Crested Butte: The Honk, the Miracle and the Luxury

July 8, 2010 By

The kids, Aunt Lisa and I are currently in Crested Butte. Colorado has many fantastic resorts but visiting this mountain hamlet in July is one of the best family vacations you will ever take (find out why here). Jamie was supposed to join us this evening but he now claims he is coming down with the flu.

I’m still trying to ascertain if it’s just a ploy to stay home so he can give his pumpkins more undivided attention.

Our road trip has been eventful thus far. A few highlights:

1) We stopped in Poncho Springs for ice cream. As we were departing, I plugged the DVD player into the cigarette lighter and created some kind of short circuit in my Pilot. The result? The horn would not stop honking.

2) I somehow misplaced both power cords for our Nintendo DSi and DSi XL, a major diversion for both kids. We pulled over in Gunnison and visited the second smallest Wal-Mart in the U.S.

It was so small it didn’t have what I needed. #Fail.

3) One of my most perfect family travel moments was the free outdoor concert at the base of Mt. Crested Butte last year. This year, the conditions for this Wednesday night tradition were less-than-idyllic: a moody daughter and a threatening sky.

Thankfully, her moodiness was forgotten as we devoured grilled burgers, rocked to the tunes from TBird & the Breaks and the kids rolled down the hill.

And got completely and gloriously drenched from a refreshing summer rain.

4) We are staying in a three-bedroom condo at the slope-side Lodge at Mountaineer Square. We went swimming in their gorgeous pool and face-in-the-water-phobic Bode mastered the kick board all by himself. Evidently, miracles happen here.


I just hope such luxury does not go to their heads.

On tap for Thursday: Exploring the Adventure Park, riding the chairlift and hiking the summit, playing in town and more swimming.

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
Filed Under: Family travel, Humor, travel Tagged With:

Food, friends and summertime fun in Denver

July 6, 2010 By

One of my favorite activities in the summertime is to enroll the kids in a two-week-long session of outdoor swim lessons. This year, eight of our good friends joined us so everyday at the pool was like a party.

Hadley excelled and by the end, she could do the front crawl and go off the waterslide into the deep end by herself.

When Bode started his swim lessons, he refused to get his face wet.

And two weeks later he still would not get his face wet.

Any guesses re: who flunked and who moved onto the next level?

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One afternoon, we celebrated my friends Eva and Lisa’s birthday by having a party at Westminster Center Park.


This newly-minted park is part-spray fountains and part London-themed playground and is one of the coolest in the Denver area.

This is Bode standing in their makeshift river.

And no, he still did not get his face wet.

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One of Jamie’s clients makes ornate olive wood handicrafts out of Bethlehem. As a token of thanks, Mike invited us to come for dinner at his house that she shares with his brother George and sister-in-law Rhonda, their two kids and his parents.

The Middle Easterners redefine “All in the Family.”

I’ll admit it: I was a bit reluctant. It was a thoughtful gesture but going to a client’s home ain’t exactly common practice. But there was no tactful way to get out of it so we consented.

And am I ever glad we did.

First, they were absolutely lovely and I enjoyed reliving the time I spent in Israel, Jordan and Egypt on a Study Abroad.

Second, The Food.

And yes, it deserves capital letters.

Hands down, it was the best Middle Eastern food my mouth has ever had the privilege of partaking. Rhonda must have spent hours–maybe even days–preparing dishes that included grilled lamb and chicken on skewers, tabbouleh, grape leaf rolls, cabbage rolls, hummus, Turkish salad, pasta salad and homemade pita bread that made me weep from its sheer perfection.

The family was tight-knit and so generous. When Jamie mentioned he’d love to go to Israel, George raved, “Just let us know when. We have six homes in Bethlehem and we will set you up with everything you need.”

And he meant it, too.

I interjected: “Just so long as you have Rhonda’s cooking waiting for us.”

George wasn’t the only one who meant it.

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I served a mission in Switzerland and France in ’92-’93. One of my dearest mission companions–Soeur (Sister) Fagerstrom–later roomed with me at BYU. I have not seen this little spitfire since my wedding so when she and her endodentist-husband announced they were passing through en route to Colorado Springs for a family reunion, I jumped for joy.

My vertical these days is about 0.5 inches, in case you were wondering.

