The Classics

March 16, 2016 By

We’ve had quite an awesome week, which kicked off when we were invited to our friends the Phillips’ house for a Pi(e) Party on Monday night. There were waaaay more than 3.14159 pies and we had a blast socializing with friends. I didn’t take any pictures, mostly because we were too busy eating pie.

Hadley is moderately obsessed with the Divergent series since her class started reading it a couple of months ago. We watched the first two movies last week and when we were invited to a pre-screening of “Allegiant” (the third movie), Jamie and I thought it would be fun to keep it a secret. I hinted that is was the new movie “Miracles in Heaven,” which I also want to see so she suspected nothing, even when we sat down in our seats and a screenshot of “Allegiant” was on the screen.

Bode figured it out right away. When we did a pre-screening of “Cinderella,” they’d had a similar ad for the movie. “Keep it a secret,” I whispered. I wanted to see her face when she figured it out.

It took her a while. Even after the movie started, she thought it was a trailer but her reaction was the absolute best when she realized what was happening.

Even more memorable was when we were driving to the theater. It was rush hour drive-time on the radio so there was a lot of talk but very little music. The kids begged us for some tunes so Jamie played a soundtrack he’d recently downloaded: The Carpenters.

“Ohhhhh no, make it stop!!!” They whined.

“We are here to educate you on one of the most famous singers in the world–Karen Carpenter,” and we joined Karen’s melodic voice as we crooned “We’ve only just begun.”

Bode had enough and queried with disdain. “What, is this from like the 1990s!?!?”

That one hurt just a little.

Filed Under: Bode, Hadley, Humor

Our Time Capsule’s Slice of Life

March 1, 2016 By

I realized something this week: my blog is like a time capsule unto itself that captures so many wonderful memories through the years. What was I doing 9 years ago? I just clicked on my blog’s archives and found this gem when I was already lamenting the kids were growing up too fast during one of our most memorable hikes ever. If I was worried about their fleeting childhood then, how much worse is it now? And four years from now?

On Leap Day 2012, we pulled together a Time Capsule to be opened Leap Day 2016. And then I stashed it away and promptly forgot about it.  Thank goodness I purged our entire house in January and stumbled upon it. The kids have been waiting with great anticipation to see what was worthy of being stashed away for four years, practically a lifetime for them! It’s sobering to think when we open our next time capsule, Hadley will be turning 16 and almost driving and dating while Bode will be a cute pimply-faced 13-year-old. 

Our Time Capsule did not disappoint. It was a mix of mementos, fond memories, a glimpse of how much had changed (the kids) and what had barely changed at all (the parents).

A few gems:

Hadley was turning 7 while Bode was 5. There were beautiful drawings by Hadley and not-so beautiful scribbles by Bode:

There are a shot of our wonderful home.

Bode was a cute kindergartner (featured with his long-term sub Mrs. Cannon) and Hadley was soon turning 8 and had been invited to her first event for the Activity Day Girls at church. Attached in a scroll was this Princess Manifesto I’d been commissioned to write for the occasion.

We had just learned Hadley had been admitted to our Waldorf school the following year and we were filled with excitement. Too bad it didn’t last!

 

Our questionnaires were the most revealing.

Hadley loved Timbits, friends were Alex (current bestie) and Jaida, her favorite subject was art, she loved to swim, she had no idea what she wanted to be when she grew up and she was most looking forward to getting baptized. It was particularly fun to read her response to what she thought she’d be doing in four years. She wrote “getting ready to be in Young Women’s,” which is exactly what is happening! (When kids turn 12 in our church, it’s a big rite-of-passage as they leave the children’s organization and move to our awesome youth program).

Bode loved peanut butter, his friends were Nicky (current bestie), Sean, Tim and Andy. His favorite subject was computer lab and he loved to play soccer and Kirby on the Wii. He was most excited to go to Canada that summer, had no idea what he’d be doing in four years but one thing was for sure: he knew he wanted to be the ice cream man when he grew up. Jamie is still lamenting the shift in career ambitions.

