Rocky Mountain High

Dad B decided to start splitting time between Florida and Colorado. In making his plans, he greatly underestimated how much he would miss our girls while he was away. You know how great experiences are much more fun when you are able to share them with someone you love? Well, our girls and their Pa ADORE each other. He's their hero and they're his best buds. He soon realized that he was wishing they were there every time something neat happened. And that much of what he was doing--building bridges and fishing pools at Creekside, stocking the pond at Edelweiss, clearing hiking trails, befriending deer—he was doing with them in mind. Daily face-timing on the ol’ iPad was not enough. So he decided to bless our socks off by flying us all out there to enjoy it with him.

We were greeted each morning by the Twin Sisters.


We watched a pre-season Broncos game at Edelweiss—D sitting in Grandpa Ralph’s easy chair.


We ate Pass-Keys (twice!).

We spent a day riding horses in the mountains. There were a lot of laughs but it wasn’t an easy pony ride, there were definitely times that called for bravery, overcoming fears, and enduring a few aches and pains. At one point on the trail, one of our scout dogs chased a bunch of wild turkeys onto the path right in front of Miss A—our tiniest rider—riding Wadi. But her careful observations (Miss A’s little wheels are always turning) and hours spent riding Mama’s horses around the barn paid off—she didn’t panic, took charge, and swiftly brought her horse under control. I was so proud of her. Miss M was in her happy place—she’s been daydreaming about riding in the mountains for a long time now. Even Mom and Dad B impressed me with their enthusiasm and willingness to jump in and have fun. We went up and down steep inclines, crossed creeks, rode through all the different mountain habitat and terrain—sagebrush and cactus, aspen groves, pine forests, all the way up to 10,000 feet. When the trees cleared, we realized we were at the top of the mountain. The view was spectacular. I was reminded of the journey we are on, with its own peaks and valleys and ever-changing challenges, scenery and circumstances. It isn’t always easy and doesn’t always make sense, but if we look, there is beauty at every step along the way. And when we finally reach our destination and can behold the whole picture, we will see how God used each part of the journey to create something breathtaking.

I'm sure Grandpa Ralph was laughing from heaven as his great-granddaughters played his old standby practical jokes on their Mama.

We saw a bunch of deer—Dad B has one in particular, Abby, that comes up and eats right out of his hand.

Thank goodness the bear sightings/encounters didn’t start until the day after we left—yikes!


We fished.


We visited St. Elmo and fed the chipmunks.

We spent time with family. Visited Honey, Grandma Bee, Uncavoy and Aunt Babala, Aunt Donna and Leroy, Aly, Devin and his girls and Kevin and Erika and their crew. The girls had so much fun playing with their Colorado cousins! All the views, thrills, adventures, etc… were great—but I think family is the most important thing of all, and the most special and significant reason for our trip. Mom B joined us for a good part of the trip. For a few days, for us, things felt like they were as they should be. We were all together. Loving each other. Making memories. Talk about a Rocky Mountain High!