You ask him to get fruit because this is what your holder looks like.
And he instead purchases these.
When your husband goes grocery shopping
November 8, 2016 By
Glad I’m Not There
August 16, 2016 By
The only thing I dislike about our 3,000-mile road-trip to Canada is that Jamie isn’t with us. Due to our crazy summer selling the house and then moving, he hasn’t been able to take time off work (the boys of self-employment). Though we kept busy with family, we definitely missed him a lot.
Then I got what I thought was a sweet email from him after being gone 1.5 weeks entitled “wish you were here.”
Eagerly I opened it anticipated a sweet love note from my honey and I got this. 
I called to get the low-down and thankfully it wasn’t anything serious–the toilet overflowed into our storage room.
I lambasted Jamie. “You can’t send a picture with a title like that. I thought you were writing me a nice note.”
Him: “That’s the way I felt.”
A Final Colorado Father’s Day to Remember
June 20, 2016 By
I heard Jamie on the phone raving that he got the best Father’s Day present ever and I wondered what he was talking about. Was it the new North Face boots? (We lost one of his winter boots on a trip last season.) The Broncos camping chair? The new THEATER sign to hang outside of his home theater in our new basement?
Nope, none of that. “Our house is under finally under contract!”
Oh yeah, THAT!
Yes, we’re under contract for a second time. It feels right and I’m cautiously optimistic all will go according to plan. This literally came to fruition in the 11th hour, right before we would need to make some big changes to our timeline (and finances) and after my near nervous breakdown. Our buyers are a cute family from North Carolina and they offered us our full asking price. The second one, not the first. It’s a wee bit painful it’s $15,000 less than our original offer but I’m so over the whole process that I’m ready to take it and run.
Jamie first told me they were submitting an offer on Friday when I was volunteering at Bode’s Cub Scout Twilight Camp. In the hot sun. With poorly planned activities that required us to entertain them for hours on end (my definition of hell). I was happy with the news but not that happy until after I’d downed a Slurpee, taken a cold shower and had a full night of sleep.
Once I was refreshed and in air-conditioning, I promised Jamie I’d make him his favorite apple pie for Father’s Day. Our ward has an awesome tradition of eating pie for Mother’s and Father’s Day so after stuffing our faces at church, we escaped Denver’s 99-degree day and headed for the hills.
The day after Jamie and I got engaged, he took me hiking to St. Mary’s Glacier and it has been an annual tradition ever since. I get a bit misty-eyed thinking about all our adventures there–from when we carried baby Hadley in her backpack to when she hiked it herself when she was 3, to Bode’s arrival on the scene, to hiking it with friends and carsickness (puking) on the trail, to when Hadley scaled the entire glacier two years in a row, to the time Jamie ran over her foot in the parking lot and we decided to forgo the hike. Memories, I tell ya!
St. Mary’s Glacier truly has some of the most beautiful vistas just outside of Denver.
When Hadley is enraptured with her surroundings, she steals my phone to take pictures. She has an eye for photography and I’d love to get her a real camera.
A trip to a glacier wouldn’t be complete without an old-fashioned snowball fight. (Note Jamie’s snowball mid-flight.)
We came back exhausted, much cooler and made a big spread of grilled burgers, veggies and, of course, more apple pie while we curled up in our cool basement to watch a movie in our home theater room.
The perfect Father’s Day? Pretty much. And I couldn’t ask for a better husband, father and father-in-law to celebrate.
The Sonic Guys
June 3, 2016 By
I’m not sure when the tradition started but Jamie has been going to lunch with our neighbor Darrin for a number of years when I’m sure the deep mysteries of the kingdom are discussed.
One day as they were leaving, our neighbor Angella observed “do you know who you remind me of? The two goofy guys in the car in the Sonic commercials.”
And so what did those goofy guys do? They went to Sonic for lunch this week.
And judging by Sonic’s blooper reel, Angella pretty much nailed her observation.
Welcome to the Real World
April 27, 2016 By
Dear people who can eat anything they want and never gain a pound: what a world you must live in!
I’ve inherited many wonderful attributes from my family but a stellar metabolism is not one of them. It’s funny to look at our wedding pictures because Jamie’s side of the family is all long and lean while my side is short and stout. Sure, I love great food but I work out constantly, eat healthy most of the time and yet…yet…I’ve been gaining and losing the same 25 pounds my entire life.
