Southwest Vacations: An iguana bike ride, a too-late discovery and farewell (Cancun Day 4)

February 13, 2015 By

Just tuning in? Be sure to first read:

Southwest Vacations: When Getting There is Half the Fun (Cancun Day 1)
Southwest Vacations: The Flowrider’s Hilarity and Beach Bumming (Cancun Day 2)
Southwest Vacations: A Snorkeling Adventure Within a Misadventure (Cancun Day 3)

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Biking Explorations

A three-night trip with Southwest Vacations wasn’t nearly enough time to explore the Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort. But thankfully our direct Southwest Airlines flight home didn’t leave until 2 p.m. so we had an entire morning to explore. Since our previous three days had been dedicated to the beach, we opted to check-out some bikes and explore the property’s 55 acres of lush tropical foliage.

Moon Palace implements a wildlife monitoring system that has classified 29 reptile species, 112 bird species and 15 mammal species that live and breed in the resort’s natural areas. We were ecstatic when we spotted a white-nosed coati lurking in the jungle and my daughter almost ran over an iguana (chalk those up to things that never happen in Colorado.)

 

While at the resort, we spent every moment together but my kids were counting down the years until they’d be old enough for the state-of-the-art Wired Teens Lounge. That is, until we stumbled upon the Playroom during our bike ride, a veritable kid’s wonderland geared to potty-trained kids up to age 12.

From various game rooms, an American Ninja-warrior-style play area, outdoor playground, mini-spa, fashion runway to practice the catwalk, a movie theater, arcade, toddler area, Xbox room…the Playroom had it all. What we had intended to be a 5-minute stop turned into an hour and we had to practically drag them out.

For once in their lives, the kids were begging for us to ditch them and we were frustrated we didn’t have enough time before our flight home for them to be ditched.

That is what I call a lose-lose situation.

Our Sad Farewells

Twenty-four hours prior to departure, Lomas Travel called our room to confirm our pick-up time for the airport (usually I’m the one trying to track them down tour operators confirmation).  They were right on schedule, we easily navigated Cancun International Airport and boarded our Southwest Airlines flight to Denver. As we were taking off, I turned around to see this girl of mine.

Sun-kissed. Hair braided. Personalized bracelet. In just four days, she had turned into a Mexican Senorita as she marveled at the wonderland below she had been fortunate to experience.

And so had we all.

It’s a Wrap

Southwest Vacations Shuttle Bus Friends

We arrived in Denver to a cold, snowy night. We collected our luggage, bundled up and loaded the shuttle bus to our car in long-term parking. There were two other couples sitting near us and we started talking.

“I’m so bummed to be home.”

“Me, too. We just got back from Cancun.”

“So did we!”

“Us, three!”

Coincidentally, we had all booked our trips through Southwest Vacations and had been on the same return flight. When I asked about their experience, the younger couple replied, “We had some problems with our hotel the first night. We called Southwest Vacations and they switched us to a different resort with no problems at all.”

The other couple echoed their approval, raving what a smooth trip they’d experienced.

I chuckled. Sure, we’d had some minor bumps in the road due to our own ignorance but it was one of our least stressful vacations ever thanks to being able to pre-book our flights, excursion, resort and transportation.

And finding ourselves in the back of that shuttle bus with those couples was just a reminder of what a small world it is with Southwest Vacations, and that they truly bring the world to you.

Filed Under: biking, Bode, Family travel, Hadley, Humor, outdoors, travel Tagged With:

Southwest Vacations: A Snorkeling Adventure Within a Misadventure (Cancun Day 3)

February 12, 2015 By

Just tuning in? Be sure to first read:

Southwest Vacations: When Getting There is Half the Fun (Cancun Day 1)
Southwest Vacations: The Flowrider’s Hilarity and Beach Bumming (Cancun Day 2)

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Booking our direct flight, ground transportation to and from the airport and our hotel was simple on SouthwestVacations.com. Tougher was narrowing down their excursions because Cancun has a plethora of options such as these:

Camel Safari & Reef Snorkeling Adventure * Selvatica Extreme Canopy Adventure * Chichen Itza Plus Cancun * Xcaret eco-archaeological park full-day tour of ruins and activities * Xel-Ha All Inclusive Eco-Aquatic Park Tour (the Zip Bike looks amazing) *Swim with the Dolphins at Wet ‘N Wild.

