milestones

Our little family had a pretty cool week last week:

First Day of School 2015

Sam cruised easily into 3rd grade with the same excellent and well-loved teacher as last year and the only 'new adventure' he experienced was moving up to the second floor of the school building (the big kids' floor!) and using a daily planner...

But Hamp moved all the way up to the Middle School and has been loving his transition to 6th grade! The new building and new staff didn't phase him - he totally digs his team of teachers and is thrilled to have a locker near some of his favorite classmates! A couple of 'new adventures' in Middle School include a real gym class (with lockers and stinky gym clothes and everything!) and starting band. Hamp decided he wanted to play the saxophone...

And while I managed to make it through the first week of chaos High School, it was the weekend that brought me to a very special place, with some very awesome friends!

Ever since Jason & I tried unsuccessfully to summit Mt. Sopris in 2008, reaching the top has been on my annual 'To Do List'.

The mountain is a Roaring Fork Valley icon, standing beautifully at the north end of the Elk Mountains like a greeter to people seeking the majesty and allure of Aspen's Maroon Bells and calling out to everyone (ok, maybe just to me!) to come hang out at 12,953 feet!

The first 4 miles takes you on a lovely mountain forest hike through meadows of wild flowers and aspen forests and across creeks up to the beautiful Thomas Lakes.

Then the real work begins!

The next couple of miles is nearly straight up the mountain, over rocks and up a vertigo-inducing ridge.

While my mantra was 'one step at a time' it felt a little like 'holy hell, I am never going to make it!'

But then the next thing you know, you're at the top!

The final climb (500 vertical feet!) to the summit!
Just for perspective, you can see a small figure on the left side, middle of the photo - that's a person!

Of course the summit was awesome - the views were amazing, but more exciting was the feeling of fulfillment and accomplishment in literally having no more to climb! I was with such a supportive and fun and amazing group of friends, too that I attribute much of my success that day to their tenacity and encouragement! It wasn't until we began our descent that we realized we had not taken into account one thing: the way down was equally as taxing and difficult as the way up! Consequently, we were extra proud of ourselves when we did finally (9 hours later!!!) reach the parking lot.

It was a good way to kick off the school year - with friends on a mountain.

Now I just have to figure out what to put on next year's 'To Do List'!!!!!