Living a Staggering Life

March 5, 2013 By

I have been really pensive lately. Being sick and surrounded by a lot of tough situations will do that to you. Last year, when my childhood friend Nalene passed away unexpectedly, it opened my eyes to just how precious and fleeting life really is.

Last month, I sat by the bedside of an elderly widow in our ward who has become a beloved part of our family. The end was near–I could feel it and though she couldn’t voice it, she knew it. The next day, she passed away and at her funeral, I marveled at this thing called mortality that we too-often take for granted.

Magical= 12 nests in one cluster of trees

Last week, I stumbled upon this quote:

“I think life is staggering and we’re just getting used to it. We are all like spoiled children no longer impressed with the gifts we’re given–it’s just another sunset, just another rainstorm moving in over the mountain, just another child being born, just another funeral.” -Donald Miller, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

Mother-son adventures last weekend in Evergreen. Everest or Bust.

When I was 21, I served an 18-month mission for the LDS Church in Switzerland and France. I felt like I was Belle from Beauty in the Beast and was absolutely captivated with each person I taught (and who taught me) and every Swiss village or mountain I climbed in the Alps. I was living a dream and I knew it.

My first area was Bienne, a small city in the Three-Lakes region in Switzerland that had a half-French, half-German population. I was a couple of months into my mission when my trainer was transferred and I received another companion–one who’d be going home in four short weeks. I couldn’t wait to show her our favorite haunts. As I pointed out the town patisserie oozing with the fragrance of pain au chocolat, we wound around the ville’s cobblestone streets with bursting fountains, vine-covered stone walls and statues tucked into nooks in the walls.

“Isn’t this amazing?” I raved.
“Not really. I’ve been in Europe for 17 months and if you’ve seen one French village, you’ve seen them all,” she said, boredom in her voice.

Even today, I’m still blown away by her statement but she never let herself just be happy and live in the moment. And I can’t help but wonder if she has lived a mediocre life because she felt like she was surrounded by mediocrity.

Taking flight in Evergreen. #Joy

I’m flying home to Canada today to help with my mom. As some of you know, she took a turn for the worse before Christmas and has been regularly hospitalized. She was released last week but her battle is not over–in fact, it’s heating up as she wages this 25-year war with a body that is ravaged and broken by MS.

A Colorado woman whom I admire for her joie de vivre recently sold her bike shop with the intention of becoming digital nomads and working remotely around the world with their young family. Their journey had only recently begun in Mexico but then she posted on Facebook last weekend that her 2-year-old son drowned while under a babysitter’s care. This one hit home because it is a secret dream of mine to take my family, work remotely and just travel. Not only was this the death of their dream but the loss of a child is exponentially worse.

Another friend posted that an ill young boy who captivated the hearts of his native Utah and the world lost his battle. While reading Mitchell’s Journey, I was so inspired by this family who can see beyond their current pain and suffering.

…….. Somewhere on the other side of this hell is the Heavenly promise of peace and reunion – but that’s a lifetime away and [learning to cope with] death and separation from our young boy who [wanted] so much to live, cuts us deeply. It’s easy to talk of God and life after death in Sunday school, but to come face to face with it is breathtaking.

But alas, we are grateful to know there is life after life … and we have seen tender mercies in our family, even in the midst of our pain. While there are many today who have abandoned belief in God, we stand resolute … with an absolute knowledge of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. We have seen Him work in our lives; warning us, preparing us, and lifting us when we hardly have the strength to stand. We remain grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and its healing, transcendent power. As C.S. Lewis once said of suffering, “Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even [agony] into [glory].” This we know.

As we process all that is happening and the tender pains of losing our precious child, we have felt a quiet whisper that Mitchell was never really ours in the first place, but he is on loan to us from the Father of us all. He, like each of us, will return to Heavenly Father with a perfectly executed life experience filled with hardship and happiness; all designed to refine our souls for greater purposes.

Our chilly Sunday bike ride at dusk.

“Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even [agony] into [glory].”

Life is a miracle. And I’m so grateful for the one I’ve been given.

Filed Under: LDS

The article that has everything

March 4, 2013 By

A Canuck love story. Awesome, affordable Colorado destinations to explore. A call for wussy Denverites to repent. It’s the Denver Post article that has everything!

=====

I was born and raised in Canada where winter sports are a way of life. My earliest memories are freezing on subzero chairlifts and flooding our garden to make an ice-skating rink. My parents even met when they were on the same curling team.

If that isn’t a Canuck love story, I don’t know what is.

When I married an American, we

Click to Read On.

