The months leading up to our Midway move

April 7, 2016 By

From that unexpected moment in December when we first felt that strong impression that we were supposed to uproot our beloved Colorado life for the unknown in Midway, Utah, our past several months have been a blur.

January

  •  I spent most of January crying. Don’t ask about my ugly sobfest when I watched “Out of Africa” and Meryl Streep introduced her love affair of Kenya with “I had a farm in Africa.”  TIP: DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE IF YOU ARE MOVING FROM A LAND YOU LOVE.
  • I also spent January purging the house. I literally cleaned out every single room and we will have one heck of a garage sale next month. On April 15, we will celebrate our 12-year anniversary in this wonderful house. This was the home of my kids’ cherished childhood. It feels strange as they enter their tween/teen years they will have completely different memories in a new place.
  • Jamie and I flew in and out to Utah on the same day to meet with the builder to discuss initial plans. Funny story: when we first walked onto the property in December, it was foggy and we couldn’t see any views of Mount Timpanogos. On our return visit, we were literally blown away. It is the perfect view (minus annoying power lines). This picture is zoomed in of our yard.

February

  • We told the kids about the move. They cried, I cried. Jamie (The Man Who Never Cries) sympathetically consoled us while Fat Kitty looked at us like were lunatics. He has no idea of the trauma that awaits him this summer (Fat Dude hates any change and becomes unglued simply riding around the neighborhood in the car).
  • Told our closest friends. More crying.

March

  • Things are becoming real. Started fixing up the house for sale.
  • Spend a fortune on new carpet we’ll never enjoy.
  • Word of our move spreads like wildfire in our ward that has become our second family. Crying etc.
  • We visit Midway for Spring Break and introduce the kids to their new life.
About 95 percent of the homes are completed in our new neighborhood and only a few remain including our lot and our immediate neighbor’s but I was thrilled to see their cars and told Jamie, “we need to go meet them!” We hadn’t taken even two steps out of our car when Ellen FLEW out of her house, exclaiming, “are you our new neighbors?” And just like that, she and her husband Dave welcomed us with open arms to the hood.

The good: She is my twin in twenty years and her husband is just like Jamie. Plus, they fed us coconut cookies.
The bad (for Hadley): She offered to become our kids’ piano teacher.

During our visit to Utah, we had planned to go to our new ward hoping to meet a few new people but church was canceled due to the Provo City Center Dedication. But the timing of our Spring Break visit was otherwise perfect. Hadley was able to attend an overnight retreat with the young women from our new ward and made a few friends. She will go to YW Girl’s Camp in our Colorado ward and then a week later with her Utah one. It was a relief that she was able to bond with the new girls before showing up for camp!

So, that left Bode. I’m concerned about both of them with this move for different reasons. Hadley has a lot of friends but sometimes takes a while to warm up to people and then she’s the life of the party. However, if she doesn’t click or fit in, she’s fine with going it alone. Case in point: She’ll often hang out with friends on the bus but if they’re not around, she’d rather just sit by herself than be with someone she doesn’t like.  It’s good that she’s comfortable enough with herself to just be by herself but sometimes not so good when she would rather not put forth the effort. Starting at a new middle school without knowing anyone is no stroll in the park.

Bode is the complete opposite. His friends are his world and he collects them like trash on his bedroom floor (translation: he has a lot). Everywhere he goes, he makes a new BFF. This is a great quality but the worry is what happens if he doesn’t click with the kids there? He’s a thoughtful, sensitive kid and it would be waaaay more devastating to him than Hadley.

Hadley’s retreat was at the Young Women’s President’s house in our neighborhood who has a daughter Hadley’s age and a 9-year-0ld son like Bode. I mentioned I’d like them to meet so Bode would at least know one person before the move but her son Tommy was at his grandma’s a block away. Just as we started to leave, another  boy, Titus, showed up asking if Tommy was around to play.

And this is where my Mama Bear My Children Must Make Friends instinct kicked in. “Tommy isn’t here but would you like to go with Bode up the street to his grandma’s house?” Titus was game so he and Bode walked together while I followed them in the car.

Yes, it was as creepy as it sounds.

It got worse. We arrived at the house but Grandma wasn’t home. Tommy and his siblings (I think there are 8 of them?) were in the care of their teenage brother. I hesitated. Surely I shouldn’t leave Bode there with no grandparental supervision, right? I followed Bode and Titus to the basement where Tommy was hanging out with his brother.

