Midway Mountain Mamas

January 11, 2017 By

Following an almost perfect reunion tour of Colorado, I almost dreaded our reentry into the real world. Would we be sad we moved here and pine to go back?

When we drove into our little valley, this sunset was blazing over a foot of fresh snow. A well cared for Fat Kitty greeted us at home and a thoughtful neighbor had plowed our steep driveway.

Deer Creek Reservoir

It isn’t Colorado but it’s still pretty darn great.

Fortunately, we were forced to launch back into school and work immediately so there was minimal time for mourning.

A huge dump of snow also brought frigid temperatures so I reminded Bode of what my Canadian forefathers said: “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.”

We repeated that 100X during his Nordic ski lesson.

Hadley is the kind of kid who does not like to be jam-packed with activities. She loves and needs her down-time so we didn’t enroll her in anything for the first four months we moved here. She resisted my pressuring to take ski lessons with Bode but asked to play volleyball so she started the local rec program last week. Almost immediately afterwards, I took her over to the church to play basketball with the Young Women. Since I have brain damage and a difficult time saying “no” (and an over-easy time inviting myself to new situations), I stayed to play with the girls, my first game in 20 years. I had forgotten about how much fun basketball is!

When I woke up the next morning? NotSoFun.  This darn knee will be the death of me!

That morning was sunny and -15 degrees.

Bode: I sure wish I didn’t have to walk to the bus stop.”

Me: (Sipping hot tea wrapped in a blanket): “Yeah, me too.”

It’s a tough world being raised by a Canadian mom.

Before the holidays, I started a Facebook group “Heber Valley Outdoor Families” for any locals who want to get out and play. Around the same time, my friend Sarah went snowshoeing and asked if anyone was interested. Her texting group is 35 women strong and growing. We had our first adventures this week! It was really cold when I left the house on Saturday morning but had warmed up to a balmy 0 degree by 10 a.m. That didn’t stop this tough bunch of ladies and we had a blast breaking trail in the glorious snow.

Yep, I’m missing Colorado but it’s tough to feel sad when we live in such an amazing place and are making wonderful new friends.

Filed Under: outdoors, skiing, Utah

A Colorado New Year

January 9, 2017 By

As we were making our plans for the Winter Break, I looked at the looooong 2.5 weeks ahead of us and declared a road trip to Colorado was in order. Of course, the kids were game–they miss their friends desperately. Jamie was slower to bite but when when I received a magazine assignment from The Broadmoor to sweeten the pot, he was ALL IN.

We stayed two nights at my beloved Colorado Chautauqua’s darling cottages, two nights with our friends the Larsons and two nights at The Broadmoor. Our trip wasn’t too long, nor too short, it was just right. #CallMeGoldilocks.

Tired boy, warm fireplace

We had a rough reentry to Colorado. There are two driving routes–one through Colorado’s mountains and the other through Wyoming. Colorado’s mountain passes are sketchy in winter and Wyoming’s winds and ice are what nightmares are made of. We checked the forecast and declared Colorado was the better route and all was going smashingly until my friend Tina texted me that I-70 was closed down at Vail Pass. Now, I’m not going to start a tirade of my bitter hatred toward this freeway which is a billion dollar NIGHTMARE for Colorado’s tourism industry. We decided not to take a long detour and just hope for the best and miraculously, Vail reopened and traffic was moving! Until we arrived in Frisco (outside of Breckenridge) where we went at a snail’s pace for hours thanks to ski traffic.

We arrived much later than anticipated, checked into our cottage at Colorado Chautauqua and headed straight to dinner at their historic Dining Hall. It’s my favorite ever patio dining ever and in the winter, there were cozy fireplaces and charming Christmas decorations as we downed cornbread with apple butter, shiitake mushroom risotto and gourmet burgers with fresh tomato preserves and horseradish ranch. We went to bed completely exhausted but full to the brim.

I’ve been missing my Colorado hiking trails so much, especially since my friends and I hiked the Mesa Trail straight through to Chautauqua last summer.  Though Colorado hadn’t received much snow up until that point, it was cold and portions of the trail were icy. So, that morning when I woke up in my cozy cottage, I literally had to drag myself out of bed. And I’m so glad I did.

