#SIBSWEEKEND2015

I know I am incredibly blessed to have the relationship I have with my brother and sister, it's a pretty uniquely awesome thing we having going on between us 3. We have had a few sibs get togethers in the past and we were overdue for another. Jason and I booked our flights to Colorado a few months ago for #sibsweekend2015 and finally last weekend was the epic get together!

The whole thing got off to an awesome start when Jessie sent us the itinerary a couple days before we left - seriously isn't it awesome?!

SIBSITINERARY!

Here are some of the highlights (which was pretty much everything) 

late night beautiful and delish cheese board to start off the weekend- combos of every kind... kicking off lots of good food and convo to come

hike to Mallory Cave! So fun and refreshing and such a great view- we stopped for snacks at a popular rock climbing spot

Then! Adventures continue, strolling through downtown Boulder while we waited for our afternoon tea reservation at the Dushanbe Tea House- I know- afternoon tea, how cute is that?! We fell in love with a couple of the custom tea blends and polished off the whole tower! My favorite was the scones with lemon curd and devonshire cream. 

THEN! Off to the Rockies game! What a beautiful night for a baseball game and I've never seen so many home runs. I couldn't have cared less about the game- just enjoyed the company and scenery! The Coors tasted especially delightful that night, too. Oooh and Jessie and I shared some really yummy nachos and the boys ate giant foot-long hot brats. 

Saturday morning we made crepes and enjoyed a beautiful breakfast on Jessie and Chris' awesome deck, just lounging and chatting a bit before heading to explore Red Rocks. I'd never been before and even though we couldn't get inside, the outside was really beautiful to explore. 

Boulder Craft Beer Fest was up next, yay! I was pretty excited about this and it didn't disappoint (except for the ridiculous line to get in which after much discussion we decided to stick with it and forge ahead and then we were glad we did) 

some of my faves were, well I can't remember the breweries but there were a few that stood out :) but I do remember food and we had 2 great wood fired pizzas and the yummiest sausage in a bun thing and lots of free kettle chips. And probably one of the funniest moments of the weekend was the photo booth (van) and us practicing what we were going to do before we got these shots! 

then relaxing at the pool, a casual dinner on the deck, 

rosé and talking well into the wee hours-

 laughter, tears... I love these sibs o'mine.

A final farewell breakfast and exploration of the historical Chatauqua 

and one last scenic overlook

 

SIGH. So much to be thankful for when I think about my family. I'm so thankful to Jessie and Chris who put so much thought into planning this awesome time for us. I'm so thankful to our spouses for the support they lend to our tending these relationships and the time we took to be together this last weekend. I CANNOT wait til the next #sibsweekend !  

Summer Happenings of Late

Last Thursday night the whole fam met at J & Em's to gather for one last get together at their Cedar Rapids house before they move to Cedar Falls, we celebrated and reminisced on all the good times at 520. I did my fair share of babysitting up there over the past 10 years and really have loved getting to watch those kiddos grow from tiny babies to the awesome kids they are now. I know it's only an hour further but we sure will miss having them in our same city! :(

Friday was a blue moon and Mom and I ventured on a hike to learn about moon lore and explore the Indian Creek Nature Center grounds and trails. As usual we find something to laugh about together :)

Saturday we had a company picnic in the later afternoon so Ruthie and I had a fun Saturday of goofing off together while Mike helped J & Em load up the moving truck- he busted out all his old moving man skills.

For some reason, sometimes I come up with random rules for Ruthie and later on wonder why I ever made that rule? Example: when playing water table she could only put 1 foot in the water. Well, I thought to myself...why? So new rule- do what you want in the water table and have fun! It's so much easier!

Then I thought it would be funny to see if Ruthie could fit in a suitcase...

she can and it was! 

Sunday we went boating on the Res. It was especially fun to have Meleah, Luke and Lila along. Ruthie loved driving the boat with Grandpa T-Bone (mostly honking the horn) and both girls spent a good chunk of time jumping off the back into our arms and on a neigbors tube. 

Yesterday Ruthie and I spent a good 2 hours at a nearby park playing and picnicking. 

We both love a good picnic lunch! 

These are the days of great summer memories!