Last Set of Colorado Pics

More Pictures

Read post below for trip details. :)

Colorado-Pt. 2

This isn't near as exciting as us falling out of raft, but we did have a great time on Friday. We left Dallas Thursday night around 9:00 and arrived in Canon City, CO at approx. 9:00 CST. We went to our campsite and set up our tents and then headed to the Royal Gorge Park for a day of fun. We rode the incline railway down the mountain and that is when we got our first look at the river where we would be rafting. CRAZY. After that we headed to the bar and got a beer. 2 of those and I was gone! The alititude + alcohol is a dangerous combination! :) We all decided that we wanted to do the skycoaster so we headed over on the aerial tram. It was such a RUSH! You are strapped in a you fly out over the gorge, which has a 1000 ft. drop. I loved every second of it! After we all recovered from the skycoaster, we decided to go take tomahawk throwing lessons from a very cool guy. We had so much fun and stayed there for nearly an hour throwing tomahawks and getting to know this guy. After a fun day at the park we headed back to the campsite and sat around, cooked bratwursts and had some great conversation. The other two couples that went with us were a blast. The two guys were Curt's best friends and the girls were their girlfriends. It was the first time I'd met the girls, but of course we had fun. It was great to see my husband with his two closest friends...we made some great memories. Here are some pics of our day.

Let me try it this way

Ok, this will work. Here are the rafting pictures, read the post below for the description. :)

RAFTING!

We went to Colorado this past weekend for our annual rafting trip...so many fun things happened, but I will just tell you about the rafting part until I can get my other pictures together. We arrived Saturday at our rafting company (ECHO CANYON for those of you who want to go) and were getting ready for the day ahead of us! 3 of us in our group have been every year, but this year we also had 3 rookies with us who were quite nervous. The river was at its highest point (3000 CFS). They close the river down to rafters at 3200 CFS so we knew it was going to be a crazy ride. Plus, we signed up for the Double Dip, which is Class IV and Class V most of the way. We found our guide, Shahir, who we've had for the past 3 years. He was telling us that it had been a crazy couple of days because the river was hauling some serious booty. I was SO PUMPED but a little scared. We get our wet suits on and get on the bus. The entire way we are lectured on safety and what to do if we should find ourselves swimming. I half way listened because I have heard it so many times...and not one person has fallen out of the boat on our trips. We arrive at our drop in point and get on the water. Shahir keeps repeating, "If you find yourself in the water, SWIM AGGRESSIVELY TO SHORE. DO not look for the boat, do not look for me, just get your A$$ to shore." He sounded like a broken record. We hit our first rapid and it was intense...but I knew this was going to be fun day. The water was a chilly 53 and I was so glad I had on a wetsuit. We approach our second rapid and hit it head on. We almost lost a couple of people on that one, but managed to regain our composure. The 3rd rapid was ahead of us and Shahir tells us to concentrate and listen to him...we head straight for the middle of it but we hit it at the wrong angle. Our boat automatically flipped upside down and the 7 of us were scattered. It was so surreal. I came up from under water and found that I was stuck under the raft. I got myself out of it and finally saw daylight, but no one was around me. All I could hear was Shahir in my head screaming, "SWIM AGGRESSIVELY". I have never been more thankful for my triathlon training as I was at that moment. Try swimming across a raging current. It's not that easy. Luckily, I am stubborn and strong-willing...and a decent swimmer. I got on shore and hugged a rock. Another boat picked me up and eventually we all found our way back to Shahir. Now, I've done a lot of things in my life that had potential to really shake me up. I've jumped out of planes, I have gone hang-gliding, I have been in a pretty bad car wreck, etc. Nothing compared to what I felt of Saturday. I have never been in a situation where, if I didn't save myself, no one was going to help me. That moment when I was stuck under the raft was a complete gut check. Sink or swim...live or die. That may sound a little dramatic, but that river has potential to do so much damage. I chose to be aggressive in my own rescue, and it made me really believe in myself. Moments like those put things in perspective. All I could think about after I was on the other boat was my husband. I hadn't seen him and I had no clue if he made it out. When I finally made it back to my crew, we all just hugged eachother and didn't say a word. It was one of the most intense moments I've had in my 28 years. We finished the day strong, we all stayed in the boat and we had a blast. As soon as blogger stops being a punk, I will post some pictures.

Weekend Pictures-Saturday

On Saturday we had our first basketball game, it was adorable. I wish I could capture the moments in pictures, but it is impossible to coach and take pictures. Our team did so good, we scored 3 baskets. The kids had fun, which is the most important part.

After the game, we brought Connor to my company's open house, where we got to ride in a helicopter! Connor absolutely loved it, he got to fly co-pilot. Here are a few pics...

Weekend Pictures-Friday

Oh my we had such a great weekend. Friday night we went to see South Austin Jug Band at a park...such a laid back atmosphere and the weather was perfect. We had a photo shoot and decided to express different emotions. It was so hilarious, the pictures are priceless. :)

My new love

I fell in love last night all over again. I found something that made my heart flutter and my smile last an hour. I had my first practice coaching 5 and 6 year olds in basketball. JT asked me if I could coach her daughter's basketball team and I took the opportunity. I am so glad I did. Kids are so funny, and so willing to learn. I can already tell that I will end up loving each of these kids for different reasons. Each one has something so cute about them. We have our first game this Saturday! If we score 1 or 2 baskets, I will be ecstatic! Of course, all I really want for this team is for them to come off of that court smiling and excited about the game of basketball. I want them to love the game as much as I do.

I timed my mile for the first time last night. I was kind of scared, I figured I would be in the 12:00-13:00 minute range. It was a pleasant 10:54! I am ok with that. I would like to get it a little faster but I am sure it will slow down once I try to run 5-6 consistantly. That is ok, I just want to find a pace that I am comfortable with. After I timed my first mile I took my neighbor's dog, Bear, for a run. Compared to my dogs, he is a horse. I had to sprint to keep up with him. It was a good 35 minute run.

My sweet husband surprised me by showing up at my first practice last night. It was really cute to look in the stands and see him there. He kept telling me all night how proud he was of me that I was using my personal time to coach. I kept telling him that I'm the lucky one. :)

MAVS WON!!!!!!!!! One more game to go and we are heading to the finals! WOO HOO.

I are going to see the South Austin Jug Band tonight with my sister in law. I am so excited!

Thought for the day: “Remember, a small light will do a great deal when it is in a very dark place. Put one little tallow candle in the middle of a large hall, and it will give a good deal of light.” -Dwight L. Moody

Have a great weekend!