Bode: Pink-lovin’, Thrill-seekin’ Man of Mystery at Park City Mountain Resort

April 8, 2010 By

I’ll admit it: I baby Bode. In my defense, independent and spirited Hadley never let me do it so having a child who so willingly submits to my affections? I’m all over it.

Or rather, him.

He’s a sweet, loving and snuggly kid but also kind of a woosy.

Note: Please don’t judge him by the pink tent. It’s an unfortunate consequence of having an older sister, though he admittedly was drawn to this pink umbrella.

While Hadley was begging to ride the roller-coaster when she was 18 months old, I couldn’t drag Bode on the merry-go-round until he was 3 because it was “too scary.”

It could also be that he shares his father’s aversion to fast-moving rides that are operated by people you would not entrust to feed your fish, let alone your life.

At Park City Mountain Resort, Bode came into his own. We stayed at Silver Star, the most gorgeous three-bedroom condo I have ever laid eyes on. It was there that he claimed the top bunk.

We’ve never been able to convince him to even climb up there in the past.

Then, he kicked major booty in PCMR’s Signature 3 skiing lessons and proclaimed, “I go fast like Bode Miller.”

But the real shock came when he boldly declared he wanted to ride the Alpine Coaster, a cross between an alpine slide, a roller coaster and his worst nightmare.

Jamie and I gave him several opportunities to back out but Bode was determined. I rode with Hadley and Jamie took Bode. We reasoned that there was a brake in case of emergency.

Hadley, of course, squealed with glee the entire way and I christened her “Adventure Girl.”

Right after I managed to bring my heart rate back down.

As for Bode? Not only did he have the time of his life, he kept shouting out, “Go faster, Daddy.” The only time the kid cried was when the ride was done and we told him he could not do it again.

Of course, his sister took care of that for him. During evening prayers, she thanked “the nice lady who got us tickets to the alpine coaster.”

When we ran into “the nice lady” Krista (PCMR’s Marketing Director), Hadley sweetly thanked her. And then manipulated her to give us more tickets.

Hadley and Bode are already plotting their strategy for our return trip this summer.

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

Possibly my best line ever to deter the children from asking me to do something when I’m busy

April 8, 2010 By


“Mommmmy, I need help.”

“Don’t call me ‘Mommy.’ Call me ‘Daddy.’”

“Huh? OK, Daddy, I need help.”

“I’m not Daddy. You can go find him downstairs.”

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

Spring Break, Utah Style!

April 6, 2010 By

I am still digging myself out of the hole from my 10-day absence and have house guests arriving on Thursday.

This just means I’ll be 10 feet under for a while.

Spring Break in Utah was marvelous. We had the most glorious powder days skiing Park City Mountain Resort and were surrounded by friends and family.

One night, I went to dinner at my favorite restaurant, The DoDo, with my dear friend Kristy. Another day, I took my kids to my Alma Mater BYU to hang out with my surrogate mother/former boss, Patty, and go for a stroll down memory lane. The kids indulged in ice cream from the Creamery and had Swedish fish and praline fudge from the bookstore’s candy counter. And not to be forgotten are the Twilight Zone’s glorious strawberry bagels.

It would appear my best college memories are about the food.

Another day, I played volleyball with one of my BFFs, Lori. We met on the first day of our freshman year on the Natural Science Field Expedition. For two months, we explored the Western United States, giggling about boys and backpacking the most epic destinations. She later married one of our best friends and they just bought a beautiful new home in Utah County.

Lest you think it’s la vie en rose, allow you to assure you it is anything but when you play volleyball with her competitive entourage. I should know. I used to be one of them and once upon a time was even honored in the Calgary Herald’s Sports Hall of Fame.

Note: this is all VERY past tense.

She invited me to join them one morning and I agreed, forgetting one minor fact: I have not played competitive volleyball in seven years.

These women play five days a week.

I will spare you the gory details. Just know that the level of soreness and knee pain was equal unto my memorable bobsled run.

I would have liked to have visited more friends but this trip was mostly about family. We played with Jamie’s sister and her beautiful twin girls who were born on my birthday.

Let’s pray there is still hope for them.

We had a family dinner with extended relatives one evening and the children also hung out with their Great Grandpa Smith.

My parents were in town for General Conference and for the first time in years, I spent Easter with them. Jamie’s mom graciously invited them over for dinner and the kiddos had a grand time bouncing from grandparent to grandparent.


Which basically means they were lavished with candy and presents.

Fortunately, I didn’t come out of it too badly myself.

Stay tuned for details of when Bode became a man at Park City Mountain Resort and be sure to share what you did for Easter!

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

Easter Egg Hunts in a Communist Society

April 4, 2010 By

A Johnson family tradition is to duke it out every year at the community Easter egg hunt.

It’s been a long road. When our daughter Hadley was little, she mistook the eggs as “pretty balls” and hucked them in the air. Then there was the year we couldn’t drag her off the playground equipment. Another Easter, both kids simply raced past all the eggs and ran in circles.

Now that my children are 3 and 5, this was OUR year. They finally understand that inside those cheap plastic eggs are candy and toys.

Glorious treats that Mom and Dad did not have to stuff.

There was still a lot of snow and muck on the ground. Being the good mother I am, I had outfitted them in clothing befitting of a polar bear club/mud-wrestling competition.

I am nothing if not prepared.

But the organizers surprised us all and moved the Easter egg hunt into the adjacent recreation center. Instead of setting the children loose at the same time, we were admitted into the arena in waves. Bode had the advantage and was among the eldest in the 0-3 age group, as was Hadley in the 4-5.

Remember that I mentioned it was our year?

The children chomped at the bit as they waited at the starting line like thoroughbreds at a race track. A volunteer explained the rules.

“When the whistle blows, you may run into the arena. Your children are allowed five eggs a piece.”

Five eggs a piece? What’re we: a communist society?

When the whistle blew, all the children tore off the starting line. There were hundreds, if not over a thousand eggs for each age group. It was obvious that the five-egg limit would not be an issue as pretty much every child I saw greedily walked away with baskets spilling over with eggs.

I, on the other hand, got nothing. You see, the volunteer had also made sure to emphasize that parents were not allowed to pick up eggs. I didn’t murmur about the ban on parental involvement because I figured it was aimed at me.

In my defense, I was *this* close to finding the golden egg in previous years.

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
Filed Under: Bode, Hadley, holidays Tagged With:
Newer Posts »