Filed Under: Colorado, skiing

So long, farewell to Ambruary

March 1, 2013 By

We interrupt Copper Mountain coverage to declare that Ambruary is officially over. And though that week between Valentine’s Day, our 10-year anniversary and my birthday was glorious, the rest of February was pretty rough. I’m hopeful March will be kinder with no illnesses and with two trips to see family–what could be better?

Jamie and I are still dragging from this silly plague (he has had it officially one month). I started to feel better on Wednesday so finally got out to enjoy the glorious snow we received last weekend. It didn’t last long and I was back in bed the next day with a sore throat.

But darn it, that glorious hour traipsing through the snow, marveling at the hearty waterfowl and dodging a coyote at Van Bibber Park was just what the doctor ordered.

Not really, but he should have.

 

Filed Under: Colorado

Skiing, zipling and extreme sportin’ at Copper Mountain

February 27, 2013 By

I’ve decided winter is exhausting. Not only do we usually come down with The Plague (Jamie is on week four) but we have a short few months to cram in as much outdoor fun as we can. With Denver’s dismal snow year, it has been that much more mandatory for us to head to the hills.

And yes, I said mandatory. As in HAS TO HAPPEN.

Copper Mountain was our latest destination to host us. A favorite among the locals because it’s an easy 75-mile drive west of Denver up the I-70 corridor, it remained a glaring omission in my must-ski list (though we had a stellar time there in Oct. 2011).

Hadley had a five-day weekend and Bode had three days off so we drove up after church on Sunday, skied as a family on President’s Day and then the boys drove home early Tuesday morning for work and school. That left two glorious days for Haddie and me to play, and one of them was my birthday.

X-Treme Sports

Upon arrival, we did a tour of Woodward at Copper. I’ll admit this 19,400-square-foot year-round ski and snowboard camp half-amazes, half-terrifies me. Nicknamed “The Barn,” Woodward is an all-steps progression program to help ages 8 and older learn aerial tricks and skills in a safe environment that you can translate on the mountain. See those ramps? My kids thought they were the coolest things ever.And I guess they are if you’re inclined to catch more than 1 inch of air on the slopes (which I am not).

The Barn offers drop-in day sessions, summer camps, SuperTramps and will undergo a big makeover this spring and improvements will include a new progressive foam pit designed for development of beginner park skills. The street area will double in size allowing for full access by BMX, mountain bike, skateboards and park skis and snowboards.

As a nervous parent, I was impressed with the capable staff’s emphasis on safety. Helmets are mandatory on the ramps and to even jump into the foam pit, my kids had to fill out some waivers and receive instruction.And Bode is counting down until he’s 8 so he, too play.

Copper Mountain

We’ve traveled to a number of mountain resorts around the country and what my family loved most about 2,465-acre Copper Mountain is that it was so easy. Easy to get to and the 140 trails across three mountains are easy to navigate. In fact, Hadley marveled about how wonderfully contained the base village is. “We don’t even have to get in the car!” she raved. “We can walk to skiing, dinner, tubing, zipling, skating and dinner.”

I didn’t correct her when she said dinner twice. It is, after all, very important.

On President’s Day, the kids went to ski school while Jamie and I hit the slopes. It is one of the few Colorado ski schools that has incorporated the FLAIK global positioning system, which tracks the kids’ on-mountain location, skier stats, and runs skied. Their instructors simply attached the GPS device around their leg and at the end of the day, we went online to see all their logistics. Turned out, they skied a lot harder than Jamie and me but we didn’t tell them that, of course.

Good thing there’s no tracking devices for parents who opt for an extra-long, leisurely lunch by the fire at Copper Station.

At first, I was disgruntled The Schoolhouse is located in the West Village, a shuttle stop away from the Center Village. But after dropping off the kids, Jamie and I rode Union Creek, followed by Timberline Express and that is where we found the best snow conditions that day.By day’s end, we were happy and tired. This was our first major outing since getting sick, which took quite a toll. In fact, sweet Bode fell asleep on the two-minute shuttle ride back to our condo.

How to Get an Alpine Rush

We vacillated on our plans. We had hoped to try out the new Alpine Rush Zip Line in the Center Village and then head over to the East Village for the Tubing Hill but remember the exhaustion thing? We opted to swing by the zip line since it was close to our condo, go back, chill out and then see if the kids were up for tubing. 

The latter didn’t happen but the former did…in a big way.

