Back-to-school: oh, how “special” it is

August 29, 2013 By

I talked a little bit about our frenzied first day and why I went back to bed but (horrors) I didn’t show my requisite first-day pictures. Hadley started on a Monday and Bode on Wednesday, which meant each of them could have the breakfast of their choice on our “You Are Special Today” plate.

Trust me, that plate doesn’t work at all when you have to share it on the same day. Kinda defeats the purpose.

Then, of course, their new outfits.

Is is just me or does Hadley look waaaaaaay too grown-up?

I’m feeling only OK about this school year. Hadley is in fourth grade and has looped with her same teacher (a Waldorf tradition). There’s good and bad in that. Good that we got a lot of kinks worked out last year and the teacher knows her strengths and weaknesses. Bad that I wish she had someone who knew how up to play to her weaknesses better. But best is this teacher loves experiential, multi-day field trips and that is what Hadley lives for.

As for Bode, welp, let’s just say he is rumored to have the worst teacher at his public school. I’m trying to keep an open mind about it because he’s a great student, a pleaser and highly adaptable in the classroom. Second grade is a mess with only one great teacher (whom Hadley had), the one Bode got and the third teacher isn’t great but she now has a grades 1 and 2 split class, which I’m glad we didn’t get.

His teacher’s first letter home didn’t exactly endear me to her, either. No, “welcome back!” or “I’m excited to get to know your kids!” It was:

“Attached is the S.T.A.R.S. rules matrix which outlines expected behavior in the classroom. We have gone over these together in class. PLEASE REVIEW THESE RULES WITH YOUR CHILD to ensure that you both know the expected behavior in the classroom at school.”

Doesn’t she sound like a lot of fun? Strict, I can deal with. It’s her rumored meanness, lack of competence and dislike of teaching that worry me. I hope to be pleasantly surprised. Anyone can change, right?

We had our most fun summer yet–these kids of mine are such adventurous souls and the older they get, the more I enjoy them. It helps that they got along marvelously and fought very minimally. When I kicked ‘em to the curb dropped them off at school, I felt a wave of sadness wash over me because I loved spending so much time together.

But then I had six glorious hours to myself where I worked, biked Bear Creek State Park, made peach pies and had a lunch meeting….

Hidden pond at Bear Creek State Park

….and I got over it.

Filed Under: Bode, Hadley, Humor Tagged With:

A final glimpse at summer 2013 (in pictures)

August 26, 2013 By

I purposefully planned our summer to be busy in the beginning and middle and then to just take it easy the final few weeks before school. It turned out marvelously.

June was crazy with trips to The Broadmoor, Chautauqua in Boulder, Breckenridge and Frisco in the mountains, not to mention Hadley’s overnight camp, Bode’s first solo flight to visit Grandma in Utah, our hailed-out camping trip, a Sunday drive to 14,265-foot Mt. Evans, summer hiking group and two weeks of swim lessons.

The Broadmoor, soaring at Chautauqua, first solo flight & atop 14,265 ft Mt. Evans

Camp Chief Ouray, YMCA of the Rockies & at Camp Dick. Not pictured: Avid4Adventure Survival Camp

Breckenridge

Frisco BBQ Challenge

Summer hiking group

In a word, whew!!

And then, of course glorious July was dedicated unto Independence Day and then a three-week-long road trip to the Motherland where great times were had with my family in Calgary and then on Okanogan Lake in British Columbia. On our way back we stayed with my former mission companion in Boise and Jamie’s wonderful family in Utah.

Independence Day

Mom’s birthday dinner in Calgary

British Columbia

Idaho and Utah

Then, we were home for some R&R! Or not.

Think: Annual hike to St. Mary’s Glacier, Water World, Elitch Gardens, pool parties, tennis, the 9News back-to-school fashion show and many glorious bike rides.

Hiking St. Mary’s glacier

Water World

Elitch Gardens

Multiple pool parties

Tennis

9News fashion show

Farewell to summer sunset

Summer 2014: you’ve got a tough act to follow.

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

Our not-so memorable first day of school

August 19, 2013 By

Today marks the first day of fourth grade for my daughter. To make it special, we always buy a cute outfit and I make a delicious breakfast of their choosing. Well, kind of. As executive chef, I have the power to kibosh anything that doesn’t meet my criteria.

