the maroon bells & slash.

the weekend after oliver & i returned from the midwest it was labor day. and we were given wonderful weather up here in the mountains! we took the opportunity to hike around the maroon bells...note 'around' and not actually hiking 'the' maroon bells. they are a very high risk climb! not for the untrained. but they have a lot of backcountry hikes for us me ameteurs. located right in our backyard (near aspen). love it! they are the most photographed peaks in north america by the way ;) the hike was variable as far as temperature & weather conditions. cold, warm, windy, cloudy...tis the mountains. by the time we made it to our destination, we had only climbed in elevation 1000 feet but it felt like 10,000! we started at maroon lake & ended at crater lake, a mere 3.6 mile round trip, once we made it back. but...the hike enters into an ancient rockslide...so, i wasn't too thrilled i didn't choose the most ankle-supporting hiking shoes! so i'm not gonna lie, i had a couple ankle-rolling debacles that i avoided. my photos are hit & miss as far as actual bells detail because we thought we were going to come back the next day...but...old mikey's creakity body was hurting ;) he did have an extra 20+ lbs on his back. hopefully we can make it up again before winter shows up. enjoy the bells!

simple surroundings.

love for the aspens.

pyramid peak in upper left, maroon bells other mtn shots, crater lake & fall colors.

mike made me take this...

this

+ this

= some treacherous hiking!

my mountain men.

crater lake.

hiking through ancient rocks is tiring...

you have to keep your eyes glued to where you're stepping & it made my eyes all wacky by the time we were going back down =)

and then...slash made an appearance at our house...ha!

so the other day i heard the sound all parents hate to hear...

the bloodcurdling cry...

ya know, the one that really means something crappy happened.

and as i went to the rescue, i saw blood, the first bloodshed ever...

it wasn't huge major need stitches injury, but it was significant & in such a delicate place. plus it already looks like it healed for a week overnight.

he had swelling & black & blueness yesterday...so...

honestly, i swear i wasn't being bad parent ignoring my son...

don't call dhs.

he just fell...

as he does now...

and this time...

he split open his eyelid.

boo.

oliver aka slash a day after.

please mind you, he cried for like 5 minutes, i first-aided him & he was off doing the exact same thing. cheers to boys. hmmmph.