Oh Canada: The Canada Day Edition

October 2, 2015 By

I have a ton of other projects I want to launch but I can’t get stared on them until I dedicate at least a few blog posts to the glory that was our Canadian summer.

So, where did we leave off? Oh yes, with Oh Canada: The Lethbridge Edition where the kids and I drove from Denver to southern Alberta where we had an absolute blast with my BFF Stacey’s sister’s family in Southern Alberta.  I published that post July 13; let’s just say I’m a bit belated on the follow-up.

The next day was Canada Day, the national day of Canada like unto the 4th of July but with a lot more maple leaves.  My mom grew up in Raymond, a dear town that was the center of all things Mormon and the setting of so many weekends and holidays in my childhood years. I can’t say I always appreciated this sleepy town (being the big city gal that I was) but I always treasured time spent on my grandparent’s farm and with them, truly some of the most caring and loving people I’ve ever met.

The Parade

I haven’t been back to Raymond since my grandmother’s funeral in 2000 and I wasn’t prepared for the onslaught of emotion I felt as Stacey and I showed my kids around.

We started with the Raymond parade. We’re not parade people so my kids were less-than enthused about going but I promised the Raymond parade was different at it delivered! Do: Bring bags to collect the candy because almost everyone in the parade throw it. Don’t: Sit behind Stacey’s nephew (a teacher at the junior high) because you’ll get sprayed with water guns as his students pass by on the floats.

My family is deeply rooted in Raymond but sadly, I no longer have any direct relatives who live there besides my cousin who has been estranged from the family for years (I won’t get into all that drama, from which I stayed away). He inherited my grandparent’s farm and I really wanted to visit but even though he’s my only cousin on my mom’s side of the family, I knew we likely wouldn’t be welcome. So we snuck in. My beloved barn was torn down and in its place a lot more of my cousin’s toys. We didn’t hop out of the car because we saw all the threatening life-or-death trespassing signs (yep, he’s a gem) so kept right on going.

The Grave

As we were driving back to town, we passed Temple Hill and Stacey asked if I wanted to see if I could find my grandparent’s grave. Honestly, I’m not much of a graveyard person either so was reluctant but I’m so glad she pressed me to do it. Stacey’s dear mom passed away in our tweens so she went to find her, leaving the kids and me to stroll through the rows of graves until I found my dear Wallace and Virginia Wilde. And then I burst out crying because I realized I’d never seen their grave and what a beautiful flood of beautiful memories it evoked.

My grandparent’s home

Cooking in my grandma’s kitchen. Christmas mornings. Dirt biking at the farm. Strolling the coulee with the dogs. Summers at the Raymond pool but never being brave enough to jump off the high dive. Playing tennis with Dad. Hearing mom’s wild stories of her youth. Daydreaming under the backyard willow tree and picking pussy willows.  Grandpa’s boisterous laugh and how he magnetically drew people to him. My spiritual, sweet and loving Grandma.  Learning to fly.  ”Ever remembered, ever loved.”

 

My Favorite Place on Earth

Prince of Wales Credit: First Light.

We briefly crashed Stacey’s family’s Canada Day party and then her brother-in-law Will suggested we go to Waterton Lake National Park. It was only an hour drive from Raymond and brooding storm clouds kept the crowds away. I didn’t care because I was home at my favorite place on earth that borders Glacier National Park in Montana

The only time I’ve taken my kids and Jamie to Waterton was in 2011. I’d built it up so much in my mind and we were going to unleash ourselves on the lawn of the iconic Prince of Wales Hotel overlooking an eternity of water…only something different was unleashed: Hadley’s tantrum because the girl was out-of-her-gourd on Dramamine from the drive.

Fortunately, this time was much different! Even with the overcast skies, Waterton stunned.

We picnicked beside Waterton Lake, strolled Main Street, ate huckleberry ice cream and made the steeeeeeep 1-mile pilgrimage to the top of Bear’s Hump and just when I thought the views couldn’t get any better, they did.

If I couldn’t be surrounded by my beloved parents, grandparents, brothers and aunts to celebrate like the Canada Days of yesteryear, this was the next best thing.

