It snowed!

It was beautiful this morning, but it has already melted away.






"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." ~Psalm 19:1

Weekend Away

A few weekends ago my friend Jamee and I flew from Denver to visit our friend Amanda in Santa Cruz, California. Both girls are pregnant with their first babies so it was fun to celebrate with them. I hardly feel like I'm old enough to have friends that are having kids!

Amanda's home is in a luscious wooded area. Northern California is incredibly green and rainy during January. We got out every morning, excitedly soaking up the dewy air, and walked to the local coffee shop. The trip was complete with pedicures, shopping in Santa Cruz (I found an amazing deal on a pair of Vintage Frye boots!) and yummy desserts! I have to admit that I forgot to snap very many shots on this trip, but here are a few...


Amanda, Jamee, and I walking along the water in Santa Cruz. You can't see in the picture, but there were tons of surfers out catching waves.


One afternoon Amanda took us to the really cute, old berry farm. Jamee and I bought strawberry jam but couldn't carry it back on the plane!




Inside the berry farm you could buy homemade jams, berry truffles, berry cobbler and a variety other tasty treats. There was a cash box sitting out to pay and make change....how often do you find that these days??

The Sitler Fam in Breckenridge

I am finally getting back into a normal routine these days...although I find myself wondering what is a normal routine anyways?? I think I prefer to avoid the mundane everyday routine of putting away dishes, cooking, laundry, etc. After the holidays, family in town, and a girl's trip to California it is suddenly February and I don't know where the time has gone. It hardly feels like February with the warm temperatures we have been having lately along with the lack of winter snow. I went for a ride on my road bike on Thursday with only tights and a long sleeve top. Amazing!

My family was in town at the beginning of January. Lisa and Nick flew in from Dallas and my parents from Michigan. We rented a house up in Breck and thoroughly enjoyed skiing/boarding, hot tubing, and most of all just being together. It seems so rare these days to all be in one place! A few highlights included watching the Discovery Channel Everest Season 2 dvd's (we all got hooked on the adventure), a heated girls against boys game of pictionary (the girls came out victorious!!), and an AMAZING 5 course meal in a yurt that included a hike and headlamps. It was so great....hard to see them all leave!



Dad was basking in the Colorado sun, enjoying the amazing views of the Rockies footsteps away from our deck, while wishing that he was on Everest.


A view from the house we stayed at.


Nick, Lisa, and Kim on one of our many walks to the Main Street of Breck.


The whole fam


It is Kim's first season with her own snowboard and a season pass. She's pretty stoked to "shred the nar" as the boarders say!


Inside the yurt at the Tennesse Pass Cookhouse....


...all of the food is brought in via snowmobile and cooked over propane. I highly recommend this place. It is truly a unique dining experience....a 5 course meal, amazing teriyaki salmon, elk, lamb...all while wearing snow pants and winter hats, now this is our style!


We hiked about a mile in the snow. You have the option of cross country skiing or snow shoeing in, but since there was not a lot of snow we were able to hike. Shane took me here the day we got engaged and we decided it would be fun to have the whole family experience it.


The whole fam...Kim, me, Shane, Nick, Lisa, Mom, and Dad