A new adventure and the courage to try

January 15, 2018 By

We left our beloved Colorado in August 2016 and moved into our Midway home two months later. I haven’t kept my frustrations a secret over my lack of direction. I’ve wanted to just delve into this new life, leaving behind the old but I’ve been forced to straddle both. Though I’m grateful for my continued work in Denver, I have hated having the opportunities I’m missing thrown in my face.

I’ve strongly felt I needed to go a different direction but every time I thought I had the answer, I was reeled back in with the implicit instructions “Be patient. Just wait. Just trust.” For an impatient self-starter this has, at times, felt like agony.

Early-fall, I started looking for jobs at my alma mater, BYU, located about 40 minutes away up Provo Canyon. Though my best-case scenario is to work from home forever, I’ve grown tired of the roller-coaster freelance world, need stability and am not prepared to waste my time with the Heber Valley’s $12/hour wages. BYU has a cap on full-time employees so their way around it is offer 3/4 time positions without health benefits but with some other perks like solid pay, 401K, and a reduced number of applicants because most at this level are seeking full-time.

In October, I felt certain I was going to a receive an offer for that position and when it didn’t come through, I was stunned. There was another job that had been posted around the same time but I had not applied because it wasn’t as a seamless fit and had a lot more responsibility associated with it. I interviewed twice for that position but never heard back, a relief because I really didn’t want it.

And then I saw another posting, THE posting, and applied for it. The pay was less than the other two but the responsibilities were more in line with my talents and passions. I interviewed a few days before Christmas but at the last minute, I hesitated to even go and told Jamie I wasn’t sure I could work for this particular department. Patient man that he is, he said, “JUST GO AND SEE.”

I had just interviewed in some of the most architecturally cutting-edge properties on campus so when I walked into the building with it’s 1970s tile and maze of scaffolding (they’re raising the ceilings), I balked a bit. But from the moment I walked into the office, I felt right at home. The interview with the assistant dean and executive secretary was seamless and we immediately clicked–it felt more like a conversation. Near the end of it, they said they wanted to move quickly and that they did. Within a few hours of coming home, the HR department had sent me a background check form, the next day I received an “emotional intelligence” test (which I somehow passed) and they spent the holidays checking my references.

Last week, I received the offer. With it comes excitement and mourning. It’s a fairly flexible 3/4-time position but when added with everything else on my plate (Mile High Mamas + a campaign with Park City this winter), how am I going to juggle it all? Working from home for the past 12 years has been a gift as I’ve been 100% available for my family. But now my endless summer days of play with them will be limited and it feels like the end of a wonderful era. But I also crave the stability. I’m ready to help dig ourselves out of the financial headaches of this move with so many daunting expenses that include another car, yard and finishing the basement.

My friend Kelly had posted the following on Facebook the previous week and it had really resonated with me. “Affirmation to try: I have the faith to let go of the outcome.”

How difficult is this? One of our frustration wtih Hadley right now is she gets so overwhelmed with everything that she just shuts down…she doesn’t even have the courage to try because of the fear of how it will turn out. But what if we made a new paradigm in our lives that does not define failure as not achieving our goal but instead, failure as not even attempting to try.

In my office, I had a quote from Jane Pauley before she launched her short-lived talk show on the same week that Oprah infamously gave everyone in her audience a car. She said, “Going up against Oprah I warned my kids that this was a long shot, but that I defined success as having the courage to try.”

Here’s for a year of courage and the wild ride ahead!

Filed Under: BYU, Family

Christmastime in the City errr…Town

December 20, 2017 By

It’s such a busy time of year for so many but strangely, this has been my least stressful Christmas in a while.  I finished my shopping and wrapping a few weeks ago, which has allowed me freedom from the holiday frenzy. I’ve helped my friend Kelly with her move and was also able to pick-up a last-minute freelance writing assignment.  The kids and I met Jamie’s family for Christkindlmarkt in Salt Lake City and this traditional German Christmas Market made me miss my time in Switzerland.

