An Abridged Holiday Photo Diary

{With Captions Where Necessary/Unintentional Hiatus Over}

{December Nights is not for agoraphobes} 

{sister Phoebe should pursue acrobatics}

{...or architecture}

Not pictured: 

-some intense K1 racing that left most of us with bruised hips and spines. And the need for speed. 

-a sickening sum of hours spent playing Bejeweled. 

-most things we did. 

Power Outages are Fun.

Last Thursday a (probably former) employee of the state of Arizona fiddled with a wire near Yuma and caused a massive power outage across Southern California and parts of Arizona.

I won't say it wasn't awesome. Because it was.

We walked through our neighborhood in complete darkness save for the light of the moon (and headlamp). The camaraderie amongst the townsfolk of San Diego was quite amazing. It took a power outage to force us all out of our houses and meet each other. We survived thanks to our gas stove/gas water heater and our arsenal of candles.

I won't say how many times we each walked into a room and absentmindedly flipped the light switch. I won't!

{dinner and scrabble by light of candle(s)}

{never been so glad for a gas stove and gas water heater}

Nocturnality

Headlamps + 30 second exposure + lack of oxygen = magic.

Boulderado

So, some fun facts about Boulder:

-There is no motorcycle helmet law for anyone over 17 (state law)
-Liquor is only sold in liquor stores
-Elevation 5,430ft.
-Regarded as one of the most liberal cities in Colorado
-The flatirons are considered the symbol of Boulder
-Boulder is badass (fact)

Back in early August the fiance, younger sisters, and I made a 5-day jaunt to CO to visit my older sister and her hubs Carl. They live in Boulder where Crocs are fashionable and Subarus outnumber people (fact). No, but seriously, Boulder is awesome. It has that laid back vibe like everyone still lives in the '70s...and maybe even dress like it too. But it makes this place great. There are bike paths everywhere, a big outdoor pedestrian mall of shops (but the kind of shops that spell it 'shoppes'), an interesting blend of earth mothers and frontiersmen, and a creek that runs through the city. Then, of course, there is the landscape. Instead of an ocean to the west, the base of the Rocky Mountains majestically preside over the western border of Boulder. Need I go on?*

My two previous Boulder visits were during snowstorms, so a summer trip allowed for summerlicious activities. We inner-tubed on the slightly dangerous creek (a result of record rainfall), explored downtown Denver and Boulder, and spent one night in the Rockies - the highlight of the trip in my book. An hour away from Boulder, in the mountains is the trailhead to Heart Lake, elevation roughly 9,000 ft. We hiked a beautiful 4 mile trail amidst waterfalls and Colorado flora to Heart Lake - elevation 11,000ft. It was a splendorous adventure.

{street robot}

{high five action shot} 

{nailed it}

{Denver Art Museum}


{impromptu clay workshop. elephant}

{some ominous storm clouds moving in}

{boys braving the chilly creek}

{sisters at 11,000 ft.}

{Heart Lake, CO}

{water filtering is a group effort}

{scale}

{beauty shot}

{king of the mountain}

*No I don't work for the Colorado tourism board.

*The tardiness of this post can be blamed on the blogger html glitches. Blogger, (stink eye!)  

Colorado Photo Diary