Only at our house

August 24, 2015 By

As I was preparing dinner, Jamie warned me:  ”I need to leave soon. My buddy Joe needs some help weighing his tomato.”

No amount of forewarning can ever prepare you for that.

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Addendum. I posted his comment to Facebook and this was his response:

Allegedly a new state record tomato, thank you. This could be history in the making! A historic event. As a result a new strain of tomatoes could be developed that could feed nations!!! Tens of thousands of starving children in Africa saved from the small and simple sacrifice of time for weighing this tomato!!!! The humanity, the humanity. I don’t wish to be praised for my unselfish act however. Just knowing that some small child will be able to sleep tonight with a full belly is satisfaction enough. Thank you and God bless America!

Please pray he doesn’t add tomato to his giant vegetable/fruit growing obsession! :-)

What a Colorado State Record tomato looks like

Filed Under: Humor, Jamie, pumpkins

While the cat’s away

July 10, 2015 By

My friend Stacey commented that I haven’t written much about giant pumpkins this year. There hasn’t been much to share. Jamie’s season started splendidly and then growth slowed significantly with all of Denver’s rain. When the deluge finally subsided, his pumpkins rebounded beautifully…until he moved the main vine a couple of weeks ago and it split. In Pumpkin Geek Speak, this mean he’ll have to designate another main vine and it will delay pollination a couple of weeks, which means two less weeks of growth before the weigh-off.

That was a sad, sad day.

I called him last week from Canada and couldn’t get a hold of him for 24 hours. It made me wonder if absence really does make the heart grow fonder but ultimately decided it’s more like “when the cat’s away, the mice will play.”

When I finally got a hold of him, I asked where he’d been at 10 p.m.

“I was at a pumpkin pollination party.”

Some questions are better left unanswered.

Filed Under: Humor, Jamie, pumpkins

3rd Annual Birthday Celebration at The Broadmoor

May 28, 2015 By

This was Hadley’s third birthday we’ve celebrated at The Broadmoor, which means it’s a tradition, right?  While my previous trip was a working vacation for my write-up about Broadmoor Outfitters, this one was all relaxation and play.

PLAY

We started with bowling and delicious food at their high-end alley PLAY. Something you should know about the boys: they’re sore losers and were grumpy that Hadley and I started out strong.  Of course, we didn’t rub that in one bit.

 

Everyone had a strike near the end of the game except for Bode. He grabbed Hadley’s jacket and bowling ball and, with it awkwardly tucked under his arm, he chucked the ball down the alley. We tried to stop him…until we realized he had just bowled his first strike. I’m not sure what to make of that other than maybe having her vicariously closer to him was like a security blanket?

Fly Fishing

Usually, we spend a good portion of our day lounging poolside but with Colorado’s rainy weather, we had to get creative. We played a lot of heated Checkers matches in the lobby and teamed up with Broadmoor Outfitters for a  fly fishing expedition at the Lake House. This Adirondack-style lodge is adjacent to a scenic lake stocked with carp, rainbow and brown trout on one of the resort’s famous golf courses.

We had only fly fished once before at The Broadmoor’s Ranch at Emerald Valley a couple of years ago so we welcomed our guide Tyler’s expertise. As he was just about to explain how to strip the line to reel in the fish, he got a bite and was able to not only explain but show us how to do it. The guides are just that good. And so are the views. Can you see the deer on the shore just behind Bode?

The fish must have received the memo it was Hadley’s birthday because she was reeling them in like crazy! Jamie and I had quick success as well but then there was poor Bode who couldn’t even get a nibble. We’d have him switch places to where Hadley was finding all the fish and he’d get nothing while Hadley would catch them in his previous spot. With rain clouds about to burst, he’d about reached his breaking point when I uttered my first fisherwoman’s prayer: “Dear Lord, if you’re listening and able, could you please help The Boy catch a fish?”

Within a minute, he caught one hook, line and sinker. Turns out fisherwoman’s prayers really work.

The Others

We were pleased that The Broadmoor opened a game room specifically for Memorial Day weekend and we had a fun playing ping pong, air hockey, bean bag toss and foosball. This photo was supposed to be representative of Hadley and Bode learning to play pool.