That network of favorite trails has raised my children. I first discovered it with my mom hiking group when Hadley was 3 months, I almost passed out trying to climb it when I was pregnant with Bode, I’ve struggled up steep pitches pushing them in their double stroller through snow, we’ve participated in their memorable theater hikes and I’ve loved seeing them reach summits of their own.

But that day was the first time I witnessed the sunrise there, making me believe I’d never really SEEN Chautauqua until that moment.

We met Tina and her kids at Country Road Cafe and happily stuffed our faces with Crispy Waffle-battered Sweet Potato Fries topped with eggs, ham, cheese, hollandaise and honey drizzle. 

We’d planned to skate Evergreen Lake but it was closed due to Denver’s lack of snow so we took the kids to their favorite bouldering location at Three Sisters/Alderfer in Evergreen.

It warmed my heart as as were hiking back to the car and Hadley pointed out the Bluebird Meadows trail sign and reminisced, “Do you remember when there was a blue bird sitting on this sign?” So many wonderful memories.

More wonders: so many friends organized parties for us. We dropped Bode at his buddy Porter’s Nerf Fun War Blowout, Hadley went to a girl’s night out part at her friend Maeve’s while Jamie and I had game night with her parents and Bode got invited for a sleepover with his besties. As we pulled up to the house, I saw the silhouettes of four ecstatic boys–Nicky, Vinnie, Curtis and Zach–waiting for him and their sheer joy of being reunited was one of my favorite moments of our trip.

And then I’m sure these gamers stayed up until I-don’t-want-to-know-how-late.

The next morning, Jamie, Hadley and I went for one last hike at Chautauqua before checking out, whereupon we disagreed about who was the most out of shape.

Hint: It wasn’t these two billy goats.

My friend Eva organized our 2nd Annual FHE Showdown with several families at the church. Last year during the inaugural event (read all about it in the FHE Musical Chairs of Death), Jamie and I had just made the decision to move but did not tell anyone for a couple of months. We walked away from that insanely fun evening saying “How can we possibly leave these amazing people?” We still feel the same way after a night of dodgeball, blood, games, basketball, a ripped shirt and a competitive game of musical chairs whereupon Jamie was dethroned.

Kids musical chairs

Adult musical chairs

Fortunately, he didn’t throw out his shoulder playing dodgeball; he only saves that for marshmallow wars (see previous Musical Chairs of Death post).

Clear Creek

We had a low-key and fun New Year’s Eve with friends, took a memorable walk along the now-frozen Clear Creek and I got up early for a walk in Van Bibber Open Space. This was the outdoor playground closest to our home and I pondered how many hours have we spent jumping, splashing, bike racing and tree climbing there?!

Then I got tired of my deep, effusive thoughts and spent the rest of my explorations cracking ice puddles like the five-year-old I am.

We went back to Arvada 2nd Ward for church and it felt like the rest of our trip: like we never left. I had so many hugs and “welcome homes” from those beloved people.

I asked Bode his thoughts about coming back and he said it was both better and worse than he anticipated. The better: wonderful friends organizing sleepovers, game nights, lunches, Nerf gun showdowns, girls night out, Country Road Cafe breakfast, Chautauqua and Evergreen hikes, comfy beds and late nights. The worse (according to Bod and us all): Leaving.

But one thing that was confirmed is that Colorado will always be home.

Stay tuned for fun at The Broadmoor.

Filed Under: Bode, Colorado, Hadley

Soldier Hollow’s Youth League

January 5, 2017 By

When you live 5 miles away from the cross-country skiing venue of the 2002 Olympic Games, you’d better believe making it a part of your lives is a priority. The problem? I’m the only one in our family who loves to Nordic Ski. I grew up on the groomed track of the golf course across the street from my house and love love love that I’m finally living in a place that has a real winter.

Jamie claims he (somehow) got a concussion going 0.001-mile per hour the first time I took him cross-country skiing in Canada. He’s reluctantly skied a few times but claims it’s too much work and not as fun as downhill. Hadley took to it right away. When we were in Crested Butte a few years ago, our guide told her if she was local, she’d recruit her to train with the Junior Olympic Nordic Team. The problem? She had a horrible experience last winter at Snow Mountain Ranch so the one with the most potential refuses to go.

