It’s Canada Day (and that other American holiday)

July 9, 2014 By

I’ve long whined that no one ever comes to visit me in Colorado. I mean, how could they not? Colorado is gloriously gorgeous and one of the top tourist destinations in the United States. I now realize that it’s because I never actually invite anyone and having an “open invitation” isn’t enough.

Case in point: I invited my childhood bestie Stacey to come visit and she came. Imagine that! Not only did she fly down to visit me but she somehow agreed to accompany the kids and me on our two-day drive back to Calgary at the end of the week. Now, that is friendship.

And being the swell friend that she is, she brought the kids Canada T-shirts and I’m sure she bought out the Motherland’s maple leaf paraphernalia so we could celebrate Canada Day!

We kicked off the holiday by a glorious hike around Evergreen Lake and, of course, I converted yet another person to Country Road Cafe.

Evergreen Lake


One of the reasons why I love our summer hiking group is because it’s not just about the hiking, it’s about falling in love with the outdoors and truly exploring. It took us nearly 2 hours to hike the 1.3-mile loop around the lake because of stops like this by Evergreen Dam.

A visit to Colorado isn’t complete without stopping by Red Rocks, one of the most famous concert venues in the world.

I won’t mention how Hadley kicked my butt on a race up the stairs. Am I really getting that old or maybe she’s just getting that fast.

That night, there were revelries. Maple leaves. Red and white. Yummy food. Canadian geography puzzles. And a whole lotta fun.

I forgave Hadley for kicking my butt when she not only painted her face red-and-white but insisted on doing mine as well.

Fat Kitty was not impressed with the celebration.

Fat Dude wouldn’t even hold the hockey stick I tried to put in his paw.

It is just me or has Jamie never looked hotter?

A few days later, we threw yet another party with friends but this time with red, white, blue and pies….

Not to mention star-styled hair.

And since the fireworks are shot above our neighborhood, we had to throw another party.


Sadly, this is the only picture I got of the whole evening. No disrespect to the Americans but after a cram-packed week and throwing two fetes, I was all partied out.

There’s a first time for everything.

Filed Under: Bode, Canada, Colorado, Hadley, hiking, Humor

Family Travel: Keeping it Real (or really painful)

July 8, 2014 By

I have always loved to travel. The problem is, travel has not always loved me. I once journeyed to France for a wedding, only to get lost and miss the entire celebration.

I built a career as a travel writer by writing a humor column about my mishaps. During a meeting with my editor, I made reference to one of my misfortunes on the trail and he professed, “You mean this stuff really happens? I thought you were making it up because there is no way all that could happen to one person!”

Welcome to my life.

When I had a family, there were understandably even more challenges. While so many writers expound upon their tried and true tips for “The Perfect Family Vacation,” I keep it real. Family travel is about survival. The only two things that keep me sane are my sense of humor and a huge dose of denial. Maybe Prozac would help, too.

Just not Tylenol PM.

I am currently embarking on a month-long, 3,000-mile drive home to Canada with my children and I confirmed that I am the Real[ist] Family Travel Writer. For this trip, I am the solo driver and we groggily awoke at 6 a.m. after a day of revelries and fireworks to hit the road. I wasn’t feeling well so I popped a pain killer in my mouth. A pain killer that turned out to be Tylenol PM.

Click to keep reading. If you dare.

Filed Under: Family travel, Humor

Camp Magic, my zipline freakout and why Bode is never getting married

June 26, 2014 By

My husband Jamie and I have been parents for 10 years and we have never been alone together at our home for more than one night since having kids. So it was a shock for me when we dropped them off for week-long Camp Chief Ouray at YMCA of the Rockies located between Grand Lake and Winter Park.

But not for Jamie. As we were walking away from my daughter’s cabin, we followed the procession of parents to their cars.  “Do you know what all these parents have in common?” he observed. “They’re all smiling.”

And so were the kids. While Jamie and I reconnected with nightly dates, Hadley and Bode had the time of their lives at Colorado’s longest-running overnight camp for boys and girls ages 7-17 where they stayed in rustic cabins as they did archery, camp crafts, swam, rode horses, canoed, hiked, raided the kitchen, camped under the stars one night, gorged on s’mores, had regular devotionals, skits, campfire songs and so much more.