We enjoyed Midway’s Christmas tree lighting and candlelight walk and the Midway Town Party a couple of weeks later where the kids emerged with huge bags of candy, even though they were on the naughty list after jumping over the barrier before the program was over so they could be among the first in line with Santa.

(Bode with the Seversons; Hadley is too cool to visit Santa)

I did a huge baking session last weekend after skiing (8+ hours of all our favorites: caramel toffee squares, almond rocha, white chocolate snowball cookies, cream cheese cutout cookies and sugar-and-spice cookies). We made up about 30 treat plates and had so much fun delivering them on Sunday. Some memorable moments: Bode subtly pinching me whenever I tried to sing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” to the recipients. Andrea turning on her blinding porch light and my over-the-top response, “The light, it burns!” A certain someone who warned, “Watch the extension cord” as we talked up to the house, only to have another certain someone trip on it at that exact moment. It was a fun night with a lot of laughter and I’m grateful for this family of mine.

I’ve wanted to sponsor a family’s Christmas for ages but money always seems to be especially tight around the holidays so we went to our local “Angel Tree” to purchase some gifts to local kids in need. It was pretty sobering to see their wish lists; for too many, it was basic things like socks and underwear. We ended up buying some cars and trucks for a 5-year-old boy and then some art supplies for a 13-year-old teen with autism. It wasn’t much but it felt good to at least do something.

Everyone is gathering in Calgary for Christmas except me and I’ve been really homesick. We’re now only a 13-hour drive home but only have one functioning car that can’t make the winter drive. Airline tickets are too expensive so we’re staying in Utah. My mom’s health continues to deteriorate…I haven’t really talked to her in a year and it has reached the point where my dad can no longer care for her at home so changes will need to be made.  When you have suffered for 30 years with an unrelenting disease, grief comes in waves. The other night, I was missing her so badly and did something I haven’t really done since we moved here: I played the piano. It was late and as my fingers flew over the keys, I felt reconnected to a former life where music brought comfort and I deeply regretted I have let that go…and vowed to do better.

Things are slowly starting to click for everyone. We still miss our deep Colorado connections and I am trying to be OK that maybe we’ll never have a friend group like that again. I didn’t do a Christmas card or newsletter this year so here’s where we’re ending 2017:

Bode, 6th grade. Enjoying middle school, playing the flute and piano and made the Honor Roll. Has a handful of good friends, takes a free coding class at the library with them every week and will soon start X-country skiing at Soldier Hollow. Still gloriously drama-free.

Hadley, 8th grade. Enjoys torturing her parents by refusing to turn in her assignments until right before end-of-term when she is miraculously able to pull out acceptable grades. Made the club volleyball team, has a growing interest in photography and is enjoying weekly Young Women activities at church.

Jamie. Grew his second and third biggest pumpkins ever and is figuring out a way to get the federal government to help fund his obsession (I wish I was kidding). Health (rheumatism) isn’t great but he continues to work [too] hard and grow his business.

Amber. Mile High Mamas is still doing well and I hope to make some changes and/or sell it next year. I have had some freelance work in Utah (including a big campaign for Park City this winter) and a few job interviews at BYU. Not nearly enough outdoor playtime and hiking. Must. Do. Better.

I feel hopeful for 2018, something I haven’t felt for a couple of years with all the uncertainty of our move. I’m not sure what lessons I’ve learned in 2017. It’s been a year of rebuilding and trying to have patience with my life in limbo. But my hope for 2018 is to have courage and clarity as to why we’re here and where we should be going.

XO

 

Filed Under: Family, holidays

October Musings

October 26, 2017 By

I can’t believe I’ve gotten so far behind on posting here…I still haven’t published all the fun details of our end-of-summer family reunion to Bear Lake!

October was a whirlwind and I can’t believe Halloween is next week. Usually, our month is chock-full of trunk-or-treats, parties, pumpkin patches and corn mazes but we haven’t done anything here besides Jamie’s pumpkin party and two weigh-offs (which are a bit of a letdown compared to Colorado).  There aren’t many seasonal opportunities in our new area and the kids just aren’t as into it all as they were when they were little. Cue the mourning. Hadley doesn’t even want to go trick-or-treating this year but I hope to convince them both to hit Park City’s Main Street because they do a fun event after school on Halloween.

