Lunch 07 Crested Butte
^^^ Crested Butte views

08 Crested Butte 09 Crested Butte 10 Dogwood
^^^ We stopped by The Dogwood before dinner at Marchitelli’s Gourmet Noodle our first night. The Dogwood is a craft cocktail bar, which is fun even when you aren’t drinking, because you can really push the bartenders out of their comfort zone by asking them to create a special non-alcoholic concoction for you, such as …

11 Dogwood
^^^ This fizzy blueberry cream deliciousness that our awesome bartender made for me. I couldn’t finish it all, but it was sure fun trying …

12 Dogwood
^^^ Chris’ spicy jalapeno drink. Not my ideal, but he seemed to like it.

13 Dogwood
^^^ Just to prove that I was there too, since most of my photos end up being of Chris since I’m behind the camera 😉

14 Dogwood 15 Crested Butte Mornings
^^^ Early morning mountain views on our way to grab coffee and bagels from Camp 4 Coffee.

16 Crested Butte Mornings 17 Crested Butte Mornings
^^^ We squatted here for a while in the morning to drink our coffee, eat our bagels and take in the scenery. I like snowboarding and all, but this is seriously my favorite part of visiting the mountains. People watching!

18 Patio Views
^^^ After my pre-natal massage, we headed up to the rooftop restaurant next to our hotel to watch the skiers and snowboarders come down the hill in their crazy outfits. And we did see some crazy outfits — in fact, can you spot the hot dog in this picture 😉

19 Patio Views 20 Mountain Views
^^^ Our little family of (almost!) three (can you believe that belly?!)

21 Mountain Views

Bye bye, Crested Butte! I have a feeling we’ll be seeing you again…

Hello From the Other Side …

Published on February 24, 2016February 24, 2016 by Cheryl Lock2 Comments

Hey there friends! Remember me? Your friendly Weary Wanderer? If not, I don’t blame you, since it has been a while since I’ve posted. I’m sorry for that. I’ve been taking some time to reenvision what I see happening for this blog in the future (more on that later), to work on some other professional goals (I finally attended this amazing children’s book writing conference in NYC the other weekend — I cannot say enough how much I loved it and how I want to go to every single conference they offer!), and perhaps the most important reason I’ve been busy is because — drum roll, please — Chris and I are expecting our first little baby!! Hence the above photo, which my husband so lovingly took after schlepping into the backcountry mountains at both Keystone and Breckenridge to find the perfect spot for the photo opp — good job, love 😉

Anyway, besides all of the above, we have an amazing trip coming up to Japan, where Chris will be completing his sixth and final World Marathon series race in Tokyo THIS SUNDAY! We leave tomorrow, and I could not be more excited! (Except, you know, for the 17 or so hour long flight to get there :/ Normally I wouldn’t mind as much, but as a preggers, well this could be interesting. Stay tuned for a post on the things I (hopefully!) did to make it go smoothly.)

We’ll be back the second week in March, and I’ll be here to blog about everything we saw, but in the meantime, here’s a bit from this year, which has been both amazingly relaxing and crazy busy, all at the same time.

^^ Homemade cinnamon buns from my stepmom. Best. Gift. Ever! (And yes, they were every bit as delicious as they look … )

^^ So exciting getting this in the mail!

^^ Chris and I found out a few weeks ago the gender of our baby. We took the paper with the gender on it to our local bakery and had these cupcakes made up with pink or blue frosting inside to let us know. It was just the two of us, but it was really fun to find out this way, and I’m so glad we did. [I’ll keep it a secret on here for now … some things are more fun when you wait for them ;)]

FullSizeRender (1) ^^ The most delicious (and addicting!) ginger cookies from Trader Joe’s, sent as part of a ‘first trimester in pregnancy’ package from a best friend and her (three-times-a-momma!) sister.

FullSizeRender ^^ I mean … could these fortune cookies be more accurate?!

FullSizeRender (2) ^^ A snowy day in downtown Denver.