Fortunately, there is Bode who is the most easy-going bloke around so I enrolled him in Soldier Hollow’s Youth League. For just $150, he gets a season pass, twice weekly lessons for almost three months and rentals. For every two times I volunteer, I earn a free trail pass and rentals of my own.

Pinch me, this place is a dream.

Bode’s good buddy Eli is enrolled as well and I was thrilled to learn two other friends have kids in the exact same class. I know Midway is a small town but what are the odds? Bode is a strong downhill skier but has really taken to Nordic as well so I foresee many adventures in our future.

So, this is how we’ll be spending every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon this winter.

Sunset after the first day of classes

Already, 2017 is shaping up to be a good one.

Filed Under: Bode, outdoors, Utah

Welcome to 2017: A year of healing, hope and discovery

January 1, 2017 By

From the offset, I knew 2016 would be a tough year as we walked away from a beautiful life we spent 13 years building into a wilderness of unknowns. At times, I’ve thrived and reached summits I never thought possible. Other times, I’ve faltered and have struggled to carve out a new existence. I’ve been so busy getting unpacked and starting a new job over these last months (while still juggling the old one) that I’ve neglected what makes me happy. Being outdoors. Writing about travel. Building friendships. Communing with God.

I talked to Jamie about some of my frustrations this week and he consoled me to be kind to myself. “We’ve had a hard year. We’ve been in survival mode.”

But now that we’re a lot more settled, I’m feeling restless to delve in. To explore. To befriend. To eat healthier. To build new communities and networks. So much of the Midway area is unknown and brimming with possibilities. I’ve been uncharacteristically placid. Paralyzed in the past and present. I injured my left knee a few months ago running down the Mid-mountain Trail in Park City and it is still giving me problems. Couple that with my other arthritic knee and I’ve been slow to rehabilitate and figure out a new lifestyle that nurtures healing.

A few years ago, I read an article about adventure racer Amelia Boone. Since the sport’s inception, she’s amassed more than 30 victories and 50 podiums. In the 2012 World’s Toughest Mudder competition, which lasted 24 hours, she finished 2nd OVERALL out of 1,000+ competitors. This was ahead of every male except the winner, who beat her by just 8 minutes.

When she was asked why she was so successful in obstacle racing, she replied,

“I’m not the fastest, and I’m not the strongest, but I’m REALLY good at suffering.”

Persistence. Endurance. Never giving up.

I’ve certainly never been at Amelia’s elite level but being an athlete has been part of my identity. Even from a young age, I would torture myself with sprints up and down the gully. I’d slog through the deep snow in the golf course. I’d leap-frog off my long jumping leg for hours on the trampoline. Last year was the first time in my life (besides my mission and late in my pregnancies) that I haven’t had a regular workout routine because I’ve been at a loss for what to do. I’m bored to tears by low-impact yoga, swimming and Pilates so I’ve barely done anything since we moved to Midway.

It was with great interest I followed Amelia’s journey this year after a serious injury. How would a champion who thrives on being on top of the podium cope with her rehabilitation? She recently wrote an article that has become my blueprint for this year, “A Year of Healing.” You won’t regret taking a few minutes to read it if you’ve ever been smacked in the face with the need to change but here are a few excerpts.

On April 26th of this year, a few days after the whole “broken femur” thing started, I picked up a copy of Cheryl Strayed’s book “Brave Enough.” I flipped to a page, and this stared at me:

I promptly ripped this page (and one more, which you’ll see if you make it all the way through this novel of a post) and taped it to my bathroom mirror, as a theme for my recovery journey. Granted, the journey has been much longer than I anticipated, but can be summed up with two themes: gratitude and acceptance.

When I first sat down to write this post, I titled it “2016: A Year of Injury.” But the more I wrote, I realized that, yes – I could look at this as a year of injury. Or I could look at this as a year of healing – body and mind. So that’s what I choose to do.

