Weekend in Boulder

I meant to post about our fabulous weekend away on Monday night, but my exhaustion got to the best of me and I have fallen asleep next to my main squeeze before 9:00 every.single.night.  My pre-child self would be raising her eyebrows and shaking her head, but that girl had no idea what was coming!  ;)  Absence, indeed, makes the heart grow fonder (as if I didn't love him enough already), and I happily climbed into bed and snuggled up with my pint sized buddy.

R's good friend since undergrad married his beautiful bride in Boulder.  It was the best destination wedding weekend, hands down, that I've ever been invited to!  It definitely sets the bar high for a certain destination wedding that's on the books for summer 2014.  ;)

Boulder was ah-mazing, and we are already planning on our next visit to explore the area further since our weekend was jam packed.  The weather was delicious and the bride and groom had many fun activities planned around their three favorite things: games, food, and the outdoors.

On Saturday morning we woke up early and joined the group for a hike at Chautauqua National Park.  Can I just say how jealous I am to anyone who wakes up with a view like this on an everyday basis??

Had to rep my burnt orange on game day - hook 'em!

After the family friendly hike, they had a wonderful spread ready for us picnic style down on the lawn.  Whole Foods and Boulder Tamales catered - yum!

At the lawn where the picnic was held, we overheard someone saying there was a mama bear and her cub... they were stuck up in this tree.  They went up the night before and didn't come back down in time before the morning.  The park ranger said they won't come down until everyone leaves, so they will camp up there all day.  Poor bears!  They actually have volunteers called "bear sitters" that come and make sure people leave them alone.

I ate way more calories than I burned off during our morning hike, but then burned those off (plus some) when R and I opted for an after lunch hike up to the Royal Arch.  This hike was what they had previously planned on for our group hike but wisely changed it once they realized getting 28 people of varying ages up a steep and narrow path was probably not the best idea.  They highly recommended the hike because of the views, and they were right!  The views did not disappoint.

R is on the far left in the Royal Arch opening.  I didn't get any good pics of the views because it was crowded up there and I was too scared to get close to the edge.  :)

After hiking back down and having a couple of hours of down time at the hotel, we got ready for another fabulous meal at The Kitchen Upstairs in downtown Boulder.  As the fiancée of the best man, I was treated to many wonderful meals.  Not a bad deal if you ask me!  Colorado was playing against UCLA that afternoon so there were many people about in their CU gear.  Downtown Boulder is very quaint and easy to get around with lots of little shops and restaurants.

At the restaurant for dinner - please excuse the blurry/bright eyed iphone pic.

Sunday was wedding day!  We had a lovely breakfast at this amazing teahouse.  After breakfast, it was basically time to get ready and head to the ceremony at the Sunrise Amphitheatre.  Continuing with the weekend's theme, it was an incredibly gorgeous outdoor location and the ceremony was beautiful.  The best man wasn't too bad looking himself.  ;)

After the ceremony, we hopped in the vans and headed to the reception at the Boettcher Mansion.  By this time it was getting cold outside for this Texas girl, so I was grateful that the rest of the evening was inside.  They had the best cocktail appetizers I've ever had at a wedding (I think I had three of the green chile empanadas) and we then had an even better buffet dinner.  Seriously, the food all weekend was so good ... I may have gained five pounds if it wasn't for that hike!  The most unique detail about their reception was the dancing.  They hired a "call girl" (not that kind) and two musicians to do square dancing and old English time group dances.  It was definitely different and fun, and I pictured myself as Elizabeth Bennet searching for my Mr. Darcy.  ;)  Okay, not really, but it did remind me of all of Jane Austen's novels.

I was both sad and happy to leave the next morning to head back home.  It's hard to leave vacation but it's also hard to be away from my little guy.  My time away from him makes me appreciate our time together that much more.

G was happy to see me, but judging by pictures that my parents texted me, he didn't seem too sad without me there.

Sheepie also looked like he had a great time at Poppa/Gigi's and at school.

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My best advice to new parents...

If you can afford to travel, go!  Explore! Even if that means exploring your area locally.

If you are fortunate to have family members or friends who can watch the kids, leave them behind sometimes and have a getaway to yourselves!  It is easy to get caught up in life and to let your relationship take a back seat to work, family, etc.  Having this time alone together is so important.  If you don't have the money or the time for a trip, date nights are key.  Find a great babysitter as soon as possible and don't feel guilty about leaving for a few hours.