Jamie and I basically haven’t changed at all in our interests and friends as Stacey, Jenn, Eva and Lisa remain my dearest today.For favorite foods I listed mangoes and avocados, both of which I had for lunch that day. The biggest shift was that I had just celebrated my 40th birthday at Evergreen Lake with oodles of friends and my first column had been printed in The Denver Post. Ahhhh, those were the glory years!

Jamie. Of course, pumpkins were a big theme even though he has not attained his goal of a state record. The good news: He predicted he’d be on life support in four years and we’re clearly not there. Though we’re a few weeks removed from his snowmobiling accident and he’s still limping around like he has one foot in the grave.

Some things never change. Bur I can’t wait to see what is revealed four years from now.

 

Filed Under: Bode, Family, Hadley, Humor

Finally, a weekend breather

February 29, 2016 By

With three back-to-back weekends of travel and Jamie’s family visiting for a week during it all, I was ready for our crazed February schedule to calm down. I had some pretty daunting deadlines and the big ones were met: namely cranking out my article for The Broadmoor Magazine (details on my amazing birthday trip forthcoming).

It felt so wonderful to be in Denver last weekend and to actually have some semblance of a normal life (though the kids would somewhat disagree because some of that normalcy was dedicated unto cleaning the garage). I also attended an uplifting stake women’s conference at church, Jamie helped someone move, the boys went out to eat and watched BYU basketball while Hadley and I had a girl’s night to see Les Miserables performed at the local high school. Several kids from church were a part of it including Hadley’s bestie Alex and my hiking friend Dawn’s son was mind-blowingly good as Javert. In fact, the singing was so unbelievable I had to keep reminding myself it wasn’t a professional production. Go, high schoolers!

Both of the kids had sleepovers on Friday–Hadley’s friend Kasey came to us while Bode was at his buddy Nicky’s house–but they ended up at our elementary school’s annual 6th graders vs. teachers basketball game. I had no idea this was the social event of the season with not only basketball but a flash mob of “The Whip.” The girls made Go Students/Anti-Teacher signs to distribute at the game and I loved watching my kids ditch me (image that) to bond with their friends.

(Bode with his besties Kyler, Vinnie, Nicky, Mathias, Jacob, Andy, Angelo, Brody. Hadley and Kasey left to sit with their sixth grade friends after handing out the signs).

I seriously get teary-eyed when I think of the wonderful group of friends they have and how much they adore each other. For the first time, I deeply appreciated how blessed we are to have such an amazing community at our elementary school. Sometimes I get sad about them growing up too fast but I sure caught a glimpse of fun things to come as teens.

Filed Under: Bode, Hadley

Time to Wake the Girl

January 20, 2016 By

Ying and Yang strike again. I’m not a night person and neither is Bode. When we’re tired, we go to bed at a reasonable hour and wake up early. In fact, that kid of mine is so weird that he sets his alarm clock a half-hour early so he can come in and snuggle until it’s time to get ready for school. Who does that?

Certainly not Hadley. She’s a night owl and does her best creating in the wee hours. While Bode is in bed by 9 p.m., we’ll let her stay up until 10 p.m. on school nights but then we can’t get her out of bed in the mornings. I’ve tried everything I can think of: alarm clock, waking her up in 10-minute increments, niceties, threats–you name it. Miraculously, we have never once been later for school.

When I initially saw this video “Time to Wake Up the Boy,” a three-year complication of one father’s attempts to wake up his son, I thought it was horrible. Sure, it was funny but that poor kid!

After my umpteenth battle with Hadley trying to drag her out of bed this week, I totally get it.

Time to Wake The Girl, Mom Edition.

Filed Under: Hadley

The joke’s on them

January 6, 2016 By

We had a really fantastic Christmas break. We were in Utah for a week and and the rest of the time was spent chilling or playing with friends at home.

