Breckenridge or Bust Part I

October 24, 2007 By

This will be one of my memorable two-part series. One might assume it is due to the length and the inordinate amount of pictures, which would be true. But the real reason is I accidentally deleted the rest of the #$&#*& post and will have to rewrite it tomorrow.

Our weekend in Breckenridge was whimsical, relaxing and fun. The cabin Jamie rented was absolutely gorgeous and cost us the equivalent of a trip to Hawaii. Well, without the airfare.

We lazed around all Friday afternoon gazing out the vaulted windows at the Ten Mile Range. He later cooked me a gourmet meal and we indulged in Crepes a la Cart in Breck for dessert. Oh, and did I mention it was a pumpkin crepe? Evidently, I have issues.

The next morning, we snuggled in bed watching a movie. This was not just any movie. This was the movie of my youth – Stealing Home starring Jodie Foster and Mark Harmon. Never heard of it? Nobody has so I was shocked/thrilled when I discovered it in the cabin’s collection.

It took me back to when my three best friends and I repeatedly watched it in high school, falling deeper and deeper in love with William McNamara (one of the stars) every time. And how Rachel, the evil wench, sent away for an autographed picture of Billy Boy. She then proceeded to frame and lust over it on her bed stand while I had to slog through life with my woosy Ralph Macchio poster.

When we eventually detached ourselves from the cabin and Billy Boy (just don’t tell Jamie), we hiked Baker Tank Trail in the snow and 4X4ed Boreas Pass. It was such a throwback to my former life except the views are that much more rewarding when trailing my hubby from behind. :-)

Day two, Jamie’s family arrived with the kids. I had painstakingly packed The Kitchen Sink for them. Unfortunately, Grandma only brought the drain because she somehow forgot all their winter clothes.

Because why would we need boots in a winter wonderland

Oh, and did I mention it snowed 10 inches Saturday night?

To be continued tomorrow….

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
Filed Under: Colorado, Family travel, Humor, Jamie, outdoors, travel

Hunky Hubbyisms Edition No. 243

August 21, 2007 By
Jamie: On Proving that Women Aren’t the Only Ones Who Are Experts at Inducing Spousal Guilt

After day two of hauling Bode around in the water in Mexico, I finally sprung and bought a dolphin watertoy for $20, about double the price if we had bought it at home. Bode loved it and Hadley enjoyed pulling him around the pool.

“Jamie, I’d have to say this is the best $20 I’ve ever spent!”

He looked at me, feigning insult.

“Oh really? Mine was our wedding license.”

Jamie: On Building Our Children’s Self Esteem

Our hotel in Mexico had a kid’s club but unfortunately, Haddie was just shy of eligibility.

“Blast! Jamie, it says the minimum age for participation is 4 years old.”

“We’ll just tell them Hadley is a ‘dumb 4.’”

Jamie: On Being a Rock Star

I am not a fan of casseroles. I am even less a fan of our squash garden that multiplies like rabbits. However, after our 50 gazillioneth squash dish, I figured I needed to try something new and stumbled upon a squash casserole recipe.The ingredients were pretty bland with such things as sour cream and cream of chicken soup. It also called for garlic so I overcompensated by laying it on. Thick.

I was instantly remorseful and forewarned Jamie at the dinner table.

“Amber, don’t worry. It doesn’t need to be a rock concert in your mouth every time.”

He took a bite and paused for reflection before commenting: “And this…is acid rock.”

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

VIVA MEXICO!!!!!!!!

August 14, 2007 By
There is probably no more obnoxious class of citizen,
taken end for end,
than the returning vacationist.
-Robert Benchley
Trip details forthcoming….

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

BlogHer Babes Part II

July 31, 2007 By
Some of the best moments of my trip to BlogHer did not occur until Saturday—the day I decided to play hooky. It probably had a lot to do with my record-breaking 7.5 hours of sleep but that additional half hour of just lying in bed just may have been the highlight. Or maybe it was that I did not have even one kid using my face as a springboard.

