Our Summer Pool Party Tradition

July 27, 2016 By

Every summer since the kids were little, I have enrolled them in two weeks of swim lessons. About six years ago as I sat bored out of my mind watching other moms having a great time with their friends, an idea was borne: invite members of our ward to participate.

So the following summer, I sent an email to a bunch of ladies with kids of similar ages and I was pleased to get a great response. And every year, participation has exponentially increased and has become a beloved tradition. Following swim lessons, we also stay after for public swim where even more friends come join the fun.

This year, Bode was a “Shark” with his buddies Carson and Noah.

There were probably about 12 moms with over 30 kiddos in swim lessons for a veritable pool party every day. Here we are celebrating Averi’s birthday!

Yes, I am expecting kick-backs from the community pool and hope the tradition continues long after I’m gone.

Filed Under: Bode

My love affair with Evergreen, Colorado

July 25, 2016 By

The prospect of leaving Colorado physically hurts me sometimes. I’ve loved on this place hard and while there are still so many things on my bucket list, I have zero regrets that I’ve left any major stones unturned.

One of my favorite places in Colorado is Evergreen. Just 30 minutes from our house, this gorgeous mountain hamlet is tucked away in Colorado’s mountains.  Evergreen Lake was named one of the top ten most scenic places for ice skating in the world and is bordered by mountain parks with miles of trails.

Lo, do I know those trails. I’ve spent countless hours exploring them and have only one major item left to conquer, Bergen Peak, which I vowed to do when I picked up Hadley from Mount Evans Outdoor Lab. But my irascible knee was not cooperating with this 10-mile hike so I had to resort to something different; a trail I’d never hiked. I first called the chamber for advice, then the ranger’s station, then the open space and no one could help me. I finally found some luck when I talked to a woman from the Evergreen Recreation District. I described all the hikes I’ve done in the area –from the extensive network of trails at Alderfer/Three Sisters to Dedisse Mountain Park to Elk Meadow Park to Evergreen Lake.

She responded, “I have to tell you that you’ve done more exploring here than most of our locals.”

I’ll wear that observation like a badge of honor.

She recommended the Beaver Brook Watershed, a little-known trail that is part of a 20-mile wildlife corridor between Elk Meadow and Mount Evans. I was in!

Early that morning, I took my friend Amy biking along Ralston Creek Trail and then my friend Lisa and I drove up to Evergreen together. We were limited on time so only did the 1.8-mile round-trip hike to the reservoir but I was blown away by this gorgeous, easy hike dotted with aspens and a dense forest.

There’s nothing like saving [one of] the best for last.

Filed Under: Colorado, Family travel, hiking

Busted: A visit with the cops

July 20, 2016 By

My brother Jade arrived with his boys late last night. We always look forward to their arrival with two exceptions: 1) We get booted from his dark, cool room in the basement for our stuffy. 2) Cousin Jaxson. Don’t get me wrong, we love cousin Jax but he’s a hilarious kid with a quirky, unfiltered personality and has about five things he’ll eat in this world.

My childhood bedroom is the loudest and stuffiest in the house so I heard them when they arrived around midnight.

Then, after a near sleepless night, I heard something that sounded suspiciously like the Wii next to my head. Sure enough, Cousin Jax (on East Coast Time) was up before the crack of dawn playing video games in the family room. So I did what any loving aunt would do: I gave him a hug and punched him in the face. :-)

The good news of my early wake-up? I went on a killer bike ride.

Fish Creek

Upon my return the whole clan was awake so the kids went on rides in my parent’s golf cart. An hour later, the cops pulled up to our house.

Oh, hell.

I was the only adult in the near vicinity so I had to deal with it. I saw them walk up the door and waited. And waited. A false alarm?

And then the knock came.

“Ma’am?”

“Yes.”

“We’ve had a complaint from a neighbor about a certain golf cart being driven by two boys through the gully.”