I went for it. “Hey, we’re moving into the neighborhood and are wondering if Bode can hang out for a few minutes?”

Yes, it was as awkward as it sounds.

They hesitatingly agreed and for the first time, poor Bode looked uncomfortable. I cheerfully assured him, “I’ll be back soon” and drove back to our lot to meet Jamie. Because our home is one of the last in the neighborhood to be built, we were not able to see our actual model before committing. Scary, right? Our neighbor across the street, Jan, generously opened up her home for us to tour and for the first time, we were able to see the layout.

The good: Jan is awesomely friendly and talked a lot.
The bad: Jan is awesomely friendly and talked a lot.

Normally I’d be thrilled with such a warm reception but remember that I dumped poor Bode at a grandma’s house without a grandma with kids he didn’t know? That few minutes turned into an hour and I agonized as time ticked on. I finally had to politely excuse ourselves and raced back over to the house. As I walked up to the door, I noticed something in the distance–a child riding a scooter that looked suspiciously like Bode.  I walked down to the street. Yep, it was Bode. He raced around the corner with Tommy and Titus in hot pursuit.

“Bode, did you have fun?”
“Definitely!”
“Have you been exploring?”
“Yes! We went back over to Tommy’s house and he loaned me this scooter. Do you know what we just discovered?!!! A SINKHOLE in an open field behind our new neighborhood.”

Something tells me that boy is going to be just fine. Let’s just hope the rest of us will follow.

Filed Under: Bode, Hadley, Humor, Utah

The House

April 6, 2016 By
Welcome to what has become my ongoing series documenting our move to Utah. Don’t worry, this won’t last forever. Pretty soon I’ll be commiserating about leaving my beloved Colorado as I cram in every last adventure I can!
I’ve been asked for more information on the timing of our move and our new house so I’ll give you a window into my stress. As I mentioned before, the Denver housing market is on fire with a huge shortage of houses on the market, thousands of people moving here and being forced to pay top dollar because of the lack of inventory. Jamie’s sister has encountered this problem. She sold her home last year, made a huge profit on it, and traveled to Europe. Now that she’s back and looking for a job, she can’t afford to buy another house and is currently renting a one-bedroom for $1,300. I know New Yorkers would scoff but that price is high for Denver.  People are realizing what an awesome place this is to live and are coming in droves so I don’t see the prices dropping back to where they once were, though I’m sure the market will stabilize eventually.
Our plan is to put our house on the market late-April and hopefully move out by late-June.  Hadley has YW Girls’ Camp in our Colorado ward the last week of June and camp in our new ward the first week of July, hence the timing. Thus begins our homeless stage and the source of much stress. Since we’re building, there is a laborious process to endure. We spent several weeks in review with the house plans and making any necessary adjustments and upgrades and now we’re stalled as the building permits are approved. What was supposed to be 3-4 weeks it taking much longer. The original projected completion date was early-August (perfect) but now we’ll be lucky if we’re in our new home by early-September (imperfect x 100).
We’ll be living with Jamie’s parents in the interim and the kids and I always spend a good chunk of July with my family in Canada. That’s all fine. But school starts in mid-August and there is no way I’m driving 45 minutes from my in-laws’ house in each direction, two times a day to drop-off and pick-up  the kids. That’s 3+ hours a day in the car. So, let’s not think about that and  I’m praying like crazy the permits are approved so they can start construction, PRONTO.
Due to the premium price tag of our lot, in order to fit this move into our budget, we had to select the smallest model. That’s fine. Our new home is actually comparable in overall size to our current house but it is ranch-style and the layout is completely different. There are only three bedrooms upstairs (that are a lot smaller) so almost immediately we need to scrounge together some money to finish two rooms in the basement so we’ll move Hadley to the basement and Jamie can setup his office down there. Hadley’s temporary bedroom upstairs will become my office. We’ll slowly piece together the rest of the basement over the next several years.
Hadley is a wonderfully gifted artist and loves to create. The problem with that is she has decided this is HER house and her design choices. She begged to go to the design center with us a couple of weeks ago but we made it very clear that, though we value her opinion, she did not have the final say and could not use words like “barf” and “disgusting” when she did not agree with our choices.  She was very well behaved during the process and bit her tongue a few (hundred) times, I’m sure. We consoled her that she can decorate her new room in the basement however she wants. Tip: do not give a full license to a burgeoning artist. She is currently designing her dream bedroom that looks just her Grandma J’s guest room, complete with a chandelier. Good luck with that, kid.
We dragged Jamie’s sister Tammy (a former interior designer at Gensler in New York) to the design center with us. Her family just renovated a beautiful new home in Salt Lake City that looks like a showhome from the magazines. I mean, the woman still carries around paint samples in her purse. That’s how hardcore she is!
I deferred to her on almost everything except for two items: the interior wall and exterior house color. I really wanted our home to be gray with white trim and a blue door but when we pulled up to the neighborhood, we noticed that there were three other very similar looking homes with the same colors and one even had a blue door. Cursed! We took a stroll around the block debating the virtues of various home colors. Jamie and Hadley really liked a dark grey house with red trim but our current home has plenty of red accents and I’m over it. I opted for a beautiful slate blue house with white trim but they wouldn’t have that, either.
We finally compromised on the gray house with blue door. So what if it looks like we’re copycats? It was what I originally wanted and it’s ours.
I’m really great at pinning looks that I like on Pinterest  (is that a talent?) but have zero ability to translate that into making selections that work together (lack of talent). Tammy was a godsend and I’m really excited to see the final product. We’ll be significantly downsizing on the main level, getting rid of both of our dining room sets and two sets of couches, and buying only one dining table and couch. I’m really hoping we won’t feel cramped until we’re able to finish the basement.
Our property backs to farmland that is owned by Jon Huntsman who leases it to be farmed with alfalfa and a 90-year-0ld couple owns several acres on our south side. We posed for a few token pictures in our new yard. The next time we see it, there will hopefully be some movement on it!