….People always talk about the physical part of injury. The physical part is easy. It’s the mental part that will eat you alive. Wondering if every ache and pain is a new catastrophic injury, or a massive setback from the prior. Worrying that your body is going to betray you…forever. And trying to have the patience and trust to weather the painfully slow rebuilding process.

…..2016 didn’t go as planned, to say the least. From laying out my most ambitious and exciting race schedule ever a year ago, to not even competing in a single obstacle race. From logging my highest mileage months ever, to not running a step for 9 months. From feeling the strongest I ever have as an athlete, to feeling the absolute weakest. Yes, 2016 was a doozy.

But you know what? It has been, by far, my most personally fulfilling year ever. Maybe being unable to physically run from my problems forced me to confront them, and do the deep work that is so easy to abandon when times are good. Maybe I had to be physically weak and broken to become emotionally strong. And while I don’t have it all figured out, maybe life put a “pause” button in front of me to allow me to do so.

To say it was a sucker punch when you are already down for the count is a bit of an understatement. But amidst the tears, my friend (and life twin!) Caroline asked me a question which I thought was rather silly at the time: “Amelia, did you ACCEPT your injury? With the femur?” And I retorted “of course I have, Burckle. It’s hard to not when you are on crutches for 3+ months.”

But what I realized is that while I couldn’t ignore the physical injury, I did everything I could to cross-train around it. I fought like hell to maintain my fitness. I denied that my training methods were wrong, or that they may have been the source of the injury. I did everything to pretend it was just a few months off, and my training would resume as normal after a clean bill showing no fracture. For months, I kept lamenting about being worried about “getting back to the place where I was.” When instead, I should have accepted that I’m NEVER going to return to “where I was,” and that’s actually the LAST place I should want to go. Instead, I need to move forward, accept that I’m never going to be the same athlete, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Now, the end of December, a month into a return to run program (until the careful guidance of Coach David…#rawr) from the second stress fracture, I finally feel like I’ve reached the point where I’ve accepted that I’m not trying to “get back” anywhere. And I’m probably never going to train how I used to train, but that’s OK. Because I have faith that, with the perspective and knowledge, I’ll train better.

=====

My frustrations with 2016 aren’t just about my injuries (though that has definitely been a part of it). I need to figure out what my new normal will be–for my family, my new career path and my health. I’ll never return to “where I was” and I need to become more OK with that.  Because things are still good, even great.

Instagram has an algorithm that compiles your nine most popular posts of the year. I posted the following on Facebook yesterday:

It was almost exactly a year ago that we made the decision to move for no apparent reason, during which time Jamie prophetically announced “2016 is going to suck.” I find it interesting that we started, ended and spent the majority of our year in Colorado but most of my #2016bestnine moments are in Midway. Because despite all the hard stuff of goodbyes and stresses, there were new friends, rainbow sunrises, joyous reunions and golden vistas. 2016 was a lesson in faith, sacrifice and growth but 2017 will be about finding our place here. I’ve learned not to take any mundane or magical moment for granted. Life comes and goes, just long enough for us to witness the sublime, the glory, but only if we take the time to look and listen.

I may be limping into 2017 (literally and figuratively) but my life’s creed resonates more than ever: “When you’re falling on your face you’re actually moving forward.”

I’m coming for you, 2017, face-plants and all.

Filed Under: Favorite Posts, Health

A Utah Christmas

December 29, 2016 By

We spent last Christmas in Utah and that was the official beginning of our journey. During our visit, Jamie and I secretly looked at real estate in Midway and fell in love with our lot–only the second property we looked at. One year later, we woke up to a winter wonderland in our very own home. It’s crazy how much can change in a year!

Christmas Eve in Salt Lake City was a full day. Brunch at Little America (and sadly the only picture I have of the entire family).

Afternoon at the movies to see Rogue One.

And a delicious dinner at my sister-in-law Tammy’s who is over-the-top with her gourmet food and gorgeous decorations. Jamie’s family was gracious enough to humor me with all my family’s Christmas Eve traditions of playing the bells, the left-right game and the holiday gift exchange. But there’s no one more over-the-top than my own Canadian family’s Christmas Eve revelries. Just look at these crazies in their matching jammies! 

