Six on Saturday

1. It's been a long week. I don't know when I've ever been so glad to see a weekend roll around. Our kids started school on Tuesday and they all had a terrific week but we are all tired!

 Will--first day of 10th grade

 Sarah--first day of 9th grade

Abbey--first day of 5th grade

2. Does anyone else find the first week of school exhausting? It pretty much kicked my tail. Between all the driving (three different schools) and the mental task of keeping up with everyone's schedule, I've been completely spent each evening by dinnertime. One night this week I went to bed before 8pm. It was awesome.

3. Last weekend John and I went to Crested Butte for the first time. Oh my word, it was
F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S! I'm pretty sure it now trumps Estes Park as my favorite place in Colorado. The natural beauty was stunning and the drive, the lodging, the food, the hiking, the shopping were all AMAZING. We were pretty wowed by it, and are trying to figure out when we can go back! Maybe even to ski? We bought a steal-of-a-deal for this hotel through LivingSocial (it was GREAT!) and we ate some pretty amazing meals at Maxwells, Le Bosquet, Teocalli Tamale, The Secret Stash, and of course coffee from Camp 4 Coffee. (I linked to those simply so I could remember for future reference!) That getaway to Crested Butte probably deserves it's own post but for the sake of time I'm lumping it all into this one.

 Terrible photo but amazing french food!

 Crested Butte is known for it's wildflowers but we were there at the tail end of that season. Those that we saw were gorgeous though--I can only imagine how beautiful it would be in July. I think this would be a fabulous place for fall aspen viewing, but it's a bit of a drive from Co Springs (4+ hours). Some of the aspens were already starting to turn while we were there! 

 Starting to feel like fall in Colorado! I love it!

I had a cup of decaf each morning--best coffee EVER. I'm not exaggerating.

A couple of friends told us to make sure we visited The Secret Stash for pizza (so we did) and we ordered The Notorious Fig. Never would've thought of putting fig on pizza but oh my gosh, it was amazing. This week I stumbled upon a fig pizza recipe in my Pioneer Woman cookbook (the newest one) and I think I could make my foodie husband very happy by attempting her recipe. 

4. John's parents came out for a visit and stayed here with our kids while we were gone. While we were playing in Crested Butte, they went to a fancy-schmancy wedding in Denver for one of John's mom's cousins and had a great time too! Mimi and Papa were here for a week but they gave us some space for the first two days of school and escaped to Ouray, CO for their anniversary. We are always so grateful when they get to spend time with us--one of the perks of their retirement!

5. After having the summer off from my part-time YL job, I started back to work this week. I feel overwhelmed already. It's not so much the work-load as it is saying good-bye to the freedom (and sloth) of summer. I'm in the process of trying to work my schedule so that I can still have time to hike and volunteer and do all the other things that help my family function smoothly. Honestly, it feels hard to find balance.

6. This weekend is a good mix of rest, productivity, and activity. Will has a cross-country meet this morning and later today we have a good-bye send off for some friends moving to North Carolina. We're going to try to get back in our church groove tomorrow and sometime this weekend I need to take my high-schoolers shopping for the supplies they found out they need this week. I'm hoping to squeeze a nap and a hike in there somewhere too. Wish me luck!