i love fall colors...

Fall and the elk are in their prime in Estes Park right now.

 The other evening I couldn't keep myself away from the colors so I went for a stroll in the park and brought my new point and shoot camera.  

I always remember fall being beautiful, but each fall I am blown away by the vibrance of the aspens and the beauty.  My mind can never keep an accurate picture.

On my stroll I found this tree.  It looked like it was doing chair pose, and I couldn't help but snap a photo.  Don't you agree??

Ahhhhhhh, morning view from the bedroom.  Beautiful.

And this guy's bugling is responsible for waking me up. 

 

more remodeling!!

Remodeling.  It's become our hobby when we're at home.  While we were in Canada, we had lots of time during rainy days to scheme up our next remodel project.  

I secretly like to sketch up interiors...I did this one night in Canada.  :)

Vaulting the living room ceiling seemed like it was going to be too involved to let Tommy train enough for his project, so we settled on making the entry way.  

The house consisted of a covered porch at the entrance, and then when you walked into the house you ended up in the living room.  

 We decided to enclose the porch, knock down a few walls, and voila...an entry way!  

Tommy, the supervisor and brains of construction.

Pink tool belt.  Found that in Canada.  One more point for Canada!

Patrick and his quadricep nailing in some brackets.

Ta-dahhh!  The entry way!

We also wanted to put in a wood burning stove to help with utility costs in the winters, and french doors out to a future deck.  The project ended up getting a little more involved than we thought, but we love it! 

And the sweet wood stove our friend Rodney refurbished.

Tommy was so excited to make this entry look cool and do all of the wood working.  He did AMAZING!

And we can't forget that the love of my life had his 33rd birthday this summer!!  These special people came to help celebrate!

been a while...

As many of you have probably noticed I have been on a blogging hiatus.  Why?  I'm not sure.......busy-ness of life and house remodels and Tommy training for his project and me helping in whatever ways I can?  Yeah, probably all of those reasons.  However, as fall is approaching it's time to start things back up again.  What better than a catch up of what the Caldwells have been up to this summer.

A chunk of our summer was spent in wonderful Canada!  I have decided that I LOVE CANADA...in the summer.  Not only is it a beautiful place (at least where we have visited), but the people are just as beautiful.  I came back to the States wanting to be more like a Canadian.  It's very unpretentious and people are loving/jovial/accepting.  When Tommy and I were apart, we reunited with stories about how "nice" someone was...the guy in front of me in line at the grocery store...some person in the cafe.  Tommy did become like a Canadian in one aspect though..."EH".  :)  He was constantly finishing sentences with "eh?".  It was cute.  You should have heard him in South Africa after spending time with Aussies and Brits...it was way worse than just "eh".  He's adaptable.

Cheers!  To great food, great company, and a great day! (with Ruedi)

The main reason we went to Canada was because of an invitation from our now friend, Ruedi Beglinger.  He told Tommy of climbing he has developed in an area where he guides in the Selkirk mountains just outside of Revelstoke.  It's a helicopter in only place and it blew our minds (ski guiding outfit in the winter that looks AMAZING for skiing)!  The hospitality, the company, the food, the beauty, and the climbing...Fantastic.  Ruedi and his delightful family were amazing hosts and really showed us a grand time in the Selkirks, along with Ruedi's friends who climbed with us - Urs Kallen and Dean.  We had some rainy weather, which I can't complain about it.  It was kind of amazing to be stuck in a "hut" on a glacier in the middle of the mountains with my husband.  I loved having all of the chaos of life removed and having the opportunity to spend real quality time with the person I love the most.

CHESS!  I finally learned to play...Tommy whooped me quite a few times and I quit chess....and then it haunted me as I laid down to sleep...the next day I out-checkmated him.  :)  We now own a chess board.

Rapping off the Concordia Pillar and over the bergschrund at the end of the day and 13 pitches of climbing.

The long, snowy approach so TC could bolt and send his new route, Copper Mine (5.13a).

The heli at the Durrand Glacier Chalet.

Getting dropped off at the Moloch hut!

TC on one of the routes he put up.

TC taping up at the Ore House for his new route and FA of Redlight District (5.14a).

Drying out at the Moloch Hut after a great morning/afternoon of climbing.  The Concordia Pillar in the background.

A surprise guest at the Durrand Glacier Chalet!

The time we weren't in the Selkirks we spent in Canmore, AB with Sonnie Trotter and a bit with his stunning wife, Lydia.  TC and Sonnie put up a rad first ascent on Mt. Louie and had a blast together.

Yay for Canada, eh!