“I want doughnuts,” she declared.

“I’m not going to the store at dawn to buy you fresh doughnuts,” I countered. “Pick anything I can make at home.”

I listed off sweet breads, cinnamon rolls, waffles, egg souffle and pancakes before she ultimately decided upon crepes with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.

Note to my daughter’s anti-junk-food school: We made her a protein shake chock full of fresh fruit and vitamins, which should delay her sugar crash by at least a couple of hours. #You’reWelcome

And then I had a near-sleepless night. I’d like to say it was back-to-school jitters but it was mostly an overheated house and a night-before-Christmas mentality that I’ll finally have a few hours to myself every day. OK, that might very well be better than Christmas.

After tossing and turning for hours, I gave in to my insomnia and started working at 4:45 a.m. A couple of hours later, I trudged down to the kitchen to start her breakfast. Soon, I noticed a putrid smell, took a big whiff and realized it was coming from the milk. Are. You. Kidding. Me? If you’ve never made crepes, this is a key ingredient.

My daughter started coming down the stairs at that exact moment I was leaving.

“What are you doing?” she queried.

“The milk is bad. I’m going to the store!” Where I proceeded to buy more milk and also some….

.…doughnuts.

With a start like that, this is going to be a long year.

Filed Under: Hadley, Humor

My evil plan for my burgeoning chef

August 13, 2013 By

I love the LDS Church’s children’s program’s, which are focused on service, developing faith and goal-setting. Between the ages of 8 and 11, children are challenged to complete their Faith in God and when they are 12-17, the young women do Personal Process while the young men to scouting and Duty to God.

Many people marvel how good our youth are. It’s because we keep ‘em so busy they can’t get into trouble.

Hadley has been slowly working on her Faith in God goals. I say slowly because I don’t want to make goal-setting a negative stress and have been letting her choose what new challenges she’d like to take on at her own pace.  Under “Developing Talents,” she decided she wanted to cook us a healthy, gourmet meal. She and Bode frequently help me in the kitchen but this was by far her most ambitious attempt: Grilled coconut-lime chicken skewers with peanut dipping sauce, garlic and truffle oil mushrooms, honey-ginger green beans and made-from-scratch brownies.

She spent several hours with me in the kitchen and, though we were both exhausted, she was delighted with the result and declared she loved cooking.

So do I. Especially when someone else (like an unsuspecting kid) takes over dinner duty from me in a few years. #MyEvilPlan

She set the table in our best china and called us all to dinner. With each bite, she waited with great anticipation for us to pour on the praises, which Jamie and I did. Bode, on the other hand, was reluctant.

“C’mon, Bode. Just try the peanut dipping sauce. It is delicious,” she begged.

And then my personal favorite as her frustration grew, “Do you know how long this took me to make, Bode?”

Couldn’t have said it better myself. In fact, I pretty much do every. Single. Week.

After we finished cleaning up, she looked at me with great appreciation and said, “Wow, Mom. You do a lot of work to prepare our meals every day.”

And it was so nice that she finally acknowledged it.

Filed Under: Hadley, Humor, LDS, Uncategorized

Getting wired on 9News’ back-to-school fashion segment

August 12, 2013 By

I’ve fallen into a routine of appearing on 9News every month, usually around the time my column in the Denver Post is published. Though the experience still has a measure of stress, I’ve filed it under the “this is good for you to get out of your comfort zone so suck it up” file.

What I was not expecting when my kids appeared in last year’s 9News fashion show is how much they would love it. In fact, all year long whenever I filmed a segment, they would get all huffy with me. “Why aren’t we doing it with you?”–like the show couldn’t possibly go on without them.

So when back-to-school rolled around again, I figured I’d get them off my back and do the segment again, though it is a colossal undertaking to work with the clothing stores, figure out the styles and then present it all like I’m some sort of fashion aficionado. One thing I had going for me was my models from last year were all game for Round 2: my kids and two great teens from church, Stephanie and Bennett.