Poor Bode practically sleepwalked through Center Village and I honestly wasn’t expecting him to even try. But the second he spotted the zip line soaring over skating rink at West Lake, there was no holding him back. (Note: You must be at least 50 pounds and each ride only costs $10),

Jamie got outfitted in his harness and went first, racing across the sky. Hadley freaked out, “That’s too fast,” she wailed. A couple of summers ago, the zip line at Vail’s Adventure Race traumatized her and she’s been gun shy (terrified) ever since.

“I’ll go!” Bode boldly volunteered and he was off.The more you weigh, the faster you soar so Bode was considerably slower than Jamie.

“Maybe that wasn’t so bad,” Hadley faltered.

“You’ll go as slow as Bode. Let’s give it a try,” I encouraged her. The staffer soothed her fears and before she knew it, she was flying.In fact, the next day she begged to do it two more times. I’m not sure if she’s cured but her fears were definitely calmed.

Now, I just need to follow her example and tackle the ramps at The Barn the next time we’re at Copper Mountain.

Stay tuned next time for our memorable mom-daughter adventures the next two days!

 

Filed Under: Bode, Colorado, Family, Family travel, Hadley, Humor, Jamie, outdoors, skiing

On being amazing

February 26, 2013 By

We have a lot of transitions going on Chez Johnson. With winter winding down next month, B will be starting back up with his third year of soccer. We’ve finally decided it’s in H’s best interest to hire her a tutor and have subsequently dropped her from the YMCA and swim team to pay for it (so crazy expensive but thanks to my dad for generously offering to chip in every month). Hopefully she’ll be able to try tennis or volleyball in the spring once we get caught back up.

I’ve held fast to the creed I only want my kids in one sport and activity (like music lessons) at a time–both for them and me. We have some friends who are literally running every night from activity to activity and while that’s swell for them, I’m a firm believer kids need a lot of imaginative, creative down time by themselves and to be together as a family; over-scheduling them is not the answer.

We’re busy enough as it is with our many adventures.

We are sharing a tutor with my friend Lori, who has seen great improvements in her daughter’s math. The only day that would work for them is Monday after school at the exact same time H had piano. She hasn’t exactly been enthusiastic about practicing and though it’s a priority for me to keep her in long enough that she is proficient enough to play the hymns at church, I was fine with her temporarily dropping it and letting B take her place.

My Competitive Miss would have none of it. Suddenly, piano became the most important thing in the world to her and so we ultimately switched her to Fridays and let B take her time slot on Monday.

Yesterday was a day of firsts for both of them: H’s first day with her tutor and B’s first day of piano. She was grateful for the extra help and hopefully this will help her regain her confidence.

B (short for Beethoven, not Bode) was stoked. I wasn’t going to have him start lessons until next year but he is always plunking away at the piano and has taught himself to read music and play by ear. At this rate (and intensity) it won’t be long before he’s surpassing H which, as you can imagine, will go over marvelously.

The night before, I asked him “Are you excited for your lesson?”

Referring to his teacher, he humbly said, “She may be amazed.”

 

Filed Under: Bode, Hadley, Humor

How to spend the perfect Denver snow day: In pictures

February 24, 2013 By

It’s no secret I’ve been disgruntled over Denver’s shameful lack of snow. It doesn’t help that my Utah friends have been slammed and have been posting about it on Facebook all winter. But we finally got our fill in Denver today.

I’ve been bedridden with the silly plague since my birthday on Wednesday. Saturday, I developed some kind of funky ear infection that led to vertigo so bad that I could barely walk. This led to a certain unsupervised person becoming a wee bit mischievous by writing “No boys allowed” on her brother’s window,  and then TPing my bedroom.Though Fat Kitty looks pretty guilty, too.

By Sunday, I wasn’t 100 percent better but ready to be DONE with the house. And then Said Storm blew in, church was canceled and we had a glorious snow day. And so we played games, watched movies and baked, starting with popovers.Followed by sweet ‘n spicy shredded pork sandwiches we roasted for seven hours along with steak fries.

Late in the day, the snow finally stopped blowing so we bundled up and went out to play. I found Jamie and the kiddos shoveling our neighbor’s driveway.Every year during our big snow storms, it is our tradition to build a snow fort.I also highly recommend jumping off the swings. Think: soft landing. Snow angels aren’t too bad, either.
Fat Kitty thinks we’re pretty crazy during the best of times. Just think of the looks he was giving us when we went to help another neighbor shovel and the kids played in the snow with their enthusiastic dog. A couple of hours later, I dragged the reluctant kids back inside for white chocolate hot cocoa and Haddie’s homemade peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. It was pretty much the perfect snow day.

And it’s about time Denver figured out it was winter.

