{SillFamilyAdventures}

Super Bowl

2014-02-24T22:28:00.001-07:00

I didn't know if I could every re-hash such a hard day for us die hard Bronco's fans. However for the sake of documentation and wrapping up a great Bronco football year I had to decide to put by big girl panties on and write about the day we should have been the Super Bowl Champs.

In true Sill Family Broncos football fashion we went BIG for the Super Bowl. Big decorations, long food lists, Orange Crush bar and our favorite football friends. We had big hopes that the Broncos would come out victorious and make us all proud. Well folks that hope died for me at the coin toss (negative I know) and continued on the downward spiral with the first play. I had to sit and watch while my team didn't even show up, it was EMBARRASSING!! At least I was surrounding with enter circle of Bronco love.

(Warning picture overload)

Decorations: We tried to be festive but not over board on the typical Super Bowl gear. We decorated mostly with the autograph items we have collected over the years.

Front foyer

Peyton Manning and John Fox

Photo Booth: I thought it would be fun to get a picture of each of our guest before the big game. Lots of fun props and impromptu shots.

{Brad and Alisha}

Don't know what is going on here

{Michelle and Alex}

{John and Maggie}

Tight squeeze but the helmet is on

{Warren (Dad) and Julie (Step-mom)}

{Chas and Afton}

The bump made an appearance

It was much easier to take such a butt kicking being around such great friends. Hopefully next year will end much different.

Weekend Recap

2014-02-23T22:34:00.000-07:00

Monday already... Bummer!! I am happy to say this is a very short week for me and then it is off to Vegas for a work conference and some fun with my favorite person. Brad is super excited to just get to chill while I work for two days and then we will have two days of fun together. This weekend was busy with preperation for leaving and a wonderful thing called 5280 Restaurant week.

This years restaurant week is now split between one full week in February and one in August, this is nice as you can try different places at different times of the year. Our pick this time was Shanahan's Steakhouse. Owned by former Bronco's coach Mike Shanahan. We naturally went with our dinner favorites John and Maggie. Last year we went to Elway's (John Elway's Restaurant) so there was HIGH expectations.

The restaurant was very classy with elagent lighting and wine/wine glasses galore. They used the glasses as their decorating method which was very neat. We started out with some amazing cocktails (Bubbly Pear Martini), Oysters on the half shell, Parmasian fries (to die for), house salad and the best home made bread with butter.

Dinner was the absolute best steak meal I have had. It was a petite fillet served with garlic mashed potatoes, sauteed mushrooms and balsamic drizzled asparigus. The whole meal literaly melted in your mouth.

John and Maggie


Bon Appetit

Last but certainaly not least was an espresso mousse with raspberry sauce in a decrotive eddible chocolate bowl. EXCELLENT!!

Not only was the food devine but it was awesome to see local celebraties as well. Pat Bowen the owner of the Denver Bronco's walked by, we just missed Erik Decker of the Denver Broncos and we saw the former Govener Bill Owens. It was fun to watch to see who would walk by next.

After dinner we were told we could get our pictures taken with the replica Lombardi trophy made by Tiffany's. We chose to hold the 1998 trophy which was the last game John Elway played in. The trophy weighed about 40 lbs!! They also displayed the Super Bowl rings.

We left feeling like the rich and famous albeit full and then hit the road home to reality!!!

Sunday we ran lots of errands and took it easy.

Glad to have a short week and then off to Vegas!!

Linking up today with the lovely ladies behind Dateless in Dallas and Showered with Design.

Favorite Things {February 2014}

2014-02-18T22:52:00.003-07:00

Geez Louise my weeks have been so busy. It seems like I was just writing my January Favorite Things. This by far is one of the favorite link ups as I love seeing all the fun items that others have on their list. I may be a little late in the post but still wanted to share my February list. In case you missed my January list please click {Here} or the December list please click {Here}. Thank you to to the loverly hosts Erika and Andrea for such a great link up.

{One} Tide Pods:
This has been a new discovery that I LOVE!! I hate nothing more then a sticky laundry area with residue all over the washing machine and drips on the floor. The nifty little pod is a dream for all type A personalities. You take one pod (much like a dishwasher pod) and place in the detergent area of your washing machine. It's that simple... not much else to say but A-M-A-Z-I-N-G and no sticky yucky blue residue in your laundry room.

{Two} Bath and Body Soaps:
I know these lovelies have been mentioned by many people before but I am having so much fun with all the fun scents I had to mention. I have different scents by each sink and come up with excuses to wash my hands to smell all the loveliness of each soap. I am particularly loving the food scents (even through sometimes they make me hungry) but in particular the Gingerbread. You can always get such great deals at Bath and Body and the soaps also make great gifts.

Yes please to all these scents!!

{Three} Birch Box:
I have now had my Birch Box Membership for 1 year and am still happy with each of the monthly boxes. Some months are better then others but over all I have received lots of great samples of products I would not have normally tried. The subscription also makes a fabulous gift! I have been thinking of trying another monthly subscription, any ideas?

{Four} Apple Cider:
This one seems silly but I have been loving taking a pack of the cider to work each day and preparing a glass in the morning or afternoon when I need a pick me up. I ~~OD'd~~ may have had too many Starbuck holiday drinks in the months of November, December and January (couldn't quite let the obsession go) so February has been about trying new things. Apple cider defiantly hits the spot!!

{Five} Paper Mate InkJoy Pins {Here}:
Ya'll I have 15 plus pins that I write with on a daily bases and different colors for different things. You should see my desk with my stash of pens. These pins are my favorite for writing in my planner, calendar, list making and check writing (glamorous right?). You can pick them up at Target the grocery store and even Walgreens. Coming from a picky pin girl they get a solid A.

There you have it my February Favorite List. Looking forward to everyone else's favorites. Thanks for stopping by.

Arkansas

2014-02-12T22:30:00.003-07:00

Continuing on with my little series of Fifty-Nifty United States. We have already explored Alabama and Arizona.

Arkansas is one of the states that Brad and I have explored more then once together on different trips. It was a state that we even considered moving to at one time. All the different city's that we visited were great, cute towns with so much character. The scenery was beautiful, BBQ food out of this word and a nice group of people that love their Razorbacks and yell "SOUIE"!!

Our first glimpse of this lovely state was when we headed from Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale, MO owned by Bass Pro Shops (If you haven't been, GO!! I will do a whole post on the fabulousness of this place when I get to Missouri) down to Dogwood Canyon for a nature day. While in Dogwood Canyon you can rent bikes and go on a path that goes across the Missouri/Arkansas line. The Ozark's are by far one of Brad and I's favorite places, the rolling hills and hillbilly atmosphere are one of a kind.

Hello Arkansas

Gorgeous Dogwood Canyon

We stopped by a cave called Mystic Caverns and got to explore one of the best caves we have seen to date. They filled one of the Imax films here as it has a lake inside that they have determined is bottomless. The divers for the filming actually stopped exploring the area as the lake was so deep they couldn't keep keep going for safety purposes. Our guide talked about putting fish in the lake which would always disappear in the current. They bodies would never float to the surface. (I just LOVE caves and all the mysteries!) The cave was for sale and I kid you not Brad and I tried to come up with how we could afford a $600K cave and if we could run a business there. The cave sold and my dreams shattered! (Kidding aside we really tried to make this work).

We wanted to explore more of Arkansas and decided to visit Fayetteville, home of the beloved SEC Razorbacks. We flew out for a long extended weekend and explored the whole Fayetteville area. This is the cutest town with a town square surrounded by the most charming shops and restaurants. We went right after Thanksgiving and they had the whole square decorated for Christmas including an ice rink and horse carriage rides, it was like a scene out of a movie. We were sad that the Razorbacks were out of town that weekend, we would have loved to see the Pig call and all their loyal fans. However we did stock up on lots of Pig gear!!

I was trying to snarl here with my hog friends

On a hike outside of Fayetteville (PS we look young and perm NEVER again)

Before leaving town we saw an episode of the Duggers where they went to Crater of Diamonds State Park and dug for diamonds. We knew we had to give our luck a try and dig for the big rocks!! It was a very neat, unique State Park. You paid for time in the diamond fields, picked up a shovel, screen and bucket and could dig to your hearts desire. We stayed and dug for about 3 hours, no luck digging for diamonds but it sure was fun to say "we dug for diamonds". They displayed some of the specimens that had been dug up and the dollar value. It really was a fun half day trip.

photo source

Lots of dirt for digging, photo source

We decided to head back another 4 months later (March) and check out the town of Hot Springs and get some fishing in as well. We fished with a guide out of Lake Ouachita. (Side note: I won't get into our flight nightmare getting there including a LONG drive on the UPS super highway in the middle of the night or the gang bangers (kid you not) with guns in Memphis at a gas station, the 2 hours of sleep at a motel and then our fishing guide that kept peeing off the side of the boat!! It was truly a trip to remember on so many levels, I regress.) The lake was very pretty and we did get in some great bass fishing.