My kids had a blast getting outfitted at The Children’s Place. OK, Hadley has a blast; Bode was appeased when I told him he could pick one of their Angry Birds shirts as a reward.We did a few dry runs prior to The Big Day while I told Stage Dad Jamie to watch Tom Hanks’ eloquent performance in the spoof Toddlers & Tiaras for inspiration.

Our segment went live at 8:40 a.m. and we had to be at the studio by 8:20 a.m. so I told the teens to be at my house by 7:20 a.m. Bennett planned to follow us there in his car while Stephanie asked if her mom could drop her off at 7 a.m. on the way to work.

Unlike last year’s chaos with sick Hadley throwing up in the parking lot, I just knew this would would be different. The day dawned bright, beautiful and early. When 7 a.m. rolled around, I waited for Stephanie. Then 7:05 a.m. No problem. They were running a bit late. By 7:15 a.m. I started to panic. She’s a responsible kid and maybe something had happened. When Bennett rang the doorbell at 7:20 a.m., I was in full panic mode as I texted and called Stephanie. No response. By some stroke of luck, she had left her mom’s cell phone number on her voice mail so I called immediately.

“Where is Stephanie?” I choked out.
“Who is this?” she asked.
“Amber. She’s supposed to be here. We need to leave right now for the fashion show.”
“No, it’s not until Thursday.”
“Nope, it’s today.” Today being Monday.

Then it was her mom’s turn to freak out. “She’s at home sleeping. She thinks it’s Thursday. Don’t worry. WE WILL BE THERE.”

I didn’t know how. Her mom was at work and she’d have to race home, drag her teen out of bed and be at the studio in less than an hour but I didn’t question it.

I white-knuckled the 30-minute drive, at one point telling the kids, “why don’t you sing me a nice song to alleviate my stress?” upon which Hadley belted out, “Make it… Stephanie. You will make it!”

Not exactly the distraction I was hoping for.

We arrived at the studio shortly after 8 a.m. and much to my shock, Stephanie arrived a few minutes later with her mom apologizing profusely. My blood pressure levels started to go back down until, at 8:15 a.m., 9News’ sports reporter Suzie Wargin spotted us and said, “You’re late. We’re going live in five minutes.” And then those stress levels shot up yet again. Late? Late for what and why was she the one doing the interview?

She quickly realized she wasn’t looking for us (whew!) so we hung out in the Pit (newsroom) until it was our turn. Jamie had arrived by that time and we were soon ushered in. Kyle, one of my favorite reporters, was to do the segment with us and I got wired. With a microphone, that is. Believe me, my adrenaline levels were plenty wired on their own.

We hoped to do a quick run-through so the kids could see where they needed to stand when Kyle suddenly learned over to me and whispered, “we’re up next.” Problem was the cameras were suddenly on me and I had no way of telling Stage Dad Jamie we were live and not just practicing. Good thing the kiddos performed like champs, eventually figuring out this was no rehearsal. (See the segment here).

As for me? Good thing I have a year to recover before the next back-to-school fashion segment drama.

Filed Under: 9News, Bode, Hadley, Humor, Jamie Tagged With: , , ,

A KEEN Review: Our Family’s Favorite Adventure Footwear!

August 10, 2013 By

I rarely do reviews on my blog unless I’m a huge fan of the product. So, I had to chuckle when I was contacted by KEEN footwear to try out some shoes from their back-to-school line-up.  Looking at our collection, let’s just say we are a KEEN-loving family and each of us owns at least two pairs.

The “KEEN” Johnson Family

Why? Quality. I shop consignment/thrift stores/clearance for the majority of my kids’ clothing but there are two areas where I absolutely do not skimp on quality: 1) Shoes and 2) Outerwear (jackets, gloves,  hats, etc.) And KEEN absolutely has some of the best, most durable shoes that are perfect for Colorado kids. I don’t mind paying a bit more when I know they will last.

Hadley’s top choice to try out were the Luna Boot, a stylin’ soft suede upper and non-marking rubber sole.

However, KEEN ended up sending her choice No. 2: the Jamison.

Though there were plenty of more feminine color options, I was delighted when she chose the black and true red. The reason? Hand-me-downs for little brother in a couple of years (because believe me, they’ll last).

