I Promise I Will Not Quote John Denver

Okay. Take some beautiful mountains. Add a university. Mix in some dogs. Make that a freakin' boatload of dogs. Throw in some organic local produce and just a splash of legally-sanctioned-medical bong water. What have you got?

My parent's adopted hometown* of Boulder, Colorado. This, my friends, is where I spent this last week.

Thus, Friday Fragments, aka Sundays Fridays in My My Parents' City 

*In the spirit of total disclosure, my parents don't actually live in Boulder, because they also enjoy eating and basic medical care. It was either a Boulder mortgage or that, but not both.

***
I really feel like I could live in Colorado because I've always been a fan of dressing like I'm hiking all the time. In the airport alone, I saw hiking boots, several ponchos, and enough hemp necklaces to dock a large sailboat.

It doesn't take long to get sucked into this state's grungy web. This is what I looked like on my second day there:

I am in the bathroom of a REI, because that is what you do when you visit my parents. We visit REI and the Boulder Running Company.

No visit is complete without buying totally unnecessary athletic footwear:

These Keene shoes are waterproof, designed for trail walking, water-hiking, and for being a bad-ass. I wore mine to the grocery store this morning.

***
In Colorado there are running paths everywhere. As I ran, I saw adorable prairie dogs scampering on land specifically protected for their scampering needs. I also saw the state-of-the-art recreation center with a swimming pool and a free indoor playground and a climbing wall.

I determined that I desperately wanted to move to Colorado immediately.

Then, God sent me this little reminder:

This is my parents' backyard on Wednesday. Colorado people tell me that the snow doesn't last, and that it melts quickly and blah blah blah.

I'm sorry. Snow in May? Eff that.

***
The reason for this trip, besides visiting my family, was for Paul to run the Colorado Marathon in Ft. Collins.
Here he is, crossing the finish line:

He did well and enjoyed himself, despite the altitude. He already has plans to do a race next summer in Leadville, Colorado. This race is at 13,000 feet. This is insanity, in my book.

One may conclude that my husband is a masochist, but as long as it stays out of the bedroom, it's not my problem.

Here's the obligatory post-race family shot:

Do you notice that Owen has commandeered Paul's medal? He was telling anybody who would listen that he earned it by running really, really fast.

***
Just as I had determined that everybody in Colorado was disgustingly fit, we went to the movies to see Iron Man 2.

We went to an uber-shitty mall which seemed to sell mostly air and dust mites, because there were no actual stores. We saw lots of people looking like normal people, not like fitness models.

I must admit, it felt good to see that people in Colorado eat nachos too.

The movie was all that I had hoped it would be. Uninterrupted time to look at this work of art:

 Yes, I know that I already posted this picture.

***
The main gift of this trip was time for my boys to see their grandparents. Time for Paul and I to unplug and reconnect. Time to be a family.

In Colorado, plants grow where they can, despite the obstacles, despite the challenges.

Likewise, this time together helped us to grow as a family, despite the distance, or the obligations, or the distractions.

Our roots are still strong.

Thanks to Mrs. 4444 for hosting Friday Fragments and Unknown Mami for hosting Sundays in My City