New Mexico & Colorado {Part 1}

Last weekend Jameson and I flew out west to visit John and Lisa for a reunion. We flew into Albuquerque, New Mexico Saturday morning and spent the afternoon driving around the city the Pray family now call home. We were also introduced to green chilies, Jameson's new favorite food. We quickly found out people in Albuquerque love their chilies, both red and green. They will add them to almost anything and I must say I enjoyed the added flavor they give a dish. Saturday night we hit the road and headed to our first road trip destination of Durango, Colorado. It was such an enjoyable ride catching up with dear friends while admiring the New Mexico landscape. It was unlike anything I have ever seen!

After arriving in Durango we checked into our home for the evening, The Strater Hotel. It is a beautiful historic hotel right in the heart of Durango. Each room contained a guest book detailing the trips people have taken to Durango from all around the world. I was more than happy to add our own signature to the book! We spent the evening walking around town and eating local cuisine at El Moro. After dinner Lisa and I went back to the hotel for some girl talk while the boys checked out some local bars and probably discussed some of their favorite topics, football and politics. Saturday morning Jameson and I got up bright and early and took a brief walk around town soaking up all the beauty Durango had to offer. We then met up with John and Lisa for breakfast at the hotel and of course a Starbucks stop. Lisa and I share a deep love for chai tea lattes!

Then we hit the road again, this time towards Telluride, Colorado. The drive to Telluride was absolutely breathtaking. The snow covered Rockies were stunning. I'll just let the pictures do the talking even though they don't do it justice. It was so refreshing to soak up the fresh air and God's beautiful creation.

I fell in love with Telluride the second we drove into town. This small town is literally nestled in the mountains with beauty surrounding you wherever you look. We spent the majority of the morning walking around the Victorian town checking out the local shops and restaurants. After enjoying lunch at the base of ski slopes we took the gondola up the mountain to the resort side. We walked around some more while checking out all of the skiers and dreaming about our return to Telluride for a ski trip of our own.

Check out Lisa's blog for more details about our trip!

My Best Friend's Wedding

Dear Melissa,
Soon you will be marrying your very best friend and I could not be more thankful to have had a front row seat to your love story over the past 7 years. Thank you for your friendship. Thank you for all the laughter and joy you brought into my life. Thank you for being my roommate and not getting mad at me when I was loud in the mornings. Or when I left all my dirty dishes in the sink. Thank you for listening while I sat in your pink fuzzy chair and talked about life. Thank you for challenging me to be a better daughter of Christ, to be a better friend, and to be a better spouse. You follow your dreams with such passion and drive and I know that will only continue after you become a wife. I am so proud of the woman you have grown into and can't wait to see all you will accomplish in the years to come.
So cheers to you love!
Cheers to looking better than we did in high school! :)
Cheers to Skype dates and long distance friendships!
Cheers to you becoming a wife!
Cheers to you and Matt on your wedding day!

xoxoxo,

New Mexico Here We Come

Eeeeeekkkkk!!! We booked our tickets today and will be flying out to Albuquerque in just 39 short days to visit John and Lisa. We have missed them terribly since they left Michigan and cannot wait to spend time with them out in New Mexico.

Sometimes in life you are blessed with friends you make an instant connection with and John and Lisa are definitely some of those people. We met them at a church function and quickly became double date buddies. For the greater part of the spring and summer we spent our weekends with them trying out new restaurants and making wonderful memories. Finding another young married couple to spend time with was an answered prayer and the lifelong friendship that we now have with them is something both Jameson and I deeply cherish. Lisa and I can chat for hours about life, reality television, God's provision in our lives, and the joys (and struggles) of being a wife. John and Jameson can chat for hours about sports, politics, classic literature, and of course beer.

John, Lisa, Valarie and Jameson in Ohio

Lisa has a wonderful blog you can find here. You can find her posts about the time they watched our Milton pup for us here and our Ohio camping adventures here.