Early Morning start

Good Fishing

We explored the town of Hot Springs visiting the Bath Houses, shopping and going to the botanical gardens. It was a very short trip but were were able to see quite a lot.

National Park Bathhouse, Brad was creeped out by the whole idea of some one "bathing" you

Lots of really pretty flowers and trees

I encourage all of you to take a visit to the "Natural State". There are so many fun things to see and do. The food is great and the people are so nice. Defiantly one of Brad and I's top ten states.

Five on Friday

2014-02-06T23:47:00.001-07:00

It has been one of those weeks. It started with the Bronco's not even showing up to the Super Bowl, that got me in the funk and it just has continued on from there. The good news is due to being such a blah week at least work was SUPER busy and made the week go by quicker. Now if we can get out of this frozen Colorado tundra hopefully next week will be better!! (Like losing the Super Bowl wasn't bad enough... we have had to deal with subzero temperatures all week). Here is my Five on Friday...

{ONE}
Lucy: I just can't get enough of this cute fur ball. She was all decked out for all of her guests on Sunday and even had football beads to show her football pride. She makes me laugh daily with her crazy, ~~annoying~~ sweet personality.

{TWO}
Reign: I may or ~~may not~~ be totally OBSESSED with this TV show on CW. I love that it takes place in the Renaissance period and is totally different then any other show. Of course there is a love triangle with a "queen" in the middle. I am 100% behind team Bash and love Mary and him together, such great chemistry. Now if you ask Brad what he thinks about the show he will just roll his eyes as he thinks it is so ridiculous how much I obsess over the characters and story line. This is a must see, check it out on Netflex or online as it will not disappoint!!

{THREE}
Olympics: I can never decide if I like the summer or winter games better. I think it is whatever one is one at the time!! I am so excited to snuggle up each night and watch the games unfold. I especially love watching the ice skating, skiing and snow boarding. I am always in awe of the athletes and routing on the red, white and blue.

Nothing say Olympics quite like GOOGLE

{FOUR}
I am so looking forward to a very low key weekend. I have lots of vacation planning for two upcoming trips and Pinterest boards with Birthday gifts to get to. It is so nice to not have anything to worry about, just RELAX.

{FIVE}
Receiving a Liebster Award. A big thank you to Ashley over at The Grits Blog. I am so excited to answer her questions and pass the award to other bloggers just like me. I enjoy Ashley's blog so much, she always writes about so many great topics of interest and "keeps it real". She hosts a great "Little Friday Link Up" each week with lots of lovely gals blogs to read. Thank you ASHLEY!!

As always I am linking up with all of these fabulous ladies...
April, Christina, Natasha and Darci for Five on Friday , The Grits Blog for Little Friday Link Up, Lauren Elizabeth, Life Rearranged, and The Diary of a Real House Wife.

Five on Friday {Bronco's Addition}

2014-01-30T22:48:00.001-07:00

Favorite Bronco's Picture EVER

I thought this week it may be fun to take a trip down memory lane to my 5 favorite (recent) Bronco's memories. While I remember the 1997 and 1998 Super Bowl wins with John Elway it seems so long ago. When they show the footage now it definitely screams "90's" and "This one's for John" (Maybe you will only get that one if you live in Denver). If I only had a crystal ball at the beginning of the season to realize what a great year this would be! With out further adu in no particular order I present to you my favorite five Bronco's moments...

{One}
2011 Season: What a crazy season to be a Bronco's fan. It started out with splitting season tickets with a co-worker. I thought I got the short end of the stick with the tickets we got including Jets and Chicago. We were going into the season with a quarterback battle between Orton and Tebow and a new coach after Josh McDanials got fired. The season was C-R-A-Z-Y and when Tebow came in you could not predict what was going to happen. The two most exciting games of the year we were lucky enough to attend. I was pulling my hair out, under my seat, covering my eyes crazy while we kept watching Tebow and the Bronco's pull out a win with seconds on the clock. Every game was truly a nail bitter (good thing they sell Orange Crush vodka drinks at the game, only way I got through)!
Tebow really brought a fire to the Denver fans that continued on twofold with the Manning era. (Check out two of my old posts {HERE} and {HERE})

GB2 (God Bless and GO BRONCOS)

Club Level oh so nice!!

Nothing like being photo bombed by the statue

{Two}
2006 Divisional Play off game: Way back in January of 2006 right after my graduation from college we were offered play off tickets in the South Stands. People this is where the action happens, this is where the true, INSANE Bronco's fans come together and go crazy. Toward the end of the game as the Bronco's were behind Brad looked at me and said, "Your guy Champ Bailey is horrible today why can't he make a play?" I kid you not 5 seconds (yes 5) later Champ intercepted Tom Brady in the end zone right in front of us and runs the play back 100 yards for a touch down. Ya'll I about lost by mind with the crazy screams. Brad still will never live that statement down (Don't talk about Champ that way EVER)!

Gotta Love him

{Three}
This season: BY FAR THE MOST FUN I HAVE EXPERIENCED AS A BRONCOS FAN. Peyton Manning is absolutely A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. This years Bronco's posts {Here}, and {Here}.

Gotta Love the Rocky Mountains and Denver

{Four}
Training Camp/Scrimmages: I don't know about other football teams but the Bronco's put on an amazing free training camp and team scrimmage. The Training camp takes place for about 3 weeks in the late summer and is open most days to the public for free. The Scrimmage is where all the magic happens, this is Brad's "favorite day of the year". Brad lines up about 10 hours before the gates open, waits all day, turns into a cra-cra when the gates opens and scores us all the best autographing seats in the house. We have done this for 2 years in a row and both years received premium autographs from Peyton Manning, Champ Bailey, Erik Decker, DT and so many more. Summer would just not be the same with out the Training camp experience.

Dove Valley Training Camp

Good ol' Orton vs. Tebow

College Helmet

All the great's including Brad's unicorn Champ

{Five}
Saints Game 2011: This was a prime time Sunday night game that brought with it all the TV big shots. We got awesome seats about 5 rows from the field and had an excellent view of all the action. The Bronco's pulled out a big win and it was so fun to be there after the game to watch the live TV feed. The game was in October and part of the NFL Breast Cancer Awareness month. We were all decked out with pink pom-pom's and glasses. The weather was great and the whole experience was awesome.

Pre-Game

View from our seats

Victory

Bob Costas

If it hasn't become apparent I too like Brad am a total F-A-N-A-T-I-C and bleed orange and blue.

GO BRONCO'S, TIME TO RIDE!!!

Linking up with all these lovely ladies for their fabulous Friday link ups.
April, Christina, Natasha and Darci for Five on Friday , Lauren Elizabeth, Life Rearranged, The Diary of a Real House Wife , The Grits Blog, and Ten Feet of Beale with their Friday link ups.

Arizona

2014-01-30T07:20:00.000-07:00

Continuing on with the wonderful Fifty-Nifty United States series {Here}. Up next is the warm, desert of Arizona. Brad and I traveled to Arizona back in the winter of 2011 when I surprised him with an after Christmas trip. It was a great time to get away from the Colorado winter and enjoy some warm weather. We visited both Tuson and Pheonix. You can see the full version of this trip recap {Here}.

Lots of fun and sun

We stayed in Tucson but enjoyed a day trip to Phoenix. The weather was absolutely beautiful, it was only a little chilly in the morning otherwise it was a nice 70 degrees with no clouds or wind. We stayed at the wonderful Hacienda Del Sol hotel. You can get amazing winter rates and our package even included free Breakfast at their restaurant. We really took it easy this trip with no real itinerary (so not me!) relaxed and did what ever, when ever. I did have a couple must do's on the list but other wise we would plan the night before for the next days activities.

View from the hot tub and Restaurant at the resort

Roadrunner

DAY 1: Our first desert stop was Colossal Cave. It was a pretty neat tour except for most of the cave formation's were dead due to the cave being so dry and people not taking care of it. I am a cave connoisseur of sorts so on my cave list it was just ok, It would have been really neat if the formations hadn't been ruined. But it was still exploring a new cave in a different area and both Brad and I really enjoyed it. There was great views of the desert from the cave entrance and we saw 3 road runners on the drive.

At the top of the canyon before the cave Tour

Inside the Cave

After the cave tour we headed over to Sabino Canyon to take the tram to the top of the Canyon and enjoy some desert hiking. It was a beautiful area where we saw lots of wildlife and enjoyed the views of the canyon. The sun bursts were awesome as the sun was going down, we got some great photos.