The Jamisons were waiting for us upon our return to Canada and I’ll admit I forgot about them until the second day of Avid4Adventure’s Survival Camp last week.

“Can I wear them?”

“Wear what?”

“My new shoes!”

Hmmm…KEEN’s athletic shoes at adventure camp? No-brainer. I generally like the kiddos to break their shoes in before putting them to the test in the backcountry but I figured this would be the perfect opportunity. With abrasion resistant and breathable mesh, they’re not only lightweight but the non-marking rubber outsole is durable and can also be worn inside for gym class. They’re easy on and off with a secure fit lace capture system (read: you don’t need to hassle with shoe-tying).

I need not have worried: no breaking in was necessary and they were adventure-ready from the start. She didn’t get any hot spots or blisters.

Hadley’s review after several days of hiking, building fires, shelters and adventuring in her new KEENs? “I love them!”

And believe me, if she didn’t like them, she’d let me know loud and clear.

I worked with JAM Media Collective on this post, and received a pair of Keen Jamisons at no cost for the purposes of performing this review.  All opinions are my own. And Hadley’s. Because she is opinionated.

Filed Under: Hadley

Oh Canada Part IV: Jumping Into the Abyss

August 8, 2013 By

This was my kids’ first extended trip on the water so I wasn’t sure how they’d react to our week of boating Okanagan Lake in British Columbia. I suspected Hadley would love it because she’s a fish but Bode only recently started really swimming after we had to pay for private lessons last year.

Judging from some of his dock jumps, the dude is finally enjoying the water.

He wasn’t the only one to try new things. Because my brother Pat’s new boat is weighed down by fat sacs when we surf, it creates a huuuge rooster tail at the back of the boat. One of their favorite activities is jumping into it. Water Adverse Amber of yesteryear would’ve said NO FREAKING WAY but Water Loving Amber gave it a try. It’s a scary sensation when you first get sucked under, almost like you’re in a swirling toilet. But then it shoots you waaay back like a cannon and you pop out behind the wake. We went one right after the other so there was minimal distance for my brother to come retrieve us after.


This picture of Hadley launching into the rooster tail for the first time is my favorite picture I took on the entire trip.

Taking flight

Not only does it represent boldly trying new things but if you look closely you can see a line of heads bobbing up in the background, representing our supportive family who had gone before.

Speaking of trying new things, both kiddos enjoyed kneeboarding.

But no one was more accomplished than dear ol’ Dad. Not only is it tough getting up from your stomach but his kneeboard somehow got turned sideways during his run so he was fighting the current the entire time. The dude is strong!

I tried to convince Hadley to wakeboard but she had no interest. We called Jamie and he tried to up the ante: “Tell her I’ll buy something special for her when she gets home.” I relayed the message, to which she responded, “Unless it’s a pony, I’m not doing it.” And. She. Meant. It. Welcome to our world of having the most unbribable kid out there (and a glimpse at why potty training her was such a nightmare).

My niece Emily just graduated from high school and Ashton is a mama of two in her 20s. I never thought my kiddos would be the same age as hers but that’s how it worked out.

Mom with gorgeous deck views

Our daily schedule (if you want to call it that) was the same. Each morning, I’d get up early and go kayaking while Pat and Co. went for a morning wakeboard while all the kids slept. Around 10:30 a.m., we’d have Jane’s huge ‘n delicious breakfast and then everyone would load up on the boat for several hours. We’d head in mid-afternoon, grab some snacks, play on our beach and off the dock and then have a huge dinner. In the evening, we’d sometimes head back out or have a great time playing on the lawn of our cabin. Soccer got pretty heated as Ashton’s husband Fred and I battled out the glory days while pretending to teach our kids how to play. :)

But nothing was more fun than disco soccer by strobe light.

Hands down, my favorite day was when my brother took us all to the more cossetted west side of Okanagan Lake. Not only were the houses bigger but the water was warmer. Pat cut the engine and we played all afternoon–from diving contests (Ashton beat Pat, a huge upset; or rather, he was hugely upset) to splashing around to races around the boat.

Hangin’ on the boat

Soarin’

I came away thoroughly converted. Maybe I am a water person after all.