“The Gully” Venue of my childhood and now, the cops

They didn’t bother to ask if we had a golf cart; the evidence was parked right in front or our house. The delay at the door was probably due to them checking the engine to see if it was warm.

Truth be told, the cops were really cool about it and said they wouldn’t even be there had the neighbor not called to complain. Talk about a killjoy ruining the kids’ summer fun!

My brother’s observation when I posted our experience on Facebook?

We have been in Canada for 9 hours mostly sleeping and we already brought the cops here for driving the golf kart recklessly.

The coincidence? Just two days ago, I posted this picture on Instagram on Bode’s birthday talking about him narrowly missing running into our car while driving with Grandpa.

Turns out he’ll be needing that Get Out of Jail Free Pass sooner than later.

Filed Under: Bode, Canada, Humor

Bode’s Canadian Birthday

July 19, 2016 By

The kids and I are in Calgary. I’m going to be bouncing around a lot on this blog over the coming weeks, alternating between Canadian fun and our final Colorado adventures. Normally, we’d be at the lakehouse in B.C. this week but I begged my family to push back the date with all the uncertainty with the sale of our house. It worked out pretty well. Of course, nothing has been ideal this summer but when we return early-August, we’ll have a couple of weeks to pack up the house and move. So, we’re trying to enjoy a bit of downtime with family while we have it.

Traveling to Canada for 2.5 weeks in the middle of a move is certainly not prudent but this is the only time I see my family all year and my Mom’s MS has grown from bad to worse. Undoubtedly this will be the last summer she will still be able to travel so it was especially important to be here. I’m just grateful for Jamie who made it possible and is holding down the fort at home.

We’re usually in Canada for Bode’s birthday and this year was no exception, except that we’re generally at the lakehouse. So, this year, he had a rather leisurely birthday at my parent’s house. I went on the hunt for his beloved Tim Horton’s Timbits (tougher than usual; who knew several franchises only carry a few varieties? The horror!)


He went on a golf cart ride with Grandpa.

Just minutes before, he informed me that he’d dropped his iPod at our hotel in Great Falls a few days ago, shattering the screen. Then, he narrowly missed Jamie’s car when he was driving.

Way to get it all out there when you can’t get in trouble on your birthday. Well played, Birthday Boy.

Since it was his day, I let him have free reign on what he wanted to do, which mostly involved video games. For a 10-year-old boy, that is the best birthday ever!

Later that night, we went over to my brother Pat’s house for a a pizza party and Kung Fu Panda 3 movie night in their home theater room. He and his wife Jane spent a minor fortune on a gorgeous outdoor pizza oven and they made the most amazingly delicious pizzas. Their family just got back from a European vacation where they took a legit pizza-making class in Florence, Italy and that crust was out of this world. 

Dessert was several different kinds of cheesecakes, a chocolate caramel cake and homemade Gelato. 

I’m not sure what he wished for but at least one wish came true when he blew out the candles: no girlfriends.

Filed Under: birthday, Bode

Happy 10th Birthday to Bode!

July 18, 2016 By

Dear Bode,

Happy Birthday! It’s a big day for you. Not only are you turning double-digits but your life is about to drastically change with our move to Utah.  I know this is hard for you because, like the rest of us, you have loved the only home you’ve ever known. You don’t ever ask for much, which is why we splurged and bought you a cool electric motorbike to putter around our new neighborhood and Dad’s old BB Gun. Talk about perfect training for our new lives as country bumpkins.

We’re currently in Canada indulging in pizza from Uncle Pat’s new wood-fired outdoor oven, followed by a movie of your choice in their fancy basement theater room. For your “friend” birthday, we played Bubble Soccer at the Apex Field House, which involved a lot of laughter, sweat and Sumo knockdowns. 