 

As we scrimp and save and try to figure out how to make this house work, I think about that $55,000 premium price tag on the lot and how that would have more than covered putting in our yard, deck and basement. But then I look at those views and know that waking up to this as our backyard will make it all worth it.

Filed Under: Utah

To shutter or not to shutter, that is the question?

April 5, 2016 By

As we fix up our house to put on the market, our past several weeks have also been dedicated unto life-altering decisions such as “Do we put shutters on the new house?” I’ve had sleepless nights over such minute details. Only the strongest of marriages survive a renovation or a move. Fortunately, we’ve naturally gravitated to our areas of strength. Jamie has handled all the refinancing, loans and permit details while I’ve focused more on purging and cleaning our house.  You know, the things that don’t require any brain power, that’s me!

The whole process has been seamless but we sometimes clash in our design decisions. I want a completely different look and feel from our Denver home. We currently have a lot of browns and reds, which was swell when we built 13 years ago but I want to brighten up our plot a lot more. To Jamie’s credit, he has acquiesced on much of it, thinking I will give him full reign over the basement and yard and for the most part, I will. Except for the location of his greenhouse. Out of all the places on our .5-acre-plot, he wants to build it smack dab in the middle of my view of Mount Timpanogos. HEAR ME ROAR!

We’ve finalized most of our decisions from the design center but we’re still pending on one minor detail: to shutter or not to shutter? Our design consultant a.k.a. Jamie’s Generous Sister Who is Trying Not to Kill us With our Indecision sent over a few photoshopped pictures of her neighbor’s home that is undergoing renovations. Obviously, our house will have a different design but the colors are similar and this gives us a general idea.

No shutters.

The home with photoshopped black and then white shutters.

 

Jamie and I sat down to discuss our options.

Jamie: “I like no shutters.”

Me: “I think the black shutters make the house look too dark. Let’s nix those.”

Jamie: “Agreed.”

Me: “I’m kind of leaning toward the white shutters. I like the clean lines”

Jamie: “Huh. I’ll tell you what. Let’s compromise and do no shutters.”

Amber: “How is that a compromise? That is the choice you originally wanted!”

Jamie: “Exactly.”

Filed Under: Humor, Jamie, Marriage, Utah

Family reunion-ing in Estes Park

April 4, 2016 By

For Valentine’s Day weekend, the entire Johnson clan got together for a grand vacation.   YMCA of the Rockies Estes Park generously offered us one of their 8-bedroom reunion cabins for the three day weekend and we had a blast hanging out together while exploring the area.  Estes Park is bordered by three sides of Rocky Mountain National Park, which makes YMCA of the Rockies the perfect family vacation with  affordable cabins, lodge rooms, meals and family activities.