Here’s for Vernon, British Columbia 2014!

====

Oh Canada Part I: My Home and Native Land

Oh Canada Part II: Home on the Range (errr, boat)

Oh Canada Part III: How Not to Die When Surfing Behind the Boat

Oh Canada Part IV: Jumping Into the Abyss

Filed Under: Bode, Canada, Family, Family travel, Hadley, outdoors, Uncategorized

Oh Canada Part II: Home on the Range (errrr, Lake)

July 31, 2013 By

I am not a water person.

My issue is not with being near or even on the water but the whole getting in part. There’s not really fear involved; my mom divulged I just never really liked getting my face wet and two subsequent nose surgeries haven’t helped my disdain for being dunked.

My old brother Pat, on the other hand, is a water/wakeboarding/kiteboarding/surfing fiend.  Every spare moment they have during Calgary’s short warm season, they are in his new state-of-the-art boat. Their favorite vacations are to Cuba and spending 1-2 weeks on the lake in British Columbia.

They’ve invited us to B.C. for years but this is the first time we have gone and had such a spectacular time I’m committed to making it happen as often as we can. If you’re not familiar with Canada’s landscape, Alberta is notorious for our gorgeous Canadian Rockies but we’re rather lacking in warm-water lakes. Enter: British Columbia. Not only do they have some gorgeous peaks (the 6-hour drive from Calgary to Vernon via Banff National Park was mind-blowing) but some of the most beautiful lakes set in the lushest of settings: the Okanogan Valley.

My memories of this area as a child were of verdant orchards and vineyards as far as the eye could see and fruit stands at every corner. And so my one requirement during our visit: we had to stop at a fruit stand. My dad delivered by pulling over at The Mother of All Fruit Lands: The Log Barn outside of Vernon. This 1912 barn not only provided a nostalgic experience with culinary traditions of Mennonite pioneers and a huge array of old-fashioned sausage, baked goodies, jams, syrups and jellies and fresh fruit but it had Dave’s Goat Walk.

Log Barn

Yes, that’s right, folks. We could buy goat feed for 25 cents and pour the corn in a cup that was attached to a pulley system that rose to the top of an archway that extended across the road. When the food reached the top, the goats could see and hear what they were doing so would race up the arch to grab their food.

It it wasn’t raining, we could have stayed there for hours.

But we dragged ourselves away and we’re so glad we did because this was our home for the next five days.

Mana Manor

Okanogan lake

Nightly s’mores roasting and campfire chats

Okanagan lake Lake is a large, deep 84-mile-long lake in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. My kids aren’t accustomed to lake life so I anticipated they’d get bored after a few days. Never happened. In fact, they didn’t wear shoes all week and settled rather nicely into our private little beach area.

Daily fishing expeditions off the dock.

Fun on the boat watching Pat surf

Meet the Parents

Bode’s real birthday: an ice cream birthday cake

I’m having picture formatting issues to stay tuned for Part III!

Filed Under: Bode, Canada, Family travel, Hadley, Humor, travel Tagged With: ,

Oh Canada: Part I of My Home and Native Land

July 30, 2013 By

How do you summarize a multi-week, 3,000-mile trip that covered two countries and six states (Colorado, Montana, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Utah)? You really can’t so I’ll only attempt to share some highlights over the next few days!

First things first: my kids are fabulous travelers. Never once did they complain about the 50 hours they spent in the car and though it was taxing (particularly the 12.5-hour drive from Vernon, B.C., to Boise) the trip was broken down enough that we had plenty of downtime before we had to hit the road again.

Jamie drove with us from Denver to Billings, MT to Calgary and stayed for a week before flying back. Something about work. And paying our mortgage. And (mostly) pumpkins.  But we crammed in some fabulous fun while we stayed in my childhood home.

The Flood

One of my favorite things about returning home to Calgary is navigating the extensive network of bike trails along the city’s waterways. However, the flood damage was significant in these areas.

Surveying the floods on the ridge where my brother lives

But I soon learned things like a little broken trail that had literally fallen into the river weren’t enough to stop my dad.

Broken Fish Creek Park trail

This was after we snuck around the DO NOT ENTER TRAIL CLOSED SIGN. Dude is a rebel.