View at looking west into the Canyon

Canyon Waterfall

Sun setting behind us

The colors with the sun set were so vibrant

Saguaro cactus, blooms in the spring with the Arizona state flower

DAY 2: We shopped around town some and picked up some small gifts and an ornament to add to our collection (we always get an ornament from every place that we travel to, this way it always brings memories back when we hang it on our Christmas tree each year). We visited Biosphere 2 and did the tour of the building. It was very interesting with lots of scientific data collection. In the early 90's a group of people were shut inside for 2 years to see if they could live off the sphere, they made it but it was a long, hard road. It was a very interesting tour to see the self sustainability factor and how they made life work inside.

Getting ready to go on the tour

Biosphere 2 in the middle of the desert

DAY 3: Road trip to Pheonox with many stops along the way. Brad's dad and step mom Julie sponsor a pot belly pig named Mel. Ironwood Pig Sanctuary is a place were all unwanted/abandoned potbelly's can go to live out the rest of their pig life. Most of the pigs live to be 17 plus years old. The owner Mary does an amazing job with all of the pigs, Brad and I were so impressed with the facilities and how happy all the pigs were. She has rescued over 600 pigs that are at the sanctuary. The pigs have tons of land to roam around with many volunteers that take amazing care of them. We had to stop and see our "brother" and his family.

(Side Note: If you are looking to give money to an animal rescue that does an amazing job please click on the link above and sponsor a pig in need, get on their mailing list or email me for more details.)

Mel was such a "ham" in all of his photos

Their faces just crack me up

Twinkie (One of Mel's GF)

After spending all morning with the Pigs we headed to the Ostrich farm to go on the big wheel truck tour. While waiting for the big wheel we were able to feed lots of animals including Donkeys, White tail deer, goats, ostrich and birds.

Nice Donkeys, they were so gentile

Don't get too close Brad they will bite you!!

Feeding the Ostrich Grapefruits

White Tail Deer

After lots of stops we finally made it to Phoenix. Brad found out there was a Bass Pro there so of coarse had to check it out!! (I have only been to 20+ other stores around the US). For dinner we went to a Mexican Restaurant named Aunt Chiladas. It was some of the the best Mexican food I have ever had in any of our travels! I know my Mexican food as we have it EVERYWHERE and let me tell you this place trumped them all. I had the Pepper and Quaso which was a Pablano Pepper stuffed with chorizo and cream cheese and topped with a savory red pepper sauce, all I can say is DELISH!!

Brad in front of his "homeland"

DAY 4: We visited some small museums around town. We went to the Miniature Museum, postal and stamp museum (I want to volunteer there when I retire) and San Xavior Mission. The weather was great so we decided to go back to the hotel to get some pool time, hit up happy hour at the hotel restaurant which had amazing food and margaritas and then watch the sun set over the dessert mountains while in the hot tub.

Out side of the mission

Beautiful wood carving inside by the alter

We were in Arizona a total of 4 days and it was a great long weekend get away. There was quite a bit to do mixed between adventure and relaxation. Our next trip back will be to the Grand Canyon together. We both have been when we were kids but think it would make a great "family" trip one day. Arizona is a great place to visit I especially liked it in the winter as the temperatures are pleasant and sunsets over the desert amazing.

If you missed my Alabama re-cap please click {Here}.

Super Bowl Fashion

2014-01-28T22:18:00.001-07:00

Super Bowl by asill1 featuring J Brand

Here is my attempt at a collage for what I will be wearing for the big day. I must make sure that I look fashionable for the big day along with the pups. We all will be rocking our Bronco's gear and cheering on our favorite team. Brad is another case altogether... if you look at his side of the closet right now it is all ORANGE AND BLUE. He is O-B-S-E-S-S-E-D with Bronco's gear and seems to pick up something new each day. His biggest issue is going to be what to wear on the big day that will have the most luck. So many choices... he better not choose wrong!! Also we have been sporting this little cutie on our mantle since Christmas, he can't move as I am convinced he is the reason the Bronco's are in the Super Bowl.

What will you wear for the big day, do you go for fashion or comfort? Are you crazy and dress your dogs like me? (My husband is reading this glad I am asking so many questions to others not him!) One thing is for sure, the Sill's bleed Orange and Blue and the Super Bowl will be our sport fashion day to shine!!!

Weekend Recap

2014-01-27T00:18:00.000-07:00

Well it's Monday... the weekend went by way too fast and there is yucky slick snow on the ground. Some how my winter wonderland from last week just turned into a cold icy mess!!

This weekend consisted of many firsts that were interesting to say the least. We were responsible for watching our friend Maggie's cat Max all weekend. For those of you that don't know me I am not really a "cat person" and usually am very allergic to them. I was a little apprehensive of taking care of the "gato" (I don't know why we call him this but I guess I am following suit) and all of his little needs. I must report things went very well and I even now have a new friend. For some reason he really liked me and wanted to be all over me.. WHAT!!! He was cute though and luckily my allergies weren't too bad around him. I must admit I had a little two much fun watching this fellow as his personality cracked me up. I even found myself at Target while buying the dogs treats peaking in the cat row to see if they had a fun toy for Max. I would say it was a full success and we would love to watch him again.

Night 1: Max getting brushed

New reading friend

Next up of firsts was meeting our friends Alex and Michelle at their newly joined shooting club and shooting a gun for the first time. To say I was nervous was an understatement. We had to go through a brief safety class, pick our targets and load up on our ammo. Brad used to go hunting when he was younger so he was more comfortable with a riffle and had shot guns before. Little 'ol innocent me was SCARED. We geared up with our eye ware and ear muffs and headed into the lanes. Michelle did an excellent job showing me each step and having me watch her first. Then it was my turn, I swallowed hard.. and put my big girl panties on and shot the pink gun (fashion first) that was given to me. And you know what it was F-U-N and I actually had a good shot. After a while I gave some of the bigger guns a try and felt more and more comfortable. While this is not something I would do every day I was fun to blow of some steam and go 'shot in.
(Side Note: This was the safest way to try shooting in a professional manner. I know guns can be a rough subject for many but personally I believe in our constitutional right to bare arms. This is my opinion and I respect others may have different opinions. I am merely sharing my experience.)

Notice the pink

No caption necessary

Sunday I had my monthly appointment and Spavia and enjoyed a wonderful massage. This place is the best and they are so reasonable priced. It is so nice to have one hour just to relax!! After lots of errands I got settled in to watch the Bachelor Sean and Catherine's wedding. I don't know about the rest of you but the first hour plus made me blush (a lot) even Brad commented on feeling uncomfortable about the subject manner. While I am no prude I thought it was inappropriate to continue to talk about their wedding night over and over and over, I think that should be private. Just my opinion, I personally would not go there on national TV with my family watching. O'well to each their own and they truly looked happy so I am happy for them as well.

All in all it was a great weekend to kick off a BRONCO'S SUPER BOWL week.

Lovin my Bronco's in their suits

Linking up today with the lovely ladies behind Dateless in Dallas and Showered with Design.

Five on Friday

2014-01-24T00:05:00.002-07:00

Happy Friday!! From Colorado it is a white winter wonderland. As always I am linking up with all these lovely ladies for their fabulous Friday link ups.
April, Christina, Natasha and Darci for Five on Friday , Lauren Elizabeth, Life Rearranged, The Diary of a Real House Wife , and The Grits Blog, with their Friday link ups.

{One}
Frankie's Birthday: My little baby Wienerschnitzel is turning 12 (85 in dog years)!! How did this happen my baby is now a grouchy old man. I wouldn't trade him for anything in the world as he truly is my best little buddy. Brad and I are so glad we were able to rescue him as a puppy and give him the life of a king that he deserved. While he has many "interesting" character qualities he makes us laugh each day. Here's to another great year with my "best boy" Frankie!!

{Two}
Fifty-Nifty United States: I am so excited to have gotten this series started {Here}. To say I love traveling and the United States is an under statement. I decided to kick off a series about each of the states and the travels that we have had. Check out my first post on sweet home Alabama {Here}.

{Three}
Winter wonderland: Here in Colorado we have been having very warm winter temperatures in the 50's. Thursday it snowed over night and we got to wake up to a snowy Flatiron winter wonderland. Too bad it is already melting as it looks oh so pretty!!

Credit: Henry Huettel Photography

{Four}
100th Post: Yesterday's post on Alabama {Here} was my 100th post!!! It is fun to look back and see our journeys and travels and I can't wait to look ahead 100 more posts to see what they will bring in our lives.

{Five}
Decorating Facelift: As I have mentioned we are in the midst of a little re-decorating in our Living Room/Eat in Kitchen area. We are going with a ... Unites States theme (shocker) and was able to hang our new art work from Pottery Barn {Here} and showcase a new star piece of art from Pottery Barn as well {Here}. Things are coming together great and I can't wait to show before and after photos soon.

Have a great weekend!!!

Alabama

2014-01-23T19:49:00.003-07:00

Oh Sweet Home Alabama with your cute southern twang and gorgeous white beaches. Brad and I made the trip here in Fall of 2012 and tagged it on to his 30th Birthday extravaganza in New Orleans (We visited Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee). For those of you that don't know Brad is a HUGE bass fisherman and a lot of our trips revolve around bass lakes especially in the south. The main reason for going to Alabama was a #1 bass fishing lake called Guntersville.