Read my official trip report at Mile High Mamas with details on our amazing cabin that was larger than many hotels! (Ignore my shaky camerawork).

My family has been to this location several times in the summer but never in winter so I was excited to try out snowshoeing and fat tire biking. It didn’t happen. There was very little snow and the bane to my existence: wind. I went for daily treks around the property but that was it. The weather even kept me from doing one of the most gorgeous hikes in Colorado that is located on property: a  quick (but steep) trek up Bible Point, a 1.5-mile round-trip hike with stunning views.

Fortunately, the weather can rage and you can still find plenty of fun; the great thing about YMCA of the Rockies Estes Park is there is something for everyone. We spent Friday afternoon touring Estes Parks’ multiple candy shops (I’ve declared this town the Taffy Capital of Colorado), playing brain-bender games at Frames, Games & Things Unnamed and watching a fascinating demonstration on how to blow glass at Mountain Blown Glass.

Once back at YMCA of the Rockies, we spent hours in the craft center. We headed over to the Longhouse Building where we roller-skated and played pickleball.

We tried our hand at volleyball. Basketball. Shuffleboard.

We became animal detectives and learned about their tracks. We did a craft to create our spirit animals.

Animal Detectives

On Sunday, we planned to drive to nearby Rocky Mountain National Park but it started snowing and blowing so we watched movies in our cabin, played games and completed a 1,000-piece puzzle. The other grown-ups did, that is. Though I made several attempts, I did not contribute even one puzzle piece.

Puzzle from hell

We had meaningful family time as well. Jamie’s dad did a presentation on our family tree and genealogy.

We celebrated Valentine’s Day with a fondue dinner and decorated cookies.

And the twins and I (who were born on my birthday) were thrown a cute little surprise party. 

Please excuse my birthday hat; the only way to fit it on my gargantuan cranium is to wear it like a unicorn horn.

We had the perfect, low-key and fun family reunion. The funny thing is my very first family reunion with the Johnsons was at YMCA of the Rockies Estes Park Center about 10 years ago. It has taken us this long to do it again. Here’s for hoping we’ll do it again. Much sooner.

Filed Under: Family travel

Midway’s heaven on earth

April 1, 2016 By

In case you missed our announcement: my family is moving to Midway, Utah this summer! For the story and reasons behind the move, go here.

I’ve been slammed with questions and emails that I tried to answer in my previous blog post but will expound upon them a bit now and plan to write a more official article with my travel tips after our move. We can’t wait for our many adventures in our new home!

About Midway

Nicknamed “Little Switzerland,” Midway is located in the Heber Valley and is literally heaven on earth. Our Swiss-themed hamlet is nestled at the base of Wasatch Mountain State Park and has outstanding year-round outdoor recreation including golf, fly fishing, boating and watersports, plus skiing and other winter sports with Deer Valley and Park City Resort only 15 minutes from our doorstep. Summer and winter temperatures (thankfully) average 5 degrees cooler than Denver and snowfall is abundant, which makes me a very happy Canuck. The Midway Ice Castles are a popular tourist attraction during the winter months.

Midway is practically surrounded by water. Jordanelle Reservoir is popular for boating, the Provo River is less than a mile from our house and is a fisherman and tuber’s dream and we have a gorgeous view of Deer Creek Reservoir from our home. I foresee this family taking up many watersports in our future!

So long as I don’t have to get my face wet. File that under “Some Things That Will Never Change.”

I’ve always dreamed of living in the mountains but never aspired to live in the middle of nowhere. Midway is the best of both worlds. Our tiny town of 4,000 is 15 minutes from Park City and 40 minutes to Salt Lake City where Jamie’s family lives. I can have my cake and eat it, too.

A few fun facts about Midway from the Heber Valley Chamber.

  • Despite its growing population, the Heber Valley boasts a 25:1 ratio of fish to people.
  • A series of warm-water hotpots are sprinkled throughout Midway City. Our family went swimming in The Homestead Resort’s famous crater over spring break.
  • Soldier Hollow, the 2002 Olympic venue for X-Country Skiing, was one of the most visited sites of the 2002 games. We had a blast on their lift-serviced tubing hill last week!
  • The number of golf holes within a five mile radius is one of the greatest in the Western United States.
  • The Heber Valley Rail Road, once a major transporter of sheep, now carries 75,000 visitors per year.
  • Red Rocks are prominent on the East end of the valley while soaring mountains are located to the West.
  • More than 1,000 miles of snowmobile trails wind throughout the area (the equivalent of riding to Denver, twice).

