With Gratitude

Life is a funny thing. When you're younger, you can look at your entire life stretched out before you and it seems to go on forever. And then one day you wake up and somehow it's been almost 10 years since you graduated from high school and you are creeping closer and closer to 30. It comes out of nowhere.

Time starts flying by as each year passes and it scares me sometimes how fast it goes. I'm starting to get permanent wrinkles etched into my forehead and around my eyes. I've now seen 4 grey hairs that were quickly plucked out and I see a huge difference in my energy level each morning even though I'm going to bed earlier than I ever have before.

There's no denying it, I'm getting older.

I don't know why but 30 years old scares me. I know it's not technically that old and I am still very, very young to be having thoughts like this, but it's an age that seems like the beginning of the end of my youth. You aren't considered a young adult by the time you hit 30 anymore and for fertility reasons, that number just seems like a huge ominous age to me right now.

My grandma's passing was also an eye opener to me last summer and I think between that and our infertility, I find myself evaluating a lot of things in my life lately. There are SO many things I want to do in this life. I know this isn't our forever home and someday we get to experience eternity with our Savior but I also want to make the most out of this life. I want to experience every great and meaningful thing out there that this life has to offer and I don't want to feel like I missed out on anything.

I've always had an on-going bucket list in my head, several items I've mentioned on here before, but I've been feeling the need to get it down on paper in list form and cross them off when they're completed. It's the Type A personality in me but it's something I really want to do. I always feel more of a sense of accomplishment when I cross an item off my to-do list.

I've decided to share it on here with you guys in the hopes of accountability and maybe even inspiring some of you to make your own. I plan on updating it with pictures after each item is crossed off in the future.

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A few notes:

Some items are a lot more detailed than others and you probably wouldn't be surprised to find out that most of them involve traveling in some way or another because that is how I want to experience life. Also, I have bucket lists inside of bucket lists.

I wanted this to be realistic for me. Most of these item are ones I know I can accomplish if I put my heart and mind to it. I didn't want to write down crazy things like "make a movie" or "meet a celebrity" because I know those probably won't happen. They're things I'M responsible for. They don't depend on other people to make them happen {ok, Jeremy needs to involved in a few} so it's solely on me to accomplish them.

1. Go para-sailing

2. Release a floating lantern in memory of a loved on

3. Spend one of our anniversaries at the same resort we honeymoon'ed in Hawaii

4. ~~Visit New York~~

~~a. Go to the top of the Empire State Building~~

~~b. See the Statue of Liberty~~

~~c. Tour The Met~~

~~d. Run in Central Park~~

{2012}

5. Take a kissing picture in front of the Eiffel Tower

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6. Spend a night under the stars by myself

7. Become a mother
8. Go on a girl's weekend trip to a Vineyard

9. See the Macy's Day Parade in person
10. Throw a surprise party for a loved one
11. Live in a house with a wrap-around porch and a swing

12. ~~Take a hot air balloon ride~~

13. ~~Marry my best friend~~

14. Celebrate a 50th anniversary with my best friend

15. Learn how to bake a cake decorated in fondant

16. Read the bible from beginning to end.

17. Visit New York around Christmas

a. Ice-skate at Rockefeller Center
b. See the Rockettes
c. Have a frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity

d. See a Christmas play

e. Walk through Central Park in the snow

18. Visit all 50 states
19. ~~Go white water rafting~~

20. Take a gondola ride in Venice

21. Gamble in Las Vegas

22. Retire at an age young enough to enjoy it
23. Move to another state for at least 2 years

24. Climb a 14er {This one scares me but I really want to do it for my dad someday}

25. Go on a 30th birthday vacation with girlfriends

26. Run the Disney Princess half marathon {I would commit to a full marathon but like I said, this needs to be realistic}

27. ~~See the Chicago Bean~~

{2013}

28. Be someone's boss

29. Have a close friendship that lasts longer than 30 years
30. See the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco

31. Spend a weekend in the Montana mountains

32. Go back to school for my masters

33. See as many Broadway Musicals as possible
~~a. Wicked~~
b. Chicago
c. West Side Story
d. Les Miserable
~~e. The Lion King~~
~~f. The Phantom of the Opera~~
g. Jersey Boys
34. Go to Africa on a missions trip with Jeremy

35. Take a kissing picture in front of Cinderella's castle at Disney World

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36. Attend a masquerade ball
37. Ride an elephant in India
38. Be truly happy with the way I look
39. Visit Vermont or Oregon in the fall

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40. Get a small, meaningful tattoo {this will only happen if Jeremy passes away before me because he loathes tattoos.}

41. Skinny dip in an ocean
42. Visit a castle

43. ~~Kiss under the mistletoe~~
44. ~~Be someone' favorite aunt~~

45. Volunteer for Habitat for Humanity
46. Take my mom on a once-in-a-lifetime trip
47. Take a picture in front of the White House
48. Go to an opera
49. ~~Go on a safari~~
50. Overcome my fear of driving in the snow

I have an even 50 right now but I'm sure I will be adding to the list as time goes on and I find more things I want to accomplish.

Trust me, I realize how morbid a bucket list is but I also think it's important to ACTIVELY and CONSCIOUSLY live life and not just watch as it passes you by.

When you're a born and bred native Coloradan, you grow up hiking the Rocky Mountains. My dad has done more 14'ers than even he can keep track of and he loved taking us girls up a mountain for dad-daughter bonding time. I used to hate these dates and remember the complaining and whining I would do as we made our way up the trail {I always preferred our dad-daughter doughnut dates instead.}

In college our friends, who came to school from out of state, were enthralled with the majesty of our mountains and made me take them up a few of the more well-known trails on the weekends. I was finally old enough to appreciate the fun challenge of good hike and the reward of the view from the top once I hit my college years and actually enjoyed it way more than when I was younger.

Horsetooth Rock is probably our most popular hike because the views from the top are epic of the Rockies on one side and of my hometown on the other, anyone who was born in northern Colorado hiked that mountain at least once during their childhood. Jeremy had never been on that trail even though he's lived in this state for over 15 years so this past weekend we decided at the last minute to get up really early on Saturday morning and enjoy the first nice weekend we've had in months outside.

The 5:00 a.m. wake up call is made more bearable when there's wildlife to greet us on the way to the trailhead. Can you imagine having that hang out in your front yard every morning?

We weren't sure how a small lap dog would do on a 5 mile hike but decided to bring Willow up at the last minute and just carry her in our backpack if she got too tired.

Willow was such a trooper on the entire hike though and was pulling us on her leash almost the whole time.

There wasn't a cloud in the sky that morning.

We've been saying that we need to take advantage of our beautiful state while we're still here this year. There's a good chance this might be our last summer to spend in Colorado and we want to enjoy the mountains in every season while we still can. So far we've been off to a good start with extra skiing/snowboarding this winter and we're hoping to get a lot more hikes and camping in before the weather cools off again in the fall.

Intense sunlight.

The rock formation at the top resembling horse's teeth, hence the nickname Horsetooth.

It wasn't until you get to the rock when it turns into more of a rock climbing expedition and less of a hike.

Jeremy ended up having to carry Willow while we climbed and he fell on the way up when his feet slipped on ice. Other than a few scrapes and bruises though, we all survived and made it to the very tippy-top!