Throw A Dart

We are fortunate to have a unique opportunity to live and work anywhere. But where do we begin to look when the possibilities are endless? Follow our journey as we throw a dart at a map and start our new adventure.

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So long, Colorado. You were an amazing two year chapter of our lives. We explored so much beauty in the mountains and will miss you dearly. But now, with our little one, we belong back in the Mitten...to write the best part of our story yet. #puremichigan #family #lucylove

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Thankful 🦃 #family #thanksgiving #michigan #lucylove (at Carleton, Michigan)

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Introducing Lucia Mae 💛 Welcomed earth side on October 15th. Mom and Dad are so in love. #newborn #baby #lucylove @jmsims2 (at The Birth Center of Boulder)

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Picture perfect day in #Boulder, but if you squint real hard you can see our house on the other side of those snowy #mountains. #missinghome #continentaldivide #colorado (at Flagstaff Mountain)

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Smoke on the water 🎵🎵

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Current mood #sunset #rmnp #mountains #clouds (at Rocky Mountain National Park West Entrance)

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Never gets old 🌄 #rmnp #sunset #aspen (at Rocky Mountain National Park West Entrance)

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Should've bought this #hammock months ago. #relax #aspens #cabinlife (at Columbine Lake)

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It's no Michigan apple orchard, but it'll do. #Cider craving fulfilled. 🍎 #yaya #orchard #fall (at YA YA Farm & Orchard)

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Season confusion. #aspens #firstsnow #toosoon #sopretty #mountains #colorado (at Berthoud Pass)

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My favorite spot in all of Grand Lake. 🍂 🏞️ #fall #aspens #log #mountains (at Grand Lake, Colorado)

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Happy fall, y'all! #aspens #autumn #hike #optoutside

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Mom & Emilie Come to Visit

Last week, my mom and her friend Emilie came for a long weekend. It was so nice to see them, especially in my last few weeks of pregnancy. It will be the last time my mom sees me without a baby! And it was great to have Emilie here, too, as she’s a retired labor & delivery nurse. Lots of tips and advice.

Friday, we picked them up at the airport in the midst of a haze. This past week has been terrible for wildfires. We are getting smoke from Oregon, Washington, Montana, Califorina and Idaho. Then there’s a closer one to us in-state in Steamboat Springs. You couldn’t see more than 10 miles away. Up by us, you’d never know there were mountains surrounding us. Here’s a pic up by us, you can barely see the outline of mountains in the distance.

After stopping for some groceries, we made the trek back to our house, where it was thankfully much clearer out. They were still on Eastern Time, so they were pretty pooped and each took a nap - which was fine by me, because I did too!  Hung around for a bit as Jeff finished up some work and then we all went into town to shop around and grab some dinner. Pretty low key day.

Saturday we had a few house showings, so we needed to clean up and get out. We spent the day (and our 11th Anniversary!) in Rocky Mountain National Park. On a wildlife and aspen hunt, we stopped at a few of the hotspots where we typically see animals, but didn’t have any luck. So onward we went to the visitors center and pulled off at a few spots to take in the views.

We had packed lunches for a picnic in the park and stopped at a pretty spot to eat and chat.

We stopped at Bear Lake before driving the rest of the way to Estes Park and walked the town for a little bit. It was busy and all the shops started to look the same, so we then made the drive back over Trail Ridge to home with a few elk and deer stops along the way.

Sunday was a little more eventful. Jeff and I had a birthing class in Boulder and so we had to bring the ladies with us to town or they’d be stuck at home without a car, 2+ hours away. I thought they’d like to walk the Pearl Street strip and maybe grab some dinner while we were busy. But before we got there, they spotted a “craft fair” they wanted to start at that was walking distance to the shops. So we kicked them out of the car and went on our way, only to get a call a few minutes later that the “craft fair” was indeed a gay pride festival. Whoops. They felt a little out of place, but had a few laughs and grabbed dinner while we learned about labor and delivery for a couple hours.

Monday we kept it low key again. It was a little gloomier out and Jeff and I had a little bit of work to get done. I ended up getting really tired probably from the late long day before, so I went down for a nap and my mom and Emilie went to the pool to swim for a few hours. We later went out to see the nightly elk parade in Rocky Mountain National Park by our home and then made a nice dinner and got into a little bit of Netflix, but that was about the gist of that day.

Tuesday was their last day with us, but their flight wasn’t until 8pm. While Jeff worked, we went out kayaking and canoeing on the lake to take advantage of the beautiful fall day.

They packed up and we cleaned up the house before leaving. Turns out there was some roadwork on the main highway to get back into Denver, so we took the long way through the park to get to the airport, which never disappoints. Saw a little moose friend on our way out of our neighborhood, too. And we took a different way out, which showed them the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, that they thought was pretty neat. 

After we dropped them at the airport, already learning of their 1 hour delay, Jeff and I stayed the night at his cousin’s house in Lafayette as we had a prenatal appointment the next day. I got a text later from my mom that now their flight was canceled. Unreal! They didn’t get out until 6:30am the next morning and had to sleep in the airport because the airline wouldn’t put them up in a hotel for the night. So annoying, but they were glad to finally get home.

Bye bye, Mom, see you in a few weeks when I have my baby!

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Longs Peak looks a long way from here. #14er #rmnp #tundra #trailridgeroad #colorado (at Trail Ridge Road)

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If I didn't know any better, I'd think the mountain was on fire. #aspens #fall #colorado #neversummer #mountains (at Never Summer Mountains)

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Our greatest adventure is about to begin. Still can't believe @jmsims2 and I are going to be parents! 📷 Credit: @smittenandswoon #expecting #babybump #36weeks #mountains #colorado

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Golden beauties. 🍂 #fall #autumn #aspens #colorado (at Grand Lake, Colorado)