We were on the fence with staying with my in-laws for the night but between a full house with Jamie’s other siblings, the prospect of sleeping on the couch, and my persisting cough that has been keeping me awake, we decided there was no place like home. So, we made the drive back in the dark. It had been lightly snowing all day so it was a risky decision; there was a good chance we wouldn’t make it to his parent’s for Christmas but decided it was worth it to be in our own house.

Our Christmas Eve jammies had a new twist this year: Hadley is in women’s sizes and I thought it would be fun to get matching PJs. She was delighted with her owl PJs…until she realized they were the same as mine and I wanted to get a picture of all of us after she’d (gasp) taken off her make-up.

I entitle this picture: Loving family minus one melting down, tired, PMSing tween.

She eventually came around, mostly because we each took an arm and leg and dragged her out to watch A Christmas Story with us. Because that’s how we roll. No one melts down alone in our clan.

Note: Jamie took a stellar picture of her during Said Meltdown that will be saved for future blackmailing purposes.

Christmas morning dawned bright, crispy, snowy and beautiful! Jamie woke us up at 7 a.m. to give us enough time to open presents before church. The big takeaways: Bode’s big gift was an air hockey/ping pong table that is being housed in our unfinished basement.

If you look closely, you will see Hadley’s owl PJs. Don’t tell her I told you that.

Hadley claims she’s the only kid in seventh grade without a phone and I’m OK with that. She’s obsessed with photography so we bought her a used (yet still pricey) camera to start her business. 

To save money, Jamie and I vowed we wouldn’t buy each other gifts but discovered a few weeks ago we both bought each other Magic Bullets. From the same random store in Salt Lake. If that wasn’t funny enough, we both bought each other the new JasonBourne movie.

Next year, maybe we’ll both accidentally buy each other trips to Hawaii.

Church was beautifully inspiring and I’m so grateful for our welcoming and wonderful ward that already feels like family after only a few months.  Then we drove the 50 minutes back to Jamie’s parent’s house and had a nice low-key Christmas stuffing ourselves with appetizers, soups and desserts all day long.

After a decidedly tough year, it was a simple, wonderful way to celebrate being surrounded by family and I couldn’t be more grateful…and excited for our adventures in the New Year!

Filed Under: Family, holidays

Ward Christmas Party Extraordinaire

December 23, 2016 By

A highly anticipated event for many LDS Congregations is the annual Christmas party. Food, fun, friends and lots more food–what’s not to love?

Well, except for when you are put in charge of your new ward’s Christmas decorations. AWK!

I have thrown plenty of large-scale, even city-wide events but here’s the caveat–I always hired out on matters like these. So, I did what any non-decorating person would do: I ensured I had the best darn committee brimming with domestic goddesses and I contacted my sister-in-law Tammy a.k.a. the lead domestic goddess.

To let you know her level of commitment, for her ward party a few years ago, she spent THREE MONTHS making these glitter trees. I spent three hours re-glittering them all and it almost sent me over the edge. Truly, I bow down to her. But not in a goddess-worshipping-kind-of-way because that would be worshiping false gods and she’s as true as they come.

Generally ward parties are held at the meeting house but this year, they rented out the Midway Community Center and the outdoor skating rink in town square. The only challenge was the gym (where we served the food) was small, only seating a fraction of our 500+ ward members. The upside is there was less to decorate. My committee met the morning of the party and within a few hours, we had the community center looking beautiful!

Enter: Murphy’s Law.

I was given a special key for the Community City that was only programmed to work from 10 a.m.-noon and then again at 5 p.m. As my friend Tanya and I were leaving at 1 p.m., we tested the door to see if it was locked. Huh. It was still open. We tried a few times but still, the same result.

And this is where my brain damage came into play. I stepped outside with Tanya to test the door and voila, it finally locked!

The problem? My car keys, purse and cell phone were still inside.

And so we made the journey to the city hall offices, only to find out the one person who could open the door was still at lunch,

Eventually, I got back inside to retrieve my items and had to return again at 5 p.m. to open the doors for the party but you’d better believe the first chance I got, I handed that key off to someone else.