It was tough getting out of bed but since my arrival, I had been salivating over the network of lakeside trails just adjacent to the W Lakeshore Hotel. I rented a mountain bike at The Navy Pier and headed north. My once deserted beaches and trails exploded with activity: sunbathers, swimmers, runners, cyclists and volleyball enthusiasts. Think Frogger on Wheels and you can pretty much imagine my motion.

After several miles, the crowds thinned and I reclaimed the pathway. I finally stopped at Foster Beach on a bluff called “Contemplation Point.” I kicked back for a few minutes, relishing the balm of fresh air, the army of rough waves and the sand, gradual and smooth. And, I welp, contemplated.

Really, the only downside was battling the swirling wind whose severity came as a surprise to me. Later, I had an epiphany as I shopped at the Navy Pier and observed the onslaught of souvenirs that boasted the mantra: Chicago—The Windy City.


Evidently I am not the first person to notice.

That afternoon, I met my roommates at the Imax to take in a very large, very 3-D Harry Potter.

(Me, Melina, Meg and Melissa)

We fully anticipate this will start a major fashion trend.

That night, it was off to BlogHer’s final extravaganza at The Children’s Museum. I was admittedly hesitant to attend. Though I have certainly never been characterized as shy (think Frogger on Sugar), interacting with such a large number of women was both exhausting and overwhelming.

I had a good number of both engaging and banal conversations and then stalked the conference’s closing speaker, Elizabeth Edwards. I would have approached her but 1) I had skipped her speech in order to watch the obtuse My Super Ex-Girlfriend on HBO and 2) This Canuck’s vote (or lack thereof) is useless to her. Besides, it was much more fun to play paparazzo.

I also reconnected with my favorite cohorts: Liz, the two Shannons, Lisa and Kristy. We chatted for a couple hours and experimented with how many Mommy Bloggers we would could cram into the photo booth (only four). Kristy was unfortunate to get behind The Big Haired Lady. Pictures will be forthcoming. Well, not of Kristy. Sorry, babe.

We grabbed a bite to eat (actually several bites but who was counting), and watched the fireworks on the pier. And then we grabbed more bites with my first official introduction to fried dough and wandered the pier marveling at the energy and pulse of that great city. And we ate. Or did I already mention that?

Photo: Lisa, Me, Dana, Shannon and Lovely Liz


The next day, I was welcomed home by a loving husband, eager children and a clean house. The latter element would have been accepted without suspicion if Jamie had refrained from announcing, “We kept it this clean all weekend. Really.”

And then he gave Hadley that knowing glance. The one that says, “Keep your mouth shut if you ever want to watch Dora the Explorer ever again.”

Evidently, What Happens in Denver, Stays in Denver.

Though the same could be said for Chicago….

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

Weekend Warriors

June 24, 2007 By
Only in Colorado:

You can go from water….
To snow….

To the arts in just one weekend!

Welp, maybe Alaska is another place but I think the H2O might be on the chilly side.

‘Twas a busy weekend at play with the clan. On Friday, we hit Bellview Park, a fantastic venue that consisted of Bode’s first face plant stream wading, a petting zoo and a train ride. OK, maybe the train ride didn’t exactly happen. I guess I am not the only thing that cannot endure the heat–the woosy train tracks were “compromised” because of it. Evidently they imported them from Canada.

Saturday, we hit the high country and hiked to St. Mary’s Glacier, a definite must-see if you are ever in Colorado. The kids were fantastic and the views breathtaking. As we trekked along, Haddie sang and Bode happily babbled away in one of those moments where everything just seemed right.

Until Hadley rummaged through the pink dog puke on the side of the trail. Because evidently everyone needs a reality check. Too bad we get those checks all day long, every day.

That night, we hit Lower Downtown “LoDo”, the place where Denver’s hippest and most happening people hang out.