The Adventure Before the Adventure

We ultimately decided since we were only in Cancun three days, less was more and we would spend as much time in the sand and surf as possible with the Snorkeling Tour and Lunch. Little did we know our adventure would start before we even left the Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort.

Our Southwest Vacations confirmation told us we needed to meet our Lomas Travel transportation outside of the Grand section at the resort. Ever the planners, we decided since that was about a 15 minute walk, we would take the shuttle and leisurely eat breakfast there before leaving. All was going according to plan when, just 5 minutes before we were supposed to meet our guide, I had a sinking feeling something was wrong. I approached the concierge.

“Is this the Grand?”

“No, this is the Sunrise section. Grand is on the other side of the resort.”

The other side, meaning where our room was located. We had erroneously assumed that since Sunrise was the “grandest” of the buildings with the most activities, that was the Grand. Turns out Sunrise is Grand. Are you as confused as we were?

We panicked, knowing there was no way we could make it back in time to meet our transport and we had just missed the resort shuttle bus. We would occasionally see golf carts weaving in-and-out of people on the ocean-side trail and I wondered what one needed to do to hitch a ride. Turns out you need to be an idiot.

“Get in the golf cart and we’ll take you!” the bellhop generously offered.

Golf ride for idiots

The Official Adventure

He raced us back just in time to meet our transport and we cruised down the coast on a saltwater breeze to Playa Maroma in the Riviera Maya, just 10 minutes north of Playa del Carmen.

Playa Maroma

Following a brief introduction from our snorkeling guide, we boarded our catamaran, were fitted with snorkeling gear and sailed away on waters so blue they can’t be found on any color chart.

My cerulean reverie was interrupted by my daughter.

“Mom, you look like a dork,” referring to my snorkeling mask, to which I responded to her mirror image as “the pot calling the kettle a dork.”

There was nothing geeky about our two different stops at reefs teaming with marine life. Though the coral wasn’t overly colorful, the iridescent schools of fish were. We squealed as we swam through a jelly fish field, feeling tiny pin-pricks on our skin, and lazily floated above the reef to the slow-motion balletic pulse of the water.

When we weren’t snorkeling, we were munching on chips and water provided by the friendly staff and diving off the back of the boat.

“Hey, Mom. Check-out my pencil dive,” Bode called out.

I’m not sure what happened but his pencil looked more like an ink blot when he unceremoniously plopped into the water.

“Hey Bode,” I joked back. “Why don’t we just call that one an ‘eraser dive’ so we can forget about it?”

Once back on shore, an open-air buffet lunch was included in our incursion where we were serenaded by a mariachi band.

Bode brought down the house with the very unforgettable Mexican “Chicken Dance.”

We spent our final hour frolicking on Maroma Beach’s wide open transparent water, convinced we had landed in a world of movie-set perfection.

Unintended Adventure No. 2

Though my husband and I hadn’t had an optimal first experience along the hotel strip years ago, we wanted the kids to experience at least a taste of Cancun so we had our driver drop us off downtown. However, something got lost in translation and instead of delivering us to an outdoor, touristy market like we requested, he left us at a mall–something I despise in the U.S. and appreciate even less in a foreign country. We realized this just as he was driving away with all our snorkeling gear, and the instructions to return in 1.5 hours.

I tracked down an older American couple and they pointed us in the correct direction, several miles down the road. Then we had our second misadventure of the day: We hopped on a Cancun public bus, prayed for the best (it turned out to be perfectly fine) and we eventually found a gloriously tacky tourist market.

The moment we stopped off the bus, I kid you not, an overzealous man almost crossed the street in an attempt to lure us into his store. “What is he doing?” Hadley asked, ready to get back on the bus. “Don’t worry, it’s just the way it’s done here,” I soothed, which was the only calming moment of the experience.

But our extra effort was worth it. I loved watching my kids haggle with the locals. Hadley got her hair braided and a personalized bracelet while Bode got a fair price for a shark T-shirt.

We were ecstatic when we arrived back at the resort and I asked Hadley, “So, what did you think of the market?”

