Idaho Springs

yes thats right we went to idaho well the closest we could get while being in colorado :)

after going on our fathers day hike we decided we really really enjoying hiking! and why wouldn't we?? its free, remmi gets his exercise, we get our exercise, wesson gets to get out in the fresh air, change of senery, and good family bonding. i love it.

mike found this hike for us... i'm a control freak, we all know it. so when he said i found a hike i resisted getting on there and micromanaging. i just made sandwiches and packed up our boys and said lets go! ha mayyybe i should have double checked the directions to find out exactly where my honey dearest was taking us. haha needless to say we took the loooong way there. yes i'm better with directions than my husband. i can thank my dad for that one, he wouldn't have a daughter who needed a guys help with directions ;)

anywaaays he got us there. we drove through idaho springs which by the way is the cutest town! it reminds me so much of wallace. we want to go back and stay at this bed and breakfast. so cute! we drove about 12 miles up to mount evans which is the highest paved road in north america. elevation was over 14,000 feet above sea level! we didn't go on the drive this time but on a rainy day we might... the area was so beautiful. we parked at the entrance of mount evans next to echo lake. it was such a pretty lake but of course in colorado for some reason you're not aloud to swim in most lakes... ugh.

our plan was originally to hike up to idaho springs lake which was about a 4 mile hike. we got about 2 miles in and decided yah well save the full hike for another time! haha its one thing to go on a hike but strap wesson to me (first time using our spiffy back back thanks Nicole and Patty!) and add in way higher elevation than we're used to 2 miles was perfect! our stopping point was at this little river where we ate lunch rested and prepped for the hike back up. holy cow it was hard! mike offered to take wes on the way up but no way was this mama giving up that easy, although i think my shoulders are wishing i would have haha. oh and by the way wesson loved the trip! he slept some but mostly just loved looking around at everything. hes a nature boy thats for sure!

i was better about pictures this time so enjoy. it really was a breath taking area that we will be going back to again soon. we've decided we're going to try to take on a hike every weekend. :) its been so fun searching for new ones and new areas away from ugly brighton!

already to go!



 echo lake

the easy walking area...



 lake echo

 laying down the first bit of water... he was hot!

 where we ate lunch

 camo baby

 my handsome broken husband

remmi loving the water

the mcbrides :)

2nd chances.

i cannot believe tomorrow Wesson will be two months old... its scary, exciting, and so rewarding...

my son is a huge part of my life, obviously. i love every minute we spend together. our early morning smiles, morning baths (which i have to refill the water typically twice because i can't bear to break his smile and take him out yet...) our baby yoga in the afternoons, and one of my favorites saying our night time prayers. i'm very, very lucky i get to do this things. i have a husband who provides for us. its crazy to think i will never have to work if i don't want to. i get to watch my babies grow daily. trust me i do not take this for granted.

 i'm blessed, not just oh yah i'm having a good day blessed. i'm truely blessed with my life. i went through some horrible times with my husband. looking back now i'd like to smack my 21 year old retard self for almost loosing the man i get to share these memories with. we're typical parents now. our conversations revolve around Wes. this is exactly how i've pictured my life. well minus the trailer and colorado part. we are constantly planning our evenings and weekends for what we want to do and what time so we can beat the heat. i love our evenings now. after wesson goes down for the night he cracks a beer i grab my wine and we sit and play cards for hours and chat about days... i don't think i ever want cable again! okay thats a lie... we rent lots of movies too ha.

its hard getting married and having a baby before your friends.... but i chose this route i wanted this... it stings a little to know i really am loosing connections with my girlfriends. my life is one baby time, not happy hour. that's okay though. i'm excited for the day they call me up asking for advice on diapers or to call and share the exciting news of their baby laughing, or rolling over for the first time.... maybe than they'll understand why i was so excited to share my news and disappointed at their nonchallent reaction.

yes this is where i belong though.. getting up before everyone else to get my run in, my half hour spent running with Rem thanking God for giving me my second chance at this life. coming back to snuggle with my husband before either his alarm goes off or my handsome boy wakes up. one of my most treasured hours-- after mike gets off to work, rem and wes sleeping, coffee in hand enjoying a little quiet before taking on those sweet smiles. yes, happy and blessed... i'll take it.

Broken Hand=Family Time

i'm not saying i wished for mike to break his hand but i'm not complaining about getting to see his cute face before 9 pm now. he got his cast put on yesterday and go figure it is bright ass hunter orange. he goes back in on July 10th to hopefully get the cast removed or they'll put a soft cast on again. so until he is all healed my lineman is put on light duty 4 10s :) he's obviously a little pissed but hey he's still working and he gets to see us a little more! my first thought was yes camping! but because Colorado is going up in flames an hour north we're put on a no fire ban shoot.

we finally had a nice weekend together. made up for my first rough weeks here... Saturday we dropped Rem off at doggy day care and went into Denver to the aquarium. we figured Wesson would sleep the whole time but even better he was wide awake and loving it! we held him most the time and he would just stare at all the fish. it was so precious! at lunch we sat in front of the huge tank and he just laid back and watched. he was the perfect baby!

big ass ugly fish... go figure this is the only fish picture i took!