But really, it’s all about Jamie’s photobomb.

And even though the Memorial Day carnival was moved indoors due to the weather, the kids had a blast.

Who am I kidding? We all had a blast going down that slide and launching into the pit.

We had a brief window of sunshine on Saturday so we swam.

Or rather, the kids did. It was still a blustery 50 degrees so Jamie and I joined the other lame, fully-clothed parents on the chaises while a small a handful of hearty kids played.

Later that afternoon, we stopped at the resort’s eco-chic eatery Natural Epicurean that features organic food. How often do you have the chance to eat healthy desserts that look like this?

We were so nice that even though Jamie didn’t join us, we ordered an extra treat. P.S. Don’t tell him that.

Believe me, we weren’t lacking in food. One night, we ate at Ristorante Del Lago, the resort’s newish Italian restaurant inspired by a luxurious villa in Lake Como. It was there that I informed Bode “Did you know if you can tie that maraschino cherry stem with our tongue, that means you’ll be a good French kisser?”

He’ll never order a Shirley Temple again.

As we lounged fireside after dinner, the kids played tag with Jamie and roasted s’mores. I am 100 percent grateful every time we’re privy to The Good Life and observed, “I know we’ve had an amazing day but just remember that money doesn’t buy happiness.”  Hadley responded: “Could have fooled me.”


Note to self: Save life lessons for when they are not currently in the moment.

The Brunch

The Broadmoor’s brunch is, hands down, our favorite part of every trip with more than 150 enticing choices alongside sculpted ice and live piano music. Jamie ensured he was first in front of what he deemed “the gateway to heaven.”

Now I know what the pearly gates look like. At least there won’t be all the calories in heaven, RIGHT?

We all enjoy the brunch but Hadley LOVES it and eats more than any of us with favorites being the pastries, breads and bananas foster.

This picture is very telling of our brunch experience:

Hadley is in sheer bliss, Bode (my pleaser) is posing but really thinking “hurry up and take the picture so I can get some more food” while Jamie has a mouthful of it.

Hiking

I always wake up at dawn to hike North Cheyenne Cañon by myself and this time, I was so overwhelmed with its forested red-rock beauty (it’s one of my Top 10 Hikes Ever), I did a second trip with the family. The Broadmoor offers a free shuttle to the Starsmore Discovery Center at the mouth of the canyon.

If you’re going to build a nature center, I highly suggest you do it in this beautiful setting.

The Birthday Girl

Hadley’s birthday fell on Memorial Day so she requested a room service breakfast of Belgian waffles and we were happy to oblige.

For presents, we bought her some clothes, a weaving loom, the Maze Runner movie and book series, some drawing paper and sweet Bode gave her a purse he had woven in art class.

I’ve long wanted to climb the Manitou Incline a.k.a. The Holy Grail of Cardio, which gains almost 2,000 feet of elevation over less than 1 mile. Hadley agreed to do it with me and it was to be our day of triumph!!  Until it wasn’t. You see, the Incline is one of the most unique and challenging trails in the country, attracting runners, Olympic athletes and cyclists from around the world. By the time we arrived at 10 a.m., the base area was a madhouse. We circled around for 45 minutes trying to find parking before finally driving down the mountain and parking in town. The problem: what comes down must go back up so we had to trek about a mile to even get to the start of the Incline. By then, I could tell Hadley wasn’t doing very well, complaining that her throat hurt.

“Let’s just hike a little bit and see how you’re feeling.”

It was steeeeeeeeep. Could we have done it? Sure. Hadley is in great shape after training for a Pentathlon all year and while I’m not where I was physically at this time last year, I could have toughed it out. But after climbing 1/5 of the way up, she looked miserable. If it wasn’t her birthday, I would have pushed her farther but I’m glad I didn’t–she spent the next day in bed with a cold.

At that moment, I noticed the sun was shining for the first time. “Here’s a plan, Hadley. Why don’t we race back to The Broadmoor, hit the pool, order lunch and strawberry milkshakes before going home?”

If there’s a way to salvage a birthday, that is it.