She thought long and hard and then equated it to our favorite card game: “It was just like the chaos of playing Pit.”

Welcome to Cancun.

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Stay tuned tomorrow for Southwest Vacations: An iguana bike ride, a too-late discovery and farewell (Cancun Day 4).

Filed Under: Bode, Family travel, Hadley, Humor, Jamie, travel

Southwest Vacations: The Flowrider’s Hilarity and Beach Bumming (Cancun Day 2)

February 10, 2015 By

Just tuning in? Be sure to first read Southwest Vacations: When Getting There is Half the Fun (Cancun Day 1).

When you have only three nights in Cancun with Southwest Vacations, you can either try to cram it all in or take it easy. We took one look at at the Moon Palace Golf & Spa resort’s staggering amount of activities and decreed we needed to spend an entire day at the resort doing nothing…and everything.

One of my favorite travel traditions is to go for an early-morning run upon arrival. There’s something untainted and magnificent about watching the sun wake up your new world and I was entranced by what I saw on property. From a curious field of sunflowers overlooking the ocean,

to a tranquil beach,

to a preview of the resort’s seven outdoors pools that are among the largest lagoon-style pools in Mexico.

Sand and Surf

Following a delicious buffet whereupon we discovered the best thing ever to happen to breakfast–sweetened condensed milk on pancakes and waffles–we hit the pools. We were among the first in line to test our surfing skills on the Flowrider where thousands of gallons of water create two lanes of endless waves. Eager beavers? More like we arrived early to avoid witnesses to our inevitable humiliation. We had a couple of options: We could bodyboard on the FlowRider or attempt the standup flow boards. As newbies, we opted for the former and after the initial fear of  dropping into the bowl,  we felt pure exhilaration as we rode the unbroken waves, carved turns and cut back and forth.

As it turns, face-plants are the norm there so we were in good company.

We settled onto the beach where we played volleyball, glided through the Caribbean waters in kayaks to watch the on-site Dolphin Discovery program, built sand castles and strolled the surf.

Conditions were cloudy yet still warm, likely scaring off the crowds. I settled back to read a book in the temperate weather while the kids played. 

I think some people call it relaxing. It was a first for me but won’t be my last.

The All-Inclusive Obsession

This was my children’s first all-inclusive resort experience and they whole-heartedly embraced it. I gave them some freedom but not as much as Hadley would have preferred. “Mom, I think you need to just let us explore. I mean, set boundaries, of course, but we’ve got it from here.”

By “here,” she meant bouncing between the pool, beach and the Sweets and Coffee shop where we downed about 20,000 calories of mini-cheesecakes (but who’s counting, we didn’t!)

We also became virgin Piña Colada and Miami Vice addicts (the drink, not the tacky 1980s show).

I knew we had a problem when we had to prematurely cut Bode off to rush to make a reservation. Our normally low-maintenance son lashed out, “This is the second time today I have been denied my pina colada.”

His reentry into the real world wasn’t pretty.

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 Tune in tomorrow for “Southwest Vacations: A Snorkeling Adventure Within a Misadventure (Cancun Day 3).”

 

 

 

Filed Under: Bode, Family travel, Hadley, Jamie, travel Tagged With:

Southwest Vacations: When Getting There is Half the Fun (Cancun Day 1)

February 8, 2015 By

Shortly before Christmas, I was perusing through my  spam folder when I happened upon an email entitled “Southwest Vacations – Mexico Vacation Opportunity.”

I don’t know about you but I’m regularly “winning” the lottery and dream vacations so I almost automatically deleted it but I’m so glad I didn’t.  The email explained that Southwest Vacations® recently launched service to Mexico and the Caribbean and they were wondering if my entire family would consider taking a trip from Denver (one of their top departure cities) to Cancun.

View from the Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort

Though I was obviously familiar with Southwest Airlines®, I had never heard of Southwest Vacations and a bit of research revealed they are directly affiliated with the affordable airline and offer complete vacation packages to Las Vegas, Disney World, Disneyland, Florida, California, New Orleans, Phoenix and other top US destinations.

Low-cost vacation packages that you do not have to plan yourself? Sign me up!