I recently rejoined boot camp and love getting my butt whipped into shape but the weight is so much tougher to lose, particularly as I age. I have zero aspirations to be in a size 6 but maintaining a weight that I’m comfortable with is a tough cookie.
Darn the food reference.
At the beginning of the month, Jamie and I both started on a healthier regimen and this week, he expressed his frustrations.
“I don’t get it. I’ve been eating kind of healthy and exercising and usually I’m able to easily lose weight but it’s just not falling off like it usually does.”
Welcome to the world the rest of us have always lived in, James.
To shutter or not to shutter, that is the question?
April 5, 2016 By
As we fix up our house to put on the market, our past several weeks have also been dedicated unto life-altering decisions such as “Do we put shutters on the new house?” I’ve had sleepless nights over such minute details. Only the strongest of marriages survive a renovation or a move. Fortunately, we’ve naturally gravitated to our areas of strength. Jamie has handled all the refinancing, loans and permit details while I’ve focused more on purging and cleaning our house. You know, the things that don’t require any brain power, that’s me!
The whole process has been seamless but we sometimes clash in our design decisions. I want a completely different look and feel from our Denver home. We currently have a lot of browns and reds, which was swell when we built 13 years ago but I want to brighten up our plot a lot more. To Jamie’s credit, he has acquiesced on much of it, thinking I will give him full reign over the basement and yard and for the most part, I will. Except for the location of his greenhouse. Out of all the places on our .5-acre-plot, he wants to build it smack dab in the middle of my view of Mount Timpanogos. HEAR ME ROAR!
We’ve finalized most of our decisions from the design center but we’re still pending on one minor detail: to shutter or not to shutter? Our design consultant a.k.a. Jamie’s Generous Sister Who is Trying Not to Kill us With our Indecision sent over a few photoshopped pictures of her neighbor’s home that is undergoing renovations. Obviously, our house will have a different design but the colors are similar and this gives us a general idea.
No shutters.
The home with photoshopped black and then white shutters.
Jamie and I sat down to discuss our options.
Jamie: “I like no shutters.”
Me: “I think the black shutters make the house look too dark. Let’s nix those.”
Jamie: “Agreed.”
Me: “I’m kind of leaning toward the white shutters. I like the clean lines”
Jamie: “Huh. I’ll tell you what. Let’s compromise and do no shutters.”
Amber: “How is that a compromise? That is the choice you originally wanted!”
Jamie: “Exactly.”
Lucky #13
February 15, 2016 By
I was super competitive in sports growing up. I still remember crowding together with my teammates from Mr. Bortelin’s soccer team and grabbing jerseys with our very own number for the first time. The most popular went first: #1, #7 and before long, only a few numbers remained, including #13. I promptly snatched it up.
“Don’t wear #13,” one of my friends chastened me. “That’s an unlucky number.”
Never one to shy away from a challenge, I retorted, “Then I’ll be unlucky for the other team.”
And #13 stayed with me throughout my entire sporting career. Bonus: I never had to fight anyone for my number.
Today marks 13 years with this guy and I’m so grateful to be lucky in love.
Happy anniversary, Babe!
Winter Adventures in Glenwood Springs, Colorado
February 9, 2016 By
One of my family’s goals is to ski all 25 of Colorado’s mountain resorts. We only have a handful left that include several of our state’s smaller ski areas which are perfect for families.
Last weekend, we played in Glenwood Springs, about three hours from Denver. I’ve been a longtime fan of this area in the summer–from incredible hiking to the World’s largest natural hot springs to Glenwood Caverns, an adventure park on top of a mountain with cave tours, thrill rides, alpine coasters, laser tag and much more.
Mile High Mamas has frequently touted Sunlight Mountain Resorts’ Ski, Swim and Stay package as Colorado’s most affordable family ski vacation (normal rates start at just $99 and kids 12 and under ski free). However, it wasn’t until last weekend that we could finally personally endorse this staycation.
Read my full article here at Mile High Mamas!