My adventures were only beginning.

CLICK TO KEEP READING


Filed Under: Humor, travel

Love, marriage and theft

June 25, 2014 By

Sometimes Jamie buys me things because he’s sweet and thoughtful.

But mostly he buys me things so I’ll stop using his stuff.

Filed Under: Humor, Jamie

Buying Hawaii (at least in my dreams)

June 20, 2014 By

To fuel my moving-to-Maui obsession, I discovered a show called “Buying Hawaii” on Destination America, which follows home buyers on their journey to purchase a home in Hawaii. What I love is that most of the episodes feature average families looking for realistic properties, not the multi-million dollar dream homes 99.9 percent of the world can’t afford.

But that doesn’t stop me from dreaming, of course.

When I informed Jamie about my find, he rolled his eyes and said, “I saw that show when I was going through the channel guide. I was hoping you wouldn’t find out.”

Though Mr. Realism is a dream-killer, the surprising thing is that Bode loves the show. One afternoon when I wasn’t feeling well, he curled up beside me and watched back-to-back episodes. I thought we’d seen them all (there were only about seven) but I was thrilled to discover one more. When Bode came home from school, I made the grand announcement.

Without hesitating, he crawled up next to me and, all business, he asked, “What’s their budget?”

Now, that is a kid who gets me.

 

Filed Under: Bode, Humor

Camp Chief Ouray = Hurray!

June 19, 2014 By

On Sunday afternoon, we dropped the kids off at Camp Chief Ouray at YMCA of the Rockies near Granby, Colorado. For six blissful days, they have been horseback riding, singing around the campfire, bonding with their cabinmates, hiking and having the time of their lives.

Jamie and I planned to do the same. I was originally invited on a press trip to Tennessee but my sweet husband asked me not to go and promised he’d make it worth my while to stay behind. We’ve had dates every night–from Downton Abbey marathons (we’re newly hooked) to steak dinners to a night at the temple to going out to eat at a Peruvian restaurant.

It has been wonderful  to reconnect as a couple–the first time we’ve been truly alone at our house since we started having kids 10 years ago.

While I was driving with the kids last week, I raved about the couple time Jamie and I were going to have and, trying to get a reaction from the kids, promised there would be lots of kissing in their absence.  They both protested and groaned.

“Hadley, what’s the big deal? Don’t you want Mom and Dad to be in love and not get divorced?”

“Sure I do but you don’t have to be all crazy about it.”

 

Filed Under: Family, Hadley, Humor

Father’s Day Celebrations and Camp Chief Ouray: Colorado’s best overnight camp for kids!

June 16, 2014 By

I can’t say enough how blessed I feel to have a wonderful father, father-in-law and be married to an amazing man who is a fun-loving, hard-working father to my children.

Father-son matching pumpkin-colored ties

Our Father’s Day was a whirlwind. The Primary kids performed a Father’s Day medley of songs in Sacrament Meeting and yours truly was the accompanist. This would have been fine and dandy if I was able to play one of the songs but ended up faking my way through and fortunately nobody noticed.  Turns out they were too enamored with all the cute kiddos, which is a very, very good thing.

In our Ward, we have the best tradition ever: a social after church where everyone brings pies and proceed to stuff our faces with them. Well, not literally. Though a pie-throwing contest would be a pretty fun tradition, too.

We then raced home and drove 1.5 hours to drop the kiddos off at Camp Chief Ouray at YMCA of the Rockies near Granby, Colo. I’ll have much more to come on that but I’m having very mixed feelings. On the one hand, I’m thrilled they are spending six days at the glorious camp, which is the longest-running and one of the most reputable in Colorado that is heaped in traditions and fun.

Bode’s counselors Andres and Kevin; Hadley was too cool for hugs and posing for pictures

On the other hand, I’m missing them terribly. Though Jamie and I have been on couple’s vacations, this is the first time we’ve been alone together at our house in 10 years. Fat Kitty is feeling it, too. He woke us up at 3 a.m.with “the meow of death” and acted like he was dying. When we saw nothing was externally wrong, we ascertained he’s lost without those two cherubs of his. As you can see, he quickly got over his angst-driven, sleepless night.