 

 

Filed Under: birthday, Bode, Family, Family travel, Hadley, hiking, Humor, Jamie, outdoors, travel, Uncategorized

Jamie Meets Zoolander

April 15, 2015 By

Next week kicks off my road to the insane asylum. Hadley has dress rehearsal every night for her play at Colorado Acts, we’re juggling soccer, volleyball, Cub Scouts (I’m in charge of the carnival) and Activity Days. Not coincidentally, Hadley’s teacher pushed back her class play to the same night as her final dress rehearsal for the other one, all of which is causing me a major anxiety attack and wishing for our winter OFF from all activities.

Summer break will be here before we know it, right?

In the middle of it all, Jamie’s parents are arriving next Wednesday for a week-long visit. That’s about the only thing I’m looking forward to!

I’ve also been seeking out additional employment–nothing full-time at this point but as much as I love Mile High Mamas, it’s just not paying the bills. Turns out, free tips and perks won’t pay for Hadley’s braces or another car because we desperately need to replace our 12-year-old one.

I really wanted to buy Jamie something nice for our anniversary in February but money was tight. He always buys me the nicest presents and really has a gift (pun intended) for it. A few months ago, he casually mentioned how much he loved a burnt orange Arc’teryx jacket from REI. If you’re not familiar with this brand, it’s like the Rolls Royce of outdoorwear. I looked up the jacket and, quite predictably, it was $550. I mentally bookmarked it, hoping to find it on end-of-season clearance sale. REI offers its members a dividend at the end of the year and I was thrilled to receive that a couple of weeks ago. I snagged it up and, with a $50 gift card some recent houseguests gave me, started trolling REI’s website. The jacket was 40% off, REI was having a 20% off sale, and with the dividend and gift card, I scored that $550 jacket for $75.

I LOVE surprises but almost couldn’t contain myself. I was so excited to give it to him because he’s so darn deserving and I wish there was more I could do to thank him for how hard he works and for being an all-around awesome husband and father.

If the weather wasn’t 70 degrees, I think he’d sleep in it. He’s the only one in Denver still praying for snow days.

Filed Under: Jamie

The Bunny Came Back

April 13, 2015 By

When Jamie and I were first married, he waged war with one of most treasured possessions: Mr. Bunny. When I went away to college, my mom started the tradition of sending me decorations for every holiday. This has continued even today and I have quite the collection.

Mr. Bunny has been with me for years. Not only is he cute and fluffy but he wiggles his cottonball tail while singing “Here Comes Peter Cottontail.” Who could resist that?

As it turns out, Jamie. Since those early days, he has developed a veritable hatred for rabbits partly because of Mr. Bunny but mostly because they are neighborhood pests who eat our garden. He has waged war to keep them out of our yard and has had the children in on the action from an early age. Whenever t Hadley would see a bunny, she was instructed to chase it out of the yard and if she caught it, she was going to “break his neck!”

Imagine this coming from a sweet 3-year-old’s mouth; obviously that was her father talking, not her. (Though her bestie Alex accidentally did that to her sister’s bunny when she was young. Jamie has never praised her more.)

The lowpoint of our newlywed years was after a particularly charming performance from Mr. Bunny, he went missing. I was worried sick…until I received a ransom letter from my new groom. Pictured on it was poor Mr. Bunny, bound and blindfolded with an encrypted message.  I don’t remember how his torture chamber played out but Mr. Bunny eventually returned but he never sang again. It was like his very fluffy soul had been stomped upon by the Enemy of the Easter Bunny Spirit.

Fast-forward to my recent visit to Canada. I haven’t been home for Easter in years so it was fun to bring out the multiple storage bins of Easter treasures from my youth.

Imagine my sheer delight when I was unpacking them to discover my mom had not one but TWO Mr. Bunnies, who were sting singing that beloved song. I begged my mom to take one home with me and she generously acquiesced. I would surprise Jamie and I knew just how excited he’d be!

I called home to give him a teaser. I mentioned we’d been decorating my parent’s house for Easter and that I had a special surprise for him.

“It’s not that ##$#$* rabbit, is it?”

Little did I know he’s also a soothsayer.

Filed Under: holidays, Humor, Jamie

April updates (nevermind that I’m overdue for Jan., Feb. and March)

April 10, 2015 By

I’m at the point I’m so woefully far behind on blogging that I’m never going to get caught up. And it’s too bad because we had a fantastic winter of travels–I mean, Canada, Colorado skiing and Mexico within a one-month span? Talk about amazing!