A few updates:

Our ward (congregation) is like our extended family and we’ve been blessed with a great one in Midway. A couple of weeks ago, our stake (organized from a group of contiguous wards) was split into two stakes and two new wards were added in our little town (yes, it’s growing that much here!) Everyone’s boundaries were realigned and we were so relieved to stay with all of our friends!

We spent a glorious fall break in California last week!! We’re still paying off all our car problems from last summer but when I was invited to spend a few days at the ocean by their visitor’s bureau, we jumped at the chance to go on the cheap. And then Jamie’s car (our only functioning vehicle) broke down in Vegas while en route (just another reason to hate that place) so we have even more expenses. It’s starting to feel like we’ll never catch up and it’s tough to not feel disheartened by this.. But I would like to actually have grass someday, maybe even a finished basement, dental work done for the kids and oh, I don’t know, how about a car that works?  I’d really hoped to go home to Canada for Christmas but my Pilot is totally out of commission (it’s sitting in our garage until we can afford to replace it) and there’s no way Jamie’s Camry can endure the winter driving conditions to Canada. I try to remind myself it’s only been a year since our move and these things take time. And patience. But right now, I have too much time and zero patience!

Fall has been glorious so that has meant a lot of hikes with friends and family. I had a magazine assignment with AAA EnCompass Magazine. Once that wrapped and I found out I didn’t get that BYU job, I tried to spend as much time in the outdoors as possible. Free therapy!

Having two middle schoolers is no joke. OK, more like one 13-year-old girl. Bode is still easy but I have no doubt once the hormones kick in, he will have struggles of his own. We’ve been battling boyfriends, grades, cell phone obsessions and so much more with The Girl. During our trip to California, we put a kibosh on screentime and it was glorious to just be together and gave me hope there there is still a human inside that teenager. Somewhere.

Bode wrapped his short soccer season. We’re so pleased he still wants to play rec vs. selling our souls to competitive. He’s the superstar on his team, which (in my opinion) is a lot better than being an average player in an ultra-competitive league and being required to travel all the time without guaranteed playtime. I’m quite happy as a mediocre soccer mom! He scored four goals on his last game, a great way to end the season.

I’m not in a super great place right now and am frustrated by my lack of direction, my persisting knee problems and how out of shape I am because I can’t exercise without pain. I still have all my work out of Denver but I’m ready to move on and nothing is coming together here (and our finances aren’t helping my frustration). I’m not the kind of person who waits for things to happen but that’s what I’m being required to do.

My BFF Lori’s son got married a couple of weeks ago and I had an awesome chat with her sister, Leslie. She is one whose life hasn’t worked out how she planned but has made a tremendous go of it. “I’ve found that the answers don’t always come when or how you want them to,” she said and then made a very insightful comment: “However, I can promise you that when you pray for Peace, He will always grant you that, even if answers aren’t coming.”

Peace Out. Here’s to getting caught up and life figured out.

XO

 

Filed Under: Family

Stanley B. Visits Utah!

October 13, 2017 By

On October 8, we celebrated our 1-year anniversary for moving into our house. It was also Canadian Thanksgiving so nothing says “Happy Thanksgiving/1-Year Housewarming quite like our favorite dish from our local Mexican restaurant: The mighty Molcajete.

My mom is no longer able to travel and my dad has been her full-time caregiver for quite some time. My brother Jade, his boys and his new bride moved back home while Jade looks for a job so there was a small window of opportunity for Dad to come visit. My sister-in-law Jane helped in the evenings after work and I’m super grateful to everyone who pitched in because we had a really wonderful visit. My dad spends so much of his life taking care of everyone else so it was nice to give him a break.

The great thing about my dad is he’s super low-maintenance and we both love the outdoors so he was easily entertained. The colors were peaking in the mountains so he witnessed some serious fall splendor.

Day 1

Arrival, tour of Midway and drive up Memorial Hill.

