The Colorado Rocky Mountains are covered in pine and steaked with aspen trees. In late September, all the aspens change to gold. They're striking against the contrast of the dark pines. Most of the locals set aside a day to drive up and see the changing aspens. We're no different. This year, we decided to make the drive up to Aspen. The most photographed place in Colorado is Maroon Bells, located just outside of Aspen. We drove up Maroon Creek Road to head to Maroon Bells. A sign announced that the road would be closed up ahead except for buses. We pulled over, and I called our hotel to ask how to proceed. The assistant manager there told me we needed to catch a bus at Aspen Highlands, near the sign. He said it would be ... read more

Andrew gave me two tickets to go hot air ballooning last Christmas. I saved them to use over our anniversary. We flew with Fair Winds. It was an incredible experience! We got to help fill the balloons if we chose. Andrew helped hold open the balloon as the owner blasted air into it. The balloons are enormous! We didn't get the balloon to ourselves, as I'd originally hoped, but it ended up not mattering much anyway. There were six other people in our basket, and everyone was engrossed in the views. In addition to our balloon, Fair Winds had two other balloons go up that morning, and another company had one take off from the same field as well. From our balloon in the sky, we could enjoy views of the Boulder Reservoir, the mountains, and ... read more

We set out early for Omaha. We expected the two hour drive to take us four hours, but the kids surprised us by sleeping the whole way. I called Julie at 9am to let her know we'd arrived two hours ahead of schedule. While she got up for the day, we decided to find a breakfast place near her home and stopped at Lisa's Radial Cafe. The atmosphere was relaxed and casual, which kept the kids at ease and happy. The waitress even let Jo have a lamenated menu to chomp on. I ordered a bowl of oatmeal; it was the good stuff--thick and slowly cooked. I doctored it up with a bit of brown sugar, raisins, and milk. Andrew ordered a veggie skillet that was very good but a bit greasy. Oliver devoured the spinach ... read more

We spent Saturday afternoon at the Des Moines Art Festival. The Des Moines Art Festival is one of the largest art festivals in the country, and it's consistently ranked among the best in the world. It's held in the new John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park in downtown Des Moines. Erin told me how John and Mary Pappajohn are among the top art collectors in the world, and they recently donated sculptures from their collection for this park. The Art Festival was moved to the new park a couple years ago, which I thought was the perfect setting for the festival. As the festival grew in popularity, I think people worried about losing the local flavor of the festival. Erin told me there's a large section dedicated to local artists who want to make a name ... read more

After a day and a half of driving, there was no way we'd get back into the car. So, we spent the day at Andy and Erin's new place in Des Moines. There home is a gorgeous, old brick home that was built in the 30s. It backs to a small ravine, and there are numerous large, old trees surrounding the property. We hung out outside for the most part because the weather was perfect. We listened to crickets and birds and insects and enjoyed not being in the car. Jo fell in love with one of the Scotties, and Oliver had fun playing with bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and his new, toy golf set from Uncle Andy and Aunt Erin. We grilled out on my brother's charcoal grill and relaxed the evening away. After dinner, we ... read more