After taking several months off, both kids are back in sports. Hadley started volleyball this week and Bode is well into the soccer season. Everything seems to fall on Thursdays: piano lessons, Cub Scouts (for Bode and me), soccer practice, Activity Days at the church for Hadley and also volleyball games. Usually I handle all after-school activities but I’ve had to recruit Jamie because I can’t be 10 places at once.

Hadley has been taking a drama class from Colorado ACTS and their big performance is in a couple of weeks. We’re delighted Jamie’s parents will be joining us from Utah. I hope having extra bodies will help spread out the chaos. A few things:

Easter

Making Easter cookies

Our Easter was probably one of the most low-key we’ve had and not coincidentally, one of my favorites.  I forgot about our community Easter egg hunts and we didn’t get around to dyeing eggs but we didn’t miss them one bit. The kids are getting older and though they enjoyed our family’s Easter egg hunt on Sunday, they didn’t get caught up in bunny festivities like in years past.

Something we did do better was put Christ back in Easter. We did a “Holy Week” countdown, watched these awesome Bible videos and also A.D. The Bible Continues on NBC (I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to see the networks picking up religious-based shows). On Easter, we made cinnamon rolls, watched General Conference, went to Jamie’s sister’s for brunch, took a long walk where we boomeranged and jumped over the serpentine stream about 100 times. At least Bode and Hadley did while Jamie and I leisurely strolled along as they accused us of being “anti-adventure.” Then I reminded her of the back-flip they all dared me to do on the trampoline last week and she shut up (’twas my first black-flip in 20+ years).  The girl barely figured out how to do a somersault.

School

After all the drama this year, we’ve decided to pull Hadley out of Mountain Phoenix Community School and put her back in our public school for sixth grade. It’s not a done deal yet–I’m meeting with the principal next week to talk through everything. Not the interim principal at her charter school who spews poison darts whenever she sees me but the new one at her old-new school.

Hadley was at our public school for K-2nd grade and still has a lot of friends there. I still don’t feel like it’s the best place that really taps into her talents and style of learning but for now, it’s our only/best option. I’m feeling a lot more peace since coming to that conclusion but that doesn’t mean I’m going to leave our charter school quietly. It has the potential to be great (and it was for a while) but the administration and governing council are driving it into the ground and the result, as one of the parents voiced, “I feel like this school has lots its soul.”

Kids

I have a pretty strict rule on sleepovers: not until after you’re 8 years old and even then, rarely and we have to know the parents really well. I’ve heard too many horror stories and frankly, my kids haven’t been invited to many sleepovers because most of our friends don’t allow them. So tonight, Bode is having his first sleepover at his friend Sean’s house while Hadley was invited to enjoy court-side seats at the Nuggets basketball game with her friend Alex. Tomorrow, it’s a boy’s night out as Bode and Jamie go to the Avalanche hockey again (tickets courtesy of Uncle Chris) while Hadley and I will have an adventure up in the mountains. Basically, their social lives are better than ours.

Jamie

It’s pumpkin season. His will to live has returned.

Me

It’s pumpkin season. My will to live is gone.

 

Filed Under: Bode, Hadley, Humor, Jamie, LDS

The Siri saga continues: The affair edition

March 25, 2015 By

I continue to fight against The Children about highjacking Siri on my iPhone.

I decided to make some changes of my own and Siri is now a ‘he.’ Yep, that’s right. I have a hot man with an Australian accent lovingly guiding me through life and directions, which is a lot more soothing than a frustrated American husband raging “why can’t you just follow the map?!”

Australian male Siri understands.

Interestingly enough in some countries (including France and the U.K.), Siri debuted with a male voice. The dominant gender stereotypes in different nations helped determine whether Siri was endowed with a male or female voice.

Last night, Jamie walked by my iPhone and the other man Siri randomly started talking to him.

Jamie: “What on earth was that?”

Me: “Siri. She has had a sex change. And he has an Australian accent.”

Jamie: “I don’t feel comfortable with you cheating on me.”

We’ll call it a virtual one.