Day 2

The weather forecast was iffy for the first several days so when we saw a window of opportunity, we took it to bike Provo Canyon Parkway to Bridal Veil Falls. Some of my favorite memories with Dad are of biking Calgary’s extensive network of bike paths so it was fun to share with him one of mine. That night, he treated us to dinner at Tucanos Brazilian Grill in Orem. 

 

Day 3

The Pumpkin Party!!!!!!!!!!

Day 4

The pumpkin weigh-off. Jamie took us to dinner at Tarahumara Mexican Restaurant to celebrate. And yes, that’s a giant pear. Pumpkins aren’t the only things that can be grown BIG!

Day 5

Church and SNOW?! This put a damper on our plans to see the Kokanee salmon run that afternoon but believe me when I say it worked out for the best.

Day 6

This was my favorite day! Due to our weather delay, we decided to drive up to Strawberry Reservoir on Monday to catch a glimpse of the Kokanee salmon run. If we had gone at any other time, we would have seen some of the salmon in the Strawberry River next to the visitor center (pretty cool) but because we went at this exact time, we got an in-depth look at the process in the Catch House (really cool).

There are only two mornings open for the public to access their fish trap station and it was FASCINATING to see the hundreds of bright red fish. We piggy-backed on an elementary school’s tour and listened as DWR biologists talked about the peculiar life cycle of the fish and how the Kokanee usually spawn when they are four years old and die quickly thereafter. As the fish instinctively swim up the river, they are caught in the trapping station and the male and females are separated until they’re ready to spawn. Since the females are going to die anyway, they are cut open and the eggs are squeezed out. They then take the males and squeeze the milt out of their bellies and fertilize the eggs.  In the wild, the average female has 1,200 eggs but only two survive in the wild. Through this process, there is a 98 percent survival rate that helps guarantee the survival species in Strawberry Reservoir.

eggs

One of Dad’s must-do activities was a leisurely soak in the Homestead Carter, a geothermal spring hidden in a 55-foot tall beehive-shaped limestone rock formation so the kids joined us after school.

To top off the day, we participated in the final Monday Midway Cruiser Cruise of the season. Every Monday night May through September, people in our quirky town gather for a casual bike ride on the beautiful country roads. For the final ride of the season, organizers christened it “The Bike Prom” and it was so fun to see all the awesome costumes. Jamie called me a flamingo but Hadley’s friend Zoe said I looked like a 1980s princess with this ugly outfit I found at the local thrift store.

Day 7

For Dad’s final full day, we did the Park City tour! We drove up Guardsman Pass with the oaks and maples positively on fire, cutting over to Park City where we strolled along the Poison Creek Trail past Shoe Tree Park and cutting over to historic Main Street. We had a late lunch at Cafe Zupas before heading back to Midway.

I love love love showing off our beautiful cut of paradise and I’m so grateful my dad was able to catch a glimpse.

 

Filed Under: Family, pumpkins, Utah

Oh Canada: The Wedding

September 3, 2017 By

Our trip to Calgary was not one of leisure. When my car broke down, we were a day behind schedule so we delved into a busy schedule of wedding prep, Bode’s birthday and our favorite traditions.

Bode is a low-maintenance kid and thankfully so because I didn’t have energy to pull together a big soiree. He was perfectly happen with Timbits (famous doughnut holes) for breakfast, lots of video game time, and Peter’s Drive-in for dinner. My friend Stacey’s dad belongs to this gorgeous private lake community, Lake Sundance, so we were thrilled  to spend the afternoon there. Thanks, Burton!

What would a trip to Calgary be without our hidden mud pits in Fish Creek Provincial Park.

And cleaning up in our favorite swimming hole.

The kids always love going for a ride in Grandpa’s fancy convertible. Kind of.

I usually do a 40-mile loop on Calgary’s extensive network of bike paths but there was no time on this trip. (Insert sad face). Fortunately I was able to sneak away a couple of mornings to ride through Fish Creek and it was enough.

There was a lot of pre-wedding chaos as we helped with the flowers. While the boys were at their bachelor party, Mom treated the girls to a night out as well.