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In case you missed our other Canadian adventures this summer:

Oh Canada: The Lethbridge Edition

Oh Canada: The Canada Day in Raymond and Waterton Edition

Oh Canada: The Calgary Edition

Oh Canada: The Banff/Canmore Edition

Oh Canada: The Lakehouse Edition

Oh Canada: The Kettle Valley Railway Trail Edition

 Oh Canada: The Edition Not in Canada

Filed Under: Canada, Family travel, travel, Uncategorized

September Adventuring

September 30, 2015 By

I know, I know. I still haven’t posted about summer in Canada and here I am sharing about our fall adventures? Getting caught up is still at the top of my to-do list but my laptop problems persist. After Jamie downloaded Windows 10 (DON’T DO IT), my computer starting having major problems. Then it caught a virus. And  now I can barely use it at all because I can’t upload photos and am having a myriad of other issues. So, I’m back to using my trusty OLD laptop I won from Microsoft Office when I went to the 2010 Vancouver Games.

I’ll be honest that September 2015 hasn’t been my favorite ever, mostly due to my relentless allergies and the persisting 90 degree temperatures. Last week it dropped down to the 80s but if I wanted this kind of climate in fall, I’d move to Arizona. One of Jamie’s top clients pressured him about moving our family down to the Phoenix area and I said “even if he offered you a half a million dollars, there’s no way in hell.”  I’m assuming he phrased it a bit nicer to the client. That said, I’m still obsessed with doing a home exchange abroad. Just  not in the devil’s summer home.

We haven’t been on as many fall adventures as I’d prefer but a couple of weeks ago, we drove to Kenosha Pass (about an hour from Denver) for some quality leaf-peeping. We’ve had the strangest weather in Denver. May was a deluge, which caused a lot of problems with the trees and now that we’re in a drought (September was one of the driest on record), the colors aren’t as brilliant.  Regardless, those shimmering golden aspen leaves still stun.





Now that school is back in session, I’ve also been trying to hike with friends on Thursdays if I’m a good girl and get my work done (at least that’s what I tell Jamie). Last week, we went to Golden Gate Canyon State Park and I regretted that it’s been years since I’ve taken my family because it really impressed.

In my defense, the only two times I’ve been to Golden Gate have been for not-so memorable camping trips so I have some pent-up angst.

Two weeks before that, we conquered Chief Mountain and it has become my favorite hike on the Front Range with gorgeous 360-degree views at the summit.

And took these newbies to Country Road Cafe.

A few other adventures included our annual hike to St. Mary’s Glacier. 

Jamie wasn’t feeling well so Bode hung out with Jamie at the base of the glacier while Hadley and I summited, no small feat. Next time, I’m playing sick.

October is my favorite month of the year with sweater weather (Denver, consider that a threat), cozy soups and pumpkin weigh-offs galore. This weekend, we’ll be juggling the Ringling Bros. Xtreme Circus, Elitch Garden’s Fright Fest, our school’s carnival fundraiser and General Conference.

October, we’re so ready for you.

Filed Under: Colorado, Family travel, hiking

Death by giant pumpkin

September 28, 2015 By

Jamie may not have grown a record-breaking giant pumpkin this year but his friend Joe did. But here’s the thing with Joe: he grows for the sheer love of competing in the weigh-off and and immediately cuts up his pumpkin after to preserve the seeds. When I caught wind of this, I performed what might be the first ever Giant Pumpkin Rescue: I bribed him with my famous pumpkin bread to let us keep it. And that he did. It’s such a shame for him not to put it on display for all to see!

Joe generously donated his pumpkin to us yet again this year–a 1,404-pound whopper. He was disappointed it wasn’t a state record but it blew away the competition.  Our friends at 9News weren’t able to send a photojournalist to cover the weigh-off so they used Jamie’s footage in their news coverage. The man is practically famous!

;

They loaded the pumpkin with a forklift onto our neighbor’s trailer that was attached to my SUV and it will sit in front of our house for all to enjoy through Halloween.  Here’s the problem, though. The pumpkin was so  heavy that we couldn’t detach the trailer from my car, which is an awkward thing if you need to go somewhere and have to take a 1,400-pound beast along for the ride.

Jamie tried to raise up the hitch with the jack from his car and asked me to hold it, frequently criticizing me anytime I let it move.

Me: “Wasn’t there a recent story in the news about a husband killing his wife when the jack of his car failed and the car fell on her?”

