engagement hike

It's summertime, which means the Whinery's are hiking! We try to get as much in as we can since it's one of our favorite things to do and summer is so short here. :) One of our favorite hikes in colorado is the one we got engaged on three years ago. It's just outside of Vail and it's called Booth Lake. It's really pretty and we try to go up at least one or two times a year. This was one of the first hikes we did this season.

Here's the famous spot!

dinner afterwards in vail

just wanted to share this photo of a pretty sunset at a rockies game we went to recently. we're enjoying our colorado summer :)

the help

I just finished reading the book, The Help, and I loved it. I highly recommend it if you're looking for a good summer read. :) I laughed, cried, and had a very hard time putting it down....

catching up!

hmmm... so we've been quite delinquent in the blogging world. If anyone was wondering, we're still alive, and here is my attempt to catch up on the last 6 months of our lives!

JANUARY was a difficult month as we lost two grandparents within a couple of days.

My Grandmother, Jessie Mae Hill, was 91, and we miss her a ton. She brought a gentle, gracious presence to our family, and she was always making us laugh. I remember her being at just about every holiday and family event that I can remember. I'm so thankful that I can look forward to seeing her again one day.

Matt's grandfather, John Graham Whinery, was 88 and was a man of integrity, faith, and had a great since of humor. He was a classy man who was well-respected in his community. He was passionate about the Lord, his family, hunting, and the outdoors. We're thankful that Matt has so many great memories of sweet time with him. The photo below was taken the week before he passed away, when we were in Amarillo for their 60th wedding anniversary.

FEBRUARY

We tried to get as many ski days in as we could, which was fun! We celebrated Matt's birthday in Vail with two of his close friends from medical school, Andrew and Ryan.

We also bought a new car in Feb! A 2010 Subaru Outback (the state car of Colorado). I was incredibly resistant to buying an outback at first, but matt talked me into it because we really needed a reliable 4 wheel drive for the winter conditions here. After driving it in a couple snowstorms, I decided I love it! It handles wonderfully! here's a tiny photo of one (our's is black.)

(Now I know what you're wondering, and the answer is YES! this IS the car that Jim and Pam have...on The Office. !!)

MARCH

We recieved sad news in March that Travis, the Whinery's 16 year old golden retriever, had passed away. He was a precious puppy who never did a single thing wrong. Here he is with Jake and Bailey (my parent's dog). He is definitely missed... such a good boy.

Matt had a week off in March and we spent it in the WARMTH!! We went to Palm Springs, California for a few days, and then took a road trip from there to Sedona, Arizona (& the Grand Canyon). We absolutely loved this trip - lots of great hiking and the weather was perfect for poolside relaxing. :)

here we are at the Grand Canyon

this was where we stayed in Palm Springs

ok, I think that's all I can handle right now. stay tuned, more to come!....