Fourth grade was a great year for you with Mrs. Trapp as your teacher. You had loads of friends, did Student Council, cross-country, were in the advanced math program, performed in the schools’ talent show and also the most adorable stage production on “Colorado.” I wish we could have gotten settled in Utah prior to starting fifth grade at your new school but everywhere you go, you make friends easily. You always get chosen among the first when kids are selecting teams; not because you’re the best athlete but because you’re well-liked, encouraging and fun.

Talent Show

Speaking of which, you and I competed in our first adventure race together at Copper Mountain a few weeks ago. We each had our strengths. Me: mountain biking, glacier climb. You: Running, cargo net, obstacle course, Tyrolean Traverse, Darwin Dash, blow darts and the ropes course. This is just a nice way of saying you dominated the course and I was so proud to be your partner…even if I was usually a few (wet) steps behind. My only request for our mother-son adventure was that you didn’t throw up, which is exactly what happened–not once during our ski trip to Beaver Creek but twice when we rescheduled it a few months later.

6th grade kids vs. teachers basketball

You and your neighborhood friend Nicky have been inseparable this year and you’ve had plenty of adventures with church friends Porter, Carson, Seamus and Noah. I loved meeting you for lunch at school and playing Four Square with your buddies, though I am remiss we are moving before I can truly humble Brody from his smug position in the head square.

This was a big year: You skied your first double-black diamond at Sunlight Mountain Resort and rocked the Kids Adventure Games in Vail with Seamus. You love soccer, The Broadmoor, snuggles to start and end the day, Fat Kitty, listening to Fablehaven, Cub Scouts, video games, summer swim lessons, riding your bike with your friends, piano, and catching crawdads. We had plenty of ski trips, Christmas in Utah, a media preview of “Season of the Force” at Disneyland, a weekend with friends at YMCA of the Rockies Snow Mountain Ranch, summer fun at the Calgary Stampede and boating at the Lakehouse in B.C.

I especially appreciated your help when it came to our miserable 2+ months of house showings and you frequently asked me “what can I do to help?” Of course, no one is perfect and neither is your room but you did a great job keeping it picked up and gave me hope that slobbery is not in your eternal future. But you’d better believe that very day we went under contract, your room quickly returned to its original (condemned) condition.

You were born with an extra ray of sunshine. Being happy, having faith and obedience come so easily for you and you truly want what is best for those around you. In a world that encourages boys to be competitive and tough, you reminds me everyday that kindness counts (along with a healthy dose of silliness). You’re such an easy-to-please bloke that sometimes it’s tough to figure out what you really dislike (beyond the obvious food choices like peppers and seafood) so on our recent hike to St. Mary’s Glacier, I asked you “Bode, what kind of things do you hate? I mean, Hadley really hates math. What would be on your list?” You took a long pause of consideration before responding “you know, I really hate mean people. Why can’t everyone just be nice and kind? I want peace for the whole world.”

St. Mary’s Glacier

Jamie joked “”world peace?’ You’ll be a great beauty contestant with an answer like that.”

All kidding aside, your sincere answer so beautifully demonstrated your role in this world as a peacemaker. Every day you teach me about love and patience. I got weepy writing this letter because Colorado has been a wonderful dream for you full of friendships, developing your testimony in the gospel and fun…and I hope you will always look back upon your single digits with wonder and magic because that’s exactly what they were.

Love,

Mom

P.S. For a stroll down memory lane, see birthday letters 1, 2, 3, 4,  5,  6, and 7, 8 and  9.

Fun with friends at Snow Mountain Ranch

First double-black ski run

Bike to School Day

Kids Adventure Games

Birthdays at the Lakehouse

Famous on the slopes

Halloween pumpkin fun

Sledding with Dad at Meyers Ranch

Student Council field trip

Soccer

Sunlight Mountain Resort snowmobiling

Snow Mountain Ranch’s lame tire swing

 

Filed Under: birthday, Bode

Password Nightmares

July 14, 2016 By

Remember that adventure race I did with Bode where I landed in the dunk and ruined my iPhone? The fun was only beginning. After the race at Copper Mountain, I bought some rice at a little market, plunked my iPhone in it to dry out and prayed for a miracle. After all, I’d only been in the water for a split second and I purchased a heavy-duty case last year after my friend accidentally shattered it taking a group selfie.