The night before Jade’s wedding, my brother Pat and his wife Jane threw a big pizza party so both sides of the family could meet. My friend Stacey was a lifesaver and picked up Jamie from the airport so I could help with the festivities that involved a lot of fun and food (two of Jane’s specialties).

Apparently I didn’t take any pictures of Jade and his bride Jen or her side of the family. They were allegedly in attendance. :-)

And then came the big day! My brother Jade is one of the best people I know–a kind, practical jokester with infinite integrity and endless forgiveness. He has been through A LOT the past several years and I’m so glad he found a good woman to take to the LDS Calgary Temple. Mom’s health has been rapidly declining. I’ve been barely able to talk to her this year because her hearing is so bad, she’s often incoherent and sleeps 95% of the time. The morning of the wedding, my niece Ashton came over to do her hair and make-up and she looked beautiful.

I feel like she’s been hanging on to see my brother get remarried but she was often confused as we were getting ready and driving to the temple. “Why is everyone all dressed up? Are we going to church? Where are you taking me?” 

But as soon as we entered the sacred sealing room in the temple, she was 100% lucid and connected as she watched her youngest son get married for time and eternity. Following pictures in front of the temple, she insisted on treating everyone to Smashburger and then somehow was able to stay awake for the dinner at the reception and several of the speeches. Only after my dad spoke did he finally take her home.  What a tender mercy she was able to be there!

The reception at the Alma Hotel was light-hearted and fun with beautiful speeches, a horrible prank (yes Jade, I’m talking about that blackmail photo you included of me during your courtship slideshow), Emily catching the bouquet and lots of dancing (best moment: dragging reluctant cousin Richard to awkwardly dance Gangnam Style with us. It was a night, a couple to be celebrated and I couldn’t be happier for my brother and his beautiful new bride!

P.S. Hey Jeek, just remember payback will be sweet.

Filed Under: Canada, Family

A Return to Colorado: The Broadmoor Edition

July 28, 2017 By

The perfect end to the perfect week in Colorado was three days of perfection at The Broadmor. And there’s no better way to kick off Said Perfection by dining in the 5-star Penrose Room after a grubby week of getting dirty in the backcountry. Fortunately, we clean up nicely.

I loooove Bode’s cultured conversation starters when he’s trying to act proper. Last time as he surveyed the menu, he observed “I hear the salad is quite good here” and this time, it was, “Sooooooo, taxes these days.”

Early the next morning, I went for my traditional solo hike up North Cheyenne Canon and raced back to get ready to The Broadmoor’s fabulous brunch.  Bananas foster. Shrimp diablo. Plum Calvados Crepes. We take our brunching very seriously and Hadley went into panic mode after round 3. “I don’t know what to get now….I feel so empty inside…oh wait, I’m rather full.” These are true First World Problems, people.

One of the highlights of visiting in the summer is renting a cabana by the pool and almost without fail, rain always interferes with our plans. Fortunately, we were able to soak it all in for 1.5 hours before calling it quits and taking a nap in our rooms. 

We are all obsessed with The Broadmoor but no one more than this guy. Every other restaurant or hotel pales in comparison as he sputters out “This would never happen at The Broadmoor,” which means 99.9 perent of his life is a disappointment. I found him napping like this in his luxurious robe that afternoon. At least 0.1 percent of his life is bliss.

That evening, we dined at our favorite restaurant, The Summit, followed by bowling at Play at The Broadmoor. I was worried how Hadley would do with her broken arm but she bowled her first strike ever, thereby proving that maybe having a handicap can actually be helpful. 

The next day, we had one of Colorado’s most epic experiences via the Pikes Peak Cog Reailway! I’ve climbed several 14,000-foot peaks but nothing can quite prepare you for arriving at the summit of 14,114-foot Pikes Peak via the world’s highest Cog Train and being greeted by an onslaught of out-of-shape tourists. If you can’t beat ‘em, you’d better believe we joined ‘em by eating fresh doughnuts and relishing the views from the summit.