Filed Under: Jamie

The perfect man

March 11, 2015 By

I’m spending the week in Canada. I was thrilled to be invited by Travel Alberta to visit my childhood ski resorts and then tack on a trip to visit my family at the end.

I was not-so thrilled when I realized the 7:50 a.m. flight I intentionally booked on Sunday was also Daylight Savings Time. Because nothing is more fun than waking up at 4 a.m.

Last week was stressful trying to crank out several major deadlines prior to my departure and get the house in order for Jamie. Though he works from home, he works a lot and I realize what a sacrifice it is for him to juggle work and kids whenever I’m gone.

I needed a sanity break so took to the snow. I was just getting over my cold but as usual, I pushed myself beyond what I was ready for and paid for it later. I was about an hour into my walk and I plopped down on the bench, only to find this dude. He was the perfect stress relief and we started chatting.

I was exhausted and really didn’t want to walk all the way home but wanted to call Jamie to pick me up even less so I sucked it up and barely limped back to the house. Upon seeing Jamie, I divulged how I’d met the perfect man because I was able to babble like an incoherent fool and he didn’t judge me at all.

Jamie listened intently and then said, “Hmm, sounds kind of like Nick’s bench therapy on ‘New Girl.’”

That husband of mine totally gets me. Maybe he really is the perfect man after all.

Filed Under: Humor, Jamie

Snow Day Updates!

February 26, 2015 By

While back East has been pounded, Colorado forgot it was winter…until this week. Today, many of our area schools declared our first snow day of the year and my kids are rejoicing. Well, Bode is rejoicing; Hadley is still sleeping in. That is her way of celebrating.

We’ve been really busy with travel. A month ago, we were in Cancun. We were at The Broadmoor for Valentine’s Day and 12-year anniversary and then last week for my birthday, we had a fabulous time in Aspen. It’s funny to catch a glimpse at the high life when we’re quite the opposite.  Mile High Mamas is in a lull with advertisers and several of Jamie’s clients are late paying their invoices so we’ve been scrimping and saving…just one of the joys of being self-employed. It’s feast or famine and while we’ve been feasting on our trips, we’ve been famining at home. No complaints, though. Plenty of blessings come from being self-employed, even if it is a roller-coaster at times.

I’ll have many updates on Aspen and I’m still working on my magazine article for The Broadmoor, hence my blogging hiatus. Must. Meet. Deadlines.

I’m a bit under the weather today so am dispatching the kids to their friends Trey and London’s houses. A few other updates:

Jamie. My favorite ski buddy. Working like crazy, countdown to pumpkin season is on and is busy indoctrinating the kids with story lines from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, a movie that I despise.

“Dad, what is the movie rated?” Bode queried.

I responded “‘I’ for Idiot.”

Hadley. Rocked the moguls last week, graduated to Level 6 in ski school and completed huge Egyptian diorama at school that about sent me to my grave (she loves that crafty stuff).

Bode. Skied his first black-diamond run at Buttermilk in Aspen. Student of the week, named me his “hero” because I take him on cool trips,”brought me to earth,” and am an amazing cook.

Who knew it could be that easy?

Filed Under: Hadley, Jamie

Southwest Vacations: A Snorkeling Adventure Within a Misadventure (Cancun Day 3)

February 12, 2015 By

Just tuning in? Be sure to first read:

Southwest Vacations: When Getting There is Half the Fun (Cancun Day 1)
Southwest Vacations: The Flowrider’s Hilarity and Beach Bumming (Cancun Day 2)

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Booking our direct flight, ground transportation to and from the airport and our hotel was simple on SouthwestVacations.com. Tougher was narrowing down their excursions because Cancun has a plethora of options such as these:

Camel Safari & Reef Snorkeling Adventure * Selvatica Extreme Canopy Adventure * Chichen Itza Plus Cancun * Xcaret eco-archaeological park full-day tour of ruins and activities * Xel-Ha All Inclusive Eco-Aquatic Park Tour (the Zip Bike looks amazing) *Swim with the Dolphins at Wet ‘N Wild.

The Adventure Before the Adventure

We ultimately decided since we were only in Cancun three days, less was more and we would spend as much time in the sand and surf as possible with the Snorkeling Tour and Lunch. Little did we know our adventure would start before we even left the Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort.