I have never met her beautiful children so we spent a couple of hours showing them our favorite Denver haunts, which included taking them to dinner at legendary My Brother’s Bar.

Or rather, they took us out and ended up generously picking up the tab.

Note to out-of-town friends: We are happy to “take you to dinner” anytime you want.

Comments still closed due to obnoxious Asian spammers.

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
Filed Under: Bode, Colorado, Hadley, Humor Tagged With:

A Fourth of July to remember, the torrential downpour to forget

July 5, 2010 By

Many people are surprised when I tell them we don’t like to travel for the Fourth of July. The reason is two-fold:

1) It’s the two-week window for The Great Pumpkin’s pollination. Duh.

2) We live on a hill overlooking where the fireworks are shot. Our neighbors collectively petition to have our street closed off and the partying goes late into the night.

We started out our festivities by making coconut ice cream after church, a Fourth of July tradition.

Or rather, it would be if only we could remember to actually do it every year.

The plan for this Fourth of July was to setup canopies in a park area across the street and do a huge potluck starting at 6 p.m.

At exactly 5:57 p.m., it started raining.

Big time.

We scrambled together and our neighbor Bernie generously offered up her house.

Because there is nothing like cramming 50 people inside.


In the end, it didn’t matter. The kids played with their besties .


And the city still set off the fireworks. Early that morning, Jamie had staked out our usual spot on the hill. Due to the inclement weather, when we arrived we were among only a few hearty families while everyone else watched from their cars.

Woosies.

Or at least so I thought until the grand finale when the torrential downpour began. At the last minute, I had returned to grab our new Sport-Brella and I’m so glad I did. Jamie and I snuggled up to nine giggling kids as we marveled at the kalaidescope in the sky

Most of our past Independence Days all blur together but this one will go down in infamy as one of my favorites. The reason? After several weeks of 90+ degree weather, this was the one evening it rained and yet everyone still banded together and made the best of the less-than-ideal circumstances.

The same could be same about my Muphy’s Law life.

I’ll take it.

Kind of a pain but I’ve temporarily closed comments as I combat problems with Asian spammers!

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
Filed Under: holidays, Humor Tagged With:

The rescue mission that wasn’t

July 2, 2010 By

Our family has been going on evening bike rides when the temperatures start cooling off.

Note: “Cooling off” is a relative term. This Canuck still considers 80+ degrees too hot.

Hadley is doing great on two wheels and barrels down the local hill. Bode is a little daredevil and likes putting his feet up on the bar, zigzagging on the sidewalk and giving me a heart attack.

Even though I think he would be physically capable of riding without his training wheels, he’s just not mentally there yet. Jamie raised his training wheels up as the final step before removing them altogether.

It initially did not go well.

While he was carefree in the past (natch: hanging off the bar), this was a whole new ballgame and he repeatedly tipped over onto the grass. After several failed attempts, he was finally able to cautiously ride.

We decided to test his mettle by biking to the local water tower where we like to play hide ‘n go seek amidst the prickly sow-thistles.

Trust me, it’s more fun than it sounds.

During our return trip, an accident ensued but it was not with Bode. Hadley was closely tailing Jamie when she swerved out of the way to miss an overgrown bush, clipped his foot and crashed. Badly.

Actually, she somehow ran over the back of his leg. He had the tire track to prove it.

She claimed she could not ride so Bode and I volunteered to go on a rescue mission to get the car while she and Jamie started walking home.

In retrospect, taking the wobbly 3-year-old on a rescue mission? Not one of my brighter ideas.

But the kid’s resolve was impressive. With each near-accident, he made an impressive recovery and proclaimed, “Need to help ‘Sissy!’”

After 20 long minutes, we made it back and drove the ambulance to transport our patient even thought they were only a few blocks from home at that time.

Never one to miss a milestone, I took a picture of her following her first bike crash.

And then reprimanded her for smiling. “You just wiped out. Make a sad face,” I begged. In an instant, I got this.

If the professional cycling thing doesn’t work out, the kid has a career in acting.

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I’ve been having problems with Asian spam bombarding my comments section. As I will be in and out the next several weeks (and will be unable to moderate and rectify the problem) I’m just going to temporarily close comments. I will miss all your great feedback but I promise to reopen soon and visit your blogs! XOXOXOX

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
Filed Under: Bode, Hadley, Humor

Introducing the newest member of our family!