Two days before our trip, I was contacted by the resort’s PR rep Troy who asked if a camera crew could follow us around for a couple of days. They had been hired by Colorado Ski Country USA to capture family adventures at many of their resorts. Since we’re not exactly media-shy, we were game and I was delighted to learn Heidi was one of the producers, a spunky gal I’d worked with at 9News. Her partner in crime was Juliana Broste, a talented freelance video journalist whose life I should have lived during my single days.
Having your very own camera crew is a double-edged sword. How cool is it that we’ll have this trip professionally documented? But that came with a lot of patience as we waited for them to setup the scene, grab the right equipment and, on the rare occasion, redo a shot.
Of course, that do-over was racing side-by-side on our snowmobiles across Baylor Park’s powder-perfect playground so it wasn’t all bad!
Great love hath no man than when your snowmobling guide Ty offered to warm up Hadley’s cold fingers in his armpits.
Read all about our adventures at Mile High Mamas but something I didn’t go into to much depth about was The Crash. We truly had the most epic snowmobiling adventure ever and were traveling single-file back to our cars on the groomed terrain. Jamie and Bode had fallen a bit behind the group (a rarity because usually he was leaving us in his dust) and there were a couple of tight turns that, had I not been behind the guide, might have landed me in the dunk as well. When you have three feet of powder right off the trail, a misstep is easy and that’s what happened to the boys as they didn’t make a sharp turn and slid down a small slope. Jamie didn’t have enough time to hit the “kill” button, Bode slammed into him (momentarily blacking out) while the snowmobile hit a tree off the trail, throwing Jamie from the machine.
Miraculously, Bode was unhurt, Jamie banged up his lip, jaw and knee and the snowmobile had been wedged at just the right angle to not cause any damage. (Read Jamie’s infamous one-liner about it at Mile High Mamas).
Getting it out was another matter.
We had two guides, A.J. and Tyler. I was near the front with A.J. and when he saw the boys and Ty weren’t behind us, he halted our group and raced back. Minutes ticked by as my apprehension grew. I knew something happened to the boys because it was only them and Ty at the rear of the pack. About 20 minutes later, A.J. rode back, telling us they had crashed, they were fine, but they needed help getting the snowmobile out and grabbed Troy. We were so relieved when they finally emerged. It was such a bummer ending to the perfect snowmobiling day but our guides handled everything like pros.
The real downer was when Jamie couldn’t ski with us at Sunlight Mountain Resort the next day and instead spent it soaking in Glenwood Hot Springs and getting a massage at their Spa (so don’t feel too badly for him). The kids and I fell in love with this 680-acre resort (where they even skied their first double-black diamond!) The weather was perfect, our camera crew was a blast and the terrain was so fun.
First double-black diamond
Hadley had a GoPro attached to her chest while all of us got to experiment skiing with a selfie stick. Tip: don’t look at the camera, look at where you’re going. Seems like a no-brainer until you’re brainless on the slopes holding a camera in front of your face.
We had originally planned to hit Glenwood Caverns that evening but decided it would be in Jamie’s best interest to have another soak. This time, we headed over to Glenwood Springs’ newest hot spot Iron Mountain Hot Springs. With 16 mineral hot springs pools of various temperatures and a freshwater family pool overlooking the Colorado River, we were in heaven as the town’s annual fireworks display was shot from nearby Two Rivers Park in conjunction with the Sunlight Mountain 2015 Ski Spree.
Put this particular weekend on your calendar to visit Glenwood Springs next year. I know we’ll be there.
2016: Moving out of our comfort zone
January 14, 2016 By
As much as we love to travel, we live pretty conservative lives in Colorado and aren’t big risk takers. I have a wide berth for my comfort level and it takes a lot to unnerve me but if I had a theme for 2016, it’s anxiety. Stress. The unknown. We were hit with some major financial decisions at the beginning of the year so not only are we poor but we’re unresolved. I’m hoping for some clarity soon but for now we’re living one step at a time in a world of grey (I guess that’s what faith is all about?)
Our engagement photo
One of my resolutions was to purge this house and get organized. Since so much of my life is spinning out of my control right now, that is at least something within my power and it has become a full-blown obsession. After Jamie’s sister moved out last week, I started by tackling my file cabinets, which contain 25+ years of junk…and treasured memories. From there, I moved onto our storage room and crawl space and resolved to get rid of anything I haven’t used within the last year (apart from mementos, of course). I’m really not a hoarder but it’s amazing how much you can collect after living in your house for 12 years.
