Home Again, Home Again

Home Again.

To Colorado- 

one of the most consistent threads of place

 in the fabric of our ten and a half years of marriage.

Days with Grammy and Pops in Ft. Collins...

exploring the surrounding hills

and stealing away for a weekend in Portland 

while the girls stayed in Ft. Collins with Grammy and Pops.

 (more on this trip to come...)

Four days of camping with

Grammy & Pops (Jason's parents)

Gretchen (Jason's sister), Kyle, Jack, & Molly

see more pictures of the car camping

HERE

Colorado Columbine

Tasting Indian Paintbrush in an alpine meadow

While the rest of the crew journeyed back to Ft. Collins for more fun, crafts, and play at Grammy & Pop's house, Jason, Gretchen, and I met up with our old Portland friend Anna for five days of backpacking.

 We spent five days and four nights backpacking the Maroon Bells loop- a 27 mile loop circling the Maroon Bells peaks near Aspen.  Four 12,000+ passes, four basins, alpine lakes, snow, best Colorado wildflowers we've seen in years,  and views galore. Pretty much....unbelievable.

More pictures HERE

Gretchen pumping water with me out of  Snowmass Lake- 11,000 ft

and

Home Again.

To Chicago's North Shore-

our latest stop in this pilgrimage of faith.

More thoughts to come in the coming days...

To all we saw in Portland and Colorado...

we love you.  

As Eleanor put it over a slice of pizza at the pool last night,

"Mommy, I think once you know a person you become attached to them, 

and that is something hard to ever go away."

Amen, baby girl.