June 25, 2010 By

This is the most important week of a pumpkin grower’s life:

Pumpkin se*x.

Yep, folks it’s pollination time. Jamie forced me to plan our summer travels around this two-week period.

Not familiar with how a pumpkin is pollinated?

Well, when a boy flower loves a girl flower….


I only wish I was joking.

When it’s time to give our kids the “Birds and the bees” talk, we’ll talk about pumpkin loooove.

From here on out, the growing season actually gets fun and pretty soon the pumpkin will start packing on 30 lbs per day. Tune into Jamie’s blog Denver Pumpkins for the updates. I will periodically post about it here as well.

Because what’s the point of being married to a man obsessed with growing The Great Pumpkin if you can’t mock him about it.

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
Filed Under: Humor, pumpkins

The week of the family: Jamie

June 24, 2010 By

Between working, growing The Great Pumpkin and serving in the Bishopric, Jamie has been slaving around the clock. Last weekend, he took a break to have a fabulous weekend at play.

For Father’s Day, we grilled steaks and gave Jamie memorable presents such as the children’s book I Can Be Anything. Why would we do such a thing? The very first job it talks about is being a pumpkin grower.


If you could even consider that a job.

The kids and I made him a card listing our favorite things we like to do with him. Visiting the pumpkin patch, wrestling and playing games were favorites but Bode’s No. 1 choice?

“Taking a break with him.” (See previous post about his recent laziness phase.)

On Friday, we had a very refined dinner on the back patio at Paris on the Platte.

Or not.

We then did a walking tour of Commons Park, one of downtown Denver’s coolest areas. We cooled off with caramel popcorn ice cream and raced down the slide at Little Man Ice Cream.


Sometimes, pictures defy words.

We explored new trails along the Platte River, were puzzled at obtuse sculptures, marveled at the tree tightropers and rolled down a steep hill.

Saturday, we attended the Highlands Street Festival, a cornucopia of some of the cutest vendors and booths I have ever seen. I wore a new shirt with a big flower attached to it. As we prepared to leave, Jamie walked over to me and poked my new accessory.


“I just bought this. Don’t you love it?”
“It looks like a nylon is stuck to your shirt.”

For the Week of the Family’s final post, stay tuned for a big announcement of the newest member of our family!

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
Filed Under: Bode, Colorado, Hadley, Humor, Jamie

The week of the family: Bode

June 23, 2010 By

I am dedicating each day of the week unto a different member of the family. Today, is Little Man.

Bode

While Hadley was at art camp last week, Bode and I bonded a lot. I haven’t spent copious amounts of one-on-one time with him since he started preschool so it was an eye-opening experience.

On Wednesday, he started T-ball with his bestie Seanie.


And yes, greater lover hath no mom than she who enrolls her son in a sport that bores her to tears.

Bode has always been sweet, thoughtful and loving but he is going through a phase that is driving us nuts: he is lazy. The little dude has the same excuse for everything.

“Bode, go wash your hands.”
“I’m too tired.”

“Bode, I asked you to finish your smoothie.”
“I’m too tired.”

He has always been a lot more shy than his sister but usually rises to the challenge and delves into new situations with her. Without his wingman, he completely reverted back to being much more introverted and often begged me to just take him home.

Evidently everyone needs a Type A, brazen, man-hating older sister around (see yesterday’s post for details).


In tomorrow’ Week of the Family, I am featuring the Lord of the Gourds who committed the ultimate fashion faux-pas: he dared to criticize his wife’s outfit.

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
Filed Under: Bode, Humor

The week of the family: Hadley

June 22, 2010 By

A good friend recently criticized my slothful blogging practices. I did not deny it. We just started a two-week-long swimming session and following that, our summer travels begin.

I was on a conference call last week. As we waited for the other parties to join us, another lady and I made smalltalk. She asked if my family was going anywhere for the summer.

I divulged we were going to glorious Crested Butte, on an inglorious camping trip, on a mommy-daughter weekend in Puerto Rico, to Utah to see the grandparents (hopefully), topped off by the Outer Banks at the end of August.

After rattling off my list I turned the question back at her, to which there was a long pause and she replied, “I’m not going anywhere. I don’t have any vacation time left.”

I would hate me, too.

