I don't think it was a coincidence one of the best days of my life preceded one of the worst days of my life. It was not that we did anything lavish, but the weather was spectacular and we spent the day hiking to Cutthroat Pass via Cutthroat Lake (one of the prettiest trails I have ever been on). The sky was blue, the larch were golden and my happy little family was doing what we do best- enjoying nature and each other. I was confident after seeing the heartbeat of our child, that this tiny human growing inside of me was happy and healthy. We were eagerly anticipating breaking the news to friends and were feeling blessed beyond measure to be adding again to our family so soon.

Jasper, our seasoned hiker. He is happy in his carrier and in between napping, babbling and snacking he eagerly chats with those who pass by. We had just begun to start talking about what hiking would look like with two little ones next Summer. We were excited at the thought of raising another little one to love the outdoors.

This section of trail was particularly jaw dropping to me. I could not get over the beautiful reds and yellows along the trail.

We are always eager to get a photo of our family. Whenever I see a friendly looking stranger I am never shy about asking them to take our photo. If I don't like how it turns out I know I can always ask the next person who comes down the trail.

When you see larch you might assume they are prickly, but their needles are actually as soft as can be. The contrast of the golden larch against the blue sky was truly breathtaking.

As we reached Cutthroat Pass there were quite a few people sitting around enjoying the day, but before we knew it everyone cleared out and we had the place to ourselves. As the sun started to dip down and shine through the larch that is when the magic really happened. The larch started to glow, the light started to fade, and our thoughts turned toward what we were going to eat for dinner and how grateful we were to raise our children in such a beautiful place.

I know these kind of days exist to remind me that despite what happens to me I can have moments of pure joy. After our son passed away there was a time where I thought I would never feel happiness again, oh how foolish I was. And so here I am again picking up the pieces to my heart, but this time feeling confident I will continue to experience moments of pure happiness again and again.