Biking and Hiking

One of the best things about where we live is that there is so much to do outside and everything is so close! We have loved biking and hiking, especially when we don't have to drive too far to get to a great place! Recently we drove to Morrison, home of Red Rocks Amphitheater, and biked around that area. We also went to Golden and hiked Table Mountain. It only takes about 30 - 45 minutes to get to the top, so it's a nice short hike.

Denver is to the right of Bran in the background

Table Mountain

Almost there!

The city of Golden

Katie and Hil's Visit

Two of my close friends from college came to visit over the first weekend of my two week spring break. Of course the weather was beautiful until they got here and then we had another blizzard and it was freezing outside! Katie lives in the LA area and Hil lives in Chicago. It was so fun to be able to see them and catch up. We went to Katie's wedding in November, so it was fun to hear how married life has been for her.

Red Rocks Amphitheater

With the buffalo on 16th Street

We visited Shawna in Breck...

and had a sleepover at her place...

We rode on the gondolas in Breckenridge

February and March

In February Kelli and Ellie came to visit. Ellie was here for about a week and Kelli just stayed for a day after she was done with work in Colorado Springs. It was fun to see them and have them around!

There was a blizzard on my birthday, so we couldn't do all of the things Brandon had planned, but it still turned out to be a great day. We bought a puzzle and did that (I swear I only turned 25, not 85!) and Shawna braved the weather and drove down from Breck to see me. We tried to get Thai food on 16th Street, but it was closed so we went to one of our favorite restaurants, Lucky Pie Pizza. They have the best cheese curds!

Snowshoeing

In February we went up to Breck to visit Shawna. We went snowshoeing in the mountains with her. It was so much fun and so beautiful to be in the mountains while it was snowing!

At the trailhead

New Headboard!

Ok, I know I have a lot to catch up on from the last six months, but I was too excited to share this! I made a headboard for our bed! I made the headboard out of fence posts that Brandon helped me cut to an appropriate size. I sanded them, stained them, attached them together, and then hung it on the wall. Here are some pictures from the process...

I decided to use fence posts (with Brandon's
input, of course!) because it was the
cheapest option. They were six feet long
and about 6 inches wide. I also bought
a 1 x 4 x 8 board that we cut in half and
then used to attach all of the
fence posts together.

The boards were really rough...

So I had to use a power sander to smooth the wood out
(and thank goodness Brandon had a power sander -
I would have given up on the project if I had to sand that
all by hand!)

Here is a picture of the boards all sanded
and cut to size. Brandon cut the boards
down to 5'1" so that the headboard fit
the size of our bed better.

I bought Minwax wood finish in Classic
Gray. It only took one small can to
paint all of the boards - it was barely
enough, but it worked!

After the boards were all stained I let them dry for 24
hours just to be sure. As you can see, they didn't all
turn out the same color, but oh well! Apparently I need
to work on my staining skills. :)

I bought Flush Mount Hangers to hang
the headboard on the wall. I could only
find them at Lowe's - Home Depot and
Ace did not have them.

Brandon helped me cut the 1 x 4 x 8 board into two pieces
(one day I'll be brave enough to use the power saw) and
we screwed them into each of the fence posts. I learned how
to use a power drill. :)

Then I attached one flush mount hanger
to each vertical board. The other half of the hanger
looks identical and goes on the wall.
The two pieces slide into one another
so that the headboard hangs flush with the wall.

Before....boring!

After!

As you can tell, our night stands are my next
project. I'll post pictures once those are done, too!

I wanted the headboard to look more rustic, so I didn't line
the boards up perfectly. I love how it turned out!