And then there was us.

We went to dinner at a cool Mongolian BBQ restaurant and then hit the streets for La Piazza ‘dell Art in our annual attempt to expose our kids to culture.

I have always wanted to attend this festival to see all the artists transform Larimer Square into a beautiful street museum of colorful chalk images. And I really wanted to see if they could duplicate the artistic rendering I do of hopscotch on our driveway.

They came close.

But didn’t even touch Jamie’s masterpiece he created last summer entitled “Traumatizing the neighborhood, one kid at a time”….

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

Would You Trust These Children?

May 17, 2007 By

Are they:

a) Currently under house arrest for defacing an entire Thomas the Trainset with blue marker.
b) Passport pictures wherein they look like the Taliban.
c) Totally busted for stepping on and/or consuming yard-obsessed Jamie’s plants.
d) All of the above


If you guessed “d” you must have a few delinquents of your own.

Last week, a Farewatcher Alert appeared in my inbox with a crazy-cheap deal for flights to Mexico. Jamie and I had planned to take the kids to Orlando in August but after doing some figuring, determined it would be less expensive to go to a foreign country than to vacation in our own. Go figure.

The 24 hours that followed were frenzied, primarily due to the need for the kids to now have passports for travel to Mexico and Canada. Surprisingly enough, they were champs whilst getting their photos taken. Much better than I, who was reprimanded for not standing still enough and for looking “too chipper.” Forgive me for not perfecting my Taliban glare.

Hadley cannot stop talking about the beach and has been practicing her Spanish, muchos gracias to that bilingual Dora the Explorer. Our conversations are repeatedly interwoven with “hola madre,” “amigos,” and “vaminose, let’s go!” She even shows off with some made-up Spanish words because she knows her north-of-the-border mother doesn’t know what the crap she’s talking about.

In order to afford our getaway we had to relinquish some local trips this summer, including a trek out to Utah for Jamie’s grandpa’s 90th birthday. I am surprised by just how much discord this has caused Jamie’s sweet mother. She can’t figure out why on earth we would we chose a trip to the sun-kissed beaches of Mexico vs. making polite conversation with relatives we’ve never met in the desert?

Duh.

Truth be told, I was sad to miss this trip. I still have many friends in Utah and had planned to trail run walk OK, crawl many of my old haunts. On the other hand, I cannot wait to watch Haddie bodysurf for the first time and witness Bode ingest a quart of sand. Every hour. Call me crazy but it just sounds better than the humiliation of watching Jamie fumble around trying to remember his 243 cousins’ names. Talk about embaracada.

Oh wait. I think that means “knocked up” and not “embarrassing.”

But if I were a true Dora devotee, I would have already known that.

Travel writer travelin’ tip: Jamie came upon this gem when we booked our recent cruise: SkyAuction.com. It is an online eBay-esque site where they auction off travel for CHEAP. We saved several hundred dollars on our cruise and this time around, got an all-inclusive hotel for half the price. My only payment for this little plug is that you take me with you. So I guess that doesn’t mean savings in the end but think of what a delightful addition I will be to your romantic getaway.

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

Planet Alignment Tabulation Part II

March 13, 2007 By

This post won’t make any sense unless you read my previous entry regarding my attempts to ascertain Planet Pluto’s Performance (P.P.P.) on our recent trip. Then again, most of what I say is lacking in gumption so you may just wanna be the risk taker you think you are and read on.

Daytime Drama

Despite all the setbacks (note: you would know what I’m taking about if you had just read that other entry), we had a grand time with Meredith and Andy. We had great eats, took Bode swimming for the first time and played cards until late. Well, late being 10 p.m. after the time change, which is a veritable night out on the town for us these days.