Filed Under: Bode, Colorado, Hadley

Fear: Conquered

February 19, 2013 By

We are currently wrapping up a glorious trip to Copper Mountain where we have skied, ziplined, tub tubbed, shopped, skated and loved every minute.

Except the parts where Jamie and I have been pretty darn sick.

He and Bode had to work and go to school today but Haddie has a few extra days off so we decided to make my birthday tomorrow extra-special by staying in the mountains for quality girl time. Many more details are forthcoming (though I suspect I’ll be on my sickbed for a while recovering from it all).

In the interim, we’re going snowshoeing in Frisco tomorrow and my favorite moment of today: seeing this girl of mine zipline.

I’m enlarging and framing this pictures with the caption, “What Conquering Fear looks like.”

Because it’s just been that kind of trip.

Filed Under: Colorado, Family travel, Hadley, outdoors

One Romantic Evening–Celebrating 10 Years

February 18, 2013 By

Ten years. Our first major milestone since getting married and it seemed worthy of celebration.  At first, we decided upon a trip and I’ve long been obsessed with Nepal. But since we don’t have $10,000+ to drop (though this REI trip is still at the TOP of my bucket list), we decided we’d go to Mexico when my childhood BBF Allison announced she was getting married next month. But then we subscribed to every fare alert out there and realized we just couldn’t afford it right now (sob) and so here we are in Denver.

I had grand plans leading up to our anniversary that included a 10-day countdown with notes and presents. I did something similar our first Christmas together but then everyone got sick (including myself late last week) so survival became the new celebration standard.

Oh, how the great have fallen.

But it was still memorable. Jamie’s sister Lisa generously took the kids so we had a full night and Jamie plotted to take us to the Briarwood Inn restaurant, where he originally popped the question. The second time, that is. Though I said “yes” the first time, a girl dreams of her engagement and getting proposed via email just ain’t it.

I’d been battling a cold for a couple of days and an hour before we were supposed to leave, I–fresh from a shower and still in my bathrobe–took one look at our warzone-of-a-house (three weeks of illness will do that) and started cleaning. And cleaning. I figured Jamie could just take the kids over to Lisa’s at 4:45 p.m. and I could leisurely get ready–after all, our reservation wasn’t until 6:15 p.m. Ten minute before he was supposed to leave, Jamie came upstairs and freaked out. “Why are you not ready? We have to leave! You are coming with me to drop off the kids so get dressed and put on your make-up, NOW!”

I knew something was up so begrudgingly went to get ready. A few minutes later, I heard him call, “We have to go!” I raced downstairs, flew out the door and there was my white chariot!
My sweet husband had recreated our engagement night to the fullest, even renting a limo that he had scored for $60 via Living Social.

The kids were out. Of. Their. Gourd. I was so excited he had the foresight in his planning to have the limo take them to their sleepover at Aunt Lisa’s, grab her and even loop around the block. He left no stone unturned and had brought Sparkling Apple-Pomegranate Martinelli’s and put together a CD of our favorite songs including our wedding song, Sting’s “When We Danced.” “No wonder Daddy was so bossy trying to make you get ready!” Hadley mused as she stretched herself out in her seat, settling into a life she thinks she was born to live. Bode was darling. “This is 1X better than the WiiU!” he exclaimed.

We’re still working on multiplication but I gave him the benefit of the doubt that he meant at least 2X better.

“If I sold cookie dough, I would have ridden in this!” he continued. I didn’t pursue this one, either. It’s a sore subject in our house that I refuse to sucker our friends into buying the school’s sub-par cookie dough and instead write them a check. A check not big enough for the grand prize of riding in a limo.

As the kids bounced around from seat-to-seat, Jamie and I cuddled up, reflecting upon this beautifully imperfect life we’ve been fortunate to build and how much it has changed in 10 years. After dropping off the kids, Jamie had mapped out a long detour that stretched along the foothills that were on pink fire that evening. I marveled that these landscapes had been so foreign to me during that first limo ride and now I knew every trail and climb. Quite simply, they are home.

Upon arriving at the Briarwood Inn, I noticed Jamie’s car in the lot–a kindly gentleman from our ward had helped him drop it off earlier (sneaky, sneaky). The Briarwood Inn is old-school elegance and one of Colorado’s finest dining traditions nestled against Clear Creek in Golden. We ate, lo did we eat. Beef Wellington. Extensive appetizer and dessert trays. We talked about our future hopes and dreams, past happenings, opened each other’s cards (I had mustered up a Top 10 List for him) and the whole evening was pretty darn memorable.