Jamie: “Actually, it was the wife who killed the husband.”

Me: “Consider yourself warned.”

Filed Under: Humor, Jamie, pumpkins

Happy Daylight Savings Day!

September 27, 2015 By

My calendar is my lifeline. As much as I’m online, I have never fully made the transition to a digital calendar (though I use a Google calendar for work) and keep detailed notes on the calendar hanging in the kitchen. If it’s not on that calendar, it doesn’t happen, and I don’t drop any balls when it comes to juggling our schedules.

Usually.

Last night, I casually glanced at the calendar and saw that Daylight Savings Time began on Sunday. “Already?”  I mused but didn’t think anything of it. Before bedtime, I set the clocks back an hour and cozied up for my extra hour of sleep, which as an old person, doesn’t really happen anymore (ahhh, to be a teenager again).

We don’t have church until 11 a.m. so when I woke up at 7 a.m. (which was really 8 a.m.–good job!) Jamie and I languidly hung out in bed. We didn’t have to be anywhere for hours!

Until Jamie started checking our clocks. “There’s something not quite right,” he observed. “Some of our clocks say one thing and yet our cell phones and computers say another.”

I started checking my phone and sure enough, it was off by an hour. I checked the settings to ensure I had it set to switch automatically with the time change (it was) and so I was confused. “Check the atomic clock,” Jamie suggested and it was aligned with our cell phone. “I know my calendar said Daylight Savings begins today so I don’t get it.”

I walked back to recheck my calendar and noticed for the first time, a blasted little NZ.

Yep, it’s Daylight Savings Time begins in New Zealand today. What kind of ridiculous calendar documents that? Well, a Kiwi Calendar would but why on earth would I need to know that?

Jamie and the kids were annoyed. “Well, look on the bright side. At least it’s not in the Spring when we actually lose an hour.”

“Amber, when I woke up this morning, I took into account the time change and actually got an hour less of sleep.”

“Well, that’s not my fault.”

The good news: we made it to church on time (with no thanks to me).

When we arrived home, I checked that blasted calendar again. “Oh look, next Sunday, Daylight Savings Time begins, but in Australian this time. Should we celebrate again?”

Somehow, my family doesn’t appreciate my humor.

Filed Under: Humor

The cursed birthday

September 21, 2015 By

It’s not really Jamie’s fault for being born in the worst month of the year. December. I mean with all of Christmas and New Year’s revelries, who has time to celebrate birthdays, particularly at the beginning of the month when you’re too busy preparing for it all?

Jamie has often complained the rest of us get memorable birthdays. For the last few years, Hadley has gone to The Broadmoor (her birthday is around Memorial Day) and Bode is at the lakehouse in Canada (summer). My birthday usually falls over President’s Day and last year we went to Aspen.

But December 9. Who has time to travel, play or even breathe?

Related: Jamie enjoys listening to our kids play the piano but recitals are tedious for him. I can hardly place blame–1.5 hours of listening to other people’s kids, only to have a brief 5-minute interlude with your own. I personally enjoy them because most of the kids are friends from church so I’m super invested in their success as well.

But this year was going to be different. We vowed to have FUN on Jamie’s birthday! So imagine how thrilled he was when we received a save-the-date from our piano teacher Kendra for the Christmas recital…on his birthday. I forwarded him the email with the following:

“Forget The Broadmoor. Forget Canada and Aspen. Just how you wanted to spend your birthday.”

His response: “Kendra Hates Me.”

Filed Under: birthday, Humor, Jamie

A fresh breath of perspective

September 15, 2015 By

I think most people have a time of year when they’re in a funk. For some, it’s February doldrums. For me, it’s late summer when it’s still blazing hot (90 degrees, thank you) and my allergies have kicked in. I’m going on two months now with crappy sleep. The only way to cool our house down at night is by running our attic fan but in so doing, we blast all the outdoor allergens into our house.  So, my two options are either heat or allergies and when given the option, I always, always, always choose WINTER. Oh wait. That isn’t yet an option.

I’ve been desperately trying to get caught up from my summer break but pesky life keeps getting in the way. In August, a friend accidentally dropped my iPhone, completely obliterating the screen. She felt horribly and generously paid to have it repaired but I haven’t had a lick of time to do it until Saturday. We ended up being stuck in the mall and Apple store for several hours, normally congenial Jamie went off on the staffer over the horrible customer services and the list goes on. The only happy one was Bode because he was cozied up to not one but TWO Macs with Minecraft videos.