Our Southwest Vacations confirmation told us we needed to meet our Lomas Travel transportation outside of the Grand section at the resort. Ever the planners, we decided since that was about a 15 minute walk, we would take the shuttle and leisurely eat breakfast there before leaving. All was going according to plan when, just 5 minutes before we were supposed to meet our guide, I had a sinking feeling something was wrong. I approached the concierge.

“Is this the Grand?”

“No, this is the Sunrise section. Grand is on the other side of the resort.”

The other side, meaning where our room was located. We had erroneously assumed that since Sunrise was the “grandest” of the buildings with the most activities, that was the Grand. Turns out Sunrise is Grand. Are you as confused as we were?

We panicked, knowing there was no way we could make it back in time to meet our transport and we had just missed the resort shuttle bus. We would occasionally see golf carts weaving in-and-out of people on the ocean-side trail and I wondered what one needed to do to hitch a ride. Turns out you need to be an idiot.

“Get in the golf cart and we’ll take you!” the bellhop generously offered.

Golf ride for idiots

The Official Adventure

He raced us back just in time to meet our transport and we cruised down the coast on a saltwater breeze to Playa Maroma in the Riviera Maya, just 10 minutes north of Playa del Carmen.

Playa Maroma

Following a brief introduction from our snorkeling guide, we boarded our catamaran, were fitted with snorkeling gear and sailed away on waters so blue they can’t be found on any color chart.

My cerulean reverie was interrupted by my daughter.

“Mom, you look like a dork,” referring to my snorkeling mask, to which I responded to her mirror image as “the pot calling the kettle a dork.”

There was nothing geeky about our two different stops at reefs teaming with marine life. Though the coral wasn’t overly colorful, the iridescent schools of fish were. We squealed as we swam through a jelly fish field, feeling tiny pin-pricks on our skin, and lazily floated above the reef to the slow-motion balletic pulse of the water.

When we weren’t snorkeling, we were munching on chips and water provided by the friendly staff and diving off the back of the boat.

“Hey, Mom. Check-out my pencil dive,” Bode called out.

I’m not sure what happened but his pencil looked more like an ink blot when he unceremoniously plopped into the water.

“Hey Bode,” I joked back. “Why don’t we just call that one an ‘eraser dive’ so we can forget about it?”

Once back on shore, an open-air buffet lunch was included in our incursion where we were serenaded by a mariachi band.

Bode brought down the house with the very unforgettable Mexican “Chicken Dance.”

We spent our final hour frolicking on Maroma Beach’s wide open transparent water, convinced we had landed in a world of movie-set perfection.

Unintended Adventure No. 2

Though my husband and I hadn’t had an optimal first experience along the hotel strip years ago, we wanted the kids to experience at least a taste of Cancun so we had our driver drop us off downtown. However, something got lost in translation and instead of delivering us to an outdoor, touristy market like we requested, he left us at a mall–something I despise in the U.S. and appreciate even less in a foreign country. We realized this just as he was driving away with all our snorkeling gear, and the instructions to return in 1.5 hours.

I tracked down an older American couple and they pointed us in the correct direction, several miles down the road. Then we had our second misadventure of the day: We hopped on a Cancun public bus, prayed for the best (it turned out to be perfectly fine) and we eventually found a gloriously tacky tourist market.

The moment we stopped off the bus, I kid you not, an overzealous man almost crossed the street in an attempt to lure us into his store. “What is he doing?” Hadley asked, ready to get back on the bus. “Don’t worry, it’s just the way it’s done here,” I soothed, which was the only calming moment of the experience.

But our extra effort was worth it. I loved watching my kids haggle with the locals. Hadley got her hair braided and a personalized bracelet while Bode got a fair price for a shark T-shirt.

We were ecstatic when we arrived back at the resort and I asked Hadley, “So, what did you think of the market?”

She thought long and hard and then equated it to our favorite card game: “It was just like the chaos of playing Pit.”

Welcome to Cancun.

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Stay tuned tomorrow for Southwest Vacations: An iguana bike ride, a too-late discovery and farewell (Cancun Day 4).

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