Week in My Life.

I finally did it. I actually finished a Week in the Life album! (Yes, I have a couple of half finished ones still sitting here in my office, lol.) To check it out, head over to the Ormolu blog today:

Will try to be back with more later...hope your week is going well!

Quote #41.

Happy Columbus Day! (Gotta admit, I only remembered this because I tried to go to the bank this morning and it was closed, lol. The boys and I did our studying about Columbus last month.) Anyhow...

I must create a system or be enslaved by another man’s. I will not reason or compare; my business is to create. –William Blake

I was rewatching a movie recently and they were talking about this quote and how the characters thought it meant that you have to find that one special thing in your life that leaves your mark in the world. The main character worked throughout the movie to find her “mark.”

In light of Steve Jobs’ death last week, this seems particularly poignant. I think many of us have been contemplating the impact one man was able to have on the world today. What a mark he made, eh? 

(Love this tweaked logo that's been floating the internet. Such a fitting tribute.)

Now, admittedly, most of us aren't going to have the impact that Jobs did. But even the smallest mark makes a difference. What will yours be?

West Creek Falls

So. The day after all our running, we spontaneously decided to head for the mountains to get in some hiking while the weather is still beautiful. We opted to head for Rocky Mountain National Park since we still have an annual pass but ended up taking a trail off the beaten path, such that we didn't actually go through park check in (though our final destination ended up just inside park boundaries). 

In any case...Asher requested a trail that led to a waterfall. Nathan wanted it not to be too crowded (and there were *plenty* of others up there who obviously had the same idea as we did about getting in another hike before it gets too cold). So we ended up starting from the Cow Creek trailhead (which also leads to Bridal Veil Falls...which we're thinking about trying another time) and hiked to West Creek Falls. It was gorgeous...both the weather and the location. 

Here we are at the height of the trail:

(According to Nathan, the trail had a total elevation change of roughly 2600 feet. Yes, really. Round-trip was about 4 miles. I'd not rate this one as "easy." Fortunately (??), the boys are in better shape than Nathan and me, even with Micah's cute little legs that had to sit all the way down to descend some parts of the trail, lol.)

Here are the boys once we'd reached the falls:

I can tell you exactly what was going through each boys' mind...Noah was wishing I'd stop with the camera already (almost 11 years is really enough, he thinks)...Asher just wanted me to hurry up so he could get to where he was going...and Micah, as is often the case, just wanted to pose for the camera with his impish little face. :)

And here are some other pics from the trip:

Yes, Nathan waded out into the pool at the base of the falls. It was *cold.* The boys (and Nathan) managed to scramble up to the top of the falls, too, and enjoyed tossing things into the flow of the water. And the rest are just pictures along the way. ;) Don't remind Micah, but shortly after that last picture...just at the end of our hike...he happened to step right over a live snake on the trail (which Asher then spotted and pointed out to us all as it slithered into the grass...which had Micah running down the trail a bit to get some distance, lol). (It was only a little snake...probably a garter or something similar, about 18" long. Still. Don't see that everyday.)

My Micah was such a trooper and made it the entire way on his own. He has, though, dictated that our next hike will be flat, LOL. (And I'm okay with that, lol.)

So. That was the tail end of our lovely weekend... 

Weekend running...

Last weekend (Saturday morning), the boys participated in another Healthy Kids fun run:

Yes, we've added long sleeve running tops to the mix, though Micah refused to wear his because he thinks he looks better in orange than blue. ;) (And, yes, we tried to talk Noah out of the jeans but he was insistent, lol.)

This was their second to last run in this year's series, and the boys are already looking forward to next year. It may be my imagination, too, but I feel like the younger two are closing the time gap on Noah, lol (course, they had more room for improvement from the start of this series). 

That afternoon, I headed down to Denver for the SkirtChaser 5K. Molly was my running pal again:

And, even though it was a gazillion degrees (okay, only upper 80's) and the pavement felt like it was going to jump up and wrap its steaming warmth around us, we both finished and didn't die. :) (Ironically, if they'd just started the race an hour later at 4 pm, the cloud cover would have come in and cooled things off at least a bit.) 

In any case, it was a great time (and an opportunity for some fabulous people watching) and, together with our friend Melissa, we all enjoyed a girls' night out after that. 

Next up...the Heart Center of the Rockies 10K on November 5...which also happens to be the boys' last fun run. ;)

Quote #40.

A Tuesday quote for you this week...

Above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you, because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it. –Roald Dahl

This quote just makes me think of fall. I love fall. So looking forward to more of the lovely fall-ness and finding the magic hidden throughout. (Also makes me want to go read some Roald Dahl books with the boys...) ;)