Then, our Bosch dishwasher broke. Again. Oh, and we spent several hours trying to rebuild our retaining wall that houses our huge sandpit and trampoline but after several failed attempts, we decided we’ll just have to pay someone to do it. Then there’s the kids’ dental bills, Jamie’s persisting health issues and the cherry on top (and I don’t even like maraschino cherries) is Jamie upgraded my laptop to Windows 10 two weeks ago and I’ve had non-stop problems. Oh, and I also have a virus so my directory is full and I can’t save any files. And my back-up (old computer freezes every five minutes).

It was in this fragile (a nice word for meltdown :-) state that I attended an event yesterday. Medela Breastpumps reached out to me about a new program they’re launching, Medela Recycles, where moms can donate their unneeded Medela Breastpumps and they will go to a mom in need at the Ronald McDonald House because 40% of people who stay there have babies in the NICU. 

We toured the facility and I was humbled to see the miracles and trials of these families.  You want a dose of perspective? Talk to a mom who has dropped everything for months to see if her 4-year-old will receive a heart transplant.

http://www.milehighmamas.com/blog/2015/09/15/medela-recycles/

Here’s a glimpse at my tour and experience and be sure to share with any moms you may know.

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized

A lesson in puberty

September 14, 2015 By

As we were driving home after an 8-mile hike to Blue Lake, the car permeated with a special glow.

“Hadley, we need to take showers when we get home.”

“Why?”

“We stink.”

“I don’t.”

“I smell like sweat, you smell like B.O.”

“What’s B.O.?”

“Take a whiff of your armpit.”

[She proceeds to do it.] “Ohhhhhhhh.”

 

Filed Under: Hadley, Humor

“Mawage is wot bwings us togeder”

September 12, 2015 By

From the Impressive Clergyman’s own mouth in The Princess Bride: “Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday. Mawage, that bwessed awangment, that dweam wifin a dweam….”

Case Study No. 1.

Stopping at the bank on the way to our city’s Harvest Festival.

Jamie: “I don’t know why they need my ID to get cash back. They’ve never asked for it before.”

Me: “Maybe it’s because of your ‘shady’ glasses.”

I didn’t even get a chuckle out of that one.

Case Study No. 2

It’s September, the time of cool temperatures, falling leaves and sweaters. Except Denver has forgotten that with persisting 90-degree temperatures (and allergies to add to my misery).

Me: “Last night, I dreamed it snowed one foot and we woke up in a winter wonderland. Don’t you think that’s a sign?”

Jamie: “It’s a sign that you need to suck it up a little bit longer.”

Filed Under: Humor, Jamie

It’s a Labor Day Extravaganza!

September 9, 2015 By

We’ve been out of town the last several years for Labor Day and I have since learned that everything happens over the long weekend. Seriously. We had a whirlwind of events, parties and activities, starting with Denver’s popular A Taste of Colorado with 50+ restaurants and more. I say “more” because we didn’t care about the carnival rides, booths or concerts…we were all about the food and sampled everything from fried alligator (tasted like tortured chicken) to Navajo tacos to frozen cheesecake on a stick.

I somehow found myself throwing not one but two parties. The first, of course, was for the BYU football game on Saturday (read about that here) and the other was for our neighborhood get together. The bad: two parties is a lot of work. The good: we only had to clean once.

On Saturday morning, our family cleaned up the yard, garage, and house, all the while Hadley and Bode sang our praises for teaching them that life isn’t always about play–slave labor is important, too. They’ll be doubly thrilled when next Saturday is spent cleaning the church and rebuilding our retaining wall that Jamie accidentally collapsed last spring while juggling YW volleyball (I’m coaching) and Bode’s first soccer game.

After church on Sunday, we invited our neighborhood over for a soiree. When our kids were younger, they did everything together but now that they’re in different schools and activities, gone are the days of everyone hanging out endlessly (very sad, really). It was the perfect farewell-to-summer bash.

I love these ladies and they all lead admirable lives but none more enviable than Meredith “Sunday Funday” who brought her own soda and ice from her new $3,000 commercial ice machine. Forgot her beautifully-appointed home. Perfectly-cubed ice is when you know you’ve arrived.