The process was embarrassingly easy, given the amount of research that usually goes into planning a trip and it was a comfort to know that all the services had already been vetted. At SouthwestVacations.com, I booked our direct flights, transfer information to-and-from the airport, hotel, excursions and paid my international taxes…all with a few simple clicks.

We surprised the kids with the news of our Cancun vacation on Christmas and they were thrilled. I usually spend the final weeks leading up to a major vacation stressing and planning but I literally had nothing to do because everything had already been confirmed. I started stressing over my lack of stress, which made me realize that maybe I have a problem with needing to feel stressed.

And then I got over it really quickly and decided for once, I would find out what it was like to have a stress-free Southwest Vacation.

The Flight

I checked our family into Southwest Airlines 24 hours before our flight to ensure an optimal boarding assignment. We have flown a number of times but have never had an international direct flight and it was a game-changer. Instead of wasting essentially two days to get there with our usual layovers, we gained an entire day to enjoy Cancun during our quick 3-night trip.

Say “yes” to Southwest’s direct flight from Denver to Cancun!

Our 3.5-hour flight went smoothly and upon arriving at the Cancun International Airport, we were greeted with a madhouse (apparently we weren’t the only ones who had opted for a long-weekend getaway during Martin Luther King Jr. Day). We eventually made it through Customs without a hitch…until we were randomly selected to have our bags searched. Seeing the wad of small bills for tips in my purse, the officer queried, “Ma’am, does this exceed $10,000?” I tried to stifle a laugh–it was like he totally knew me.

The instructions on our Southwest Vacations confirmation were to walk directly from Customs and not stop to talk to the multitude who was trying to sell timeshares. We quickly spotted our Lomas Travel representative and were mercifully whisked away in an air-conditioned shuttle.

The Resort

I had only been to Cancun once before on a brief stopover during a cruise and my first impression was not favorable. Though the Caribbean waters were undeniably beautiful, the hotel zone seemed like non-stop revelries and for a non-partier who craves outdoor adventure, I couldn’t figure out the allure.

When my family pulled up to the Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort–a short drive from the airport but seemingly worlds away (40 minutes) from Cancun’s populous hotel zone–I caught a glimpse. A doting staff presented us with flowers, cool washcloths and we gratefully devoured a spread of snacks in the lobby during while singing, “I think I’m gonna like it here.”

Moon Palace is a sprawling all-inclusive resort, boasting 2,446 luxurious marble décor rooms and private balconies with three distinctive sections. We stayed at the more secluded and quiet Grand section, the expansive Sunrise is replete with activities and pools while the Nizuc section has exclusive concierge service with shuttles connecting them all. I love that despite the size (which seemed overwhelming at times), each area had its own personality and the cozy feel of the Grand perfectly suited us. We had one of their most basic rooms and it was anything but basic.

Our room’s private balcony overlooking the jungle

A double jacuzzi for one fully-clothed boy

A helpful concierge helped us narrow down their 13 restaurant choices and made us dinner reservations at the Brazillian steakhouse, Arrecifes. As we were walking the ocean-side path to dinner, we caught our first view of the water. My daughter begged, “The ocean is calling and I must go” (or something like unto it) but her killjoy parents’ stomachs were calling even louder so we forced dinner upon her. As she stuffed her face with delectable Bolinhos de arroz, acaraje, and empadinhas de palmito, we learned two things about the Moon Palace: 1) We were going to eat well and 2) We were going to eat a lot.

Following dinner, we hit the abandoned beach. Still in our dinner clothes, my husband and I initially cautioned them to merely walk in the sand. But of course, the kids needed to at least touch the water! And then you can’t expect them to merely wade! Before long, they were vacillating between being fully submerged and building sandcastles.

Jamie and I settled back on the beach and watched as the full moon burned down and Cancun glistened with silver lights like a galaxy of fallen stars.

Hadley looked at the horizon, that long line that cuts the world in two, and flung some sand toward it.

“Did you see that?” she squealed as she launched another handful. When it hit the dark ocean, the moon’s reflection lit up each grain of sand like a bioluminescent bay, a befitting touch of lunar magic in the hauntingly beautiful Moon Palace.

Just when we thought our trip to Southwest Vacations couldn’t get any better, it did just that.