Quick picture as we drove by

First we decided to stay in the Gulf Shores/Orange beach to soak in some rays and enjoy the beach. I must admit that almost every blog that I follow had featured some post about the Gulf Shores and the pure beauty of Alabama. There was a lot of hype for this Colorado girl and let me tell you these beaches were G-O-R-G-O-U-S!! First lets start with the pure as white sand that almost looked like snow, then the gorgeous water against the beautiful sky. These beaches were amazing to walk miles on and take in the beauty. Being that we were there in September the crowds were small and we were able have more of a private beach experience and not have to fight the crowds at the restaurants. One of our favorite eateries were Louisiana Lagniappe the seafood was excellent and the view of the water was breath taking. Brad and I both agree that the Alabama beaches are a must see for anyone, by far one of the best.

After our beach bliss we heading across the majority of the state to good ol' Guntersville. This is where Chris Lane (one of the professional bass fisherman) lives and fishes out of Lake Guntersville. The lake itself was one of the best fisheries that we have experienced, gorgeous scenery and big bass. We guided out with one of Chris's friends and got to fish a large portion of the lake. The unique thing about the lake is the LARGE lily pads and the year round frog fishing. This by far is Brad's favorite and most unique technique. Due to a cold front we didn't have the best of fishing days but we enjoyed the lake and the beautiful scenery. Guntersville was very cute but VERY small with out the lake there really isn't much to do.

First thing in the morning with the fog

Look at those Lily Pads!

We then continued onward with our road trip into Tennessee. Before crossing state lines we made a quick stop in Huntsville to visit Brad's Uncle Scott and Family. It was great to visit and get to see the cute town of Huntsville.

On another note I had been crushing over Alabama ever since the first Episode of Hart of Dixie, one of my all time favorite shows. It takes place in a town called Bluebell. Much to my dismay this is a made up town but it still reflects the true Heart of Dixie!!

Alabama is defiantly in Brad and I's top five states. We absolutely love the southern charm, white picturesque beaches, scenery and bass lakes. Next time we for sure need to hit up both Auburn and Tuscaloosa.

Fifty-Nifty United States

2014-01-22T19:42:00.001-07:00

Y'all I am SO excited to get this series started. As you are aware from {THIS} post I have a BIG effinity for the US of A and can't get my self enough of our lovely states. Lets go back in time... at the young age of 8 years old my third grade choir teacher Mrs. Jones decided to have a concert based around "Fifty-Nifty-United-States". Not only did we all get to sing/memorize the states in alphabetical order but we each got assigned one state that we got to shout out, mine was "Idaho". The song went something link this...

"Fifty Nifty United States from thirteen original colonies;
Fifty Nifty stars in the flag that billows so beautifully in the breeze.
Each individual state contributes a quality that is great.
Each individual state deserves a bow, We salute them now.

Fifty Nifty United States from thirteen original colonies,
Shout 'em, scout 'em, Tell all about 'em,
One by one, til we've given a day to every state in the good ol'(old) USA"

(Proceeded by each of the states in alphabetical order)

(Side Note: Is it sad that I can still recount this song by memory?)

Continuing on with my ~~obsession~~ hobby I wrote a report about Idaho in 4th grade and decided that summer to call/contact (no WWW then) each state to get their state travel guide book. Most of the states thought is was so neat what I was doing that I received tee-shirts, pins, postcards and many other fun souvenirs. My favorite by far was the package I received from Idaho with a personal letter from the Governor and lots of neat shaped potato items!! Each day I would run to the mail box to see what state I got for the day. (In case you wondered I had each of the packages in alphabetical order in a crate, would you expect different?)

Fast Forward (10+ years).....

Brad and I knew from the day that we got married we would travel often and try to see everywhere. We decided to make it a goal to visit each of the 50 states together and see what the good ol' US of A has to offer. This has been a journey not only of adventure but a deeper love for the travels that we have shared. There have been time where I wasn't 100% excited about a state we were visiting (Kansas, sorry readers if you live there) but now I see each state has a permanent memory an time associated with it. While we still have not traveled to all of the 50 States including the "biggies" Alaska and Hawaii we are getting pretty darn close and have many more travel plans in our future.

This series will also be a great way for me to talk about each state and our love of travel as well as show off all of our wonderful pictures of each lovely state.

I hope you enjoy the series as much as I know I will enjoy writing.

SUPER BOWL

2014-01-20T00:36:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it the Bronco's are going to the Super Bowl. This has been 15 years in the making and I am so happy we are going with #18 in the drivers seat. Today was an A-M-A-Z-I-N-G win that was well deserved. Nothing makes this girl more happy then seeing her Orange and Blue in NYC. GO BRONCOS!!!

This one has to make the Sports Illustrated cover!

My three heros

Just for fun

All the way to the Super Bowl

Five on Friday

2014-01-17T00:03:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday!! I am so glad to see the weekend in sight, it has been a busy week!! As always I am linking up with all these lovely ladies for their fabulous Friday link ups.
April, Christina, Natasha and Darci for Five on Friday , Lauren Elizabeth, Life Rearranged, The Diary of a Real House Wife , The Grits Blog, and Heavens to Betsy with their Friday link ups.

{One}
Bronco Pride: As I have mentioned Brad and I are HUGE Bronco's fans. Being the native Coloradoan's we are, this Bronco run is making us so excited. Y'all the last time the Broncos were close to going to the Super Bowl I was 14!! The only thing in the way to NYC is "Uggs". I really don't like him and he better not ruin our Super Bowl chances. It is Peyton's time to "ride" and Uggs better steer clear. Today I will be "United in Orange" and ~~nervously~~ anxiously awaiting the game on Sunday. LETS GO BRONCOS!!!

{Two}
Jeans {Here}: I have been eying these jeans since Sheaffer at Pinterest Told Me To told me I "needed" these. Once she added it to her "must have list" it was a done deal and I bought. I am one of those gals that hates jeans and even more hates jean shopping. After months of debating if I should try them out they went on sale and I finally decided to pull the trigger. I am so glad I did as they fit me perfect and look soooo cute on my body type and bootie. They are very versatile and can be worn with many different boots or shoes. The color and distressed look is very cute and makes any outfit pop. Go ahead check them out and get yourself a pair, you wont regret it.

{Three}
Gnomeo: One of my co-workers got me the absolute cutest gnome for Christmas. In my ~~older~~ wiser days I have developed an affinity for gnomes. I have a Travelosity gnome who we shall call Gnomeo 1 and another garden gnome. Brad got a Bronco Gnome for Christmas and then Gnomeo #2 made his appearance as well (Don't judge for me calling them Gnomeo) (P.S. If you haven't seen Gnomeo and Juliette the movie it is a must see, the characters are so cute and I just got the biggest kick out of the story!!) Anyways Gnomeo #2 is an inside Gnome since he has glitter on him and he is just too cute to be outside. He is perched on a tree cookie with moss rocks around him, when ever I walk by I just smile.

I just love his little face

{Four}
Nashville and other shows: I hate to admit this next fact but I love TV. It really is my one guilty pleasure, that being said I am not a total couch potato!! I am so happy that all the winter hiatuses are over and all the shows are back on. Nashville is my favorite and after the cliff hanger I was glad it was back on this week. There are two shows that I feel like I could be a character in.. Nashville (I just love country music but can't sing with a darn) and Hart of Dixie (My love of all things southern). When these two shows are on I am in my happy place. Other shows that I (sometimes) Brad enjoy are Chicago Fire, The Black List, Arrow, The Tomorrow People, Carrie Dairy's, Revenge, Reign (Brad hates this) and more. I am happy to say though that we do not watch Reality TV. I felt like my brain was being fried and had to cut it cold Turkey. What are your favorite shows?

{Five}
Friday!! This week has been so busy at work. every night I come home and just feel like crashing from running around all day. I am so happy it is the weekend!!! Yeah for Friday!!

Favorite Things {January 2014}

2014-01-15T21:09:00.001-07:00

Hello lovelies and thank you for stopping buy to see my January list of Favorite Things. In case you missed my December list please click {Here}. This is one of my favorite link ups and I am excited to be participating for the second month in a row. Thank you to Erika and Andrea for coming up with such a fun idea. I know the "rules" are that the items should be under $10 but that can be hard so some of these items are close but "pas aller" (no go) in the price department.

