Wednesday, August 29, 2012

High Above it All

A couple of days before the wedding Clint and I took the kids to the Royal Gorge Bridge.


In case you're not familiar with the Royal Gorge Bridge, it is the highest (at over 1000 feet) suspension bridge in the world.  It is located just outside of Canon City, Colorado.


Clint and I both had been to the bridge as kids, but we wanted the kids to have the opportunity to experience the bridge first hand.  While I had been to the bridge, I actually had never even walked across it before, so for me, it was like visiting it for the first time!


See that little suspended red car in the background of the above photo?  Yeah, we took that.  Yeah, I was scared senseless.  Yeah, he married me anyway!

Before that, though, we crossed the bridge and posed for a few pictures.


On the far side of the bridge there are all sorts of neat pioneer-day activities.  Of course the first thing Weston spotted was the giant tepee.


They also panned for "gold," or at least some colorful stones.


Nicole discovered what might have happened if she was a little too showy with her panning loot....


Then Weston found out what happens when he gets too lippy with the law in these here parts!


After we bailed Weston out, we headed over to the tram, which basically a moving cage that goes straight down the side of the cliff of the gorge.  Yikes!


I was scared.  I'll admit it.  But Clint and the kids have no fear, so I swallowed mine, put on a brave face and headed down with them.  


Once at the bottom we explored the river and took some fantastic family photos. First, father and daughter:


Then father and son:


Then me with the love of my life:


Even though we were at the bottom of a gorge, we felt like we were on top of the world!

High on life,
~J

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Bishop's Castle

After the wedding, we headed back down the mountain to Bishop's Castle.  


The really cool thing about Bishop's Castle is that it was hand-built by a single man--Mr. Bishop--using local materials only.  

I've been to a few castles in England and Ireland, but this one is much, much different.  For one thing, I've never been to a castle with a big dragon head on the front of it!



Also, those castles were built centuries ago by many people.  This one is currently under construction, still, by a single man.  I have to say it is altogether mysterious and awesome at the same time.

Clint, the kids, and I all ventured inside.  Nicole and Weston posed inside one of the very large fireplaces in the main hall.



Past the main hall where large columns that held staircases that spiraled up towards only the imagination of the builder--they are incomplete and quite treacherous.  We carefully made our way to the very top, keeping the kids safely toward the middle of the column while Clint held onto me at the outer edge.  



Needless to say it's a very good thing I trust him so much! Here is our view from the top of the castle:



We made our way back down shortly after reaching the top.  Nicole was just as happy as I was to be heading back down!



We had such a great time there and it was a fitting beginning for us...


...to begin our tale with a castle,
~J



Monday, August 27, 2012

A Mountain Wedding

On August 18, 2012 Clint and I decided to officially start our journey through life together.


It was the happiest day of my life.  I not only gained an amazing husband, but also two wonderful step-kids!


We had a very small family gather at San Isabel Lake in Colorado.  Everything about the day was beyond beautiful.


I have finally found the love of my life.  Simply put, he is wonderful in every way.  He has more heart than anyone I've ever met.


It was a perfect day.


Perfect...in every way.


I'm officially a step-mom now to two of the best kids in the world (okay, I might come off as a bit biased but honestly I'm not--they really are the best)!


Aren't these the dearest faces ever?!


We had a small, family-themed (aka sparkling cider) celebration.  We had a perfect site, perfect weather, and perfect company.  It was a memorable day!


I used my past horse-show-changing-in-public skills to change into something a bit more appropriate for our next stop in our travels--Bishop's Castle, which I will cover in my next post.  


In the meantime, thank you for accompanying us along the next phase in our journeys.  Life is really incredible--you never know what the next day, week, or month will bring. Sometimes it brings hardships, and other times your life can change for the better in unexpected and unimaginable ways.  I am thankful beyond words for Clint and his wonderful family--my life has truly changed for the better and we are looking forward to traveling through life together and sharing many adventures along the way.

~J