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Stay tuned for tomorrow for Southwest Vacations: The Flowrider’s Hilarity and Beach Bumming (Cancun Day 2).

 

Filed Under: Bode, Family, Family travel, Favorite Posts, Hadley, Humor, Jamie, travel Tagged With: ,

Like a Lion to the Slaughter

January 15, 2015 By

Welp, 2015 has come in like a lion and I’m hoping it will go out like a lamb (if I survive that long). Many, many good things are going down and I’m feeling overwhelmingly grateful but mostly just overwhelmed. A video from comedian Jim Gaffigan has gone viral and my favorite joke from it:  “You know what it’s like having five kids? Imagine you’re drowning. And someone hands you a baby.”

That’s exactly what I’m feeling like, minus the five kids (thank heavens; I can barely manage my two!) I’m not sure how diligent I’ll be here posting here as I try to navigate my way through the next couple of months.

Some things that are coming down the pipe:

Shower Shimmy

Thank you thank you thank you to all who have supported my friend Karla’s campaign for her invention the Shower Shimmy, the world’s first 3-in-1 tool and green cleaning solution. I’ve been managing her social media and mom blogger campaign while Jamie built their website and ads. I could tell you some crazy stories about investors, network news opportunities and I’m sure that will be a blog post at a future date. But the most important thing is she reached her Kickstarter fundraising goal on Day 1 and is still going strong. Make sure to order one before her offer expires. Or I do. The jury is out which will happen first.

School Stress

School. Why didn’t someone warn me how stressful my kids’ schooling would be? I’ve touched upon some drama with Hadley’s teacher and it ain’t over yet. They’re supposed to loop with their teacher every year, which is a great thing until you get a not-great teacher. I’ve requested to have her moved to the other class but that is in flux as well with a pregnant teacher who isn’t coming back. After several school tours, I’ve open-enrolled her at an awesome Montessori charter school next year but chances of getting picked in the lottery are slim-to-none. Plus, I don’t know if it’s the right decision because there are some elements of the Montessori education that are a perfect fit (out-of-the-box, creative, innovative) but one specific part that worries me (self-directed learning). However, I’ve seen glimmers of hope as she has taken the reigns in her spiritual well-being by recently bearing her testimony in Sacrament Meeting, studying the Articles of Faith on her own and reading her scriptures before bedtime. She’s really turning into a lovely young lady.

Bode is still soaring at school but my gosh, writing has become a struggle for him. And unlike his sister’s apathy toward school work, he agonizes if  he’s not excelling. The other night during FHE, I could tell something was wrong.  He whispered to me, “Mom, during snuggles, can we talk?” I’ve started a new tradition in the evenings when I tuck each of them into bed that we snuggle and talk about our day. Sometimes it’s silly, sometimes it’s serious. In tears, he told me about some writing assignments he was falling behind in at school and we role-played different resolutions to help him talk to his teacher (I’m trying to empower each of them to take more personal responsibility in school). He cracked me up the next morning as he begged me to role play it out again (I HATED role playing when I was young) but it gave him the confidence he needed to talk to his teacher. And him confiding in me made me realize how those simple five minutes of being together before bedtime are creating more far-reaching, tender moments than I could have imagined. This parenting gig is tough but oh-so rewarding.

Travel, Travel

Following our month-long trip to Canada last summer, I was SO DONE WITH TRAVELING. And for the most part, we haven’t gone on any trips besides a couple of quick getaways. Now, our winter is full of glorious travels but at a cost: my sanity because I’ll be writing about all of them but I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunities. Southwest Vacations (Southwest Air’s vacation package company) reached out and asked our entire family to cover a family vacation to Cancun so we’re heading out for surf and sun. I was in mourning when I wasn’t invited to write an article for The Broadmoor Magazine (truly, it’s one of my favorite gigs) but they recently reached out for us to cover their adventurous offerings (what a perfect fit!) I recently attended a ski media event sponsored by Travel Alberta and was delighted when I was invited on a media trip to the Banff-area resorts. I mean, to revisit my favorite childhood skiing haunts while fitting in a visit with my family afterward? Talk about perfection. Oh, and we need to squeeze in some local ski trips over the next few months so our winter is going to be a whirlwind.

And though I’m completely overwhelmed, you won’t hear any complaints.