The Mud

One of our favorite activities from last year was playing in Fish Creek and then discovering some hidden mud pits towering above in the cliffs. Unfortunately, the water levels were too high so we headed straight to the muck with our cousins.

Fish Creek Provincial Park Mud Pits

I’ll spare you the details of how we cleaned them off afterward without being able to dunk in the water. Let’s just say we got creative.

The Bulk Barn

I’m convinced of two things: 1) You are an optimist if you buy a convertible in Canada (but we sure had fun cruising around in the perfectly mild weather) and….

Bulk Barn

2) Bulk Barn, Canada’s largest bulk food store that carries over 4000 products, is the most marvelous store on earth.

The Stampede

Despite being there during the Calgary Stampede, we didn’t go and Hadley wasn’t feeling well when we planned to attend one of their infamous pancake breakfasts. The only Stampede-related event I did was volunteering for the second year with my friend Stacey at the rotary club’s popular Stampede Roundup. After we had a blast serving dinner, we joined her brother and wife for the Cheap Trick and Def Leppard concert, which consisted of a bunch of drunk 40-somethings reliving their youth.

Turned out, I hated those bands when I was a teenager. Time did not endear them to me so we left early. #KillJoy.

The Pampering

A visit to Grandma B. also means some quality pampering that included getting pedicures and a day at cousin Ashton’s salon with Hadley’s first-ever streak in her hair.

The Real Highlight

I thought that was the highlight of her life until my childhood bestie Rachel (an accomplished horse trainer) invited Hadley out to ride at her 50+-horse property.

Do you know all the cool things I’ve done with Hadley over the years? All rendered insignificant after one afternoon with Rachel.

 The Birthdays

Mom and Bode celebrated birthdays during our trip. My sister-in-law Jane traditionally invites us over to her house for some quality trampoline jumping and beef tenderloin. Something about my family: we’re serious about our tenderloin and so when I saw my 17-year-old niece Emily had invited a friend over, I very firmly informed her that she was a vegetarian so as not to share the highly-coveted 4.5-kg hunk of beef.

“Do you see these people, Jamie? Do not look at them as family. Look at them as competition.”Turns out Em and her friend ate the very best, rarest pieces. Game ON for next year.

On my mom’s real birthday, we went to a tasty Italian restaurant with the whole family.

Still as beautiful as ever!

The Market

One of my must-do items is taking a scenic drive to the Millarville Farmer’s Market, a quaint rural community south of Calgary. For me, it showcases the best of Canada with fabulous views and fun booths with delicious locally-made Canadian delicacies, home and garden wares, custom clothing, jewelry and so much more.

Our lunch of champions: more samples than I can count, the most unbelievable peas grown by the Hutterites and three different kinds of fudge (root beer was my favorite).

The Golf Cart

My childhood home is on a golf course and my kids looooooove going for rides in the golf cart. This year, Grandpa let the kids drive it, which I thought was endearing until they took me down to the gully and started swerving along the hills, doing crazy turns and nearly dumping us out.

Riding to church in the golf cart

The kids learned very quickly Grandpa is waaaaaay more fun (and tolerant) than Mom.

The Father’s Departure

After a fun-filled week, Jamie went home. The kids and I were more than a little bit sad he would not be joining us for the next leg of our adventure: a lakeside cabin in Vernon, B.C.

P.S. Don’t tell him how much it sucked to be him to miss it. Stay tuned for details.

====

Oh Canada Part I: My Home and Native Land

Oh Canada Part II: Home on the Range (errr, boat)

Oh Canada Part III: How Not to Die When Surfing Behind the Boat

Oh Canada Part IV: Jumping Into the Abyss

Filed Under: Bode, Canada, Family, Hadley, Humor

Living the Life

July 23, 2013 By

Posting will be sporadic for a while because we’re still on the road. Yep, it’ll be three weeks by the time we finally return to Denver after a glorious week in Calgary, another week on the lake in British Columbia and some quality time with more family in Salt Lake City.

H’s initiation jump into the boat’s rooster tail

Our reentry into the real world is going to be ugly, unlike the views we’ve seen here.

Filed Under: Hadley
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