Right before going back to school, Hadley went skating with her friend Alex and they came back to the house to hang out.  After a few hours, I knew they were up to something in Bode’s bedroom but she assured me it was all good. And it was. Bode’s room is The Pit of Despair and were it not for my hard-fast rule of no video games until your room is cleaned, it would be condemned.

Two hours later, the girls emerged triumphant. Not only had they completely cleaned it but they reorganized all the furniture–it has never looked better!
Hadley later confessed, “We originally wanted to play a trick on Bode and move his furniture around. But then Alex had the idea to reorganize his entire room.”

Next time, I hope they prank me.

Filed Under: Hadley, Humor

Merry Christmas!

December 24, 2015 By

What to say about 2015? We had a cram-packed year of work, school, church, travel and pumpkins. Always, always pumpkins.

We have visited Mexico, Canada, Disneyland and Moab, as well as many Colorado camping and ski trips. Hadley and Bode competed in the Kids Adventure Games as they mountain biked, ziplined, Tyrolean Traversed, mudpitted, underground river hiked, slip ‘n slided, climbed and conquered their way through Vail.

This year has had a lot of highs and a few lows (usually health-related) but we feel blessed to be surrounded by beloved friends and family!

Moab, Utah

Banff National Park, Canada

Cancun dorks

Bode. (Age 9, fourth grade)

Lover of soccer, student council, Clash of Clans, Cub Scouts, making movies, skiing, piano, biking, pumpkins, birthdays at the Lakehouse and his buddies.  Nicknamed “the human calculator” by his peers due to his math aptitude.  Milestones: Spent an extra week with Grandma J. in Utah before flying home by himself. Begged to join the cross-country team at school, to which I responded, “you know that’s running, right?” As it turns out, he’s actually pretty speedy when he remembers not to knock his head around like a Bobblehead.

Avid4 Adventure Camp

Elbow Falls, Canada

Kids Adventure Games

Hadley. (Age 11, sixth grade)

Lover of carbs, drawing dragons, volleyball, Fablehaven books, cross-country, Minecraft, surfing at the Lakehouse, skiing, huge growth spurts, birthdays at  AAA Five-Diamond The Broadmoor, overnight horse camp at Camp Chief Ouray, Outdoor Lab class trip and sleeping in. Milestone: She trained and climbed her first 14er (14,000-foot peak) this summer, leaving her altitude-sick mom in her dust. Had the biggest transition of everyone as she transferred from her Waldorf back to our public school. Exceeded expectations, adapting quickly to new friends and more rigorous academics. Except math, which is a bit of a struggle. Good thing she has a human calculator for a brother.

Kids Adventure Games, Vail

Rigorous Ha Ling Summit, Canada

Amber

Lover of all things outdoors, skiing, biking, birthdays at luxury ski resorts and weekly hikes with friends. Still running MileHighMamas.com (Colorado’s social media community for moms), frequent contributor to 9New and area media outlets. Memorable solo press trips home to Canada and New Mexico. Cub Scout leader at church but does more wrangling than leading. Milestone: Survived solo 3,000-mile road-trip to Canada with the kids…and had the time of her life doing it. Traveled to Aspen for a girls’ weekend with friends for a 7-mile Mudderella competition. Also climbed a 14er with Hadley and Jamie and lived to tell the tale. And that story (almost) had a few expletives in it.

14,036 Mount Sherman

Winter media trip to Lake Louise, Canada

Aspen birthday

Jamie

Lover of nada. At least that was his response when I asked him for newsletter updates and he confessed, “I’ve got nothin’.” Works long hours building his successful web development business Pixo Web Design and Strategy while battling a bad back and rheumatism. Fun-loving father, awesome traveler and busy at church as Priest Adviser and Stake Technology Clerk. Had a disappointing year in the patch when the neighbor’s dog (literally) ate his pumpkin, followed by irrigation problems. Still managed to grow a beast but the man will not rest until he has a state record, which means neither will the rest of us. He’s especially not bitter about his December birthdays stuck at home with Fat Kitty.