{One} Phone case cover {HERE}
Unfortunately it looks like Cost Plus World Market does not have my exact phone case online but the link above is other phone case choices. I have been ~~looking~~ obsessing over finding a new cute phone cover. It seems that all the ones I like are "cheaply" made but expensive in cost. I have scoured Etsy, ebay, Shildmans and many other stores and just could not find exactly what I wanted. Being the lucky girl I am my mom knew exactly the right case for me. I was so excited when I got the case for Christmas. Of coarse the case is purple and I couldn't love it more. I am seriously considering buying another one as a back up (am I crazy?).
Price: $9.99

{Two} Nalgene Bottle {Here}
In my neck of the woods (Boulder, CO) you are looked at weird if you don't have a water bottle in tow at ALL times. I mean for gosh sake they charge you a .10 cent tax for grocery bags at the store I am sure they will start charging for water glasses soon (I degrees). The Nalgene bottle in my opinion is the best, it cleans well, is BPA free, extremely durable, and comes in lots of fun colors. Mine of coarse is purple and hubby has one that is Bronco orange. I also love the fact that these babies are made in USA.
Price: $9.00

{Three} Simple Sugars {Here}
This is a body sugar scrub that come in delicious flavors and scents. I saw it features on the show Shark Tank and knew I wanted to try it out. Brad got me the holiday gift set featuring Candy Cane (my favorite), Gingerbread and Sugar and Spice. I put one spoon full of the scrub on a body luffa and use it everyday in the shower. I have very sensitive skin and this scrub is doing it wonders. It makes me so soft and smell SOO good. The product is all natural, made with emu oil and made in the USA by a sweet college student. Do your self and buy your self a tub or by it as a gift it will be a hit!!
Price: $11.95 (5oz individual size)

Holiday gift set,the packaging is so cute!!

Christmas (some of the oil had leaked out a bit, key the stain on the box)

{Four} Body Butter from Bath and Body {Here}
There are so many great things that you can get at Bath and Body. Right now they are having their huge sale as well so lots of items are SUPER cheap. On my last visit I picked up the Warm Vanilla Sugar Body Butter. I love that it literally goes on your skin like butter and smells oh so good with a warm feeling. I don't know if you can still get the same scent but it looks like their are others to choose from. Once again this would make a great gift.
Cost: $10.00

{Five} Almay Eye makeup wipes {Here}
Several months I had read about these eye wipes in multiple magazines so decided to give them a try. You can pick them up in most stores like Target or Ulta. They are round pre-soaked pads that remove your eye makeup. They help with soothe and reduce the puffiness in your eyes. They work great and I have seen a difference in my skin around my eyes since I starting using them. There are several other Almay products for eyes as well if you need something a little different.
Price: $4.99

{Six} Luna Bars {Here}
Once again living near Boulder, CO means you better be eating healthy. There are TONS of different "bar" choices when you go to the store but this is my personal favorite. They come in great flavors, go excellent with yogurt and don't have tons of calories. My personal favorite is the Chocolate Peppermint stick (I love anything peppermint) and I also like the Lemonzest and Peanut Honey Pretzel. I am sure you can get them at all major supermarkets including Kingsoopers, Whole Foods and Sprouts. They are always my go to breakfast and I keep spares in my purse, car and desk.
Price: $1.50

There you have it my list for the month. I can't wait to read about the other favorites as well.

This and That

2014-01-13T21:37:00.004-07:00

This weekend came and went way too fast. The biggest news of the weekend is...

THE BRONCO'S WON!!! Ya'll have no idea how much sleep and thought I put into the game and hoping my home team would pull out the big "W". As I have mentioned before Brad is not a fan but a fanatic. We usually have people over for the game but this weekend Brad decided he needed to watch "alone". He declared this last Monday night as he was pouting that he thought the Bronco's were never going to win the Super Bowl. Sometimes I tell you I don't know if I am dealing with a 31 year old or a 2 year old. After the big win in true Sill family fashion the in-house speakers got cranked up and all four of us danced to "All I do is Win". The dachshund's just love putting their ~~hands~~ paws up. Call me crazy but the Sill's are OBSESSED (there I admitted it) with our Denver Bronco's.
(Side note: Brad went to the stadium at 7am to get autographs before the game. Not only were other autographies asking him who each player was as they walked by, but he also was able to point out their wives, don't judge he is committed!!)

I have always been obsessed with calendars and planners. This weekend while we were shopping at the mall I picked up 3 calendars, seems like too many... Never... I was actually debating another.

Speaking of the mall I was so proud of my hubby for going with me on Saturday to shop and lasting almost 4 hours. He hung in there through Nordstoms, Gap, Ann Taylor Loft, Macy's, Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn and more. Even better yet he helped me start to pick out a baby gift for our soon to be niece or nephew.

Shopping at 8am ROCKS!! Believe me this will not be happening often but since Brad got up so early to get to the stadium for autographs I thought I might as well be productive at an early hour and get all my errands run. I literally was sitting in the parking lot at Lowes at 7:50 waiting for their doors to open. I was able to go to the grocrey store, Target, Costco, Ross and Marshalls all before 12noon. It was glorious, I will seriously do consider this more often.

For whose of you that know me personally I am OBSESSED with the United States. We have been anxiously awaiting this new piece of art work from Pottery Barn {HERE}.

Photo Credit: Pottery Barn

My love started at an early elementary school age when I thought it was fun to do reports on the states and decided one summer to call the travel bureau in each state to get their state guide. What can I say, I was a creative only child. Not only did I get each states travel guide but I got maps, letters from govenors and other state garb. It was one of the greatest summers of my childhood (don't worry I had friends!). The state that I was most obsessed with was Idaho. Later in life I found out Idaho has beautiful (Cour d'Alene) and not so beautiful places (Boise). This leads me to...

I am excited to announce that I will be starting a new blog series called "Fifty-Nifty United States" going through each state that I/we have visited alphabetically (any OCD person has this memorized) and cronicaling the places I/we have visited and pictures. I will be missing some states here and there that we haven't visited but hopefully will be able to eventually get to all of them. Please watch out in the next few days for my inspiration behind this series and a kick off with Alabama!!

Five on Friday

2014-01-10T07:07:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday!! This week seemed to be extra long given the fact there was no holiday days off and it was a packed full work week. I am happy to take it easy this weekend and enjoy time with by BFF husband. As always I am linking up with all these lovely ladies for their fabulous Friday link ups.
April, Christina, Natasha and Darci for Five on Friday , Lauren Elizabeth, Life Rearranged, The Diary of a Real House Wife , The Grits Blog, Style Elixir, and Kristina Does the Internets with their Friday link ups.

{One}
I am in love with my new Vera Bradley lunch box {Here} that Brad got me for Christmas. It is super cute, functional, and fashionable, what more could a girl ask for. I love all things Vera Bradley but the lunch box is at the top of my list of must have's. I have had lots of compliments on it and it just makes me happy each time a pack it. Also lets get real it is purple and for a self proclaimed purple lover my husband hit a homerun with this purchase.

Cute and functional

{Two}
Christmas movies on Lifetime and Hallmark!! It honestly has become an obsession and I am still watching them in January. They all are so sweet and just make you feel warm and fuzzy inside. I think I ended up recorded 20+ and unfortunately I only have 5 left. The only thing I would change about the movies is that they wouldn't wait tell the last 10 minutes to finish things instead they need to have the love and snow come a little sooner so I can swoon for even longer. I know the Christmas season is over but now the Valentines movies are starting which are just as good, check out Hallmark and be ready to feel warm and fuzzy for the rest of the night! {Here for a complete guide to movies}

{Three}
The fabulous Sherpani hipster bag {Here}. Sherpani is a company that I ~~starting liking~~ became addicted to due to Maggie my friends obsession. She has every possible bag they sell including all of the travel luggage. I envy her collection but I am now starting to get my own collection thanks to her. The company is out of Boulder, CO and goes for the out doorsy cute, feminine look. Check out their full website {Here}. The have great patterns, colors and the prices can't be beat for the quality. Thanks MB for making me share in your addiction.

{Four}
My fur baby dogs, Lucy and Frankie. These two make me look forward to going home each day, I can't resist their adorable faces. While the dachshund breed can be quite challenging ~~some~~ all the time they sure do make the best pets. Lucy is literally attached to me E-V-E-R-Y second that I am home either on my lap or under my feet. Frankie is a little more of an independent boy but still loves his mommy kisses. I can't imagine life with out these two that love me no matter what!

Lucy Sitting Pretty, probably begging for food

Frankie with his snuggle tooth (Poor guy lost some teeth in his last dental he had)

{Five}
Heathered Plush Robe {Here} that I received for Christmas. This baby is a must have, I have been wearing it nonstop, even now as I type. Not only do I wear it after the shower but I also throw it on over my PJ's when lounging around the house after work or on the weekends. It is my favorite not only because it is purple but because it is so darn soft and cozy. Buy one for your self, family and friends, you can't go wrong.

Exhibit A

Exhibit B: even Lucy was checking it out

Have a wonderful weekend y'all, thanks for reading.

