20th Anniversary!

It is our 20th anniversary. That is a big one. That means that I am months away from being married longer than I have been single. Jeremy has been in my life for over half my life and that just blows my mind. Our main big and wild anniversary trip is going to coincide with Jeremy going to Nice later this year, but we couldn't let the day pass without a smaller celebration. We decided to take a quick 24 hour trip up to Estes Park. We stayed in a little cabin and just enjoyed being somewhere with no responsibilities. We ate our brownie sundae in bed, watched a fire burn, and literally did nothing but relax. The next day Jeremy spoiled me with breakfast in bed, which is an absolute delight, before we got started on our day. I don't think we climbed out of bed until 10:30 because we simply didn't have to. That is a luxury I never take advantage of.  We had originally planned on riding our bikes up and through Rocky Mountain National Park. We didn't plan on a ten degree wind chill and 40 mph winds. Well, we didn't want to freeze or be blown from our bikes so we decided to do a couple of winter hikes instead. We found the trial up to Emerald Lake and decided it was perfect. It was a beautiful day even with the cold and wind. 

By the time we made it up to Dream Lake the wind was absolutely howling! There were a few gusts that nearly threw us off our feet. We were laughing so hard and Jeremy would toss snowballs across the frozen lake just to watch how far the wind would carry them.  

Once we made it up to Emerald Lake I didn't want to leave. Something about the craggy peaks behind us were just inspiring to me. It was absolutely gorgeous. 

The frozen lake was so cool with all of the suspended bubbles.

We started back down the mountain and we weren't ready to leave. We decided to take another trail to Alberta Falls. I don't know if I was getting tired or hungry, but it wasn't quite as magical as a hike. To add insult to injury, there were no falls once we arrived. It was a dry creek bed. 

Jeremy tried to add a little water to the scene, which helped a little. 

I think my favorite part of that excursion was the beautiful jay that kept hoping along near us. 

As we were hiking I couldn't help but think how grateful I am for this man who said, "Sure, let's spend our anniversary hiking through a frozen mountain landscape!" He is so full of adventure, energy, and playfulness. I really got lucky with this guy. Happy Anniversary hun!