Delicate Arch, Moab

Surfin’ Okanogan Lake, Canada

Fat Kitty

Still fat. Lover of Jamie.

Aunt Lisa

We’re including Jamie’s sister to our family newsletter because she is currently living with us. Sold her house in the spring, quit her job and went to Europe. Now that she’s back in Colorado, she says the highlight of her year is cohabitating with the coolest family on the planet. Well, that’s a loose translation of what she mumbles when we’re bouncing off the walls at 6:30 a.m. before school.

Lisa speaks her truth

We wish you and yours the happiest of Christmas seasons as we celebrate the birth of our Savior.

Love,

The Johnsons

Waterton Lakes National Park, Canada

Magical birthday at the Canada lakehouse


Filed Under: Bode, Family travel, Favorite Posts, Hadley, holidays, Humor, Jamie, LDS

The Christmas Piano Recital

December 18, 2015 By

Hadley spent the week prior at Outdoor Lab so didn’t practice.

And then realized the Monday before the Wednesday concert that she lost the music.

Then realized she forgot how to play it and I had to write in some of the notes.

And then pulled off a Christmas miracle by playing great.

See that chokehold? That’s motherhood personified.

Filed Under: Hadley, Humor

Updates from the underworld

December 4, 2015 By

Yes, we’re still alive Chez Johnson but just barely. After a busy Thanksgiving weekend, Jamie casually mentioned on Sunday that he had been having chest pain for three days. SAY WHAT? With a medical history like Jamie’s, you don’t delay on such matters so he went to the ER that afternoon while I fretted and worried at home.

Thankfully, it turned out he *just* had pneumonia. (Only at our house would that be considered a minor ailment). The weird thing is besides the chest pain, he didn’t have any other symptoms, juxtaposed against Hadley who couldn’t get off the bed for two weeks last year.

I’ve been sicker with a cold than he is with pneumonia but the cruelty of the matter is that I’ve been too sick to play but not sick enough to languish in bed watching ridiculous movies so I’ve had to work. And feel crappy. And wish I was either playing or wasting my day in bed. I don’t have any Christmas decorations up, which is a major trespass in my world (I usually have them before Thanksgiving but no later than the day after).

Tomorrow, we’re going through the temple with a dear friend who was baptized last year, followed by our Ward Christmas Party. Then next week is Jamie’s birthday. And our staff Christmas party. And Cub Scout caroling. And feeding the missionaries. And the kids’ piano recital. And volunteering at the school’s Santa Shop. I also somehow landed a huge campaign that will be all-consuming for seven days and then is taking me to Breckenridge at week’s end, followed by a weekend ski trip to Winter Park.

Maybe I’ll never get those Christmas decorations up.

In other news, Hadley just returned from Outdoor Lab, a sixth grade rite-of-passage where they spent the  week in the mountains playing in the snow and learning earth science, astronomy and wildlife biology. She has the time of her life every summer at week-long Camp Chief Ouray so I knew she’d have zero problems adjusting (as opposed to many of her  friends who’d never been away from home).

She was glowing when I picked her up, raving about everything from her day-long hike to her group’s failed skit to star-gazing to a fun electric guitar music performance to the team-building activities, to the cute high school counselors (OK, I added that in but I’m sure she thought it). She was completely in her element and already wants to return as an intern or counselor in high school. These pictures are from family friend Whitney, who was there as a counselor.

Cabin Juniper: B: Lexie, Morgan, Kasey, Lexie, Lily, Ellie. F: Charlie, Hadley, Jaeda, HS Leader Miss Acosta, Whitney, Alex, Lordan

Castle View

Outdoor Lab

Bunkhouse crazies

It brought back so many of my class trip memories. A world of possibilities was literally opened to me as we journeyed to the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium as a teen.  In middle school, we flew out to Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre,  a world-class teaching and research facility located on the outer west coast of Vancouver Island where I fell in love with coastal marine sciences…and then proceeded to live out my days in land-locked mountainous states (go figure!)   Dear Mom and Dad: If you’re reading this, you totally rocked for giving me those opportunities and set the trajectory for a love of travel, adventure and learning for the rest of my life.

