Happy Anniversary Babe!

BJ and I celebrated our 8th year of wedded bliss on August 12th and were able to get away for 24 hours (Thank you Nana)! We spent some time in Colorado Springs, eating dinner out, staying up late, eating breakfast whenever and wherever...you know all the pre-kid stuff. Because I didn't feel up to a 6-8 hour hike, we decided to catch the Cog Railroad to the summit of Pike's Peak. It's a 3 hour round trip tour on a crowded train specially made for climbing 8-9% grades at a consistent 7 MPH. Our guide was quite anecdotal on the way up telling us all about the trees and animals in the area. Did you know you can rub the white powder from Aspen trees on you to get SPF protection? We learned many useless facts and some interesting ones. The views were stunning at the summit, though BJ and I felt a little odd arriving at the summit of a magnificent mountain without an ATV or our legs doing the work. Even more shocking to me was the fact that they have a parking lot, gift shop, restrooms and restaurant at the top! Most 14'ers are just rubble and a point you have to take turns getting to. But all this didn't take away from the majestic views...

Most true Coloradoans know that Katherine Lee Bates wrote the words to "America the Beautiful" on her way down from the summit of Pike's Peak. But the cool part was being at the summit, reading her words with that view right in front of your eyes! BJ rolled his eyes at my enthusiasm over this point, but I was enthralled and awed.

I was reminded, after spending an entire day with just BJ, how immensely I enjoyed his company. It was nice to just be adults and talk about adult things, minus our three cute little "distrations". It was an amazing day with you, hon. You truly are my best friend and much, much better half. I look forward to 8x8x8x8x8x8x8x8x8x8x8 more years with you, at least! Happy Anniversary!