Hiking the Catamount Trail

Yesterday I joined along on another hike with the Canadian spouses hiking group. This time we were tackling the Catamount Trail. The trail head was located next to the tiny mountain cottage town of Green Mountain Falls, which was like a trip back in time. We had to hike from the park in town up the road to the trail head, which was in and of itself a challenging uphill trek! I was completely out of breath by the time we reached the beginning of the trail. It was a rocky ascent composed of many switchbacks up the side of the mountain to a lookout over the town. From there the trail continued up the hill, then through a meadow-ish area, then up along a stream, and to a large reservoir with some great views of Pike's Peak. It was a challenging, yet very enjoyable hike!

Green Mountain Falls Liquor Store

Green Mountain Falls Police Station

Overlook of the Town

Reservoir

Big Ball Bowling

Being from Nova Scotia, the only type of bowling I've ever had the chance to play is what's called Candelpin Bowling. The balls are considerably smaller than the classic type with the finger holes. Until last weekend I had only ever seen those on tv and in movies. The pins are also a different shape.

Candelpin Bowling

On Sunday we decided to go bowling... My first "big ball bowling" experience! Not only was it my first time bowling with a big ball, but also the first time I didn't have to count and record my own score, or push the button to clear the knocked over pins!!! I have officially left the stone age of bowling! ha ha

Getting Stoked for Ski Season

Waking up to a dusting of snow last week got us a little more excited for the upcoming ski season!

View from our bedroom window.

My new board

On Saturday we went to Dick's Sporting Goods to look for weights and other workout equipment, and we happened to notice some great deals on snowboards... I saw this one and couldn't resist the deal!





So we brought it home and added it to our gradually growing collection of skis and boards...

The Collection

Ty got our ski passes this week, and we're looking forward to opening day this weekend!!! can't wait to hit the slopes :)

Sew Cute!

My latest "pinspired" project was to make a quilt for my new nephew! 

(I just hope my brother doesn't see this before I get home with it :S)

First I cut 36  five inch squares of various cute fabrics. I went with a jungle theme. 

Then I sewed them into 6 rows of 6.

Then I sewed the rows together.

Then the 4 B's: borders, back, batting, and basting...

and voila!

Then I used scrap material to make a matching stuffed giraffe!

Sew cute!!!

Hiking Lovell Gulch

 Last week I went for a hike on the Lovell Gulch trail in Woodland Park with a group of Canadian Military spouses. It was a little windy and chilly that day. But it was a really nice hike with some great views of the surrounding mountains!

On Sunday it was such a nice day I thought it would be nice to do the hike again, but with Ty.  It was, again,  a really great hike.. A lot warmer than the other day, we didn't even need sweaters..

Crafty Decorating

When we moved to the Springs we needed to find ways to decorate our new house. I decided to create some DIY wall art inspired by posts on Pinterest! Here's what I came up with:

 Project #1
My "Pinspiration":








  

My Creation:




I bought 4 canvases, two colours of paint, and a custom stencil. Then I painted the canvases green, stencilled the branch pattern on with white paint, and voila!

Project #2
My "Pinspiration":





My Creation:

This one was a little more complicated; I used mod podge to put photos from our trip across Canada onto a canvas. 


I'm always looking for more ideas on Pinterest... More to come in the future!