Alright, back to my current pitiable condition. I finally dragged myself out of the house today to run some errands.  I was in my foggy, semi-functional state at the grocery store check-out stand when the cashier reached into one of my recyclable bag and pulled out my sports bra. Which would have been super awkward had it not been a super cute Soybu one.

Maybe I should have spent the week in bed.

Filed Under: Hadley, Health, Humor

The perfect winter day near Denver: Sledding Meyers Ranch Park + Country Road Cafe

December 2, 2015 By

Have I mentioned how much I love winter and snow? Jamie summarized it best when he said I have a temperate zone of about two degrees and I’m either too hot or too cold…until it’s a chilly 20 degrees F and I’m just right.

On Saturday, we invited our neighbors the Morgans to come play with us in the foothills near Denver. We’ve adored this family since our neighborhood was built 12 years ago but they are always crazy busy–if they’re not working, they’re working harder on extraordinary renovations in their home (it’s Meredith who does the over-the-top outdoor movie nights in the summer).

So we decided it was high-time to relieve them of their overachieving ways and come play. One upon a time, we got into a battle about who had the best breakfast place. We raved about our beloved Country Road Cafe while they boasted McCoys had the best eats in Denver. Eight years ago, we visited McCoys with them (very, very good) and we finally did Country Road Cafe last weekend.

Since Colorado had a glorious dump of snow over Thanksgiving, we decided to hit the hills…the sledding hills to be exact. Meyer Ranch Park in Conifer (about 20 minutes from Denver) has an awesome sledding hill but when we stepped out of the car, we wondered “is it steep enough?” Believe me, when the powder has been compacted, careening down is plenty fast enough.

The kids all had a blast…well, with the exception of 5-year-old Evan who wiped out on the first run and never fully recovered. The rest of us more than made up for him.

Meredith warmed us up with the most delicious hot chocolate as we settled into our cozy outdoor seating.

Hadley soaking it all in. I have an identical picture of her sipping a pina colada poolside at The Broadmoor.

The girls adventured in the forest.

While my little (snow) angel beckoned me, “Mom, you’ve got to lay down beside me and see this.”

The dark green pine forest and pristine white snow field lured me in as I snuggled up to that boy, marveling at the huge frozen bulbs clinging to branches like wasps’ nests against a bluebird sky.

God is an amazing artist.

I somehow convinced Meredith it was a good ideas for us to sled together. With her in front, we barrelled down that hill, laughing ’til we cried as we soared over bumps, her leg got stuck under the sled and a spray of snow gave us a face-freeze near the bottom.

We were such ridiculous fools that we ordered The Husbands to do the same and I wish I’d video taped their run because it was about the funniest thing I’ve ever seen as Andy claimed they set a landspeed record. That wasn’t too far from the truth!

From there, it was onto Kittredge where we played near Bear Creek.

Meredith had an impressive run on the slide at Kittredge Park.

While Hadley was equally as impressive (getting stuck) on the tire swing.

Of course, the climax of the whole day was introducing Meredith and Andy to Country Road Cafe where we devoured fresh cinnamon rolls, fluffy oversized pancakes, breakfast burritos, pumpkin cheesecake-stuffed French toast and the Timber Ridge Tamale Benedict–Two pork filled tamales topped with two eggs, cheddar-jack cheese, green chili, avocado, salsa and sour cream drizzle.

Suffice it to say, our overworked friends are now converts to the playing way of life.

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

With a mother like me, she’ll someday rule the world

November 30, 2015 By

Baby H

Me: “Can you please go upstairs and look for my phone?”

Hadley (after a few minutes of searching): “I can’t find it.”

Me: “Do you want me to call it?”

Hadley: “Yes.”

Me (at the top of my lungs): “Phone, where are you?!”

Hadley: “Never mind.”

Filed Under: Hadley, Humor
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