I won’t give you a visual of my parent’s basement–they’ve lived there for 45+ years.
Jamie volunteered to go winter camping with the Scouts this weekend. In the mountains. In a snow storm. I’m all for the outdoors but this is deal-breaker for even me. We have two different sections in our storage room: one for food and the other for travel/camping supplies. We tackled the latter last night to find our warmest sleeping bags and pads for Jamie, during which time he casually mentioned.
“It’s really weird that I have no idea what happened to my wedding ring.”
“You lost your wedding ring?”
“Yes, it’s been gone since we camped in Moab last May. I told you that.”
“You didn’t tell me that.”
“Yes, I did. And how have you not even noticed I wasn’t wearing my ring?”
Evidence that I am the least observant person. EVER.
“When did you last have it?”
“I took it off when we were camping and put it somewhere for safe keeping. It’s bugging me so much I can’t find it.”
The conversation ended as we continued organizing the camping gear. Not even 15 minutes later, I grabbed a laundry basket that contained miscellaneous items and wouldn’t you know it, at the very bottom we found his ring. He must have stashed it in one of the stuff sacks and then it got tossed into the storage room.
We’re calling this one a mini-miracle in a 2016 that is starting out as quite the opposite.
The FHE Musical Chairs Showdown of Death
January 4, 2016 By
My entire life, I have won the friend lottery. From childhood friends who are still dear to me to college to my mission, to my single years in Salt Lake City, I have been surrounded by the best of the best. When I married Jamie and moved to Denver, it took me a while to make meaningful connections. It wasn’t until we moved into our house and 2nd Ward about a year and a half later that it slowly started happening. My friend Lisa invited us to join a dinner group with a handful of other couples and from that group, some of my very best friends were made.
Nearly 13 years later, my kids have literally grown up with these families and I couldn’t love them any more if we were related. For Family Home Evening tonight, our friends the Carrolls invited us to the church for a game night. Between the five families, we had about 100 kids, resulting in a night of chaotic fun. We played musical chairs, live Clue (where we turned out the lights and went room-to-room avoiding the murderer before solving the crime), Apples to Apples and then the Carrolls gave a spiritual message about Samuel the Lamanite who stood on a wall to preach repentance to the Nephites as they tried to shoot him down…
…then the adults raced into the room and attacked the kids with marshmallows and a huuuuge, hilarious fight ensued.
Jamie tried complaining about getting pelted in the eye but I had no sympathy. Mostly because he’d (practically) drawn blood just an hour earlier.
Something you should know about Jamie: he’s uber competitive.
Something you should know about my brother Patrick: he’s uber competitive.
Put them together and the games begin. I started the evening off by sharing the story of the Musical Chair Showdown. Shortly after we were married, Jamie came home with me for a summer visit. Our ward was having a party so we joined in the fun that ended with a rousing game of musical chairs. There were children in the mix. Small children. But it didn’t matter to Pat and Jamie who were out for blood. They were the final two and as they gazed at each other with blood-thirsty eyes, I knew there would be trouble. The music started and they heatedly rounded the chairs. When it stopped, they both dove, with Jamie ending up triumphant. Or was he? Pat started prying him off the chair, they fell over during the scuffle, but Jamie would not budge. Even splayed on the grass, his butt and hands did not lose their grip.
It was then I knew I’d chosen a winner.
Fast-forward to the FHE Musical Chair Showdown. We had the adults in one area and kids 12 and under in another.
The music started and stopped. With each round, our friends dropped off like flies but Jamie and Bode persisted, making it to the final round. Bode ended up losing in the finals but Jamie would not go down so easily against our friends’ 17-year-old son, Jordan, whose initial strategy was to walk around with the chair.
It didn’t last long. Just look into Jamie’s eyes.
And then the showdown truly began.
With Jamie ending up victorious.
It was then I knew I’d chosen a winner.
I'm a Canadian-born mom of two, former Denver Post columnist, family travel writer, editor of MileHighMamas.com and 9News contributor. Expert on all things Utah, Denver, family and travel. Lover of laughter and life. Happily married to a man obsessed with growing The Great Pumpkin. 
