On top of it all

When hiking around the other day

I spotted a couple of guys

on the very top of a rock formation. 

Without any harnesses, I feel like I would

be a little anxious way up there, 

but the idea still seems so

freeing and attractive, too.

Where's your "top of the world" spot?

Hope Suspended

All those pretty painted baubles from the last post

came together to make an Advent mobile

to hang in the worship space

Z uses with his students.

The idea is that each orb represents the hopes

 of the student who made it.

When hung up above the font, 

their hopes are suspended during Advent, 

waiting and watching for Christmas.

Advent prep

Z recently asked me to lead

a crafting session 

with his students

to create a piece of art that

will hang in their worship space

during Advent.

Here's a sneak peak at what we did:

This is a really simple project

that yields really great results!

All you need are clear glass ornaments

(mine were a bit iridescent, too)

and some acrylic paint.

Take the cap off the ornament and drip in 

several drops of the colors you want to use. 

You can either let it drip down the insides slowly, 

or put the cap back on and swirl it or shake it. 

Make sure to remove the cap when you are finished

and let dry upside down in a disposable cup or newspaper.

You can also use glitter or stuff in bit of tissue paper!

These are fun, easy, and look awesome.

Pics of the finished project to come!

Snowfall

We've already had snow twice here,

just enough to stick for a couple of days

before melting away.

I loved how the snow accumulated on the

leaves instead of the ground, 

making it look like cotton balls strewn about.

Long Beach Half Marathon

Z ran the Long Beach Half Marathon

on October 7.

We had to get up super early to leave our

friends' house in LA & make the trek

down to Long Beach to find some parking...

in addition to the half, there was also the full marathon, 

a bike "tour", a 5K, a handcycle race, and a walk, 

so there were over 25,000 people participating, 

plus the spectators.

Here's Z before the sun even came up.

This guy did the bike tour on a unicycle!

Around mile 2

Mile 6

My view at the finish.

Unfortunately they kept all spectators

well away from the finish gate,

so I had a hard time capturing the end

of Z's race.

It's ok, though, because he took 9th place.

Not too bad in a race of over 11,000 people!

California Getaway

Last weekend Z & I took off

to LA & Long Beach.

Z ran a race on Sunday, 

but we got to spend a few days

with good friends 

Matt & Chris, 

rolling through the streets of LA, 

eating delicious food

and hitting the beach.

Scenes from a Mountain Retreat

Mitchell Lake Trail

Yesterday I answered my mountain craving.

Even though we live right at the base of the mountains, 

we don't make the drive up into the hills nearly often enough.

We were treated 

to the very beginnings

of the golden Aspens' seasonal change

as we made our way up to 

Brainard Lake Recreation Area

& the Indian Peak Wilderness.

It was sunny when we started the hike

up to Mitchell Lake, 

but as we ascended, 

the fog met us.

The fog became so dense that we

nearly walked right past the lake

without even noticing it.

It was so beautifully eerie

to be completely enveloped

so that even the horizon is erased,

and to feel like we were the only ones for miles.

The promise of rain 

& the cold seeping into our bones

pushed us back down the path, 

and back down the mountain, 

out of the rain, 

and into our cozy home

to wrap our hands around steaming mugs.

USA Pro Cycling Challenge

Boulder recently hosted a leg of the

USA Pro Cycling Challenge.

What that meant was a ton of road closures, 

and lots of people gathered in 

various spots throughout Boulder

to watch the cyclists quickly zip by.

We watched them in two spots.

First we waited downtown.

Then we headed up the hill to see them a second time.

Lots of supporters dressed in crazy costumes or

had flags and ran alongside the cyclists 

for short segments.

One of the most interesting things to me was the

entourage for each cyclists. There was a huge 

parade of cars behind the cyclists

carrying all their gear & extra bikes.

Of course, bringing up the rear was the 

broom wagon, 

doing the final sweep.