The hills are alive...

with the sound of music.......we saw a field...stopped...and skipped!





Don't worry...250 more pictures to go!

Have you hugged a tree today???

This past weekend we travled down to Aspen to see the leaves changing...it was so beautiful! Here are just a few of my favorite pictures from the weekend...



It was snowing up at Independence Pass!!! (elevation: 12,000+) I was so excited!



The top of Aspen Mountain...





Maroon Bells...











These are just a few of my favorites...but I'm pretty sure Maroon Bells on a sunday morning is the most beautiful place I've ever seen! We just went up to Aspen for one night, but took over 300 pictures...so we'll put more up this week!

Sweet treats...

As most of you know I am attending culinary school out here in Boulder at the Culinary School of the Rockies...it's for pastry arts and its only 5 weeks long, but very intensive! I'm in school all day (8-4 or 5 or 5:30), hearing lectures and then baking all day long! It's fun but extremely challenging. I'm doing alright, and I'm halfway through...here are some pictures of desserts we've made, as a class, or just me, or with my partner...it's a french pastry school...

A fruit tart...



Another fruit tart...



Frangipane tart, rustic fruit tart, and a mini fruit tart...
(I only have half because my partner took home the other half and I forgot my camera in class that day!)



Cream puffs and cream puff swans...



More cream puffs...



Puff pastry day...croissants, danishes...



For those chocolate lovers...we've had two days of working with chocolate (which is hard and kind of a pain)...

Chai truffles



Earl Grey Truffles...



Playing around with chocolate...



Just a few things we've done in class... more to come!

Fall is Here!!

Today we took a drive up to Leadville and Twin Lakes, Colorado to see the changing of the leaves! It is a big deal out here when the aspen trees turn to a golden color, and incredibly beautiful!



We took a short day trip up there and had lunch and even saw some fresh snow on the mountain tops! Since Leadville is at 10,200 ft elevation, it was quite cool and windy up there...I think at one point we got down to 49 degrees!
We rode through here two weeks ago when we were down in Aspen and here is what it looked like...



Here is what it looks like now...



Notice the fresh snow on top of the mountain and the golden aspen leaves...







Mt Elbert...the tallest mountain in Colorado, at 14,000+ feet elevation...the snow on the top was not there when we drove through 2 weeks ago!



Mt Massive...right beside Mt Elbert and just a few hundred feet shorter...





I just had to go feel the water...it was cold!











It was a perfect way to spend a Sunday! And next weekend we're heading back to the place where the beer flows like wine...hopefully we'll see even more of a change in the leaves!

A weather update for Boulder: it hasn't snowed here yet, but it has been in the low 40s and it snowed in Rocky Mtn Nat'l Park (about an hour north of us) the other weekend about 2 feet! We can't wait to see some snow!!!

The Most Recent Trip...

We took a trip to a little place up in the mountains; where the beer flows like wine; where beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capastrano; I'm talking about a little place called...ASPEN.

I called our friend John Vigler who lives up there and let him know we were coming to visit. We found a cheap hotel in Aspen (which wasn't that cheap) and arrived late Friday night. It was a quick, four hour drive from Boulder. We got to our hotel and I went to meet John and another friend Kyle McKenzie for a drink at a bar downtown. Allison retired early so she didn't join us, but we had a good time.

The next morning, we slept in a little bit so we got a late start. Aspen is famous for skiing, but mainly for the Maroon Bells. This place was amazing, and actually is the most photographed place in Colorado. John Vogler went with us and acted as tour guide for the day - which was awesome. Here are some pics from the Maroon Bells trail:



Maroon Bells with Maroon Lake beneath...







After our trip to the bells, we went fishing with John and Kyle as the guides. We didn't catch a thing, but we had a great time out there with them.





Kyle and John...







On Sunday, we took the scenic route home via Independence Pass. It took us a little longer to get home that way, but the views were great. All the different Aspen tree groves along the way were gorgeous to see.

The Goodson's do Colorado

As promised, here are the pics from when Mom and Dad came out to see us a few weeks ago. They arrived on Friday evening, and once Allison and I had both left work for the day, we all headed up to Beaver Creek for the weekend.

Saturday was a sleep in day. When we all finally arose, Allison biked around Beaver Creek for the afternoon, and Mom, Dad, and I played golf at the Cordillera Mountain Course, just outside Beaver Creek. The weather was not good - it rained a little bit and was overcast the entire afternoon. But we all had a great time. Here are some pics from golf:







We had a great dinner Saturday night and prepared for another exciting day on Sunday. We woke up early and headed to Minturn, Colorado, where we had hooked up with a fly fishing service to take us all fishing. They took us to the Eagle River, and of course, I was the only one who didnt catch a fish. We all had a great time, especially Mom (who fell in)...











Dad with his fish...



Mom with her fish...



And this is after Mom fell in...



Of course none of us saw her fall in, but it was hilarious to hear about.

We went back to Boulder that night. Mom and Dad stayed there until Wednesday. We went to a baseball game Tuesday night and saw the Rockies play the Diamondbacks. Randy Johnson pitched for the Diamondbacks that night - which was really neat to see.







Allison took Mom and Dad up to Rocky Mountain National Park one of the days as well. They got some great pics while they were up there.





David came in on Tuesday night and went with Mom and Dad to Colorado Springs on Wednesday. Allison and I met up with them that weekend. We stayed at The Broadmoor Hotel, a really nice hotel there in Colorado Springs.



We didnt get a lot of pictures while we were there. Dad, David, and I played golf at the East Course at the Broadmoor, where a week before, the US Senior Open was played. It was raining that day and so we didn't get to finish. But the course was prestine to say the least.

We had a great time seeing them that week and were so glad they got to come out to see us.

We just got back from a place 'where the beer flows like wine' - so there will be more pictures to come!!