A Weekend in Colorado: The Broadmoor Hotel

Monday was the day that I had to go back to California. It's always sad on the last day, but we definitely made the best of it.

Bubs had baseball practice in the morning so I had some time to read my book. After, we got pancakes and drove around for a little while. We hadn't made any plans for the day and we wanted to stay close to the airport to make sure I wouldn't be late for my flight. So, being the spontaneous people that we are, we took a little trip to see the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs. 

It's seriously one of the most beautiful hotels I've ever seen. It was elegant, fancy and we both looked rather out of place in our jeans and vans...but of course that didn't stop us. 

We walked around the lobby and all of the small shops, taking pictures and holding hands. We came across a gorgeous empty ballroom and I was pulled inside against my will. It's not the rule breaking that bothers me (charming, I know) but I can't stand the awkwardness of getting caught somewhere I shouldn't be. Melting my heart, Steven asked me to dance. Throwing any possibility of getting caught out the window, I happily obliged...I mean come on, who could say no to that? It was definitely my favorite part of our day. 

Our time together came to an end all to quickly and Steven had to drive me to the airport. Saying goodbye is pretty much the worst thing in the world. Some people say that it gets easier each time, but I don't really think that's the case. This was the hardest goodbye yet because we'd gotten so used to being with each other the past few months. There were tears, hugs, and kisses and we were both a complete mess.

As much as I hate goodbyes, I'm thankful for them too. Because without them, I wouldn't get to share that first kiss feeling over and over with my sweet Airman. 

 

A Weekend in Colorado: Birthday Fun

Sunday was my birthday!

It was the best birthday present knowing that I got to spend the entire day with Steven. We had a lazy, slow moving morning so we skipped breakfast and went straight to lunch. Steven's best friend, Hunter, was heading back to Colorado Springs that day too, so he came with us.

We ate lunch in Vail Village, the cutest little ski town. I'm definitely a Park City girl, but it's safe to say that Vail Village is a close second! There's a little stream that runs through the town and along the bank of it, they had the coolest ice sculptures.  Also, they still had a few Christmas decorations up which made me extremely happy!

 

The cutest puppy

 

After, we headed back to the Academy. Steven always drives, I usually navigate. It's a pretty foolproof system except for the fact that I am the worst navigator ever. So, that leads to Bubs being both the navigator and the driver, while I control the radio...I'm really good at that.

When we finally got to the Springs, we picked up Hunter's girlfriend, Caitlin, at the base. Then we dropped off our snowboards and luggage, freshened up really quick and headed to Castle Rock for dinner. It was so fun hanging out with them we talked and laughed all night. It was so fun to be able to spend my birthday with them too!

Aren't they so adorable?? 

A Weekend in Colorado: Snowboarding in Vail

For Christmas, Steven bought me a ticket to see him the weekend of my birthday!

I flew out of Santa Barbara on Friday and landed in Denver around 6pm. I had a 3 hour layover for a 17 minute flight to Colorado Springs...pathetic right? So, I decided to skip the connecting flight and make the one hour drive to the Academy for a few extra hours with my man (I was with him before my flight would have taken off!).

A little homework before the flight...

We had a cozy dinner and spent the rest of the night talking, laughing and just enjoying each others company.

On Saturday, at zero dark thirty, we headed to vail for a day on the slopes. The drive was beautiful and scenic and I got to hold bubba's hand the whole time. It's funny how I used to take for granted simple things like that.

Steven's always ecstatic to be able to use his military discount and that day I was too considering our lift tickets were only $70 apiece (a whole lot cheaper than the regular $130)! The snowboard he rented for me at the academy was only $20 for the weekend. Perks of being the property of the US Government, I guess.

By 9 am, we were on the slopes having so much fun. The weather was beautiful and the snow was perfect. The only break we took was to grab a fun lunch at the top of the mountain. We stayed on the slopes until the lifts closed at 4. 

   

On our way to the hotel, we stopped to get some hot chocolate. Getting hot chocolate from the gas station is one of our weird little traditions. Hot chocolate out of the machine is seriously one of the best things on this planet.

That night, we stayed with 3 of Steven's friends from the Academy. We all went out to a fun dinner, hung out and relaxed! 

I must say, it was an extremely fun birthday eve!

Somethin' New

Okay, so I am totally new at this and to be honest have no idea what I'm doing....both in my life and on this blog...Ha!

I am a first year student at gorgeous UC Santa Barbara. I came to school thinking that I was going to major in biology and do something in the medical field because apparently, that's where the jobs are at. However, 10 weeks of calculus, chemistry classes, and labs along with 9.9 weeks of stress and crying about being stressed, I've decided to go a different route. Where, I'm not exactly sure yet, but it's going to be something that I actually enjoy instead of something that I have to force myself to do. I love writing, reading, baking, crafting, and shopping...if only there was a job where I could do just that! I'm currently writing for my school's newspaper, the Daily Nexus, so we'll see where that takes me!

The man of the hour is my boyfriend of two years, Steven.  He's pretty much the sweetest and smartest guy in the world, and we can have the best time doing absolutely anything together. It's his first year as cadet at the US Air Force Academy, where he'll go to school to get a degree and then serve in the Air Force as an officer. Unfortunately for us, the Academy is located in Colorado. It's a huge bummer having the person you want to be with every minute in another state, but we're making it work and I'm pretty sure I fall more in love with that guy every day. 

So that's a little bit about me, I hope you enjoyed it? Probably a weird way to end a blog post, but I'll work on it. Cheers to trying something new!