^^ Chris and I planned to fly into Newark on our last trip back to New York because it was easier for my stepdad to pick us up there. Unfortunately that meant we had to have a layover at the Cincinnati airport, and when we landed we were given the unfortunate news that all flights into New York had been canceled because of weather. So that meant we spent the night at a hotel near the airport, which at first we were super bummed about, until my stepdad pointed out that the Cincinnati airport is actually in Kentucky, not Ohio (go figure!), and neither one of us had ever been to Kentucky before, so hello that totally counted and we can add it to our list of states visited! Of course we were so exhausted from the day (and our flight out to New York was at 6 a.m. the following morning), so we ended up doing nothing but relaxing, watching television and ordering in (which was delicious, by the way, see above). Still, we were in Kentucky for a night and a meal, so that counts!

^^ Not exactly the best picture, but flying into New York will always send my heart a flutter 😉

^^ Celebrating my grandmother and her twin sister on their 94th birthday. Could there be anything cuter than these two?!

^^ Still in love, after 94 years together. That’s some soul mate action, for ya.

FullSizeRender (3) ^^ Although I spent the majority of my time in New York with family upstate, I did get to meet a friend in the city for a couple days (we stayed at The Paul Hotel, which offered these incredible views and was close to the Empire State Building, as well, which was a lot of fun for us as former-NYC-residents-turned-tourists). It was so much fun to eat good food, roam around the city (although it was frigid that weekend!) and to just catch up in person. Sometimes I forget how much I miss my friends until I actually get to see them.

^^ Catching up with another preggers friend of mine was definitely a highlight, but it got even better when she had her baby on the Friday before I spent all weekend long at the writing conference, which meant I actually got to meet little baby Fiona, which was beyond amazing!
^^ Lisa likes to jazz up photos we take when we’re together, and I like to look at ’em 😉

^^ Ahhhhh, registering for baby shower stuff. Can we all admit that this is fun for about an hour or two, and then by hour three and four all you want to do is sit down and eat cake?

^^ Chris was only with me on this trip for the first weekend (for my grandmother and her twin’s birthday party), and not for my jaunt out into the city and for the writer’s conference, so when he picked me up at the airport when I flew back, he was waiting with these amazing flowers. What a hubby, am I right?!

And now we’re on to Japan, friends! We’re spending about six days in Tokyo and then four days in Kyoto, which I’m beyond excited for. Can’t wait to be back here with an update, and, oh, by the way, it’ll be March when I do! Crazy. How fast is this year going?!

Bis bald, friends!

A Holiday Getaway In the Mountains

Published on December 29, 2015 by Cheryl Lock1 Comment

^^ A blurry view of the snowy trees whizzing by on our way up to the mountains on Christmas Eve.

Hi friends,
As I mentioned yesterday, Chris and I headed up into the mountains for the holiday where we stayed at The Pines Condominiums in Keystone. The condo was splendid, with a fireplace, gorgeous mountain views from every window and a full kitchen with everything we needed to make a delicious Christmas dinner. I thought I’d share some pictures from our stay here.

_DSC2710 ^^Our dining room looking into what we came to affectionately refer to as our “Christmas nook”.

_DSC2711 ^^The kitchen

_DSC2716 ^^ Our Christmas nook, pre decorations.

_DSC2720 ^^ Chris spent most of his time stoking the lovely wood fire.

_DSC2725 ^^ Our Christmas nook, all decorated and lovely.

^^ Christmas Eve dinner was at the Black Bear Grill.

^^ Christmas eve entertainment was a roaring fire and some Christmas classics.

_DSC2731 ^^ Christmas morning Christmas nook views.

_DSC2734

_DSC2741 ^^ I thought this photo was artsy, with the Christmas lights in the foreground, but Chris just said it was confusing.

_DSC2757

_DSC2761

_DSC2762

And that was our lovely, snow-filled Christmas holiday, friends! I hope you all had a relaxing, fun time filled with friends, family and lots of delicious foods … now on to New Years!