You just might not regularly hear from me.

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Disney, Family travel, Favorite Posts

Merry Christmas!

December 25, 2014 By

If you read my blog, our annual holiday newsletter is old news to you. But I assure you, Fat Kitty has never looked better.

Merry Christmas!

If 2014 could be summed up quickly, it would be non-stop travels for the first six months and the other six were spent recovering with little/no travels. We’re so grateful for both and most importantly that we have had minimal health crises this year and no hospital visits (wood is currently being knocked).

Our year was unprecedented for travel and will likely never be repeated but what a blast we had! I attended a media event in Denver for the Maui Convention & Visitor’s Bureau and was thrilled when I won a trip for two! The coincidence? The only other time I’ve been to Hawaii was when my dad won a trip for two to Hawaii through work. Fortunately for my siblings and our kids, we let them tag along and truly fell in love with that island paradise as it was our favorite trip ever (see all the fun here)and I’m now moderately obsessed with buying a cabin there someday.

Just as we were recovering from Maui, I was asked to attend the Disney Social Media Moms, an invite-only, highly-sought-after conference at Disneyland so we decided to splurge. And Disneyland isn’t the same without family so we surprised the kids by waking them up the morning of our departure. For once, they did not complain about being woken up early.

One of our favorite ways to play is skiing and this past year we’ve been to Breckenridge, Steamboat Springs, Crested Butte, Copper Mountain and Park City Mountain Resort...and have many more ski trips planned for 2015. One of our favorite experiences was dog sledding for the first time in Breck!

And, of course, the kids and I spent our month-long vacation in Canada and the Western United States. Jamie joined us for a week at the lake with my family in Vernon, B.C. and we had a fantastic time boating. Usually our Canadian adventures are a reprieve from Denver’s searing heat so we won’t comment how it was actually cooler in Denver during our lake retreat.

Now, onto family matters.

Hadley (age 10, fifth grade)

Hadley grew leaps and bounds this year…literally. Her huge growth spurt over the summer launched her to the top of the class in height and continues to send us scrambling to replace all her clothes, which is challenging because she hates 99% of what she sees in the store. She has a wicked sense of humor and a large group of friends at church and school. She hates math and piano and enjoys handwork, travel, art, violin, pumpkin growing (hers weighed 401 pounds), Minecraft and crafts. Her favorite class trip ever was a three-day class camping trip to the Great Sand Dunes National Park where she was the second-fastest kid to summit the highest dune in North America (a bit perplexing because she’s always the first-slowest when it comes to leaving the house). For volleyball, we bumped her up to play with the 6-8 graders and she has had no problems keeping up the big girls. She’s a mountain goat hiker and is ready to be challenged on the big peaks (we just need to get our act together to take her), is moderately obsessed with bouldering and is constantly heckling the rest of us to keep up with her during her crazy traverses. She’s a great skier, is learning to tackle the moguls and we had a fabulous mother-daughter trip to the slopes in February during her school break. She loves the water and, despite her protests to try wakeboarding, popped up on her first try and now does it like a champ. Though she and Bode would never admit it, they’re besties and play wonderfully together 93 percent of the time; no comment on the other 7 percent nor who is the instigator for the fall-outs.

Bode (age 8, 3rd grade)

Bode’s big news is he got baptized in August surrounded by both sets of grandparents. He’s a happy, kind and thoughtful kid who has two emotions: joyful (most of the time) and sensitive (usually during the aforementioned fall-outs). He’s a whiz at math and a regular receiver of “Star Awards” at school yet has barely legible handwriting. He is recovering from an addiction to Calvin and Hobbes and Clash of Clans and he thrives on being responsible–he even sets his alarm early for school so he can be “extra-prepared.” For his eighth birthday, we threw him a surprise party where we hired Rolling Video Games Denver to come to the house and we invited all his friends for a two-hour video game marathon that was deemed “the best party ever.” He’s intrinsically more cautious than his sister but battled his fears and did an awesome job wakeboarding, cross-country skiing and a high-ropes course for the first time. Named after Bode Miller, he continues to rock the ski slopes and went on one of his first mogul run last week. When I asked him it was terrifying, he confessed, “A little bit,” and I can’t blame him because I sometimes feel the same way. He plays the piano non-stop, enjoyed growing his 325-pound pumpkin, loves Cub Scouts and is gearing up for his first Pinewood Derby where it will be revealed just how competitive his father really is. Bode went on his first six-day overnight camp to Camp Chief Ouray with Hadley last summer and had the time of his life. As smart as he is, he still puts his shirt on backwards but loves to snuggle up so I’m relieved he’s not growing up too fast, even if he sometimes acts like a responsible 40-year-old man in an 8-year-old body.