It was a flurried frenzy outside so we took the kids out to Snow Mountain Ranch’s Nordic Center. While baby Maddie was content to just eat the snow and pass out on her sled (not to beat a dead horse but… see picture on previous entry), plucky Haddie pummelled down the mountain. Because having a Dora the Explorer ski coat inspires her to conquer the world.

In the meantime, Bode and I went for a hike together in my new piece-of-crap Ergo carrier that I could not load even if my life depended on it. Or his life, which has been in jeopardy a few too many times during said loading process. Regardless, he said it was lots of fun. Too bad it was the only time he slept the entire trip.

P.P.P.: Perfectly aligned (but a little lopsided.)

Nappy Naptime

We have our own natural disaster at our place lately. Sadly, the Hurricane is slowly ceasing and desisting from that-which-is-my-only-daytime-sanity: her naptime. This weekend was no exception so instead of keeping grumpy Bode awake with her antics, I took her for a Girl’s Afternoon Out at the gymnasium.

We raced around playing soccer and basketball before Hadley announced she wanted to try roller-skating. Even though I’m a roller-blading junkie, I warily looked at her.

“You’re only 2.”
“I wanna skate!”

I caved and strapped her into the rental skates that looked about as old as me. I thought for sure she’d be screaming out of fear within moments but I was wrong. Brazenly, she pointed me in the direction she wanted to go and I obligingly supported her efforts as she glided along. Until she attempted to jump in them. And then scale the stairs. If they’d had a ramp I’m sure she would have vaulted off that as well.

When I loosened up a little, I started to appreciate her aptitude and had visions of athletic grandeur as I relished that I had blessedly escaped birthing a prissy girl. Until we removed the skates and she looked at them distastefully.

“What’s wrong, Haddie?”
“They don’t match my clothes.”

P.P.P. Perfectly aligned (but allegedly lacking in color coordination).


The Drive Home

Bode slept. Haddie puked.

P.P.P.: I’d have to call this one a draw.

SOLVE MY RIDDLE: Who in this picture had not slept for two nights?
© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
Filed Under: Colorado, Family, Family travel, Humor, travel

San Francisco: From Riches to Rags

October 10, 2006 By

Well, our riches to rags story is a sordid tale of our condescension from the Ritz to the Ramada. Normally, I wouldn’t deem this to be a bad thing, except for when it’s a blatant reminder of our station in life. I.e. Glamorous Ritz Carlton: company tab. Dumpy Downtown Ramada: our sad little dime. But I digress.

First, our San Francisco experience. I LOVE that city but it rained. And rained. And rained. It didn’t start out raining. It just waited until we were too far away from Said Dumpy Hotel to turn back. We were optimistic and believed the weather would clear because of the blue skies intermingled with storm clouds. Yeah, right. I guess in California, it still rains when the skies are blue. Who knew?

And so we walked. And walked. And walked. For hours and hours. And miles and miles. To Union Square, China Town, random neighborhoods with near-naked homeless guys and finally, Fisherman’s Wharf. And it rained and rained and rained. Don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t all bad. Bode made a friend.

And despite the deluge, we kept our spirits up and just enjoyed being drenched as a family. We also had an amazing lunch at a shamelessly touristy restaurant in Fisherman’s Wharf with stellar views as Blue Angels dipped over the Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge.

And the weather did finally clear. Of course, we were on our way to the airport.

But back to Said Dumpy Hotel. It was quite a miserable experience, notwithstanding the stellar view.

Oh wait. Wrong day. This was more like it:

Yippee. It was possibly the worst hotel I’ve ever stayed in. Maybe it was the lights that didn’t work most of the time. Or the shoebox room with only one foot of maneuverability. Or the sticky bathroom floor. Or the lack of elevator for our second-story room. Or the television with crappy reception. Oh, and don’t ask about the pancakes…err…pillows.

Suffice it to say, it wasn’t our most memorable night of sleep. But imagine our delight when leaving the next day and we spotted this sign we had missed on the way in.

Next time around? I think I’ll just mortgage my house and stay at the Ritz.

