Happy Remembrance Day to the Canadians and Happy Veteran’s Day to the Americans out there!
Welp, our house remains a hotbed of infection. Good thing we have our regional volleyball championships plus are entertaining this weekend. Heaven forbid we’d actually want to rest and get better!
I am so excited that some of my best friends, Lori and Rob, are coming to stay with us! We go waaaay back to the first day of my freshman year. We participated in a two-month class called “Natural Science Field Expedition.” Picture two months of backpacking to the most gorgeous destinations all over the United States. Throw a few classes in there–geology, field and environmental biology, religion and English– and you have the most amazing outdoor classroom experience imaginable! I was so inspired by it all that I declared my major as “Off-Campus Wildlife.” I later switched to “Campus Wildlife” when I made my way back to the classroom.
We have so many great memories. Like the time we ran out of the water on the way back from summiting the South Teton in Wyoming, and Rob drank the stream water. He was introduced to a fun little thing called Giardia.
Or the time he opted not to bring a sleeping bag when we backpacked the north to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. This may have been feasible in the summer but October’s temperatures were downright freezing. I still remember him huddled up in his little Indian blanket, cursing everyone around him. It’s almost as bad as when my dad forgot his sleeping bag…while WINTER camping.
It was Lori who first introduced me to blowing gobs of money and also my love affair with my first bank account. Well, I loved it; it didn’t love me back and kept sending me all these nasty “bounced check” notices. ‘Twas more like an unrequited love affair.
And then something funny happened. After being The Inseparable Three Stooges, Lori and Rob fell in love. Sniff. And thus began my life as a third wheel. I was seriously thrilled, though. What could be better than your two best friends getting married? And leaving you behind? Alone? Miserable. I have gotten over it and hold no resentment towards them, really…..
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. 