That miracle didn’t happen. I’d just charged the phone and left the bottom of the case open just enough to let the water seep in and destroy it. The worst part about it? Bode had cautioned me before the race, “Mom, do you really think that’s a good idea to bring your phone?” and I told him it would be fine and I’d take it out before any water obstacles, not taking into account my early-onset Alzheimer’s to actually remember to do it.

Wasting money on a new iPhone is the last thing we wanted to do so Jamie purchased a refurbished one online, which still cost a minor fortune. It took almost a week to arrive–a week where text messages went unanswered and I took a break from social media. It was actually pretty refreshing (except for knowing I was receiving a lot of texts that I’d never be able to recover).

But setting everything back up was almost as bad as ruining the phone.  I’ve had problems with iTunes for years. I somehow setup two different accounts so my apps and music are divided up and I go through stints where I haven’t been able to access either due to password lockouts.

But did I take the time to figure it out? Nooooooo. It was super fun to learn that the iTunes account I’ve used most frequently is not the one connected to my phone so I haven’t done a back-up for over year. And all the pictures I’ve taken, apps I’ve downloaded and music I’ve purchased are gone, gone, gone.

Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Life was so much more simple before the Internet and smartphones. I thought reloading all my apps and email accounts would be the easy part but it was’t. The process went a lot like this.

Download Facebook app.  Can’t remember password. Send new password info to email. Enter new password.

Password no longer works on Desktop. Change password.

Go back to iPhone. New password on desktop for some reason won’t sync even though it’s the same password.

Change password again.

Repeat process 10X for social media accounts (Twitter, Instagram, etc.)

Tear hair out over endless loop of passwords not syncing between iPhone and desktop.

Don’t get me started on my iCloud and continued iTunes problems. None of the passwords I entered were correct so my strategy? Just don’t deal with any of it.

Too bad that’s what got me into this mess in the first place.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Kids Adventure Games: A Parent Butt-kicking to Remember

July 12, 2016 By

“I wish I could do that.”

Thus were my famous last words as my children competed in the Toyota Kids Adventure Games in Vail last summer. Now in its seventh season, these games are the only national outdoor adventure series just for kids and this year, the organizers experimented with a new race: the Family Adventure Quest. Held in the Village at Copper, this race paired one adult/teen and one child together to navigate an adventure course with zip lines, mud pits, slacklines, cargo nets, trekking, biking, water obstacles and a variety of other unique challenges.

Bode and I a.k.a. “Team Dominator” participated in the optional adventure-racing clinic the day prior where we fine-tuned our blow-dart, rock climbing, orienteering and mountain biking skills. The actual Quest featured two categories, a timed category for more competitive duos or a non-timed “fun run” for those looking to tackle the course without pressure. If I was a sane person, I would have signed up for the latter but the competitive waves worked better with our schedule so we found ourselves at the starting line mingling with seasoned adventure racing parents. “We’re going to have fun, right?” I reminded Bode but mostly I was trying to comfort myself that we were definitely not in it to win it.

C

Our bib number was called and we lined up with an 8-year-old cutie wearing a sparkly helmet while her dad looked like he stepped (no, ran) off the pages of Outside magazine. That was the last time I saw them as they sprinted from the starting line toward our first obstacle about .5-mile away: Blow Darts, the perfect way for non-seasoned adventure-racing parents to gain false confidence that they could conquer the course. We blew threw it with ease (pun intended), hiked uphill to the Cargo Net and carefully navigated the obstacle before racing to the Grease Wall.

glacierclimbI took one look and knew there was no way I would be able to climb it without help. I boosted Bode up, he hoisted his leg over and teetered on the top. “Good job, Son,” the race volunteer cheered. “Now, stay up there and help pull your mom to the top.” This was sure a flattering sentiment that my 9-year-old could hoist me to the top but reality bites. After several failed attempts at trying to pull myself up (it’s called the grease wall for a reason), I called it a no-go. Spoiler alert: This would not be my first #EpicFail that day.