Late the next morning, we picked up the kids, Jamie’s brother Chris and Lisa and went to brunch at Tag Burger Bar, a newish, hip burger joint. Oozing with originality and gourmand fixings. I opted for the One Night in Bangkok burger with green papaya slaw, crushed peanuts, mint and lime Sriracha aioli while Jamie loved the Blind in Texas with chile-rubbed crispy onions, aged cheddar, chipotle BBQ. And then we ordered the five different kinds of French fries: Old School Russets, Sweet Potato (yum), Finger Lickin’ with Cheez Whiz and pico de gallo and then our two favorites: Duck Fat Fries with Tag sauce and their Truffle Aioli and Parmesan Fries.

When we arrived home, we went into a romance- and duck-fat-induced coma and called it good. Definitely good enough to hold us for another 10 years….

Filed Under: Bode, Colorado, Foodie, Hadley, Humor, Jamie

Kids React to Valentine’s Day

February 16, 2013 By

Valentine’s Day may be over but since I’m blogging all about loooove this week, I simply had to post this charming video from Small Fry. They asked kids various questions about love, including where do babies come from, where your parents go on dates and if they’ve ever kissed anyone. Hilarious!

<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/d1kXydCqhy4″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>

http://youtu.be/d1kXydCqhy4

Confession: I have a secret dream of doing a web series like “From the Mouths of Babes.” This video confirmed it.

Filed Under: Humor

10 Years Ago Today

February 15, 2013 By

Ten Years Ago Today, I married the perfect man for me–one who knows and loves me better than anyone. Who is wise beyond his years, patient, fun, romantic, kind and hilarious. Our wedding day was perfect. That word isn’t usually in my vocabulary but that is exactly what it was because of the man I was to marry and the beloved people who surrounded us with their love.

The night before, my in-laws graciously arranged a delicious Valentine’s Day dinner for our out-of-town guests, catered by Jamie’s good friend, Chef Mike. I stayed up late giggling with dear friends in our condo, wondering if I could ever fall asleep before the most important day of my life.

February 15, 2003 dawned bright, beautiful and SNOWY! Denver was having a severe drought and this was certainly not in the forecast but was a dream come true for this Canuck bride!  Jamie came to pick me up and after only one minor stress-related freakout (quite miraculous for me), we drove to the Denver LDS Temple. The grounds were spectacular and the snowy-frosting on all the trees was good enough to eat.

For me, one of the most beloved facets of the LDS faith is the knowledge that marriages and families are forever, bestowed through the process of being sealed in the temple. To be in that sealing room surrounded by those we love, kneeling across the alter from this amazing man and literally feeling the concourses of angels–to date it was one of the most powerful experiences of my life and I couldn’t help but blubber all the way through it.

And we’re talking “the big, ugly cry” as Oprah calls it.

When we left the temple, the party began.  Here are some snapshots I took of our wedding photo albums. Scanners are for wussies…or rather, people who have way more time than I but you get the idea.

I literally get weepy when I see these pictures of all our loved ones. See my niece Emily in that red coat? Haddie wears it now

My family

Jamie’s family

The Parents

My Maid of Honor Stacey whom I’ve literally known since birth


Jamie and I were both at BYU at the same time, graduated in the same department, had likely played volleyball together at Carriage Cove every night one summer and yet never met until eight years later. It was during our lovely wedding reception at the Marriott that the craziest thing happened. I had many wonderful friends from my BYU days come to Colorado for the wedding, as did Jamie. And many of these friends knew each other from BYU. Just another meant-to-be moment.

That evening, we had our reception at a charming cabin in the mountains. Before I even moved to Denver, my mother-in-law Linda had searched out reception venues for me and patiently toured me around until we found the perfect one. Just 15 minutes from Denver in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Chief Hosa Lodge was my dream come true. Cozy with multiple fireplaces, white lights and a harpist, it was oh-so quaint.  The snow that evening made it magical. The reception was a blur with memories of the many people who would become my Denver family. We kept things simple–No wedding party, no painful line.  We greeted our guests, chased bubbles, dined on the delicious food that included croquembouche (a traditional French dessert I fell in love with on my mission) and danced the night away. It was the favorite wedding I’ve ever attended.

It’s a good thing, too, because it was all mine.

Last night we gathered the kids together to share our love story with them for the first time–the full one that very few know. They were captivated and mesmerized and my heart was full as I marveled at the family life we have been blessed to create in such a short amount of time.

Happy 10 Years to my beloved Pumpkin Man. I feel infinitely blessed to be yours.

Filed Under: Jamie, LDS, Marriage
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