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

Putting on The Ritz

October 8, 2006 By

So, Jamie, Bode and I survived our big California adventure. Both of my boys were a dream and made me fall in love with them even more. Especially the little one. At least he didn’t ditch me to go golfing with the good old boys.

Of course, the pampering at The Ritz Carlton definitely helped. As we drove up to the breathtaking grounds, I hestitatingly asked Jamie “How much do you tip at a place like this?”

His response was indicative of cheap buggers everywhere: “Whatever you do, avoid everyone at all costs.” No pun intended.

Our room was, welp, let’s just say one night at the Ritz cost as much as our entire week-long cruise we’re taking next year. We stayed in a garden-level room with our own private deck and firepit.
Upon arrival, we went for a brief walk along the cliffside to smell the ocean. And money. As we meandered back we eavesdropped on a cigar-smoking group of millionaires hob-nobbing around a firepit: “Yeah, when we were down at Pebble Beach, we cruised around in our $120,000 Mercedes. Blah, blah, blah.” We believed him, too. When waiting for the [$40] valet, our PT Cruiser rental was the only vehicle worth under $50,000.

Bode slept marvelously in his luxury Ritz baby crib, only waking up a couple of times to eat and then sleeping in until 9 a.m. I had been such a sleep-deprived wreck that getting my eight hours almost made me make out with the little guy in gratitude over it all. Jamie ended up reaping the rewards. I think he’s finally cluing in that it doesn’t take illustrious vacations or 1,000-thread-count sheets (though they certainly help). Just get me some freaking sleep!

While Jamie was in meetings the next day, Bode and I found a coastal trail and walked for miles along the cliffside. That afternoon, we hit downtown Half Moon Bay and then hung out on the beach together. He had a great time and was a very amiable travel companion, though he did say he always thought his first trip to the beach would involve a bit more skin.
As for Jamie, he had his first exposure to The Big Boys on the Block. You know: the VIPs of Yahoo, eBay, Amazon, Microsoft, etc. Jamie even had one of them retrieve his golf ball. I couldn’t have been more proud.

Several hours and calls from uptight golf widows later, The Boys called it a day. Or maybe it was the rain that did that. Regardless, I started to get an idea of the life these widows lead. Which is why when Jamie’s golf clubs never showed up at baggage claim after our trip, I oh-so-briefly considered tipping the United worker to have them “mysteriously” stay missing.

But then I remembered our tipping policy. Or lack thereof. I just hate it when being a cheap bugger comes back to bite you….

Next edition: From Riches to Rags. Our Condescension to San Francisco….

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

The Cost of Luxury

September 19, 2006 By

Ahhh, the suspense of my eventful weekend. After forgetting the blasted key, we eventually got into our luxury cabin. I won’t divulge the sordid details (no cell phone reception, the owner in Hawaii, cleaning lady unavailable, etc.) In the end, we found a spare key, something I may underhandedly use in the future because I DEMAND A DO-OVER!

As aforementioned, our weekend plans centered on relaxation and fun in the sun. We didn’t get either of them. Don’t get me wrong. If I’m going to suffer from any kind of ailment, I would rather do it at a million-dollar lakeside cabin vs. my own anarchic abode.

The excruciating stomach pains started that night, followed by a fever. And then came the mad dashes to the bathroom. Just to put this in perspective, I usually suffer from the opposite affliction, the one where you camp out there for hours. I’m sure it was just a coincidence that both the toilet and the shower broke when I was the last person to use them. My MIL tried to comfort me by talking about the cabin’s past plumbing problems, though I suspect this was code for my own maladies.

And then Haddie got sick. In addition to diarrhea in diapers, she also specialized in projectile puking.

Oh well. At least we had our kayaks and water toys.

It snowed and/or rained the entire weekend.

Oh well. At least the healthy boys had a great time playing and taking care of us. Errr…didn’t they?

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