As for the party, we had a blast with a video, great performances, delicious food and wonderful company. The Community Center was bursting at the seams so it was a relief to walk next door to the Midway Ice Skating Rink. Located in the middle of Town Square, this rink is the focal point of so many activities in the winter and I’m ashamed to say this was our first time there.

I immediately came to life the moment I hit the ice, channeling all my wonderful memories of growing up in Canada skating at the Willow Park Community Center and for miles along the Bow River. I had a blast teaching the youth how to spin, forming trains and racing around the rink. Bode has never liked skating but had fun with friends while Hadley had a great time with her tween minions. Jamie was en route back to Colorado for his company party.

At one point, I was talking to some of the teenagers and a gal in a long skirt was numbered among them. I kindly asked if she was cold but she said “no,” only to realize she wasn’t with our group… and was with some other young women in old-fashioned long skirts. And I inwardly groaned at my social faux-pas as I wondered if I was having my first polygamist interaction since moving to Utah. I learned they were visiting from British Columbia and often skated on their pond, which begs the question are there polygamists in Canada? Or maybe they were Hutterites? We often visited their colonies in Southern Alberta to buy their delicious farmed goods. Or maybe they just like skating in frigid temperatures wearing long skirts?

Regardless of who they were, we had a lot of fun with them and one of the girls and I formed a spin circle that had me completely discombobulated. Just as I broke free,  Jamie’s home teaching companion Aaron asked if I was dizzy and proceeded to spin me around even more until I was ready to puke.

Ahhh, good times on the ice.

The next day, I woke up feeling like I was Cinderella after the ball (read: it wasn’t pretty) but I had such fun with these princes that night.

Filed Under: LDS

The Town Party

December 20, 2016 By

In today’s edition of living in an episode of Gilmore Girls’ Stars Hollow, my friend Sarah texted me at 6:30 p.m. asking if I was going to the annual Midway Town Party. Huh? I’d heard nothing about it but rallied the troops (namely: Bode who’s the only one with any semblance of the Christmas spirit). This move would later be met with great controversy by the Johnson Family Grinches despite the fact that the darling musical performances would have sent Jamie (who despises concerts) and Hadley (who is annoyed by everything, particularly Christmas music) over the edge.

But their (Jamie’s) tune changed when we came home with candy and the news (for Hadley) that her friend was hanging out with cute boys from middle school. We all have our motivations.

I really wasn’t even sure what the Town Party was all about. A couple of weeks prior, we had attended the Town Christmas Tree lighting so I assumed it was outside. I was wearing snazzy summer capris and, in my laziness, just threw on a pair of clompy boots to “complete” my ensemble, only to find out the event was in the Midway City Hall. In the light. Where people could see me.

We arrived late but still caught a few performances on stage including the darling Swiss Miss girls, two of whom are in our ward. I tried to convince Bode and his buddies to compliment them on doing a nice job, which apparently was akin to sending them into the lion’s den. Sorry, ladies. It’s tough to raise gentlemen these days.

The short program ended with everyone singing a couple of Christmas carols and then the Man In Red showed up to distribute over-stuffed bags of candy.

It’s pretty sad to me that our season of believing is over but Bode still went up with his buddies.

Bode later refused to tell me what he and Santa talked about so maybe just maybe he and the Man in Red have a few tricks up their sleeves yet.

Here’s to our first memorable Small Town Christmas!

 

Filed Under: Bode, holidays

November in Review

December 15, 2016 By

I know, I know, we’re well into December but November passed by in such a blur that I was barely able to document any of it. Here are a few our happenings.

Hadley turned 12 in May and that marks a major milestone when she enters the “Young Women” organization at church. And since May, my wonderful mother-in-law has been trying to organize a special afternoon tea at the Grand America in her honor. We finally made it happen several months later and what a wonderful afternoon it was!

Minus the fact that I dropped a macaron in Hadley’s tea. You can’t take me anywhere.

Speaking of Macarons, Tammy organized a cooking lesson for us to learn how to make them. I’m not a huge fan of macarons (I find they rather tastless and dry) and never had even one when I lived in France. But I’m tellin you, it’s homemade or bust because our creations were amazing. But the three hours to make them were not.

