The Tale of Two Giant Pumpkins

November 1, 2013 By

It’s always a bit of a letdown when Halloween is over, particularly when I have a house chock full of decorations to remove. This year was one of our favorites ever because of all the parties and pumpkins. A friend commented, “You seem to have posted more pumpkin pictures on Facebook than usual this year.” Not sure if she meant it as a compliment or critique but I’ll take it as the former.

The murder of Stanley the Pumpkin

Usually we put the Great Pumpkin on the driveway and it sits there ’til Halloween. This year, our friend Phil generously lent us his flatbed trailer for the entire month so the Great Pumpkin sat in front of our house while also going to fall festivals and the kids’ schools.

Next year: world tour?

But there’s a sad tale about Jamie’s 1,220-pound beast, Stanley. About a week after we got him professionally carved, he started rotting out quickly and then the squirrels came in for the attack. With as much pomp and circumstance as Stanley came into the world, his was a quiet, dignified death as Jamie cut him up and composted him back into the pumpkin patch a couple of weeks ago. Sniff.

So, pumpkin No. 2 “Elbert” was the shining star for Halloween. Weighing in at only 695 pounds, Elbert was the ugly, warty step-sister but still shone brightly last night.

It’s a tradition for kids to pose every Halloween with the Great Pumpkin, like our darling neighbors

Our neighborhood is renowned for having great trick-or-treating so we get a lot of transplants who bilk our treats and festivities. I don’t mind but I can always tell who they are because they marvel at how big it is i.e. “that is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen!”

On the other hand, the kids in our area have seen it all month so we only got complaints from them. “What happened to the big one!?”

High-maintenance, I tell ya. They didn’t know how good they had it.

For details of Stanley’s demise, go to Jamie’s blog denverpumpkins.com. Also, stay tuned for details on our Halloween festivities!

 

Filed Under: Humor, pumpkins Tagged With: ,

The Ward Halloween Party: A Doughnut-eating, Jell-O Dunking Great Time!

October 31, 2013 By

Every year, our LDS church congregation puts on a gangbusters Halloween party with carnival games, trick-or-treating and lots of tasty food.  This was the year of Harry Potter–we read the books and watched the movies so Hadley’s costume de choix? None other than the evil Bellatrix Lestrange. Bode begged to be Mario for the third year in the row but I put a kibosh on that. Kind of.

Bellatrix Lestrange versus Luigi

In keeping with tradition, I present the pumpkin and his widow.
Is there any wonder why I’m crazy about this guy?

The young women in our ward manned the booths and I attempted to assist the poor, stressed-out gal reattaching the doughnuts on a string. Until I realized she was replacing the entire string for every person. When I told her that wasn’t necessary, she primly cited hygienic concerns.

Bellatrix needed her wand for this one.

I didn’t have the heart to tell her about the slobber-fest-that-is-bobbing-for-apples of my youth.

Monitoring the Jell-O eating contest was more my speed and I was proud when Luigi won not one, not two, but three in a row.

The pie-eating contest a few weeks ago must have served as a great training ground.

Of course, the party wouldn’t be nearly as fun without our besties. I got a bit teary-eyed at church last week as I looked at the many fabulous friends my children have and what stellar, righteous, fun and hard-working families they have. All of them are tremendous examples to us.

Bellatrix and Cinderella; Luigi and the boys; Bellatrix vs.Hermione showdown

Really, the only fail that night was my refreshment. I’ve been pinning oodles of creative treat ideas on Pinterest but when push came to shove, I only had 15 minutes to pull something together and so this is what we concocted.
Many friends complimented me on my puking pumpkin but I brushed them off. Obviously they do not know the grandeur that is Pinterest. Better luck next party!