Jamie

The Pumpkin Man had his his worst pumpkin-growing year ever and lost both of his plants to yellow vine disease in August. Despite that setback, he was able to preserve one of them long enough to make it to the scale and it topped 500 pounds. We were sad we wouldn’t have a real giant pumpkin to display so rescued his buddy Joe’s from being axed and it just happened to be the biggest grown in Colorado this year. Jamie had a blast taking the pumpkins around to the area schools and had a ton of media interviews–he was even featured front page on The Denver Post’s YourHub. But his most memorable pumpkin moment was when he decided it would be fun to dress up as The Pumpkin Man, hide inside the pumpkin, and terrorize trick-or-treaters on Halloween. Fortunately no law suits were filed and we only had one casualty when he made Spiderman cry (watch the hilarious video here). His web development business continues to add more people to the team and we’re grateful business is growing (unfortunately so do his stress levels). At church, he’s the Stake Technology Clerk and the Priest’s Quorum Adviser but most importantly, a wonderful husband, father and mortal enemy to superheroes.

Amber

As for me, I continue to juggle trips, kid’s activities and working from home. I’ve taken over the business/advertising side of Mile High Mamas, which has confirmed I’d much rather be writing. And traveling. And hiking or skiing. But unfortunately, I haven’t figured out how to make much money from those exploits so in the interim I’ll just dream of more playtime. I’ve become more of a regular contributor on 9News and have done segments on everything from travel tips to Halloween treats to their ugly sweater Christmas party on Friday. I was released as the Primary pianist at church and am on my way out the door for Public Affairs as I’ve been called as an Akela of the Cub Scout Bear Den. I am also an aspiring dodgeball player and if this writing gig doesn’t work out, I hope to go pro in the future.

Fat Kitty

Fat Kitty is the only serious one in the family. In addition to napping for 23 hours a day, he enjoys decapitating the occasional mouse, eating grass until he pukes and annoying Jamie. He also decided to get in shape this year and his favorite exercise is a cross between a lunch and a crunch.

Some people call it lunch.

Christmas Wishes

This time of year, we’re especially grateful for our many friends, family and for our our Savior. Have the happiest of Christmases is our Christmas wish and gift to you!

 

Love,

The Johnsons

Filed Under: Bode, Canada, Colorado, Family, Family travel, Favorite Posts, Hadley, Humor, Jamie, LDS, Marriage, outdoors, pumpkins, travel, Utah

Crested Butte: A glimpse at my favorite place in Colorado

December 9, 2014 By

skiselfie It has been almost a decade since I fell in love with Crested Butte and three years since our last visit which, considering it is my favorite Colorado mountain town, is a rather shameful confession. And with some recent changes for the 2014-15 season, my love has only grown deeper.

Surrounded on three sides by four wilderness areas—Raggeds, West Elk, Maroon Bells-Snowmass and Collegiate Peaks— if the outer-world beauty isn’t worth the drive, the deals are. Kids 12 and under ski free at Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) until December 18, 2014 and kids six and under ski free all season. Also, the Crested Butte Nordic Center is offering free rentals AND skiing for kids 17 and under all season 

I’m generally not an early-season skier but since my kids’ getting-an-education-schtick is putting a serious cramp in our adventures, my family travels whenever we have vacation time and that meant Thanksgiving. And I’m so glad we did because my love affair was reignited with the best opening day conditions the resort has seen in years. That, coupled with an awesome Adventure Park, an epic Nordic skiing adventure and glorious food make Crested Butte the perfect kick-off to ski season.

Click to keep reading about our awesome Thanksgiving that included my Brussels Sprout binge (no apologies here), corny ski school jokes, marvelous mocktails, the prettiest view in Colorado and much, much more.