Sunday was Mike's first fathers day :) so we packed up our boys and drove an hour to Evergreen Lake. we picked this hike because we wanted to take the stroller and needed a shorter hike. it was beautiful if we could move closer to this area we could in a heart beat! Evergreen Lake was so pretty and the path was perfect for a stroller, most of the way... about half way we came to stairs going down and than back up the other side. obviously not the best for a stroller so we went to turn around and retrace our steps when a mama elk and her baby decided they wanted to use the path. ugh... so either wait it out or try the stairs. being adventurous we chose stairs. great plan for my one armed husband. but we made it down and up safely thankfully! :)

 Evergreen Lake, CO

Path from above the stairs

Not sure of our plans this weekend. mike has class in Denver saturday so we might try to find another sunday hike... this time we'll be using our sweet back pack Nicole and Patty got us!!




what we know

-i'm going to have good days and reeeally hard/bad days but i'm strong

-mike can give up junk food and eat healthy with me, who knew! although i had to find a "healthy" cookie recipe for him. oatmeal cookies = 46 cal

-itsy bitsy yoga makes me feel like a total goober but i love it... "iiiiinnnnn, ouuuuut good happy baby!" ha just roll with it

-i've managed to get back to my pre baby weight and i've lost 4 pounds. i am extremly proud of my hard work although this whole flabby tummy, uterus contracting bullshit sucks i'm sticking with it and will hit my goal

-i have probably the worlds best baby. he created his own schedule and is sticking to it

-every mother who has ever said time is going to fly was right. i'm amazed daily at how much wesson is changing and growing... he is the sweetest little boy already.

-mike is working a lot. like 76 hours the last week a lot. its hard for me but harder on him... he finally got to hold his baby this morning. this is the reason i'm here... he may not get to hold him daily but he gets to see him and kiss him good night every single night. worth the long, lonely days for me.

-i have the best friend. Brandy's daily encouraging texts and talks are helping me through. Brandy you're the best ever.

-unlimitated free mobile to mobile calling is the best invention ever. i talk to mom on average 3 times a day.... i love it. i'm so glad she doesn't have a "normal" job these chats push me through rough times

-colorado storms are simply amazing...we've had tornado warnings, high wind warnings, fire warnings and now i'm listening to the thunder roll in while its still 92 degrees out. beautiful.

-i'm married to an incredible man who despite his long hours still manages to rub my back before bed, run spaz dog at 4am so mornings go smoothly for me, fixed my stroller tires after my off roading stunt, and he does it all without one complaint. also guess who's turning the big 2-3 in two weeks...his one request for out for burger, fries, and a beer... go figure! but he said he wants a small icecream cake so we can quickly get back on track. oh i love him.

-i can navigate myself in the truck to the super target, vs, bass pro, and walmart without my navigator now! i suck at city driving though...

-moms who said i'd loose sleep havent met my son... hes going on 9 days of 8 hours solid sleep. simply wonderful.

-i am extremly thankful & blessed i get to be a full time mom. i couldnt imagine sharing these smiles

-i have a frustrating puppy that i cant get rid of

-ive mastered pushing a stroller & walking said frustrating puppy through sandy paths... whew now thats a workout!

-life is so precious. my heart aches for my friend katie who had to say good bye to her sweet 6 month old baby girl. please include them in your prayers tonight....<3

i'm surviving... kinda.

who would ever think i'd be typing that i miss wyoming?! its weird but i do. i knew where things were and everything was bunched together in ONE area... not spread out in an hour radius. Yes Denver has SO much to offer but i have two problems. one: its huge and i get lost  and two: its basically takes a day trip to go into Denver and will a almost 6 week old thats kinda of difficult. i'm learning but man its been a rough week.

i caught my parents cold when i left idaho, not the best thing but okay i can handle a cough and a sneeze. never did i dream my sweet baby would catch it! he's okay but seeing him cough and sneeze is hard to watch. i had an over protective mom moment and found a pediatrician right down the road. of course they told him he's fine and there's nothing really i can do except try to comfort him. --side note he weights 9.5 lbs now!! growing boy!!-- this cold has really thrown our wonderful sleeping schedule for a loop... for 4 days Wesson didn't sleep at all in the afternoon and would just cry. i felt so helpless but also i was starting to want to pull my hair out.

i think he's starting to feel a little better now. yesterday he had little crying fits but i was able to finally calm him down and he got some sleep in the afternoon. and last night he slept 9 hours straight!! must be catching up on sleep loss :) but of course Remmi escaped yesterday, not only once but twice!! luckily that dog loves string cheese and i got him home. if its not one baby its another!

its all a lot harder and more overwhelming that i imagined. it doesn't help mike is working SO much! last week he worked 6 12s and last night he informed me he's now going to 7 12s... no day off for this mama. its hard being alone so much right now but i just have to keep thinking the more hours = faster this apprenticeship can go. plus our savings is already building up and we should have a down payment before we know it! have to focus on positives right now!

well there ya go, i'm semi surviving for now. it can really only get better as time goes on and we find our groove here in Brighton!