Filed Under: Bode, Hadley, holidays, Humor, LDS Tagged With:

A Frightfully Fun Hotel Stay at Nightmare on Curtis Street

October 30, 2013 By

After a while, Halloween memories start to blur together. Dress up, trick-or-treat, gorge on candy. Lather, rinse, repeat. But last weekend, my family experienced a Halloween event we will never forget. We attended the Nightmare on Curtis Street at the Curtis – A DoubleTree by Hilton. Each year during the month of October, the Curtis Hotel in downtown Denver, Colorado transforms its 13th floor into a haunted house for a most memorable Halloween.

The Curtis – A Doubletree Hotel

This family-friendly, pop-culture hotel is dedicated to all things quirky. Case in point: last summer’s pop-up, inflatable room that rose 22 feet in the air.

The hallway of each of the 16 floors boasts a different theme, like One-hit Wonders, Big Hair, and Dance. The playful lobby hosts impromptu hula hoop contests and offers board games for check-out as well as a small book-filled library.

The 13th floor’s theme is Horror. I’m not the ghost-hunting type and at ages 7 and 9, neither are my kids. I’d think twice about staying somewhere that claimed to be legitimately haunted but I took a gamble that my family would love Nightmare on Curtis Street.

Click to keep reading our fun experiences and why my children may have clown issues after this.

Filed Under: Bode, Colorado, Family, Family travel, Hadley, holidays, Humor Tagged With: ,

Waterton Canyon: A glorious “in between a rock and a hard place”

October 29, 2013 By

October 2013 has been one of my favorite months ever. The reason? I’ve been in between a rock and a hard place…in a figurative and literal sense. I’m between projects, have more time to myself than usual and am learning the value of how to just slow down time; that leaving the house at 6:20 a.m. for boot camp and going at warp speed ’til my head hits the pillow is not an optimal way to live.

I’m impatient, I admit it. I feel like The Next Big Thing is around the corner but I’m not sure when or how it will manifest itself. I’m torn between valuing my rare free time while the kids are in school and the nagging guilt of helping our financial situation.

Spring and fall are called the “shoulder seasons” in mountain country…a sort of in-between before the main events of winter and summer. I’m experiencing an in-between season in my life, which is both unsettling and gratifying. But I always have to be moving so I’m trying to remind myself that any progress, no matter how slow, is still progress.

In the interim, I’m seizing the day and knocking off as many bucket list items as possible. One of those is biking the entirety of Waterton Canyon in Littleton, Colorado. This 7-mile-long canyon marks the beginning of  the famous 486-mile Colorado Trail, which roller-coasters its way through six wilderness areas and eight mountain ranges from from Denver to Durango,  topping out at 13,271 feet.

The year before I met Jamie and still lived in Utah, I biked the very end of the Colorado Trail in Durango (read about that adventure and my first 14er in Solo in the San Juans: Exploring Colorado’s Highway to Heaven). Fast-forward 12 years and I biked the beginning of Colorado’s premier long-distance trail. I’m great at beginnings and endings; it’s just the middle stuff that gets murky sometimes.

My family has hiked a portion of Waterton Canyon a couple of times and I attempted to bike it a couple of years ago but didn’t get far on my heavy, outdated mountain bike. But I had no problems last week navigating the wide, relatively flat gravel road beside the South Platte River on my new 29er. A fair number of people were hiking, fishing, running and biking the lower portion of the canyon but the crowds dispersed the further I rode and my only companion was a lone bighorn sheep.

I monitored my distance by the six rest areas, all named after different animals that live in the canyon: Mule Deer, Blue Heron, Black Bear, Mountain Lion, Rattlesnake, and Bighorn Sheep. Signage at each outpost educates you about each of them.

October is such a generous month with its fall colors on display. Everywhere you look the world is giving back.

Upon nearly reaching the Strontia Springs Reservoir (which is closed to the public) and Denver Water buildings at mile 7, the flat, multi-use road arced upward, leading to a much narrower singletrack to the some of the wildest inaccessible backcountry in the Rocky Mountains.

I hid my bike behind a tree and started hiking the Indian Creek Trail. While Waterton Canyon was expansive and broad, I was inundated with trees–making me feel a bit nervous in this inaccessible wilderness.

