Boulder Lovin' - Part III

Saturday morning we were met with a little surprise….snow!  Since Katie and I love to run we decided that we should do a little race while I was out there.  She found the Devil Dash which is a 5K obstacle course so we just had to sign up with her sister Stephanie and her friend Gracie. 

As we were driving out to Lyon’s, CO we saw the temperature dropping on the thermometer until it was about 35 degrees.  When we stepped out of the car we were woken up by a freezing gust of air and little snowflakes.  The snow didn’t last too long and turned into a light rain but it was still fun to say I saw snow October 8^th!

Pre-Race!

The obstacles were all themed around the 7 deadly sins.

Anyways over the 5k race there were a series of obstacles like giant rope structures to scale, tires to struggle over, pitch black tunnels, an incredibly steep incline of a mountain, etc.  However the last few obstacles were the best and the worst.  The first was a freezing pool of red water to swim through.  The second was a mud slip-and-slide.  The third was a huge mud pit with barbed wire right above it so you had no choice but to submerge your entire body in the mud to get through it.  Everything was finished off with a ring of fire I hurdled through.

Me going through the rope structure.

Soooo excited for the final obstacles....

Bloody FREEZING water.

Getting ready to go under the mud pool...

Once finished, I experience some of the worst cold I have ever felt.  With my muddy, sopping wet clothes almost frozen to my body it’s a surprise none of us got sick.  However it was COMPLETELY worth it and I would do it again in a heartbeat!!

Soooo happy we are done!

That mountain in the background we ran up!

That night we made homemade chicken noodle soup (and yes even the noodles were homemade too).  We could not have chosen a better dinner and it was especially fun because my cousin Kristjan who is a sophomore at Boulder was able to join us!  And of course we couldn’t forget dessert and after looking at Pinterest and Stumbleupon for a good hour we decided on S’more Brownies.

Time to cook!

Cousins!....I never thought we looked that much alike but according to this picture we do.

Boulder was a blast and thanks Katie for such a fun weekend!  Now it’s your turn to visit meJ

Boulder Lovin' - Part II

Every time I am in Boulder (which to be honest has only been twice) I am blown away by how much there is to do.  It probably seems like even more since it is so health and fitness conscious which is just like me.  Friday night we continued our activities on Pearl Street with a trip to Posh and of course grabbing dinner at Whole Foods.

Now Posh is this extremely fun paint and wine studio.  Several nights a week you sign up to learn how to paint one of their paintings.  They have everything, canvas, paints, brushes, set up for you.  You can grab a glass of wine at their wine bar and then paint your picture over the next two hours.

They show you step by step how to paint, but give you the freedom to be as creative as you want.

We started out by painting blocks of watered-down color on our canvas.

White-wash the canvas.

Up front is the stage with the example painting.

Paint a tree and leaves.

Drip blue paint.

The artists hard at work.

Finished product.

Our pictures turned out pretty well and we all had a blast.  It was also fun because Haley, a girl Katie and I went to high school with who goes to Boulder, also happened to be at Posh that night.

Oh and I meant to put these pictures on my other post, but my good friend Kai who is Katie’s boyfriend also goes to Boulder.  I only got to see him for an hour since he was flying home the day I got in to see the CU vs. Stanford game, but it was still great to see him!!

Plaid Twins??

Who doesn't love a good porch swing??

Boulder Lovin' - Part I

They say you know you have a true friend when you can pick right up where you left off no matter how long it has been since you have last seen them.  My friend Katie from high school is one of those friends.  She goes to CU Boulder, and we only see each other over vacation breaks.  With both of us in different states this summer because of internships, we saw even less of each other.  So, I decided that a spur of the moment trip to Boulder was in order.

Last weekend I flew out to Colorado for a long weekend.  I could not have asked for a better time!  In fact we did so many fun activities that I will just have to split it into two posts for you.

Pearl Street...the best shopping street in Boulder.

An adorable chocolate shop...don't you just love the name??

Mirrored ceiling tiles always make for great pictures!

It was FREEZING in Boulder this weekend and I definitely was not prepared for the weather.

One store had samples of hand scrub and Katie said to try it because you could just wash your hands off in the sink.  What she failed to realize was the sink had just been changed to a display bowl for bars of soap and I was stuck with oily scrub on my hands!  Luckily we found a water fountain outside to rinse off and my hands were perfectly smooth the rest of the day.

Stephanie, Katie's little sister was so excited about this nail salon because it's called ten20 and

that is the date of her birthday!

The inside of ten20 was amazing!  Complete with TiVo of fun shows, M&Ms, and any other girly thing you could want while getting your nails done.

Of course we couldn't pass up an opportunity to pose like the people

 in the mural fighting domestic violence.

Wanna know something fun about Katie, Steph, and I?....we are all Kappas!

And of course we can't forget jumping pictures!

Hurdling picture in honor of the two weeks Katie did hurdles with me senior year!

The cutest sisters!

What I loved about Boulder is it actually felt like fall!

Get excited for Boulder Lovin': Part II coming soon!