2013 Year Rewind

2014-01-09T00:55:00.001-07:00

I thought it would be fun to recap our 2013 year in photos since I was not actively blogging at the time. It is always fun to go back and look at all the fun activities, vacations and times had over the previous year. Brad and I don't like odd numbers and are OCD about making sure everything is in even number format (volume on radio, thermostat temp, year of cars, house address, etc.) , I was nervous about the '13 but it turned out to be a great year. Maybe odd numbers aren't that bad after all!

{January}
As holds true every year there is not much that went on in January. We were shocked and depressed beyond belief when the Bronco's lost the first round of the playoffs and the rest of the month was pretty much a blur. On top of that it is too cold for Brad to fish so for him it was full on out "oh woo is me mood"!! We also used January as our "maintenance month" filled with Doctors Appointments, Dentist Appointments and Vet appointments, as you can tell the excitement level was at an all time ~~high~~ low!
(No pictures to post, just shows how boring our January was!)

{February}
We were able to get out and enjoy some things in Denver including Restaurant week at Elway's with John and Maggie. Brad made me a fabulous Valentines Day dinner, followed the next week with a traditional New Orleans style dinner to celebrate Fat Tuesday. Oysters and all it was one of my ABSOLUTE favorite meals of the year.

Wizard of Oz cake from Home and Garden Show contest

Colorado Pride on Larimer Square

Thank goodness for Fat Tuesday, wishing we were at Mardi Gras!

Valentines Day Dinner

{March}
Colorado March's are usually cold, I never know if I will be celebrating my birthday in nice weather or the freezing cold. Lucky this March wasn't to bad and we started the month off with our first fishing trip of the year at "a secret" pond near Boulder. I turned the BIG 3-0 (I don't want to talk about it) and celebrated for 4 straight days. We went to one of my favorite restaurants in Boulder, The Med with Brad's family. My co-workers got me a nice cake and treating me extra special. Brad, my mom and I went to Black Hawk to gamble for an over night trip and we finished off the the celebrations with our friends John and Maggie in Estes Park. Once we got to Estes in snowed about a foot, it was so pretty and relaxing. It was one of the best birthday's even though I faced officially being "over the hill".

First Bass of the season

Fabulous Sangria at the Med

Work Birthday Celebration

Blackhawk with my mom and Brad

Birthday Cabin in Estes

Favorite BBQ joint, Smokies. Keeping it real with Big Red, pure heaven

Winter Wonderland

Lilly Lake in the snow

{April}
First Rockies game of the season which meant it was COLD and rainy. We were also able to enjoy the one and only Denver Nuggets playoff win. Our pond un-thawed and we were able to start to enjoying the yard and wisteria. At the end of April we did have to say good bye to our beloved pug Belle. It was so hard to make the decision that it was time but her health was failing and she was starting to suffer. She is so missed and truly was one of our "babies".

First of many Games

One and done

RIP to the best pug any family could ever ask for

{May}
We started off May with LOTS of fishing. I caught my first Walleye and we were able to take the boat out several times. For Mothers day we took the mom's (Sue John's mom and my mom) to a Rockies game and enjoyed beautiful weather. May is definitely one of my favorite months as it brings on our Anniversary which means VACATION. This year was special as we celebrated 10 (1-0!) years of being married. After much deliberation we decided to go to the Dominican Republic followed by a few days in New York City. We stayed on a private island in DR in an all inclusive hotel, it was so very relaxing. Our biggest choice we had to make the whole week was beach or pool!! We went from pure quite bliss to the crazy but absolutely amazing NYC. We were only there for 3 days but were able to see and do a lot. The first night I just stood in Times Square with my mouth open in awe. We were able to go see Wicked and the 9/11 Memorial, it was such a great trip.

Smallest Walleye EVER

Mother's Day Rockies Game

Paradise

Looked like a scene from a book

Coming off the boat and seeing the hotel for the first time

Anniversary Sunset

Anniversary Dinner

Boat dock leading to our Hotel

Gorgeous scenery


Pure Paradise

We went from here to...

Here

Pizza, Pizza

Times Square

Central Park

FAO Schwartz

The Voice Chair

Outside Trump Tower

Favorite moment/memory in NYC

Statue of Liberty is in the back ground, closest we got due to storm Sandy

9/11 memorial, amazing tribute

Wall Street

{Wooza, May was packed full of fun!}

{June}
Consisted of baseball, a wedding and birthday celebrations. We got the best seats in Coors Field to celebrate John's 30th birthday, it was 100+ degrees but we still got our party on. Lots more fishing happened all over Colorado and my dear friend Michelle got married in my favorite town of Manitou Springs. The weather was amazing, we were able to enjoy our yard with lots of BBQ's and fun.

Our besties John and Maggie

Lucy enjoying staring at the fish

Back yard flowers

{July}
We celebrated a fun 4th of July (my favorite holiday) with two different firework displays. The first one at.. you guessed it... a Rockies game and Coors field. For the actual 4th of July we went with J&M to Blackhawk. They put on an amazing display that lasted for almost an hour. I just love watching the fireworks and hearing patriotic music, it takes me to my happiest of happy places!! We headed back to Manitou Springs / Colorado Springs to celebrate John's birthday with other friends. We were also able to enjoy some hiking.

So pretty

Pond flowers in full bloom

Brad feeding the giraffes and Chyanne Mountain Zoo

A great hike out of Colorado Springs

{August}
Brad's obsession for the Bronco's officially is in high gear with training camp starting. We headed down to Dove Valley to watch the Bronco's practice and get autographs. We were invited up to Central City to spend time with Brad's dads side of the family. We had a wonderful time visiting and even taking in a hike near his uncles awesome property. We finished the month off with the Bronco's scrimmage game at Mile High where we were drenched with rain. Scrimmaged still went on and autographs happened after, it was EPIC. Then we came home to (dun,dun, dun) "the micro burst".
(Side note: While we thought we were getting rained on hard at the Bronco's scrimmage a mini tornado called a micro burst hit the house, lots of damage in our neighborhood we were lucky)

Training Camp

Best seats for autographs, good thing Brad got there 8 hours before the gates opened!

Before the Rain (Great photo bomb in the back)

During the Rain

Autographed Peyton Manning Tennessee Mini helmet

Brad and his Dad

Brad's dad and his Aunt Susan and Uncle Web

Tree down from the micro burst

Leaves EVERYWHERE

{September}
Dealt with tons of yard cleanup due to all the damage and an insurance claim with lots of work. We got away for the weekend to Brad's families cabin in Fairplay, CO. We were able to enjoy Breckenridge and go for a long hike on the slopes. Colorado was hit with the some of the worst flooding on record and we were unable to work for a few days due to the flood danger (My work building abuts to the shore line of Boulder Creek). There was so much devastation to Boulder and Longmont is was scary and unbelievable. On a more positive note we ended the month with a wonderful trip to Santa Fe New Mexico. The food was fabulous and pretty much we walked the plaza and ate the whole time. Needless to say when we got back we had to get back into exercising!!

Pond after all the rain

Another Bass this time on a "Shell Cracker"

Boulder Creek right outside my work

Boulder Creek looking west, this usually is just a small stream

I was super freaked out about heading up Sandia Peak Tramway in Albuquerque

Tram itself, super high

At the top observatory

Wildflowers

Santa Fe Church


Delicious Christmas Style Enchiladas with sopapilla's

{October}
We went to lots of CU games with our good friends Chas and Afton. We have a tailgating pass and season tickets so most of our weekends were at Folsom Field celebrating the the buffs and routing Ralphy on her run. Ralphy is a real life buffalo that runs the field prior to the Colorado buffs taking on the field. The call her the "feirceest" mascot in college football. It makes me proud to be a CU alumn!! We also went on a massive hike to the Flatirons and enjoyed a Bronco game.

Go Buffs

Sunset over Folsom Field

Ralphy is my homegirl

Flatirons behind us

Made it to the base of Flatiron 2

Bronco's Game

{November}
Mostly consisted of Bronco's parties and friends. We celebrated Brad's 31st birthday in Black Hawk with friends and had a great time. Thanksgiving was a blast at Brad's dads house and we ate way too much turkey.

Eating at his favorite Restaurant the OG (Olive Garden)

Brad's Dad with the turkey

{December}
We did so many fun things leading up to Christmas including The Nutcracker Ballet, Cirque Dreams Holidaze, shopping and so much more. We celebrated Christmas in Estes Park and brought in the new year in our PJ's watching movies.

{Congratulations you made it through this insanely long post}

As I look back through the year I am so grateful. I am lucky to have such a great husband, family and friends!! I can't wait to see what 2014 will bring (hopefully a Denver Bronco Superbowl win)! Thank you all for reading my little online journal it means a lot.

Christmas Day at the Cabin

2014-01-07T00:16:00.001-07:00

Better late then never on getting our Christmas photos up! See our Estes Park Christmas adventure {HERE}. Christmas day was so fun waking up late, having an awesome breakfast and hanging out in our PJ's opening gifts. We took the day very easy and just enjoyed one anothers company. Before I go in to all the photos I want to say that we are SO thankful to have had such a wonderful Christmas, blessed to be able to purchase gifts and thankful for the gifts we received. I am one lucky girl to have such an awesome family!!