I’ve spent hundreds, if not thousands of hours by myself on the trail but for some reason, this felt different. Though it was beautiful, I felt nervous to be so completely alone. I’m used to hearing the subtle movement of hidden animals in the trees but after about 40 minutes of hiking, I heard breathing. I called out, hopeful for a human voice but was greeted by silence. Bear sighting signs littered the canyon and I deemed that as my sign to high-tail it back and collect my bike.

I arrived at the car three hours later after biking 14 miles and hiking about 3 miles. I then proceeded to get hurt (wait for it) on the hitch while I was putting my bike in the car.

You win some, you lose some when living between a rock and a hard place.

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Getting there: From Denver, take I-70 west to C-470. Take C-470 east to Wadsworth Boulevard. Take a right at the bottom of the exit ramp and drive 4.2 miles. Turn left on Waterton Road. The parking lot will be about a quarter of a mile down and on your left.

Filed Under: biking, Colorado, hiking, outdoors

What movies scared you as a child?

October 28, 2013 By

We just returned from an overnight stay at The Curtis-a DoubleTree by Hilton in downtown Denver where each of their 16 floors is dedicated to a different theme. Their 13th floor is “horror” and for Halloween they converted in into a veritable haunted house with a haunted elevator ride, hallways dripping with cobwebs, staffers dressed up in creepy costumes like a clown and Freddie Krueger, and redrum “murder” scrawled across our bathroom mirror with spiders and bugs all over the sink. One of the rooms had a bar with a creepy lady serving up treats and shots…in the head.

Sounds scary? It might have been for young kids but we had so much fun interacting with the playful characters that we spent our entire evening laughing! (More details on it later).

I’m pretty careful about the shows our kids watch and they had never heard of any of the creepers we encountered in those hallways but I must confess we unintentionally traumatized our daughter a few years ago.

Click to read on

Filed Under: Hadley, Humor

The Perfect Fall Recipe: Caramel Apple Squares

October 24, 2013 By

Once upon a time, I worked as the events diva at Deseret Book. Essentially, I oversaw the promotional events at their 38 stores and corporate office. It was a dream gig and I loved interacting with many inspiring authors and church leaders.

One of my favorite events was when we launched the cookbook, Lion House Entertaining. If you’re not familiar with the Lion House and its amazing history, the next time you are in Salt Lake City you MUST stop by this historical home of Brigham Young, which has been converted into a church-run restaurant. The Lion House has the most melt-in-your-mouth rolls you’ve ever tried (or if you live close to a Deseret Book, many of them have in-house pantries).

For the book launch party, we commissioned the Lion House’s cooks to make several of the recipes from the book–everything from what to serve at brunches to formal or holiday dinners to kid’s birthday parties to dessert buffets.

My very favorite dish from that event has become my must-make treat every fall. I’ve tweaked it quite a bit and prefer to make my own caramel because, let’s face it, homemade is better than those store-bought caramels any day. Plus, there’s always plenty of caramel leftover so we like to make caramel apples and popcorn. But using store-bought is much quicker and delicious as well so you can’t go wrong.

Unless you choose not to make this recipe and that is very, very wrong.

 

Caramel Apple Squares

1 3/4 cup of flour
1 cup quick-cooking oatmeal
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, cold
1 cup pecans, chopped (optional)
2 21-ounce cans of apple pie filling

Caramel
20 caramels, unwrapped
1 can sweetened condensed milk

OR

1 cup butter
2 cups of brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Instructions

  •  In a large bowl, combine the flour, oatmeal, brown sugar, baking soda and salt. Cut in the butter until crumbly. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of this crumb mixture, press the remaining mixture on the bottom of a lightly greased 9×13-inch baking pan.
  • Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes; remove from oven. Add the nuts to the reserved mixture and set aside.

    Crumble topping

Caramel Option 1

In a heavy saucepan over low heat, melt the caramels with the condensed milk, stirring until smooth.