Later that evening, 10 days of beautiful Colorado scenery overload was capped off by  Seven Falls and delicious dinner at The Broadmoor’s 1858 restaurant. As I looked across the table at these exhausted, happy people, my heart was so full. We may not always be at our best at home but when adventuring, we shine as our best selves. And it makes all those painful road trips when they were younger to see the avid travelers they have become.

Leaving The Broadmoor always feels like I’m leaving a part of me behind. As we pulled into our neighborhood after the long drive home Jamie observed, “Arvada no longer feels like home and Midway has yet to feel like home. The only place I feel at home is at The Broadmoor.”

We couldn’t agree with you more.

Filed Under: Bode, Colorado, Family, Family travel, Hadley, hiking, Jamie

A Utah Christmas

December 29, 2016 By

We spent last Christmas in Utah and that was the official beginning of our journey. During our visit, Jamie and I secretly looked at real estate in Midway and fell in love with our lot–only the second property we looked at. One year later, we woke up to a winter wonderland in our very own home. It’s crazy how much can change in a year!

Christmas Eve in Salt Lake City was a full day. Brunch at Little America (and sadly the only picture I have of the entire family).

Afternoon at the movies to see Rogue One.

And a delicious dinner at my sister-in-law Tammy’s who is over-the-top with her gourmet food and gorgeous decorations. Jamie’s family was gracious enough to humor me with all my family’s Christmas Eve traditions of playing the bells, the left-right game and the holiday gift exchange. But there’s no one more over-the-top than my own Canadian family’s Christmas Eve revelries. Just look at these crazies in their matching jammies! 

We were on the fence with staying with my in-laws for the night but between a full house with Jamie’s other siblings, the prospect of sleeping on the couch, and my persisting cough that has been keeping me awake, we decided there was no place like home. So, we made the drive back in the dark. It had been lightly snowing all day so it was a risky decision; there was a good chance we wouldn’t make it to his parent’s for Christmas but decided it was worth it to be in our own house.

Our Christmas Eve jammies had a new twist this year: Hadley is in women’s sizes and I thought it would be fun to get matching PJs. She was delighted with her owl PJs…until she realized they were the same as mine and I wanted to get a picture of all of us after she’d (gasp) taken off her make-up.

I entitle this picture: Loving family minus one melting down, tired, PMSing tween.

She eventually came around, mostly because we each took an arm and leg and dragged her out to watch A Christmas Story with us. Because that’s how we roll. No one melts down alone in our clan.

Note: Jamie took a stellar picture of her during Said Meltdown that will be saved for future blackmailing purposes.

Christmas morning dawned bright, crispy, snowy and beautiful! Jamie woke us up at 7 a.m. to give us enough time to open presents before church. The big takeaways: Bode’s big gift was an air hockey/ping pong table that is being housed in our unfinished basement.

If you look closely, you will see Hadley’s owl PJs. Don’t tell her I told you that.

Hadley claims she’s the only kid in seventh grade without a phone and I’m OK with that. She’s obsessed with photography so we bought her a used (yet still pricey) camera to start her business. 

To save money, Jamie and I vowed we wouldn’t buy each other gifts but discovered a few weeks ago we both bought each other Magic Bullets. From the same random store in Salt Lake. If that wasn’t funny enough, we both bought each other the new JasonBourne movie.

Next year, maybe we’ll both accidentally buy each other trips to Hawaii.

Church was beautifully inspiring and I’m so grateful for our welcoming and wonderful ward that already feels like family after only a few months.  Then we drove the 50 minutes back to Jamie’s parent’s house and had a nice low-key Christmas stuffing ourselves with appetizers, soups and desserts all day long.

After a decidedly tough year, it was a simple, wonderful way to celebrate being surrounded by family and I couldn’t be more grateful…and excited for our adventures in the New Year!

Filed Under: Family, holidays

The Family Dynamic

November 29, 2016 By

Hadley LOVES the Divergent books and movies.

There are five societal divisions that classify citizens based on their aptitudes and values. The factions are Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), Erudite (the intelligent), Abnegation (the selfless), and Candor (the honest). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds take an aptitude test and must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives.

