One Colorado sunset

It is tricky to capture in words how much I love Colorado sunsets, especially in the parts of the state with wide, wide open spaces. Last week, I got to see a true gem.

Looking south:



And looking straight west:



And the view to the north (perhaps my favorite because of the red-gold light on the fields):

I couldn't believe it. What an amazing sight.

A visit to Colorado

We are back in Minnesota after a week with our Colorado family!

It was special to spend Thanksgiving in Colorado because we are especially grateful this year for Josh's mom's health: she is in remission now after several months of challenging treatments. We stayed with Josh's brother and sister-in-law, took our niece and nephew to the park for some batting practice, caught a showing of Big Hero 6, enjoyed the 70-degree weather on Thursday and Friday, and visited with lots of family all week.

Here's a group selfie from batting practice:

Now we're settling back into our routine at home. Other notes to begin the new week:

1) A huge thank you to my sister and her boyfriend, as well as my mom and dad, for taking such good care of Wish while we were away.

2) On the flight out to Denver, I got drawn into Rainbow Rowell's debut novel Attachments, which I chose because of how much I liked Eleanor & Park. (Next up: the rest of her books.)

3) Josh and I visited Menards yesterday and left with a Christmas tree, some garland, and a couple of window insulation kits. By the end of the evening, our fireplace mantel was adorned with the garland and some white lights, the tree was up but not decorated, and (thanks to Josh) a bunch of our windows were insulated with plastic.

4) There were some very exciting football games this weekend. The University of Tennessee won its sixth game of the season, becoming bowl-eligible for the first time since 2010 (and the first time since I started following the team)! That means that the team's season is extended for another month, until its bowl game.

5) Lasagna soup is in this week's menu plan for the first time this season.

A few Colorado miles

Curious to explore my surroundings, I ventured out for a couple of short early morning runs during our time in Colorado.

On the first run, with no particular plan beyond a basic out-and-back adventure, I trotted up the road by our hotel. The mountains were farther away than they look, I think, but the view still served as pretty great motivation to keep moving forward (to get closer to the mountains):

I was running parallel to another mountain, so I never got closer to the next one (but still admired it):

And a few of the peaks (but not the cows) reminded me of the vistas in the Great Smoky Mountains:

On my next run, the peaks were completely obscured by rain clouds and fog. I felt lucky that I had gotten the chance to see a glimpse of them earlier.

Our Colorado visit

Tonight we're back in Minnesota after a few days with family in Colorado.

We usually stay in Josh's hometown, but this time we stayed in a city about an hour away so we could spend lots of time with his mom, who is receiving treatment at the hospital there. She is in good spirits and being well cared for by the wonderful hospital staff and many friends and family members who stopped by for visits. Our time in Colorado also included celebrating our nephew's eighth birthday, the first year we've gotten to celebrate in person with him.

It sounds like spring has been feisty in Colorado, too, bringing some late snowfall to parts of the state. During our visit, though, the transition to the new season felt a week or two ahead of Minnesota:

We are grateful to have been able to spend this time with our family.

Colorado weekend

As previously mentioned, we spent the weekend in Colorado with Josh's family. We hadn't seen them since Christmas, and it was important to us to visit before the wedding in September - so we grabbed some flights and hopped on a plane for a long weekend.

That's the context. Now, for a brief recap:

Start with another sky photo? Don't mind if I do!

That's from the drive from the airport to Josh's hometown. That distance is no stone's throw, but I like to look out the window at the big skies.

Early in our trip, Josh's mom told me that nopales (prickly pear) grow wild in that region of Colorado. I told her I had never seen them but vowed to keep an eye out during my miles on the roads that weekend. Sure enough:

I also saw my first scorpion. No lie. Also, no photos of that.

I repeat: you need not look for scorpions in any of the following photos. This is just LaLa and me. (In case you haven't seen recaps from past visits, this is a nickname.) She is among the most enthusiastic flowergirls-to-be that I've ever encountered. (Not that I have gauged enthusiasm among dozens of flowergirls, but you understand.) Also, I kind of wish her romper came in grown-up sizes.

That photo was taken at one of two baseball practices at which we spectated. Loco, Josh's nephew, has turned into a little man and has joined a baseball team! It was sweet to watch him play.

I took some other photos where his face is flushed and you can tell it's really roasting outside. The temperature got closer to 100 degrees each day of our trip. It was a really lovely dry heat and felt great to me. I like this aspect of this region's climate because the mornings are cool enough (and so dry) to allow for really pleasant running conditions, but then it heats up nicely through the day.

In other weekend coverage, it's a sweet little moment to jump out of a pool right after you've zipped down a waterslide, then take a peek at a thermometer by the concession stand and see the little red arrow pointing at 100. Summer.

And with that, of course, comes thunder, too. We got caught in some hail and rain one day, and then drove through to the other side of the storm. Here's my view out the car's back window, as the storm broke up and the sun was setting:

Raise your hand if you're in support of someone's fiancé stopping the car every once in awhile - say, when there is a crazy sunset going on - so his partner's photos of clouds aren't so herky-jerky. You are? Thank you!

I always love to explore another part of the country, even when it's not so new to me any more.

Just as we had planned, we got to spend lots of time visiting with family - immediate and extended - and the weekend flew by, and before we knew it, we were on our flight back to St. Paul. We got off the plane and had to make one stop, where this happy guy was waiting at my mom and dad's house:

A happy reunion, indeed.