Caramel Option 2

Cook the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and condensed milk over medium heat in a heavy saucepan. Stir frequently and heat to a boil and soft-ball stage (usually about 5 minutes of boiling). Note: You’ll only need about half of the caramel for the recipe so feel free to use it for other treats.

  • Spoon the apple filling over the baked crust, top with the caramel mixture, then crumble the reserved crumb mixture over the top.
  • Bake approximately 30 minutes or until set. Cool and cut into squares. This may be served warm with ice cream.
Filed Under: Foodie Tagged With:

The mountain, the bear and the gun-toting Tennessean

October 23, 2013 By

Though I relish any time spent on The Broadmoor’s opulent grounds, I love escaping to North Cheyenne Cañon, a gorgeous red-rock, evergreen forest with scores of hiking trails.

Many of the trails start at the Starsmore Discovery Center, just over a mile from the resort so most of my explorations have been reserved for the gorgeous neighborhoods and Lower Columbine trail. But then, I learned The Broadmoor runs a complimentary shuttle to the discovery center, which would give me a jump-start on my desire to hike further up the canyon to the Upper Columbine Trail.

We had planned to spend an afternoon at the pool but when rain clouded our plans, I enrolled the kids in the resort’s children’s club, Bee Bunch, while Jamie booked a massage. That meant I had three glorious hours to explore!

But remember that rain? It would have deterred some but not me. I grabbed my waterproof gear and hopped on the shuttle. Within minutes, I was winding along the trail and ran into a family.

“Bear up there,” one of the woman casually commented as I hiked by.

“Umm, did she say there is a bear?”

Her traveling companion divulged there was, indeed, a brown bear directly off the trail about a half-hour ahead. “He didn’t bother us,” he assured me. Gee, swell to know.

I kept hiking and each subsequent hiker issued the same warning. By this point, I was starting to get paranoid. I was, after all, hiking by myself and I had just polished off The Broadmoor’s tasty 10,000-calorie brunch. I’d be some good eatin’ for a hungry bear in the rain. Plus, I’ve never run into a bear in Colorado’s backcountry.

As I was forging up the mountain, I was passed by a 30-something, fit tattooed hiker from Tennessee who was a bit rough around the edges but friendly. I informed him about the bear and he nonchalantly said, “I’m not worried. I’ve got a pistol in my backpack.”

Now, any other day such a confession would have steered me in another direction but it became one of Bode’s famous “would you rather” games: Would I rather hike by myself under threat of a bear OR hike with a gun-toting, tattooed Tennessean?

I opted for the latter and we quickly fell into a good clip up the mountain.

I may-or-may-not have snapped this picture as evidence in case my dead, lifeless body was found.

The trail was steep, the views stunned, the rain dripped, the sun persisted, the conversation entertained and it was one of those beloved hikes where  I felt powerful and never wanted it to end. When we reached the Upper Columbine trailer marker four miles later,  we parted ways as he continued going and I reluctantly headed back to pick up the kids.

View of The Broadmoor from the Upper Columbine Trail

The bear was long forgotten on my return trip but I had a new-found fondness for gun-toting Tennesseans. Just your average day in Colorado’s backcountry.

 

 

 

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

The Glorious Broadmoor: In Pictures

October 22, 2013 By

Sometimes I’m way too verbose for my own good so here’s a pictorial glimpse at our Labor Day weekend at The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs’ AAA Five-Diamond resort.  I was on-assignment to write about their new Ranch at Emerald Valley through a child’s eyes (read about it here). It was one trip that would’ve made me wish I could be a kid again…if I wasn’t having the time of my life.

Hands down, our favorite activity at The Broadmoor is hanging out at the glorious infinity pool.


Usually we paddleboat around pristine Cheyenne Lake but this time we took the electric boats for a spin.
Apparently it was a very serious matter for the Boy Captains.


Sometimes you just need a break from the water for some Magic Treehouse moments.

We usually spend at least an hour in The Broadmoor Children’s Shop.

Everything is bigger and better there.