{Warning Picture over load, proceed with caution}

Tree with all the gifts

Close up with miniature ornaments

We start every year with the dogs and their gifts. Frankie being the ~~angel~~ loud mouth that he is needs to have a toy to "suckle" on to get him through the excitement. Lucy just is along for the ride and likes all the attention she gets as she is opening gifts.

As you can see Frankie's licker was out as he was getting anxious

This is the hurry up mom, lets get this party started lick

Opening of the new toy

Lucy wanted in on the action as well

Obsessing over something

Finally Settled

Frankie thinks that it is his Dachshund right to have multiple toys and gets jealous if he is not the center of attention. It made for some hilarious photos and good laughs.

Lucy can't master looking at the Camera

Getting excited about her gifts

Me and my baby "Lulu"

She LOVES her new toy

Jealousy and tug-of-war begins

Battle is still on

Lucy looking cute, duh!

Next was my mom's turn to open gifts. She adopted two Dachshund's right after Chrsitmas the adoption fee was our Christmas treat to her. She was sad that she was picking them up after the cabin trip but we all had a great time talking about them and guessing what type of personalities they would have and how cute they would be. We got her some other small gifts as well.

Opening up a gift for her new dogs Odie and Lily

This picture cracks me up, she was excited

Opening up new walking shoes

Lucy getting some love from Grandma

Brad can be a tough one for Christmas as his birthday is November 24th being so close to Christmas. Usually you can carrie on the same "theme" (oh he will hate that I said that word) for both occasions. His list of goodies included...

* A new wallet
* Ralph Laurin Polo sweater, he saw this on many Bronco's Players that he follows on Instagram and just HAD to have it. His obsession with the Bronco's get ~~a little~~ lot creepy sometimes.
* Subscription to Dollar Shave Club of the month (Awesome man gift and so cost reasonable)
* Bronco's beanie
* Bronco's work out shorts (my mom and I had to strip a manikin to get these, no joke!)
* Gentleman's Jack by good old Jack Daniel
* Tons of fishing lures, poppers, frogs, jigs, crank baits and soft plastics from Tackle Warehouse

AND... drum roll...
*A new iPhone 5

The bummer with the iPhone was that I could not actually buy him the new phone with out them deactivating his old phone. I had to make up a special certificate to show him what the gift was. He was super surprised and the Apple Store was our first stop when we got back into town. He is in LOVE with his new finger print (really?) iPhone 5.

New Wallet

Shave of the month club

Bronco's Stuff

New Hat

New work out shorts (Can you not tell what he loves in life..? Bronco's and fishing

Fishing stuff, he was thrilled!

My mom hit a home run with all the fishing stuff

I was very fortunate in the gift department this year as well. My mom and Brad did a great job at looking at my Pinterest Board {Here} to see my list. Brad did so good with Nordstrom's and my mom actually stepped out of her comfort zone and online shopped. My list of goodies included...

* Opi Nail Polish Holiday Set (AWESOME!)
* Spyder Snow Gloves in my signature color of purple
* Red Book Subscription and EOS lip balm (from These are a Few of My Favorite Things blog post)
* iPhone Case
* Vera Bradley Lunch box {Here}
* Camera book for my new Canon Rebel T3i (Early Christmas gift, love the quality of the photos it is
taking, makes such a difference)
* TONS of scarfs (I think Brad bought out Nordstrom's)
* New purple robe (can you not guess my favorite color) from Nordstrom's, SIMPLY amazing
* Shirt to go with leggings {Here}
* Simple Sugar Body Scrubs {Here}
* New Denver's Broncos Shirt
AND...
* Hunter Wellies and socks {Here} and {Here}, I have been wanting these babies F-O-R-E-V-E-R. I love them and have been practically sleeping in the boots and the socks. (for some reason I don't have a picture of me wearing them, I will get one soon)

Awesome Gloves

Fabulous

New Lunch box

Scarf Obsession for the softness

This will come to good use

Lucy wanted in on the scarf action

As you can see we were all blessed beyond belief and made out with some awesome gifts to enjoy. It truly was a Christmas for the books!!

Christmas in Estes Park, CO

2014-01-05T20:15:00.000-07:00

This year we decided to do something a little different and get away to the mountains for the holiday. We decided that Estes Park would be the best bet as it is only an hour drive, has lots of pretty scenery and no main highways to drive with ski traffic. Our requirements were for it to be a cabin (obviously!), have a hot tub, allow dogs and fit 3 adults. We were able to find a great property called Sunny Side Knoll. It was a great location only about 2 miles from Rocky Mountain National Park and set back from the road were it was very quite. They were running a great special of buy two nights get one free, it was quite the deal.

Started to snow right when we got into Town

We left after work on Christmas Eve and arrived right before in got dark. My mom and I had pre-planned all of the meals as the cabin had a large kitchen fully stocked with all the kitchen needs. After getting all of us settled in including the dogs we made the best Christmas Eve dinner of Crab Claws and listened to Christmas music.

Brad did not go hungry

We brought up our miniature Christmas tree and ornaments so we would have some sort of a tree to put presents under. It defiantly set the Christmas mood at the Cabin.

'Twas the Night before Christmas

Christmas Day we slept in, made a fabulous breakfast and started to open gifts. We took it easy enjoying our gifts and spending time with the dogs. We usually keep it very casual for Christmas and open gifts in our PJ's!!

Frankie relaxing with his "bear"

After eating way too much food, lounging around and watching movies we thought we would go take a drive and walk with the dogs at Lake Estes. The weather was cold and windy but no snow. We walked about 1 mile on the trail and were lucky enough to run into a heard of Elk. The elk in Estes are out of control they just graze around town and really don't care about people being near. There was about 50 in the heard and they were just grazing away. The dogs didn't seem to mind the elk and the elk didn't mind the dogs. To be safe we did hold them just in case the elk thought they looked like an "elk treat". The lake was gourgous frozen over with ice and beautiful scenery.

Dog's look thrilled!

Grazing Elk

The day after Christmas Brad and I decided to be adventurous and snowshoe up in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Driving in RMNP

We started at Bear Lake, headed up to Nymph Lake and continued on to Dream Lake. Bear Lake is where beginners go, the trail is flat and you can get your bearings of walking in snowshoes. We continued the hike to Nymph Lake which was moderate and continued on to Dream Lake with the trail being pretty difficult. The trail was pretty steep and there were some areas with extreme drop offs on each side, you had to single file on the edges. While some parts of the hike were strenuous the views were gorgeous. I may have had a ~~big~~ mini breakdown due to too many layers and being hot but Brad talked me through it and we kept trekking on. The end result of Dream Lake was absolutely beautiful. I am excited to snowshoe more often this year as I really enjoyed it as a winter activity.

Just Starting to get the hang of it in all my layers

Brad was a Pro

Bear Lake

Dream Lake, sun was setting

Accomplishment

Sun setting

We did it!!

Snapped by a follow snowshoer on our decent

We were so sore when we got back to the cabin and soaked in the hot tub for a long time. It was beautiful out with so many stars against the brisk mountain air. While very cold it felt amazing in the hot tub and so relaxing. That night we watched more movies, had a big pot of Chili and just hung out. (Bummed I didn't get any pictures of us in the hot tub)

The last day we packed up and decided to do one last hike and some shopping in town. My mom decided she would hang out and shop to get some Christmas gifts and Brad and I thought it would be nice to take the dogs for a L-O-N-G walk. We ended up walking around Lake Estes, 4.5 miles in all. The dogs (and humans) were quite tired on the way home.

Selfie with the dogs, Lucy didn't quit get the concept!

I would HIGHLY recommend to everyone to at least spend one Christmas away from all the hustle and bustle and just enjoy time with loved ones. We have decided this will be a new Sill Family tradition and we will continue to do Christmas at the cabin for years to come!!

Five on Friday {New Year}

2014-01-03T00:08:00.002-07:00

Cheers to making 2014 the best year yet!

Well I don't know about ya'll but I personally am mourning Christmas and all that goes with it. It is such a magical time of year and I am sad that it flew by so fast this year. I thought for this weeks Five on Friday (today I had to make it 6 on Friday) I would post my main new years goals (I have work goals as well but I will just stick to the personal). I decided to not call them resolutions as I feel like there is more pressure to succeed but with goals it is more positive.

{One}
Health/Fitness: I would like to continue to be more aware of what goes into my mouth. This sounds silly but the more you think about what you eat the more you want to eat healthy. I have been good with 4 to 5 work outs a week between our treadmill or doing something out side with the husband and the pups. I would like to try to start more elliptical workouts and more out door hikes/snowshoeing. Over all just live a healthier life style with out pressuring myself to a certain goal weight or size just over all fitness and health.

