Birthday Adventure, Déjà Vu, and High Altitude

Yesterday we celebrated Papa-Daddy's birthday with a hike to one of our favorite destinations, the meadow above Andrew's Lake at the base of Mt. Snowden (elevation 11,000'+) in the Rocky Mountains. This adventure was extra special because we retraced the steps -- with Baby Fausto snuggled with mama in his Baby Björn -- to the spot where we got engaged two years ago (left). On both hikes we wandered up in gorgeous weather, watching dramatic clouds form, threaten, and mystify, just to have them burst once the destination had been reached and photos taken. While we didn't have the thunderous applause that followed the proposal two years ago, those big, cold raindrops were enough to turn me into quite the mama bear, shuttling a bundled baby quickly back down the trail before even a drop touched his skin.