We also did some very serious gaming.

And we just had a wonderful time hanging out together.

Did I mention The Broadmoor’s coffee shop Expresso’s has wisely replicated the cronut craze (think: half-donut, half-croissant) that is sweeping New York City? This was their basic cinnamon-sugar Broadmoor Donut, which was melt-in-your-mouth amazing. I may-or-may-not have almost started weeping when, on the drive home, they announced their new flavors for fall: Pumpkin Spice & Apple Broadmoor Donuts.

We first took the kids to The Broadmoor when they were 3 and 1 and one of their favorite things to do is play on the elevators.


I love this shot. Doesn’t it look like it could have been taken out of their archives?

One afternoon while Jamie got a massage and I hiked the Upper Columbine Trail (details on that tomorrow), the kiddos went to the resort’s Bee Bunch kid’s club.


They had a great time. I think. This picture could go either way.

We can’t go to The Broadmoor without partaking in their legendary brunch.

Bonus: no children threw tantrums during this photo shoot (unlike last time in Tearing Families Apart and Bringing Them Back Together).

And why would they freak out when they have a spread like this?

Lest you think our trip to The Broadmoor is all about food, you would be correct. Cases in point: room service.

And we instituted a new family tradition at PLAY, The Broadmoor’s luxury retro six-lane bowling alley, game room and eatery: we started with desserts first, followed by the main course topped off by appetizers.
Upon returning home, I spent hours and hours writing about our experiences and was relieved when their magazine editor loved it. As payment for their writers, they give us a return trip so we can stay and play at our leisure.

Because we didn’t do enough of that during our latest visit.

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

The Broadmoor’s Ranch at Emerald Valley: Glamping Redefined

October 21, 2013 By

I put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into writing what is my equivalent to a work of art for The Broadmoor’s Magazine about our trip to Emerald Valley Ranch over Labor Day weekend.

For the quick, dirty, fun yet much less eloquent version, I’ll include my article I wrote for Travel Mamas.

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Glamping at The Broadmoor’s Ranch at Emerald Valley

I am often torn between two worlds when my family stays at Colorado’s ultimate luxury resort, The Broadmoor. I love to be pampered but I’m also an outdoor lover; those worlds just don’t often mix. Until now. Set on 15 acres deep in Pike National Forest, The Broadmoor’s Ranch at Emerald Valley offers glamping at its finest.

Glamping at The Broadmoor's Ranch at Emerald Valley

Glamping at the Broadmoor’s Ranch at Emerald Valley

Glamping at the Broadmoor’s Ranch at Emerald Valley

The Broadmoor opened its newest venture, the Ranch at Emerald Valley, in early-August of 2013. The Ranch offers luxurious woodsy accommodations in nine beautifully restored cabins. Gourmet meals are prepared three times a day in the lodge. It’s romantic, awe-inspiring, whimsical and family-friendly all mixed into one great glamping vacation.

Playing horseshoes at The Broadmoor's Ranch at Emerald Valley

Playing horseshoes

I was asked to do a write-up for The Broadmoor Magazine so my family spent 24 hours in this wilderness enclave. The Ranch is not accessible to the public so we checked in at the Broadmoor and then were escorted via shuttle 30 minutes into the mountains up serpentine Old Stage Road. When I first arrived at the property, I was stunned by the hypnotic ever-changing play of light on Hummingbird Pond and Penrose Lake.

Archery at The Broadmoor's Ranch at Emerald Valley

Channeling Merida at the Ranch

Relax or play?

The wonderful thing about the Ranch is you can do it all or do nothing. While some guests kicked back on the deck soaking in the views and reading. My family, on the other hand, did it all.

My kids raced over to the expansive lawn where my son’s first item of business was playing horseshoes.

My daughter opted to channel Merida the Brave with archery. After mastering the targets, she and my husband moved into the woods to attempt to bag the deer and boar statues that stood sentry.

And what would a mountainside retreat with a lake be if  you were not able to canoe?

