We’ve been working around-the-clock with all the (not so) fun things involved with selling our house. The kids have been real rock stars through all the drudgery; little do they know the worst is yet to come with packing and the actual move. I convinced Jamie to push our intended sell date back seven days to give us a bit more time. I’ll be in Florida for a conference next week and his intention was to put it on the market three days later. After my kids had the run of the house for four days without their whip-cracking mom. Like that was going to happen.
A few things going down around here besides house stress:
Butt kicking. My favorite trainer in the entire universe, Lori, started her own gym, Power Peak Fitness, with boot camp-style and spin classes. I quit my previous gym around this time last year due to injuries and burnout. Though I hike and bike regularly, I struggled with strength training and tried two cheap gyms (seriously, how do people do uninspired/boring treadmill and weight machine workouts day after day?) I really need to get my butt back into shape and that’s exactly what she’s doing. I was so sore I could barely walk last week but it’s amazing what a difference a few days can make! I’m still out of shape but at least I’m no-longer-sore-and-out-of-shape.
Outdoor Lab. I’m doing the happy dance! Hadley had the time of her life with her sixth grade class at Outdoor Lab a few months ago and will be going to week-long Outdoor Lab’s High Potential Week in the mountains this summer. Basically, top students in various subjects get nominated from schools all around Jefferson County (the largest in Colorado) and her teachers nominated her for art. I honestly wasn’t going to follow through on the nomination because money is tight but when Jamie’s mom heard about the opportunity, she offered to pay her tuition because she didn’t want to see Hadley pass it up. Even better is two of Hadley’s besties, Maeve and Alex, will be there as well. What a tremendous send-off before our move!
General Conference. Two weekends ago was the LDS Church’s semi-annual General Conference where we listen to our leaders via satellite from the comfort of our home. In our PJs. With a lot of food. We have a longstanding tradition to invite our friends the Carroll over for gingerbread pancakes with fresh apple marmalade, cinnamon rolls, fruit and sausage. There’s not a lot of reverence but it’s certainly fun and not without its funny moments like when we busted Isaac for smuggling light sabers and a sundry of weapons in his panda PJs to the basement. All fun aside, we always leave conference weekend inspired and my favorite talk this year that brought me to tears was Bonnie Oscarson’s “Do I Believe?” Power.
Outdoor Adventures. In between juggling work and getting the house ready, I’ve been spending every spare moment with friends in the great outdoors. We’ve hiked Aldfer/Three Sisters and dined at Blue Cow Eatery, had a girl’s night hiking Red Rocks and overeating at Olive Garden while the boys were at the Priesthood Session for General Conference, I attempted to mountain bike North Table Mountain in its entirety (not pretty) and this week, Jenn, Lisa and I hiked the Apex Trail. Our home is in an incredible location above an extensive soccer complex with playgrounds, Van Bibber Creek, a pond and parks where our city’s 4th of July fireworks are staged every year. Another favorite event is the annual Kite Festival, which we enjoyed with our friends the Phillips (despite our long-documented ineptitude at flying kites).
Apex Trail
Sports. Our busy spring sports season is underway…or is it? We’ve had an incredibly wet, snowy spring and 90 percent of Bode’s games and practices have been canceled, with a colossal snow storm happening this weekend. Hadley started volleyball with Maeve and Alex at the YMCA. With her transitioning back to our public school this year, I was fine with limiting her activities but wanted to have one last go-around with friends. Plus, she’s really really good at volleyball and loves it when she’s on the court…but claims otherwise when she’s off (looks like we have a tween). The kid is mastering her overhand serve and is leaps and bounds ahead of where I was at her age.
Bears R Us. I’m wrapping my two-year stint as the Cub Scout Bear leader in our ward. I’d like to say I’ve loved this calling but I’d be exaggerating. I enjoy most of our weekly den meetings with the boys and we had a fun adventure walking Ralston Creek Trail yesterday but I despise mounds of paperwork and committee meetings. The best thing is being able to teach Bode and I’m happy he’ll be receiving his rank advancement next month. And equally as happy I’ll be moving on from this calling!
Girl’s Night Out. I skipped out a bit early from Hadley’s volleyball game last night to go to Girl’s Night Out with some friends. Usually our get togethers revolve around our kids and it was a breath of fresh air to enjoy each other’s company. Jamie is the least controlling husband ever (a good thing, too because this shrew is rather untameable) but I started to tell him why I needed to go to Girl’s Night Out.
And then I remembered I’m leaving him for Florida tomorrow where he’ll be stuck for four days with kids. In a snow storm. Finishing taxes.
Me thinks Jamie needs a girl’s night out waaaaay more than I.
I'm a Canadian-born mom of two, former Denver Post columnist, family travel writer, editor of MileHighMamas.com and 9News contributor. Expert on all things Utah, Denver, family and travel. Lover of laughter and life. Happily married to a man obsessed with growing The Great Pumpkin. 