Life at 10,000 feet...

This weekend we went up to Summit County to spend some time with friends (M and Jeff Winters) in Keystone. We had a blast. We got up there a little early and decided to walk around Breckenridge and Frisco. There is a river that goes through Breckenridge and Andy and Blake ventured out in the middle to enjoy the cool water. We then went to the Frisco Fun Day and played on the inflatables and bikes with the locals. We met out friends at their condo in Keystone and hung out there for a while. Then, we went in to the Keystone Village and had dinner. The next day, Andy and Jeff went on a 16+ mile bike ride.
We love the mountains! We would love to live in Summit County one day. Andy wants to live above 10,000 feet. I just really appreciate the mountain lifestyle and the beautiful seasons Colorado has to offer.

Eating Local

Due to some health issues, I have basically become a vegetarian in the last month. I eat salmon and shrimp and cheese, and sometimes I will eat a tiny bit of meat, but it's mainly fruit, veggies, and grains like Quinoa and brown rice. Since doing this, I have really been interested in trying new veggies. We found the perfect opportunity to do this through a local farm. We tried out this farm's CSA program. We love supporting local businesses.

A CSA, (for Community Supported Agriculture) is a way for the food buying public to create a relationship with a farm and to receive a weekly basket of produce. By making a financial commitment to a farm, people become "members" (or "shareholders," or "subscribers") of the CSA. Most CSA farmers prefer that members pay for the season up-front, but some farmers will accept weekly or monthly payments. Some CSAs also require that members work a small number of hours on the farm during the growing season. ~ http://www.localharvest.org/

Yesterday afternoon when I came home, I was greeted with fresh vegetables - carrots, a few different kinds of squash, strawberries, cucumbers, and two kinds of peas.. I absolutely love knowing that these veggies just recently came out of the ground. The carrots and cucumbers made a delicious addition to our salad last night. One of the summer squash was seasoned with Lemon Pepper and BBQ'd for my dinner...yum. You can visit http://www.localharvest.org/ to find a CSA in your area.

Pulled the Plug...

Yes, today we pulled the plug on our microwave. I had been thinking of doing this for a some time now and while I was cleaning out the pantry (where the microwave used to live), I pulled the plug. It was so much easier than I thought...it didn't even put up a fight when I took it from its home. There is so much information out there about the adverse affects the microwave has...HERE is one site. We didn't really use the microwave a whole lot except for maybe microwave popcorn or warming something up quickly. I did promise Andy we would get an air popper....he loves his popcorn. It will take some getting use to...for instance, when I went to heat up Blake's lunch, I opened the pantry before I remembered the microwave had been removed. Oh well, that's what stoves are for. I have also been rather inspired by THIS blog. This guy lives in New York and is doing what he can to leave no impact on the earth. There are great links for living green.

Five Years...

Today was our fifth anniversary...I can't believe it. There has just been so much that has gone on the past five years -traveling all over the place, getting our dogs, graduating college, job changes, Blake being born, changing churches, buying a house, going to africa, starting our adoption...things have just flown by! Our friends, Trudy and John, blessed us by taking Blake for the whole day and late into the night. Like all normal couples celebrating an anniversary, we were trying to go whitewater rafting, however, we waited too long to make our reservations. So, instead we spent the entire day in the mountains. We went up to Breckenridge and visited our favorite stores. We had lunch is Frisco at an awesome cafe called Butterhorn Bakery. We went into Silverthorn to look at some other stores and then into Golden. For dinner, we went to my favorite restaurant, the Melting Pot. We had such a great day to connect with each other. I love you Andy, thanks for putting up with me.