Canoeing at Broadmoor's Ranch at Emerald Valley

Dad and the kids out for a paddle on the lake

My kids had never been fishing and I worry that fly fishing at the Ranch may have spoiled them forever. With two bodies of water fully stocked with rainbow, cutthroat, brook and brown trout, it was almost like the Broadmoor had those fish under contract to delight us with their out-of-water acrobatics. It also helped that the fish were easy to hook and, as a bonus, the chef cooked up our catches for us!

Fly fishing at the Ranch at Emerald Valley in Colorado

Our practically perfect day of fly fishing

Horseback riding is included as part of your stay at the Ranch. We’ve been on a few trail rides as a family but nothing quite as challenging or scenic. With the Gray Back peak towering above us, we climbed around Mount Vigil and down Emerald Valley Road.

Riding horses at The Broadmoor's Ranch at Emerald Valley

A scenic and challenging trail ride

The terrain was often steep and narrow. I looked at Bode nervously and often. He had just barely met the 7-year-old age requirement. Thankfully the horses were pros. Unlike me.

Beignets at The Broadmoor's Ranch at Emerald Valley

Normally, my son is a key part of my picture-taking, but here he’s photobombing my beignets

A mirage of tasty goodness greeted us after our hot, sweaty ride. Two staffers tracked us down to present the mid-afternoon snack: fresh beignets oozing with Colorado Palisade peaches.

Cowboy tunes by campfire at the Broadmoor's Ranch at Emerald Valley

Cowboy tunes by campfire

An evening of refined relaxation

In the evening, we played board games provided by the lodge, enjoyed fine dining (yes, kid-friendly items are available upon request!), and listened to live cowboy tunes by a blazing fire.

Later, we built a campfire at the gazebo. Then we soaked in the adjacent hot tub under the liquid-blue moonlight.

Fire at The Broadmoor's Ranch at Emerald Valley

My husband and daughter laughed as they changed into the robes from our cabin and sashayed to the fireplace at the gazebo

The next morning, my family arose at dawn to hike a network of trails deep into Pike National Forest. We ate the best cinnamon rolls ever at the breakfast buffet, fished, did more archery, climbed the property’s waterfall and literally went into mourning when we took the shuttle back down the mountain.

The Broadmoor

Our only solace? We spent the next two days at The Broadmoor‘s main property in Colorado Springs. That’s pretty much the only way you’ll ever come down after the Rocky Mountain High you’ll receive at the Ranch. Built in 1918, this AAA Five-Diamond resort in Colorado Springs features an award-winning spa, championship golf, an incredible infinity pool with waterslides, a luxury-retro bowling alley eatery, and much more.

The Ranch at Emerald Valley is open seasonally May through October. For more information on area activities and rates, visit the Ranch at Emerald Valley’s website.

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In case you missed my other blog posts:

The Glorious Broadmoor: In Pictures

and

The mountain, the bear and the gun-toting Tennessean

http://www.themilehighmama.com/the-glorious-broadmoor-in-pictures/

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

The Carving of The Great Pumpkin

October 18, 2013 By

On a whim, Jamie put his giant 1,220-pound pumpkin up for sale on Craigslist a couple of weeks ago. He never really expected to sell it. His asking price was high and not too many people have their own forklift and flatbed required to haul it away.

But he did get an interesting response from Michelle Barnett: she was dying to carve it. For free!

And so she drove down from Fort Collins every day this week (about an hour drive) and worked in the cold, rain, sun and even snow flurries. She was so patient, passionate and probably spent 20 hours carving the beast.

Before:

The very beginning

After:

The (mostly) finished pumpkin

Michelle was a hit with our neighbors who were constantly stopping to watch her work and someone on the next street even invited her for coffee.

Ask me if a neighbor has ever invited me over for coffee (never mind that I don’t touch the stuff).

But if I want to ante up on my popularity, it would appear I need to grow…and carve a giant pumpkin.

Filed Under: Humor, Jamie, pumpkins
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