{Two}
Presence: This really could encompass a lot of different things but for me personal it is to take each moment and be present. Enjoy each and everything that we do to the fullest extent with out all the electronic (hello iPhone) or brain distractions. I sometimes find my self planning ahead for things in my mind and not fully enjoy what I am currently doing. Time to STOP and be present.

{Three}
Finances: Brad and I are very goal driven when it comes to our finances and how we want to live debt free. By the end of 2014 I would like to truly be debt free (credit cards and student loans). Hopefully we can invest in more real estate options and diversify our financial portfolio more. I would like to learn more about future financial planning and continue to look ahead at our life goals and aspirations for retirement.

{Four}
Organize: We truly are blessed with all the things that we have and I would like to organize through the things we don't need/use so someone else can enjoy them. I plan to take care of this goal methodically room by room and really deep clean and organize. There are so many times when I pull something out of the closet that was forgotten that still has a tag on it. It seems that even the dogs have way too many items that they can share as well. Along with this I want to challenge myself to think extra long when I am purchasing items to reflect if the purchase is necessary or warranted.

{Five}
Simplify: This pertains to so much in my life. Not only tied into the organizing goal but general things to make my life simple. I tend to over pack our weekends, weekdays and all times that we have when we are not working (sometimes even our vacations get are packed full of activities). I really want to evaluate Brad and I's time together and not feel like chicken's with our heads cut off. Hopefully this will lead to many summer nights chair rocking on our new patio and enjoying the yard and the beautiful Colorado weather. I really want to take the time to "smell the roses" and enjoy the small things in everything that we do.

{Six}
Blogging: This truly is an outlet and fun way for me to document our life together. While currently I think I have 2 readers (thanks mom and husband) I want to meet new blogging friends and truly make a presence in the blogging world. Maybe I can find myself a blog mentor to take me under their wing!! I can't wait to look back through the years and enjoy/relive all the moments in life that I am able to share. You can now find me on Bloglovin, I would love for you to follow me.

I am confident that 2014 will be a great year and I am looking forward to see what it has in store for the Sill Family.

Linking up with up with these four lovely ladies April, Christina, Natasha and Darci . Also joining Lauren Elizabeth, Life Rearranged, The Diary of a Real House Wife for all their Friday link ups.

Have a great weekend!!

Happy New Year

2013-12-31T12:10:00.000-07:00

Wishing you and yours the very best New Years Eve and a happy, healthy, prosperous 2014!! I can't wait to continue to share our adventures with you and know 2014 will be the best year yet!! Cheers!

Five on Friday- Christmas Edition

2013-12-28T21:17:00.000-07:00

Christmas Edition of Five on Friday. Linking up with up with these four lovely ladies April, Christina, Natasha and Darci . Also joining for the first time Lauren Elizabeth, Life Rearranged, The Diary of a Real House Wife for all their Friday link ups.

Snow started falling and it was cold

{One}
Estes Park, CO: Getting away and staying in a cabin {Sunny Side Knoll} for Christmas was so nice. It for sure will become a new holiday tradition. We were able to take the dogs up with us and just enjoy ourselves with out the hustle and bustle of going between families. It was so nice to relax, hang out and celebrate our own little Christmas (I will post a separate post just about Christmas).

Marmot Ridge Right outside our Cabin

{Two}

Canon Rebel t3i: I finally got my camera that I have had my eye on forever. I was going to get it for my birthday back in March but there were no deals so I just saved up the money to get it on Black Friday. I am so happy with the quality of the photos and the ease of taking the pictures. I took a ton of photos at Christmas that I can't wait to post. I got a book on the camera as well so I will be reading up on how to make the picture quality even better. I highly reccomend the camera to anyone in the market!

{Three}
Snow Shoeing: Lets just say that you better be ready to get your tush in shape when you step out to snowshoe. We had free snowshoe rentals from the cabin and decided to head up to Rocky Mountain National Park to take in the beautiful scenery. We started our journey around Bear Lake. This was a beginner level trail that was great to get used to the snowshoes as it does feel quite a bit different then just walking. We continued on to Nymph Lake, this was defiantly more of a moderate trail and was mostly climbed uphill. Once we got to Nymph Lake we were able to snowshoe out on the lake which was frozen ice. We continued on from there to Dream Lake, this was more of a difficult climb with some very narrow trail areas with steep drops. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous and the glacier at the lake was breath taking. It was so cold when we got to the top that we took a few quick pictures and then headed back. All in all we hiked about 4 miles and it took us about 3 hours!! Next time we would like to continue to the last lake, Emerald Lake. My body was so thankful for the hot tub when we got back to the cabin, soaking in it was well deserved.

Nymph Lake

Dream Lake looking at the Glacier

{Four}
Red Hot Jello: My mom concocted this recipe up some time ago and it is defiantly one of my favorite treats. It is pretty healthy for the most part and oh so good!

Red Hot Jello:
2 Cups boiling water
1 Cup cold water
2 boxes Black Cherry Instant Jello
1 Cup cold Apple Sauce (Refrigerate first must be cold)
1/4 cup Red hot candies
1 small tub cool whip

Dissolve cinnamon candies in water in a saucepan over medium heat. Mix in gelatin and allow to dissolve; remove from heat and stir cold applesauce and cold water into mixture. Pour into a 9x13 glass serving dish and refrigerate until set, about 2 hours. Add whipped topping prior to serving. ENJOY!!

Source Here

{Five}

Hunter Wellies: I have been wanting these babies forever and let me tell you the wait was SOO worth while. I had a gift certificate I used bringing the total down allowing me to purchase some wellie socks as well. I have worn them now for 2 straight days and they are so comfortable and fashionable. They look cute with leggings, skinny jeans and I can't wait to try them with a skirt. I wasn't adventurous enough to get a bright color but the black really does go with everything and make each outfit look so classy. I KNOW I will for sure get my money out of these babies, bring on the rain.

Source {Here}

Socks that go with= AMAZING

Twas the Night before Chrsitmas

2013-12-24T12:25:00.001-07:00

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas. Warm wishes to you and yours always!!

Weekend Recap

2013-12-24T12:14:00.000-07:00

Twas the weekend before Christmas and the whole world is going crazy with getting their shopping done before the holiday. I don't know about all of you but everywhere that we went this weekend was CRAZY and people were in full meltdown mood. This includes the roads and Highways with tons of BAD drivers. On the positive side we did get some beautiful snow to hopefully put an end to some of the Grinch esque behavior.

Saturday was full of shopping, shopping and MORE SHOPPING!! We were able to get all the last minute gifts and be done with everyone on our list (even my new Brother and Sister dog style, more to come on that soon). After Brad and I went out most of the day my mom and I decided to tackle the mall once again as well. We may have had a huge lapse in judgment but after getting an
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G deal at Nordstrom the mall visit was worth our time. After driving home in the winter wonderland, I put on Christmas music and got all of our gifts wrapped and under the tree, big accomplishment. Frankie is too smart for his own good and was dutifully watching the gifts as I was wrapping and totally knew the Petsmart purchases. He was ~~calmly~~ obsessively laying next to them under the Christmas tree.

Impossible to get Frankie with out barking


He was watching his gifts in this one


Typical weenier dog stare off over toys

So tired, time to suckle

Sunday was game day for our beloved Bronco's {PFM Post from yesterday}and I was a nervous wreck all morning. This was a must win and lets face it going on the road and not having the best defense made me ubber nervous. In normal tradition John and Maggie came over to ~~enjoy~~ tolerate our cheers, boos, yells, screams, etc. while the game unfolded. They grilled a fabulous steak lunch with Cesar Salad and Asparagus, yummy! The first three quarters were not the best but the Bronco's pulled off a record breaking win (PFM most touch downs ever) and have a chance at full home filed advantage for the post season. We exchanged gifts with one another and had a wonderful time.


Shocker Bronco's gifts

Shock over my new Shirpani bag

John and his 'Merica shirt

Maggie opening her gifts

The whole crew

High Five after the record touch down

All in all the weekend was not too stressful and I feel like I was able to accomplish(could this have to do with my 3 Starbucks treats) a lot. I am looking forward to one short day of work and then a full week of Christmas celebrations.

{Sill*Family*Adventures}

Super Bowl

Weekend Recap

Favorite Things {February 2014}

Arkansas

Five on Friday

Five on Friday {Bronco's Addition}

Arizona

Super Bowl Fashion

Weekend Recap

Five on Friday

Alabama

Fifty-Nifty United States

SUPER BOWL

Five on Friday

Favorite Things {January 2014}

This and That

Five on Friday

2013 Year Rewind

Christmas Day at the Cabin

Christmas in Estes Park, CO

Five on Friday {New Year}

Happy New Year

Five on Friday- Christmas Edition

Twas the Night before Chrsitmas

Weekend Recap

{SillFamilyAdventures}