I never would have guessed that on my 36th birthday I would be in Colorado surrounded by snowy peaks! 😊 It was definitely a first to see snow on my birthday. And it was also a first to not be lounging on the beach. I think it’s been at least 2 decades since I did NOT spend my birthday on a beach. This amazing beauty around me really helped ease that pain haha.

I so enjoyed my birthday quiet time by the river. I was so weepy as I thanked the Lord for my 36th year on earth and what a life changing year it was.

Numbers are just crazy to me by the way. It’s always been confusing that when you turn a number… it means that many years are complete. I mean – I turned 36 on Saturday so that means I just completed 36 years on earth. I’m not starting my 36th year on earth but ending it and starting my 37th year. Those thoughts all started because I said to the kids woohoo I’m starting my 37th year and they were like wait I thought you were 36. But starting at zero changes everything haha

I digress. 😊

B joined me by the river…

Then it was time for some adventure! We love this waterfall that we can see from Woody:

Hiking is definitely my new favorite hobby and the birthday hike was definitely a memorable one. It took some time for us to decide where to start our hike but even when you’re “lost” around here it’s an amazing experience!

A super quick storm blew in right after I took this picture so we decided to go back to the RV park and just hike the “Perimeter Trail” around Ouray. It rained just enough for us to eat our lunch and we were off!

The perimeter trail goes all around the perimeter of Ouray (duh) with about 4 trails that connect back down the mountains into town. We started at the entry point right at our campground, which we later found out is the hardest way to start. We’ve been practicing more and more believing that , “we can do hard things!” But in this thin air, we were all struggling. Haha But we did it! Lollipops kept AB going.

Here’s cute little Ouray from above:

And here is where my anxiety was through the roof and I had to sing praise hymns to take one step in front of the other:

(And this part with the drop offs was right after an unexpected thunder storm that kept us cowered by rocks for 10 minutes. The weather is quick around here!)

But Phew! We got past that ledge-y part. There was such amazing views.

And then the reward for all that huffing and puffing:

I’m so grateful for the health to be able to hike and also for the amazingly clean air and water around here! The water that comes out of the faucet comes straight from the top of the mountains and is drinkable. It’s so cold and bubbly since it comes from such a high altitude but then after 30 seconds the bubbles go away and it’s crystal clear. So cool!

Here’s Hansel and Gretel’s house when we got back down into town:

On our bucket list of random things we wanted to see and do on the trip – we had down “see waterfalls”! So we got to cross that one off big time. There’s waterfalls everywhere you look here!

After our hike we opened Bday cards.

And walked to dinner at the steak house:

It was such a great day. Even though I couldn’t physically be with all my family and best friends… their love is always with me and that’s an amazing gift too.

God is so good! What a great start to my 37th year on earth…. as I turned 36. Hehe

Love y’all! Thanks for your love support prayers and encouragement.