The Paradise Divide

 

 

Filed Under: Colorado, Family travel, Foodie, Humor, skiing, travel

The Broadmoore at Christmas=Pure magic

November 26, 2014 By

This week, we pulled out our Christmas decorations and prominently displayed a picture we took with Santa during The Broadmoor’s White Lights Ceremony two years ago.

As I was reminiscing, The Broadmoor tweeted out a picture of the kids hanging out with reindeer.
If you’re in Colorado Springs on Saturday, you must swing by where more than 250,000 strands of lights will brighten the nighttime sky as it marks the official start of The Broadmoor’s holiday season with music, a gorgeous gingerbread house and special guests including Santa.

And please bring home a piece of the magic for me.

Filed Under: Colorado, Family travel

October in Colorado = Glorious!

October 29, 2014 By

I had an epiphany: October is my favorite month of the year. Between cooler yet still mild temperatures and gorgeous fall colors, Colorado had its most delicious October ever and all I wanted to do was hike every day.

Unfortunately I have this thing called work.

That didn’t stop me from occasionally sneaking out for some fun.

Hiking Pence Park

Last year, my friend Tina and I loved hiking 6.4- mile Carpenter Peak in Roxborough Park so much we decided to make it an annual tradition.

Hadley recently had a day off school so we took the opportunity check-out Staunton State Park, which opened just over a year ago. When I hike by myself, I stick to the trail. When I’m with Hadley, we forge through the forest, find large granite outcroppings, bushwhack to the summit and discover secret caves.

She’s waaaay more exciting than I.

One Sunday evening, we took a leisurely stroll around glistening Crown Hill Park, whereupon I imparted the following wisdom to my children: “Life is too short to live somewhere ugly.”

This is how we do walks, Johnson-style.

It’s no wonder Bode has trust issues.

Filed Under: Colorado, Family travel, hiking, outdoors, travel

Kenosha Pass: Colorado’s best place for fall colors?

September 23, 2014 By

Shortly after we moved into our house 10 years ago, our neighbors Lisa and Mike had just returned from mountain biking Kenosha Pass a.k.a. what they deemed “the most beautiful place in Colorado to see fall colors.”

It has taken us a decade but on Sunday, we finally made it!

Kenosha Pass wasn’t an easy victory. Church had just ended at noon, Jamie wanted to watch the Broncos vs. Seahawks showdown at 2:30 p.m., the kids begged to chill out for a couple of hours and the sky was threatening.

I knew Jamie wanted to go least of all but to his credit, he knew how much it meant to me so he rounded up the troops for the hour-long drive on U.S. Route 285.

When we got out of the car, Bode was emotionless, Jamie was counting down the minutes to the game and Hadley whined she was cold. “Let’s just stay for a little bit and then leave,” she suggested to Jamie.

Until we really arrived at Kenosha Pass. (I just wish my iPhone pictures did it justice).

Located atop a large granite batholith that forms the spine of the Front Range along the eastern side of South Park, Kenosha Pass is a part of the Colorado Trail. Colorado’s premier long-distance trail extends 500+ miles from Denver to Durango (read my adventures where the trail starts in Waterton Canyon) and this particular portion of the route is a cut of autumn heaven with swaths of endless aspen groves that look like golden pipe cleaners and staggering views of the Rocky Mountains and South Park valley.

Within moments, the kids were racing, climbing, exploring and laughing. I was initially disappointed by the brooding sky but Jamie observed, “If anything, the contrast illuminates the color of the trees and they look neon.”

He would know. He wore a jacket that made him an instant winner in our Camouflage game.

Accidental shot of a butt scratch

This South Park valley shot atop the boulder was much better

In typical Hadley fashion, she was ignited the moment she started exploring, begging us to go to the summit.

Jamie: “Do you realize that whenever you don’t want to do something and we make you do it anyway that you end up loving it?”

Hadley (sheepishly): “Yes.”

We still didn’t let her climb to the top.

This was one of my favorite photos I took as we were wandering back to the car. This shot of Kenosha Pass should be an album cover. The title would be “they whined about going and we couldn’t drag them away.”

 

Filed Under: Bode, Colorado, Family travel, Hadley, hiking, Humor, Jamie, travel
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