Stay tuned next week where I’ll give updates on our new home and all the [not so] fun things that go into pulling this move together.

Filed Under: Utah

Our big announcement: We’re Utah-bound!

March 31, 2016 By

As much as I love to travel, I adore our home base and never thought we’d live anywhere other than Colorado so it is tremendously bittersweet to announce we’re moving to Midway, Utah.  I adore Colorado and we have zero reasons to leave…our businesses are burgeoning, we have an amazing ward, friends and neighborhood. But this glorious place is where we’ve moving so I keep reminding myself not to be too depressed.

Midway, Utah

How It Happened

In December, I had just returned from a trip to the temple where many of us accompanied a new member in our ward for the first time. I was bursting with feelings of love and appreciation for my many friends who surrounded her. Later that afternoon, I was at my computer when I had the distinct impression: “Search for real estate in Soldier Hollow.”

I’m not one to house shop (apart from occasionally looking up dream properties in Hawaii) so this thought surprised me. To be honest, I didn’t even know exactly where Soldier Hollow was–just that is was in the Heber Valley and site of the cross-country events for the 2002 Olympic Games. My search for Soldier Hollow revealed that it is in Midway, a charming alpine resort town just 15 miles from Park City. I fell in love with a gorgeous home within our price range and that’s when the wheels started turning.

Jamie wants a bit more land, I want to live in the mountains. Denver’s housing market has exploded with a huge influx of people moving in (we’re the second fastest-growing state in the U.S.) and a shortage of housing. This is good news if you’re trying to sell a home but is not so great if you’re buying here. We’ll never be able to afford the prices in Colorado’s mountains so could this be our opportunity to stop dreaming and start living the dream?

Jamie didn’t take me seriously at first and I didn’t blame him. Almost on a daily basis, I’m concocting a new scheme, a new adventure so it’s tough to decipher what’s inspiration and what’s just me? We resolved to at least investigate so when we were in Utah for Christmas visiting Jamie’s family, we spent an afternoon with a realtor in Midway. There wasn’t much for sale  so we looked at two new areas. Now, I should say that my one prerequisite was that I did not want to build a new home. We went through that laborious process with our current house and while we love it now and are so happy the yard is finally growing in, it was a ton of work and expense to put in your own yard and basement.

For the first place we visited, the properties were less than 1/3 acre. Many of the lots in the second development were too small…until we walked up to a 0.5-acre plot that backed to farmlands with a view of Mount Timpanogos and Deer Creek Reservoir. Cue the singing angels. Something clicked when we walked on that property. Jamie didn’t look at me like I was crazy (for once) and we started to wonder if maybe we could do this.

Our backyard

There was a premium $55,000 price tag on that corner lot because of the size and views. It was one of the final and most coveted lots to be sold because the builder had been hanging onto it for his own son who was on a mission. But then he got “Dear Johned” (dumped) by his girlfriend and we arrived at the exact window of opportunity.

We did a tour of the ranch-style model home (we’re thinking like old people and only want one level + a basement) and asked if we could build the smallest house on the biggest lot (we could!) We had originally intended to visit the neighboring town Heber to look at some properties but we nixed that plan; we knew it was charming Midway or Bust!

When we arrived home, we crunched some numbers. The rest is history but was the source of soooooo much stress in January because we had to come up with earnest money and we had a cash call for another investment at the exact same time. After prayer and a lot of sleepless nights, we cashed in some mutual funds, refinanced our house and moved forward. We still don’t know how it will work out financially because we won’t put our house on the market for a few weeks but we have faith this is supposed to happen.

Why I can’t believe I’m really leaving.

The people. Jamie’s brother and sister are here. Our ward is truly the most cohesive and loving I’ve ever experienced. And our friends. Don’t get me started about our friends and neighborhood because we have the very best there are. We do everything together–spend holidays, travel, and play, play, play. Our kids have  known each other since birth and they were supposed to grow up together, date and get married. I love these people.