Fall in the Heber Valley was so incredibly mild and beautiful! It’s not very often we find an outdoorsy family of four with kids our same ages and genders. When the Frisbys took us on what they deemed the “flat” trail along Deer Creek and it was mostly uphill, I knew they were our kind of friends. 

I tagged along on Bode’s cub scout hike to Dutch Hollow and somehow managed to lead them on the wrong trail adding a couple of miles to an already long hike (disclaimer: I’d only explored the area once before).

It’s important to teach them survival skills while they’re still young.

We likely won’t be able to afford a greenhouse next season but Jamie has still been prepping the pumpkin patch. This was possibly the scariest moment of my life watching him operate heavy machinery. He only ran into the fence once…or twice.

We’re still getting acclimated to our house. In most ways, our former two-story, five-bedroom house in Colorado was a much better fit and I often regret downsizing to a ranch…but I know it will all be much better when we finally finish our basement. Our current biggest headaches: The tiny laundry room/mudroom and Hadley waking us up at 5:30 a.m. as she bangs around in the bathroom. Top priority: Scrape together enough funds to build her a bathroom in the basement.

The one thing that makes me happy (in addition to our amazing view) is our kitchen nook. I searched long and hard for the perfect farm table and found one at a luxury consignment store in Park City. We bought a black bench and puke-brown chairs from the same store that needed to be repainted and restored. We fretted over the colors and ultimately decided to take a chance and paint them white. I LOVE how everything turned out (thanks to Jamie’s awesome mom who reupholstered them).

Thanksgiving was low-key. We woke up to a Thanksgiving miracle: Our first snow (and visitors) at our new house!

Not-so miraculous: sick kids.

We drove to Salt Lake City to spend Thanksgiving and Black Friday with Jamie’s family where we ate Jamie’s famous bacon-wrapped smoked turkey, overindulged on Tammy’s pies and went to see “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.”

I slipped out on Friday morning to meet my friend Lori and her daughter for a hike to the Living Room. We never made it. I’ve hiked the trail several times before but the previous day’s snow had turned to ice due to the sheer volume of gut-busting hikers trying to burn a few calories.

Our freshman year during Natural Science Field Expedition, we backpacked hundreds of miles through Yellowstone, the Tetons, Zion and the Grand Canyon. What started as a casual hike that day turned into ice chutes, snowy bushwhacking and steep muddy slopes.

I guess some of us don’t know how to do casual.

Later that weekend, I invited a few families over for dinner before we headed over to Midway’s charming tree lighting complete with hot chocolate, cookies, skating, entertainment, Santa (who got the name of our town wrong) and Bode who, whenever his candle blew out, he’d ask “anyone got a light?”

And wouldn’t you know it, Bode, Eli and Charlie landed on the front page of our community newspaper.

So, for anyone keeping track: Since we moved to Utah, Bode was on KUTV with the pumpkins at Thanksgiving Point, BYU’s Jumbotron, The Broadmoor’s holiday campaign…

And now, the Wasatch Wave. If he keeps it up, he’ll be more famous than even The Pumpkin Man. And that’s really saying something.

Filed Under: Bode, Hadley, Utah

BYU Fans for Life

December 14, 2016 By

When I was at BYU, I attended my fair share of football, basketball and volleyball games. Some of my most memorable moments were going to the BYU football games every week with my friend Garritt, even though I was (and still am) clueless about the game. Give me a puck and a penalty box and this Canuck can talk for hours. But tight-ends and first downs? No thanks. Despite my lack of appreciation for football, we still had a lot of fun sitting in the student section.

My father-in-law bought season tickets to BYU basketball so Jamie has met him in Provo a few times. Last month, our whole family attended “Boomshakalak,” a fun kick-off to the season. It was my first time in the Marriott Center in 20 years and it was Bode’s first time ever so it was only appropriate that my tweet landed him on the Jumbotron. Repeatedly.

And we were so delighted to run into our besties from Colorado, the Larsons, who were visiting their three kids at BYU. I had no idea they would be there but saw they posted a picture on social media. We didn’t tell Hadley about Alexis so it was a funny, surprising reunion in the foyer. 

Fast-forward a few weeks later. We attended the wedding luncheon of the kids’ first babysitter Alexis, daughter of our longtime friends and neighbors, the Haymonds (how can these kids be old enough to get married?)