We were starting to get into the rhythm of running together and next we tackled the Glacier Climb where we clung to a rope as we navigated a set of icy stairs up, across and down a massive “glacier” of snow (by far my favorite challenge).

From Ice Capades, we turned to mud where two slacklines were stretched parallel across a sizable pit.  Bode had a plan: “You lean over, grab my shoulders and I’ll grab your waist. I’ll tell you when to step.” Our synchronicity was downright inspiring as we flawlessly inched across the narrow webbing without landing in the muck.

tyrolean

For the first time, I realized I was having fun even though it had started to lightly rain. We grabbed our mountain bikes to tackle the next series of challenges: we biked up a muddy trail, Bode did an American Ninja-style obstacle course involving small tunnels (that only one teammate needed to complete), we showcased our orienteering skills that led us to a hidden marker, we maneuvered across a rope suspended in the trees on the Jungle Walk and catapulted water balloons, followed by more biking adventures.
If there was one obstacle I was worried about, it was the Tyrolean Traverse, which involved using a fixed line to cross from one point to another over the river. While wearing a harness, we clipped onto the rope to pull ourselves backwards. Bode had struggled with this challenge last year but I was pleasantly surprised when we both sailed across with ease, likely due to the slight decline in the angle.

By this point, I was feeling pretty indomitable. Sure, we weren’t winning and were getting passed up by stronger teams but were keeping a respectable pace and bonding.

Enter: The Darwin Dash.

A series of connecting foam pads were stretched out across West Lake and I blame the Spartan-racing father-son duo in front of us for my #EpicFail because they bounded across those things with the ease of kangaroos in the Outback. Bode went first, slipping, sliding and sometimes crawling but he eventually made it across. I gingerly stepped onto the mat, causing it to sink a couple of inches but I had no worries. Back in The Day, I took second place in my city’s long jump finals so I knew I had the fortitude to make the leap between pads. What I had not factored into the formula: everything else.darwin

In long jumping, you step as close to the takeoff board as you possibly can so that was the strategy I took and quickly realized the error of my ways when my foot sunk into the water, causing the rest of me to slip off. I desperately grasped the pads but I was waist-deep in water when I pulled myself out. Then panic set in: my cell phone was in my pocket. Though I had wisely left my backpack on dry land, I had forgotten about my phone. A spectator on the shore told me to toss it over to him to see if he could salvage it but I was rattled. Already down on my hands and knees, I was advised to crawl across.

That strategy worked poorly and I narrowly made it across to the second pad. I guardedly stood up, like a baby learning to walk, and attempted another leap but my water-logged shoes slipped off the edge and I landed squarely and completely in the dunk.

I was done. Bummed by my failure that resulted in the demise of my phone (and all our pictures from the race), I swam to shore where I met my sympathetic and sweet teammate.

“Don’t worry, Mom. That was the last obstacle. Now we run to the finish line.”

My drowned rat appearance wasn’t quite the triumphant finish I had envisioned but in the end, it didn’t matter. Participating in the Quest with my son is one memory we’ll never forget as we learned to work together on building confidence, teamwork, communication and, most importantly, having fun.

And I can’t wait to do the Kids Adventure Games’ Family Adventure Quest again next year.

Be sure to checkout my kids’ adventures last year and the fun video we pulled together here. 

Filed Under: Bode, Colorado, Humor, outdoors

Outdoor Lab High-achieving Week

July 11, 2016 By

If there are two things Hadley loves in this world, they are art and the outdoors. Combine the two and that girl of mine is in her element.