We all mourn in different ways.

That includes Jamie. As we were walking away after dropping off the kids, we followed the steady procession of parents walking to their cars.

Jamie: “Have you noticed something we all have in common?”

Me: “What?”

Jamie: “All the parents now have smiles on their faces.”

And believe me, so did the kids about spending the week in such a magical place.

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

Why you cannot ever have a normal conversation with The Pumpkin Man

June 13, 2014 By

Me: “Have you ever heard of ‘Orange is the New Black’ that everyone is talking about?”

The Pumpkin Man: “Totally. I’ve been saying it for years.”

Filed Under: Humor, Jamie, pumpkins

Maleficent, the torrential downpour and a birthday party to remember

June 4, 2014 By

When we were at Disneyland at the Disney Social Media Moms Conference last month, we were treated to an extended preview of “Maleficent,” the untold story of Disney’s most iconic villain from the 1959 classic “Sleeping Beauty.” To top it off, we sang happy 16th birthday to Elle Fanning who played Aurora a.k.a. Sleeping Beauty in the film and Maleficent crashed the party. Hadley knew then-and-there she wanted to see the movie on opening day for her birthday.

We arrived early to setup the popcorn and drinks and I think it was the first time I’ve ever been in an empty theater.

Girls behaving nicely

Girls behaving not-so nicely

Too bad it didn’t stay empty but it was, after all, opening day.

I just called all those uninvited guests party crashers.

Every single one of us LOVED the movie and it went in such a different direction than I imagined (no spoilers here–go see it!) Even Bode and his friend Nolan gave it a 9 out of 10. “It would have gotten a 10 if didn’t have those kissing scenes.”

We drove back to our house for cake, ice cream and presents. Hadley requested pineapple upside-down cake and after blowing out the candles, she got quite the reaction when she ended up with one boyfriend.

Apparently she was paying attention to those kissing scenes a little too closely.

After presents, the kiddos played in the backyard until parents started arriving. When the pick-up time came and went, only a few kids remained and that is when it started downpouring. Being the responsible mom I am, I ushered everyone inside I encouraged them to go for it and that they did. Singing, dancing, splashing, rolling, lying down in the gutters full of water.

They. Had. A Blast! And for those poor parents who arrived late? That’s what happens when this mama is in charge!

Everyone thought seeing “Maleficent” for Hadley’s 10th birthday was fun. Turns out the after party in the torrential downpour was even better.

Filed Under: birthday, Hadley, Humor

In Summer: Mom of the Year or Snowwoman Imbecile?

June 3, 2014 By

I get it: I’m an annoying morning person. I’m not only awake before dawn but am boot camping, working or solving world peace, all before 8 a.m. But just ask my husband: by 9:30 p.m. I’m barely functional and just want to sleep.

Now, imagine being a child of such a mother.

Bus buddies on the final day of school

Though it takes Bode a few minutes to get coherent he’s an early riser and prefers it that way. In fact, he would actually set his alarm early during the school year because he’s so obsessed with being “responsible” and likes the extra time to be prepared. I know, right?!

Then there’s Hadley. Lately she’s been pushing the bedtime boundaries and we have let her. Though Bode is ready for bed by 8:45 p,m. she’s frequently hitting the sack between 9:30-10 p.m. On her first night of summer break, I saw she was still awake and caught her crafting into the wee hours.

At least I think that’s what it was. There was a lot of yarn and unidentifiable objects.

The next morning, she was toast. When we don’t have anything scheduled, I’ll let her sleep in during the summer but she had her birthday party later that day and a laundry list of responsibilities.

So, I waited until 9 a.m. before I burst into her bedroom blasting “In Summer” from Frozen on my iPhone and channeled Olaf as I lip synced. Unfortunately she was already a awake but that didn’t stop her from being deeply moved, particularly when I started tap dancing and singing opera at the end.

Pumped by my brilliant performance, I bounded down the stairs and squealed to Jamie, “It’s official, I should have gone into snow business!!!”

Pun not intended but by gosh, it worked.

 

Filed Under: Bode, Hadley, Humor
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