The main character’s result indicates that she doesn’t fit neatly into any of the five factions, meaning that she is “divergent.” She has equal aptitude for Erudite, Dauntless and Abnegation. But tensions between the five factions are mounting, and there is fear and danger in being divergent, which means she has to keep her true nature secret at all costs.

Hadley had each of our family members take an online quiz to determine where we would belong.

She and I are Dauntless.

Bode is Abnegation.

Jamie was the final one to take the quiz and his result was Divergent, which he took in stride.

“That means I rule them all.”

I’ll second that fear.

Filed Under: Family

The Prodigal Cat Has Returned

November 14, 2016 By

Fat Kitty has had a rough six months. First, we started tearing apart our house and loading everything up in boxes.

Then, we’d dump him off at our neighbor’s house during three months of house showings.

And don’t forget about the 10-hour drive to Utah where he was so traumatized he meowed the entire drive, despite being given a sedative (that is one strong-willed cat).

Then, after only a few days with us at Grandma’s, we left him there to fend for himself. He was so depressed he didn’t even leave the basement for the first week.

Poor, poor kitty.

Our Park City rental didn’t allow pets so my in-laws graciously let him stay for a couple of months. We’ve been in our house for almost four weeks and we had every intention of quickly bringing him to our new home but the chaos continued as we unpacked and finished off two rooms in our basement. We FINALLY wrapped the construction last week and moved Hadley into her bedroom after the poor girl has endured several weeks of sleeping on the floor in my office and then a few days on the beanbag.

We were excited to finally bring Fat Kitty home!

On Friday, Duane, Linda and Aunt Lisa drove him out to Midway (amidst much meowing, of course) and poor Fat Kitty could not have been more confused. He tepidly walked into his new home, explored a bit and then dove under our bed. A while later he reemerged to survey the rest of the house and he seems to be settling pretty smoothly. That night, he cuddled up to me on my pillow and all was right in Fat Kitty’s world again.

Now, lest you feel sorry for The Fat One, don’t. Living at Grandma’s for three months has been like a Fat Cat Day Spa/Boot Camp. They bought him new food dishes, a cat tower, scratching pad (which he loves despite being declawed?), a comfy bed (he’s currently curled up in it as I type) and lots of toys. Much to all of our shock, The Fat One (a.k.a. the laziest cat in America) loves to play in the evenings. Who knew?

As we curled up to Fat Kitty in Bode’s bed that first night, my sweet boy commented, “I had forgotten how joyful it is to have him around.”

And he is a joyful, sweet, gentle, snuggly cat.

Not only has he emerged from The Grandma Spa more playful with a new lease on life, he also has a girlish figure. They put him on a diet with a very regimented feeding schedule and he lost two pounds.

The miracle of the matter? He’s the only one to EVER emerge from Grandma’s house skinnier than when he entered.

Filed Under: Family, Humor Tagged With:

Our new (not-so exciting) addition

March 14, 2016 By

Our big news last week was we got new carpet.

This was a loooooong overdue purchase. We built our home 12 years ago (as of April 15) and almost from the get-go we regretted the carpet choice we made. Even though we’d done an upgrade, it wasn’t nearly high enough quality…but we delayed replacing it due to finances and children. You know, those rugrats who stain and track the neighborhood all over it.

The carpet took two days to install. It was bad enough for me to unpack our china cabinet and move everything out of the way but those poor workers. If we hadn’t spent a fortunate buying it, I would have given them a big, fat tip because that is one thankless job. Jamie, Fat Kitty and I lived and worked from the basement for those two days, prisoners in our own home. Fat Kitty can’t stand change and I thought he was going to have a heart attack from all the noise. He was particularly hilarious the first time he walked on it…slowly picking up his feet like they were glued. Live it up, Fat Kitty. This is what carpet is supposed to feel like!

The plus side: the kids watched the life-altering Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure for the first time during our basement exile.

The downside: we spent the equivalent of a trip to Hawaii on the carpet and this is all we get for views.

Filed Under: Family
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