We high-tailed it over to BYU’s football game, another first for the kids. When Jamie bought the tickets a couple of months prior, it was risky. Late- November games are often miserable and snowy so we kept our fingers crossed and hoped for the best…and we got better than the best.

He bought nosebleed seats (because, you know, money) but as we were getting ready that morning, Jamie’s sister called to ask if we wanted her lobbyist neighbor’s awesome two seats on the 40-yard line. OH YEAH. We planned to just take turns.

We were late to the game because of the luncheon and arrived just before half-time. My friend Sarah texted me, “You should come sit by us. There’s an entire row of seats are empty.”

And these weren’t just any seats. Her husband Ben’s uncle is a major donor to BYU sports so these were even better seats at the 50 yard line. Bode was able to sit with Sarah’s boys and Hadley’s bestie Alex (they were in town for the wedding) hung out with her.

So, here’s how you do BYU football:

Sit in VIP seats.

Take full advantage of their VIP Legacy Tent wristbands with gourmet food but make sure you accidentally go to the wrong tent first (one reserved for sponsors) so you’ll get double the amount of food before realizing you’re in the wrong place.

Then go back to those seats and enjoy your individual coolers of beverage and treats.

The takeaway?

Buying cheap seats totally pays off.

Oh, and BYU won 51-9 but we were the real winners that day.

Filed Under: Bode, Hadley, Humor, Jamie

The evolution of things

December 11, 2016 By

It started yesterday in Heber’s darling Wigglish toy store. The kids were doing their Christmas shopping for each other surrounded by hundreds of the coolest toys and games…and Hadley wasn’t interested in any of them. Her Christmas wishlist includes a laundry list of wants that will never be filled–a fancy camera. A phone. Clothes. Make-up. Perfumes and lotions.

That morning, Jamie and I attended a baptism and helped a new friend move. Hadley has been so exhausted lately from waking up at 5:30 a.m. that I just let her sleep and that she did. Several hours later, I went downstairs to rummage through our basement and found her still slumbering at 1 p.m.?!!!! I laughed, dragged her out of bed and marveled at my new teenager.

Later that evening, my friend Sarah invited us to enjoy their Trader Joe’s spoils of steak and veggies. Jamie had the BYU basketball game with his dad and Hadley had homework so it was just Bode and me. Sarah helped me tremendously during those two months we commuted from Park City by letting me drop off Bode before school and during that time, our kids formed a wonderful bond. As I watched Bode play effortlessly with her three boys, I had an epiphany:

Hadley and Bode don’t play together anymore.

And that made me crazy sad. This move has been difficult on so many levels but this was such an unexpected one that has less to do with our location and more to do with age. For their entire lives, they’ve been besties conjuring up imaginary worlds with their toys and stuffed animals. Sure, they’ve bickered from time-to-time as siblings do but they also had each other, thrown together by extensive travel and circumstance.

Now when they get home after school, they go to their separate corners. Hadley will start on homework, watch make-up tutorials on YouTube or mess around with silly filters. Bode will play math games or chess. They still enjoy laughing at Studio C together and their interactions aren’t bad, they’re just different.

I commented to Jamie yesterday before my epiphany that we have to do better. We’ve been in survival mode for so long that sheer exhaustion lands us in front of the TV every night. It doesn’t help that winter’s evenings are dark and cold but we need to get back to that fun-loving family who traveled and played together.

Every night before bed, we read scriptures and say family prayers. Jamie was still at the game so Hadley, Bode and I piled onto my bed.

“Don’t turn on the light,” I suggested. “Let’s just do dark snuggles.”

I don’t even remember what we talked about but we were transformed back to how it used to be. We laughed. Shared stories. Wrestled. Gazed in wonder as the moon illuminated the snow with a lovely pearly blue-white glow.

It was a piece of magic that this bruised mother’s heart so desperately needed. Things will be different. They have to be–it’s the natural order of things as Hadley and Bode change and grow.

But it gave me hope that they’ll find their way back together again….should we all survive Hadley’s teenage years.  #JesusTakeTheWheel

Filed Under: Bode, Hadley
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