Owyn's Birthday

Today is Owyn's first birthday and I feel I was just posting pictures of his entrance into our world.  This past weekend family and friends joined us to celebrate with Owyn.

Have you ever seen

Owyn with his hair down?

 The only time I ever have is when Chelsea was bathing him, so naturally I had to get a picture. 

Although as soon as it dried........

So Cute!

Finally after 2 years

I have seen all three of my adorable children together! 

Aren't they so adorable???

I can't believe they live in three different states!!

Amber Skies

Scott and I love the amber skies at sunset.  The weird thing about it is that every direction you look you see amber colors in the sky.  I thought the sunset colors would only be on the western hemisphere? Maybe I need a lesson in Physical Geography?

I don't know if I ever mentioned this either, but you can also see downtown Denver from every direction of the metropolitan area.  I took these pictures last night here in Highlands Ranch across the street from our neighborhood.

Mount Evans Scenic Byway Part 3

As we began to head back down the mountain we kept getting surprised by wildlife.

This Rocky Mountain Goat was taken in the beauty of his home

Then we ran into (well almost) these big horn sheep who were trying to hitch a ride from us.

I have over 200 Awesome pictures from a great day and we made it home by 4 pm!  What a day trip!

Mount Evans Scenic Byway Part 2

Once we made it to the top of the road, we parked and had to hike up about a half of a mile to the top of the peak where we had so much fun just taking silly pictures and walking around offering to take pics of couples and families.

From every side of the peak you could see for miles.  We could see downtown Denver, Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs as well as numerous peaks looking into the miles of Rocky Mountains.  I never knew we could drive to the top of one of the peaks we see from our house.

And I have to say it is pretty cold up there, on this July day it was only 52 degrees and windy.  The dangers of hiking, biking or just hanging out up at this elevation are Lightening Storms that come with little or no warning (It started pouring on us on the way down) and High Altitude Sickness.  Make sure you drink plenty of water before and bring plenty with you. 

Mount Evans Scenic Byway Part 1

 (Driving on the I70 West right out of Denver about 15-20 minutes from our house)

For today's day trip we decided to drive to the peak of Mount Evans.  We did not make it out of the house until almost 10 am but fortunately this was another nearby adventure.  We drove from our house to Idaho Springs about 40 miles to begin 28 mile journey up 7,000 ft in elevation on the Mount Evans Scenic Byway. This road is the highest paved road in North America and loaded with tourist, motorcycles, bicyclists and hikers.

On the way up we passed by Echo Lake Park, a beautiful, serene place to hike, picnic, fish or just hang out.  There are barbecue grills here and the smell of hamburgers and hot dogs made the starving Jen crazy!

Once on Highway 5 the narrow switchbacks and bicyclists made for a nervous drive at times.  But the immense beauty that surrounded us made it worth it. 

Next we stopped at this nature center to view Wildflowers and the rare Bristlecone Pine Trees that apparently are the longest living organisms known to man?

 Once we reached Summit Lake we pulled over to use the restroom and get a few pics.  Usually there is a hiking trail to take up to the peak from this point but it was closed in an effort to make it handicap accessible.  We met so many people who were traveling from all over the country and would ask us where we traveled from?  We would say oh just south of Denver, about 60 miles from here.

(Scott and I at Summit Lake)