The landscape. Since moving here to marry Jamie 13 years ago, I’ve crammed adventure in every spare moment. From climbing 14ers to hiking in my backyard to Country Road Cafe, all of it has left an imprint on my soul. Colorado is one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Our jobs. Jamie and I both work from home so we can live anywhere but so much of what I do is based here. And we’ve been truly blessed with opportunities to preview everything under the sun–from museums to exhibits to attractions to travel. This is a huge sacrifice. So, what are my plans for Mile High Mamas? Last year was our most successful yet and I plan to keep building it. I have a whole team of Colorado bloggers who will be more than happy for me to pass on the many review opportunities. Eventually as I secure stable work opportunities in Utah, I’ll sell Mile High Mamas. But that time is not now and it makes me sad to think of turning over something I’ve built from the ground up. And we’ll miss all those glorious freebies.

The Light Rail. We have lived in a construction zone for three years as Denver’s Light Rail line is near completion. It literally is a 2-minute walk from our house and would have been so ideal for accessing downtown, the Denver Airport and beyond.

Our home. I truly love our house. We had been married for only six months and were newly pregnant when we signed the contract. Bursting with joy about the life ahead of us, we went to IHOP and a woman at a nearby table overheard our excitement and asked why.  When we went to pay the bill, we learned this generous woman had paid it for us, wishing us much happiness in our new life.  And it has been.  On the first day when we walked into this house, I thought, “I will never be unhappy here.” And despite layoffs, health crisis and everything else life throws at you, we never have been. This is where we became a family.

What I Won’t Miss

As I mentioned, Colorado is growing exponentially.  Whenever we return from a mountain getaway and descend into Denver, my soul deflates as we battle traffic, crowds and pollution. And it will only get worse. The legalization of marijuana doesn’t help my spirits as we raise our kids in a world with dispensaries at every turn, a whole tourism industry based on getting stoned and the prevalence of marijuana edibles.

My heart aches to think about our many mountain adventures that I’ll desperately miss but getting there is not half the fun.  I-70 is a $billion$ nightmare. Every time we planned a trip, we had to do it around the traffic because we knew that we’d get stuck for hours coming and going.

The Transition

How will it be to move to Midway, population 4,000, when we’re coming from a city of 2 million? A shock, I’m sure. But one thing I love is that our gorgeous Swiss-themed mountain hamlet is just 15 miles from Park City and 30 minutes from Salt Lake City.  Jamie’s parents and sister are nearby, we are surrounded by mountains, are just 15 minutes to the ski areas and it truly is heaven on earth.

I just wish we could bring all our Colorado loves along with us on our new adventure.

Stay tuned tomorrow as I talk about our new home.

Filed Under: Utah

Easter: In Pictures

March 29, 2016 By

I’ll admit that we didn’t get into the Easter spirit as much as usual for the primary reasons that 1) Easter comes waaaaay too early when it’s in March and 2) We spent several days in Utah for Spring Break prior to the big day.

We tried to make up for it on Easter morning with our traditional Easter egg hunt.

And a ladder to up the degree of difficulty.

Another tradition is for the kids to wear new Easter outfits to church. 

Check-out this cute Easter flashback from years past:

Since I’m always behind the camera, Hadley took a picture of the happy couple, which would have been swell had we not been photobombed.

After church there was family time, we watched the Easter story, read scriptures and had a delicious Easter dinner with Uncle Chris and Aunt Lisa.

I originally typed Uncle Christ. Freudian slip? Maybe he’s not as far away as we think.

“For Paul the light of Easter is no lantern swinging over a narrow, empty grave, but a light capable of dispelling the thick darkness covering the nations. Paul never tries to explain the resurrection of Jesus. He knows that to explain the ways of God in the light of human experience is like trying to explain the sun in terms of a candle. It’s the sun that makes sense of the candle. Likewise we don’t prove the resurrection; the resurrection proves us. The Easter faith doesn’t ask us to believe without proof, but to trust without reservation. Don’t think your way into a new life, but live your life into an entirely new way of thinking.”
-William Sloane Coffin, The Riverside Years.

 

 

Filed Under: holidays

Guide to How to Embarrass Your Children

March 28, 2016 By

In the kids’ younger years, they had no frame of reference regarding just how uproarious and embarrassing I really am. Now at ages 9 and 11, those days are over. I suppose I could be The Good Mom and dial it back a little but since I like to have fun, why not have a bit of enjoyment at my children’s expense?

When I purged my entire house in January, I stuffed everything in garbage bags but have recently been on an obsessive quest for boxes for my blow-out garage sale next month.  There are three options:

1) Buy new. The challenge: I’m too cheap and who wants to waste money on an inanimate object made of cardboard?