 

Do you see that sandpit to the left of the trampoline? If we’d waited a week, our retaining wall would have been rebuilt so we could house the trampoline back on the sand, not in the middle of our yard. Fat Kitty is the only one who has benefited from this and thinks the sand is his big, fat kitty litter box. Don’t worry, we cleaned it before everyone arrived.

For Labor Day, we got invited over to our good friends the Lara’s house. They recently moved into a new home that needed a complete overhaul (and when I say complete, I mean it because the previous owner was an alcoholic hoarder). So many friends and ward members chipped in (I helped paint one day and then move another) and it’s really coming along.

A rainstorm started just as we were leaving so I called my friend Lisa to see if the party was still on. “As long as there’s no lightning, we’re playing,” she promised. Just as we showed up, the rain subsided and we had a fun afternoon with loads of friends playing in their pool and volleyball (here’s a short video of Bode’s big launch).

With Labor Day behind us, I’m officially ready for fall. Colorado weather: please act accordingly.

Filed Under: holidays

A return to school

September 7, 2015 By

We’re now a few weeks into school and life is going about as well as expected. Bode has seamlessly transitioned into fourth grade with several of his besties and a solid teacher.  He begged me to come to lunch last week so I obliged and happily won several rounds at Four Square (though it wasn’t my world domination of last spring; I’m out of practice). He’s juggling soccer, Cub Scouts and piano.

Their elementary school has a X-Country team that I convinced Hadley to join because she’s a great runner (though she’s better at sprints and middle distance). I was surprised when Bode said he wanted to become a part of it and that he’d recruited several of his buddies.

“You know that X-Country is running, right?” I queried.

He responded affirmatively and he has somehow forgotten he hates running because they’re now up to 1.5 miles.

I’ve been worried about Hadley adapting back to her public school and being really far behind after her three-year stint with Waldorf. The jury is still out on that but we’ve been blessed with the best teacher in the school and that is making a huge difference. Her bestie Alex is in her class and has been loads of help.

Hadley is a kid who needs time to just be. To create. To dream. Though she loves being with friends, she treasures her alone-time and will spend hours on the trampoline and in her room by herself; if we lived on a big property with trees,trails and streams, I’m sure I’d never see her.

I’ve never once heard her say she’d bored (one of the blessings of an imaginative visual-spatial kid) and she hates being rushed from activity-to-activity so piano and X-country are her only activities. I’ve been thrilled she’s also been helping with the VBC, the school’s broadcast journalism program that teaches how to write scripts, film and interview.

Last week was back-to-school night, during which time I had a nice chat with her teacher who is attempting to fill in the learning gaps between the two schools.  I was surprised when she told me the area in which she is most behind is technology. And yes, it’s pretty ironic that two computer-savvy parents have a computer-illiterate kid but that has been by design.

Waldorf schools are anti-technology and I’m anti-social media for kids/tweens so between those two, she has had little-to-no exposure. So, though I’m still vehemently opposed to social media/cell phones/texting, I’ve started helping her with typing programs and Microsoft Word today.

She was doing fine until we turned to geography. Rote memorization is tough (and flash cards are her worst nightmare) so I tried to find some fun websites to help her learn the 50 states but that fueled her frustration because she hates the computer. This made me frustrated about her bad attitude and unwillingness to learn. After she stormed off, I sat thinking about her struggles. It’s not that she doesn’t want to learn, it’s that she doesn’t know how to learn.

Imagine being stuck in a world that values round holes when you’re a square peg. I know there are thousands of kids like her but you’d think there would be more options to help. If I had a million dollars, I wouldn’t blow it on a fancy house or cars but on yanking her from school and hiring a private tutor who can teach to how she learns because I certainly don’t know how to do it– otherwise I’d homeschool her. It’s not her failing, it’s my own.

All the sixth graders had a self-portrait and description hanging around the classroom:

I found her quick biography fascinating. “Fast, creative. Curious.” She is curious but how to foster that curiosity in an educational system that quells the creative, out-of-box kid who can’t sit in a classroom all day?

We’ve both got a lot to figure out regarding how to go beyond just surviving but thriving the next six years.

Filed Under: Bode, Hadley
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