In November, she joined all the sixth graders from her school to attend Outdoor Lab, the longest continually running outdoor education program in the western United States with two locations: Windy Peak and Mount Evans. For five days, she was immersed in an outdoor academic setting while learning about herself and how she fits into the world around her.

We thought that was the end of it until we were notified that her art teacher Mrs. Counterman nominated her to attend Outdoor Lab’s High Achieving Week during summer break. It’s an honor to be nominated in any subject–from astronomy to art to wildlife forensics–and only the best and brightest attend from our entire county. I really wanted to do it but with the uncertainty with our move and finances, I didn’t think we could swing it so was grateful when Jamie’s mom offered to send her.

Unbeknownst to us, Hadley’s two very best friends at school, Alex and Ellie, had also been nominated for the art program at Mount Evans. Talk about serendipity!

Their week went something like this:

Monday: Initiatives rope course; raku glazing and firing; make sketchbooks/journals
Tuesday: fly tying and fishing; drawings; fish carvings and prints
Wednesday: morning hike (mandalas); afternoon hike (oil pastel landscapes)
Thursday: cyanotype prints; finish projects; artist statements
Friday: hang artwork for display; surveys, artist trading cards
Alex’s mom Lisa and I drove up on Friday for parent’s day and Hadley was positively beaming as she showed me all her treasures from the week with 14,000-foot Mount Evans as a backdrop.

Mandala

As we were leaving, there was a prominent ranch gate displayed with this quote from John Muir:

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.

We couldn’t agree with him more.

Filed Under: Colorado, Hadley

Under Contract (Again)

July 8, 2016 By

One week ago today, we went other contract.

For the third time for anyone who is counting.

The whole thing was surrounded by some pretty miraculous events that I’ll share later. We had the inspector come to the house yesterday where we met the buyer (super nice man with three little kids) so fingers are crossed this will be a go. Next up is the Appraisal, which could take a few weeks to schedule.

The kids and I are Canada-bound for 2.5 weeks on Thursday and when we get back, the packing frenzy begins. We’ll close and move less than one week before school starts in Utah, which isn’t ideal but it is the timeline we’ve been given.

And at this point, we’ll take it.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

The Fourth Was With Us

July 5, 2016 By

There’s no better time to live in Skyline Estates than on the Fourth of July. That’s when we shut down our street, the entire neighborhood throws a party and fireworks are shot right above our house and late into the night.

We were remiss to celebrate our final holiday in Arvada without Hadley who flew to Utah for our new ward’s Young Women’s Girls Camp this week. A second bummer? I don’t even have one picture because my cell phone landed in the lake with me at my adventure race with Bode last weekend.

Regardless, the 4th of July had all the fixins for a great day:

  • Jamie, Bode and I woke up early to attend our stake’s annual patriotic breakfast (though not too early and missed the 5K Bode wanted to run).
  • Our friends, the Rolfsons, invited a few families to spend the afternoon at Hyatt Lake, a private lake where we swam, cannonballed, canoed, lounged and leisurely floated in tubes.
  • That night, some of our dearest friends and neighbors, the Haymonds, hosted a bunch of families at their house for a big BBQ. As I sat there at the kid table laughing at 4-year-old Lucy, I had an epiphany: I love my friends’ kids every bit as much as I love them.  After a few hours, we all walked up to the fireworks together where more families joined us–the Carrolls, Cooks, Larsons, Wagners, Cardons and countless neighbors.
Growing up, Canada Day (July 1) was our big celebration and we loved spending it in Raymond. But since moving to the U.S., the Fourth of July has always come and gone without much fanfare…until we moved here. As Jamie and I slowly walked back after the fireworks, I wanted to soak in every moment. The revelries, the high-fives, the exhausted kiddos with their glow sticks.
And the happiness that we have been part of something special for the 12 years we’ve been privileged to live here.
Filed Under: holidays
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