2) Stalk Craigslist. We buy quite a few things off Craigslist but I try to avoid it whenever possible. Sure, there are plenty of free boxes posted but they’re rarely in my area and who wants to risk being stuffed in your newly acquired box by a serial killer?

3) Pillage the neighborhood. Trust me, pirates never had this much fun.

Wednesday has become my favorite day of the week because it’s our garage day; recycling is every two weeks and equal unto Disneyland!

Now, lest you think I’m rummaging through my neighbors’ garbage, that’s only partially true.  CLICK TO KEEP READING

Filed Under: Bode, Hadley, Humor

Limitless

March 25, 2016 By

My friend Stacey sent me a link to a TEDxCanmore talk of Linh Huynh’s remarkable account of how her harrowing journey to Canada as part of the Boat People of Vietnam helped craft a life of daring and wonder. In November 2014, she became the 1st Canadian woman to complete the Four Deserts, a series of 250 km self-supported, 7 day races through the hottest, driest and windiest deserts on earth, and by doing so in one calendar year became the 8th woman in history to complete it as a Grand Slam.

“One of the things that plays through my mind when I’m going through something hard like this is to enjoy the moment because one day you will feel nostalgic for this moment. And for whatever pain you’re going through…we love the past, our minds live there, we glorify it. But I knew that one day I would be nostalgic for this moment and that idea pushes me along.”

What made this presentation “Rethinking Limits” so remarkable? She’s not an ultra athlete, hates running and in fact, finished last in her races. But her determination is downright inspiring. Her humble presentation is hilarious and poignant. It almost makes me want to set such a lofty goal.

But I think I’ll just go eat cookies instead.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

My failed attempt at campaign manager

March 24, 2016 By

At the beginning of the school year, my fourth grader Bode announced he was running for Student Council and hoped to be one of two kids elected to represent his class.

I was pleased with his aspirations. He’s an affable, friendly bloke and has always been a born leader. His preschool teacher frequently commented what an obedient kid he was and how he was always motivating others to make good choices, a trait he still has.

My daughter, on the other hand, takes after me with a more Joseph Stalin-dictator approach. During her toddler years at library storytime, she’d be singing and dancing, would stop in her tracks when she saw kids doing the actions incorrectly and forcibly correct them. Because they were obviously too stupid to figure it out for themselves.

At my kids’ elementary school, only grades 4-6 are eligible for Student Council. I’d never been involved in student government until my junior year at BYU when I ran for–and shockingly won–the position of Executive Director of Public Relations. My belated political aspirations may-or-may not have been about making a difference and had more to do with the cute guy who announced the position opening in our communications class.

Since Bode still can’t stomach kissing on TV, I was pretty sure he was running for all the right reasons and wasn’t in it impress any hotties. I turned to my friend Lisa, mother of 5, for some advice.

Me: “How long should his speech be?”

Her: “Just a few minutes. Have him talk about things he can actually do, like being inclusive and not promising two hour recess.”

Me: “Can he bring bribery campaign treats?”

Her: “Within reason.”

Note to self: Scratch the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory-themed party.

He: “Does he do any other campaigning like posters?”

Her: “You’re way overthinking this.”

I ignored her slight and took on my new role as campaign manager with all the zealousness of Reece Witherspoon in the satire dramedy Election. That night at dinner, I casually brainstormed campaign slogans. “How about Bode, Bode, he’s not ‘grody.’”

Husband: “You’re setting him up to a lifetime of being bullied. Kids  have yet to figure out ‘grody’ is the only thing that rhymes with his name.”

“How about ’Bode, he’s your guy. If you don’t vote him, he will cry.’”

Husband: “You’re fired.”

I wasn’t sure if he really meant it or if he was referencing Donald Trump’s second GOP debate where he was a political punching bag.

Undaunted, I went out of town for a few days but promised Bode I’d help him fine-tune his speech later. Upon my return, I met him at the bus stop.

“Guess what, Mom. I won the election?”

[Insert my panic attack; I had missed it?]

“What do you mean you won? You weren’t supposed to give your speech until Monday!”

“I know. There were eight of us who said we wanted to run but I was only one of two who turned in my paperwork on time.”

Co-Class President by default? We’ll take it.

And so begins a promising political career.

Filed Under: Bode, Humor
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