Anyhew, back to my assignment at hand. My form of repentance for past and future blogging indiscretions is to write every day this week about what is going on with each member of our family. I will wrap it up on Friday with a much-anticipated announcement about the newest member to join the Johnson clan. Today’s spotlight is on The Hurricane.

Hadley

Hadley is an aspiring artist.

And no, she does not get it from my stick-figure inspirations.

When she was three, there was a groundbreaking at her new preschool and she drew this picture of the balloon arch.


Her teachers raved the illustration was indicative of a child well beyond her years.

Last week, was her dream come true: she participated in a week-long art camp at school. She was introduced to clay, watercolors, painting and a lot of crafty stuff that simply makes me want to throw up.

It was the best $120 I ever spent.

Possibly my favorite creation was a clay heart. As I strained to ask what was the picture in the middle, she said it was her…looking angry.


And so the embittered, man-hating years begin.

Stay tuned tomorrow for Bode’s spotlight, which includes why he needs his man-hating sister.

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
Filed Under: Hadley, Humor

Proof that the good Lord (or devil) is working against me

June 16, 2010 By

Last week, yet another gargantuan hail storm hit our house (go here to see last year’s massacre). I had numerous phone calls and emails from friends who were concerned to see if The Great Pumpkin survived.

This is evidence that he is making everyone as obsessed as he is.

We have two different patches because really, doesn’t everyone?

Jamie is growing his pumpkins on our neighbor’s lot behind our house. The kids’ pumpkin is located adjacent to our fence. Jamie spent umpteen hours protecting his pumpkins from potentially fatal storms by installing poles to hold the hail netting. Here is how they fared during the storm:

After the storm.


The hail netting held up and for the most part, his pumpkins were unscathed.

But the children’s pumpkin that he did not protect with hail netting?

Think drowned rat.

The vines will eventually bounce back but for now, there is mourning at the Johnson house.

Jamie continues to toil relentlessly in the patch and I continue to relentlessly mock him. Lest you think I am not supportive, welp, you would be only partially correct. I am supportive within reason. An hour in the patch a day is not a big deal. Sometimes he even spends two and I’m OK with that.

But entire weekends where you spend more time with the pumpkin than your family? A big deal.

Last week, Jamie was in the pumpkin patch with our neighbor and bishop. Jamie mentioned to him how I was giving him a hard time about the many hours he had just spent installing his hail netting.

As they were chatting, an airplane with a sky ad trailing behind circled overhead. They strained to read the message and Jamie joked, “Does it say anything about growing big pumpkins? That could be my sign.”

As the plane turned, the message (which was likely from the pothead mari*juana dispensaries that have taken over Denver) was revealed:

“Grow it up.”

Now, the argument is regarding from whom “The Sign” was given.

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
Filed Under: Humor, Jamie, pumpkins

Colorado family travel and a mommy blogger’s proudest moment

June 14, 2010 By

Like many of you, summer is gloriously busy with activities and vacations so posting will be more sporadic. What have we been doing?

We went to Learning How to Train Your Dragon with about 15 of our closest friends and then to Elitch Gardens with our Besties.


We did a staycation in nearby Golden, which ranks right up there as one of our favorite trips.

Contributing factors? Hadley’s new ambition to become a “Chick Mom,” barreling down the Alpine Slide with Uncle Chris at Heritage Square, fighting over trains at the Colorado Railroad Museum, riding the free horse-drawn carriage at the First Friday Street Fair, devouring the Golden Farmer’s Market’s mini-doughnuts, playing Frogger on the Clear Creek bike path and so much more in the post that follows.


Clarification: My children are making those faces because the sun was in their eyes. Or maybe I really do smell that badly.

Parties, parties, parties. Every year, our neighbors hold an amazing birthday bash for their three boys (all born in May). From their flown-in-from-California rib-eye hamburgers and steaks to the veritable waterpark in their backyard, this is the not-to-be-missed event of the season.

At one point, two 7-year-old boys with water guns and play swords approached me.

“Is that your daughter over there?” they accusingly queried, gesturing to Hadley.

“That depends. What has she done now?”

“She called us a bad name.”

Now, I don’t know about you but I was interested to hear what that might be. Hadley has a pretty limited vocabulary as it pertains to insults and going up against two heavily-armed older boys takes guts.

“That’s terrible, boys. What did she call you?”

“She called us babies.”

It was one of the proudest moments in my life.

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
Filed Under: Hadley, Humor
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