One Month Small Town Living Update

November 30, 2016 By
1) I walked to the post office to mail my packages today. Because I can.
2) I know about five people here and ran into two of them across the street at City Hall.
3) I stopped into Edel Weiss Gallery because the shopkeeper left her keys in the door. Turned out she does it on purpose so she doesn’t lose them.
4) I bought Bode some boots on the town’s private Facebook garage sale page. The owner wasn’t home but left the boots out for me and told me to just leave the money under the mat.
5) The Mexican cantina has a salsa bar with 30+ flavors and I discovered on my walk they sell my favorite flavor, cilantro creamo. In bulk.
6) I’m helping at the annual Interfaith Creche Exhibit this week. I’m astounded by the spirit of volunteerism here and that a charming hamlet hosts thousands of people at their community events. People give of their time and talents so generously here and it’s good to be reminded there are still good, moral places like Midway left in the world.

 

Filed Under: Utah

The Family Dynamic

November 29, 2016 By

Hadley LOVES the Divergent books and movies.

There are five societal divisions that classify citizens based on their aptitudes and values. The factions are Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), Erudite (the intelligent), Abnegation (the selfless), and Candor (the honest). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds take an aptitude test and must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives.

The main character’s result indicates that she doesn’t fit neatly into any of the five factions, meaning that she is “divergent.” She has equal aptitude for Erudite, Dauntless and Abnegation. But tensions between the five factions are mounting, and there is fear and danger in being divergent, which means she has to keep her true nature secret at all costs.

Hadley had each of our family members take an online quiz to determine where we would belong.

She and I are Dauntless.

Bode is Abnegation.

Jamie was the final one to take the quiz and his result was Divergent, which he took in stride.

“That means I rule them all.”

I’ll second that fear.

Filed Under: Family

Enemy Territory

November 21, 2016 By

One of the things I love about living in a small town is how the community bands together. For Spirit Week, there is a huuuuuuge rivalry between the University of Utah and BYU and “The Holy War” got downright heated.

The schools had “Red Ribbon Week,” to educate kids about saying “no” to drugs. Several businesses offered freebies and deals to celebrate…the kids just had to wear a wristband.

As I was reviewing the daily theme for Red Ribbon Week, there was a dress code for one of the days.

“Bode, you need to wear red tomorrow.”

“Why red? It’s the color of the enemy.”

I’ve trained him too well.

Filed Under: Bode, Humor

Thanksgiving (In)Gratitudes

November 20, 2016 By

Being grateful and happy has always come naturally to me but this move has really thrown me for a loop. I’ll go from feeling on top of the world with little victories like the kids making a new friend to feeling gobsmacked and overwhelmed.

I was reviewing my blog post from last year at this time as I poured out our many blessings. It was a tough read. Life as we knew it was pretty darn perfect and I was so grateful for it. Two weeks later, I would receive the impression we were supposed to leave Colorado.

I think the toughest thing about moving from an idyllic  world to a less-than-ideal situation is expectations. I miss Colorado. I miss our friends. I miss that my friends were also the kids’ best friends and we did everything together. I miss my job and all its perks. Sure, I still own and run Mile High Mamas but ’tis the season for VIP event and travel invites…and I’ve had to pass them along to my writers, which I’m happy to do. But I’m not happy to be constantly reminded of what I’m missing by all those invitations. I need to build out similar opportunities here but I just don’t have time.

One of my major sources of discontent has been our new house. There are many things I love about it: The view. The kitchen. The charming old farm table. My office. The huge basement. The granite countertops and hardwood floors. The massive yard (that will be a ton of work to complete but will be amazing when we do).

But there are just as many things I dislike about it: The small  upstairs rooms (particularly the master bedroom with the tiniest closet in the house), the mud room (so small that there’s nowhere to put the laundry baskets), the small family room that makes it difficult to entertain. The list goes on.

The financial strain of this move continues daily as we bleed money. We had to order a newer, most expensive couch yesterday because the one we bought is already showing wear. Our builder, Utah Home Builders, took several shorcuts that are costing us a lot of money such as putting in a circuit board with no extra spaces; we had to drop an additional $1,000 to install a new one in order to have electicity downstairs.

I recognize these are first world problems but we spent a lot of money on this house and to be unhappy with the layout is a source of constant frustration. Part of the problem was we never really saw our house before moving in because all the models were sold. We had the builder’s plans so conceptually we had an idea of the layout but living with it is an entirely different ballgame.

It makes me realize how much we loved our old 5-bedroom house.  We hated our view and didn’t have fancy upgrades but all the rooms were spacious and spread apart–the four bedrooms were on separate quarters upstairs. In our new ranch, all three of the bedrooms and two bathrooms are crammed into one little area. Hadley wakes up at 5:30 a.m. for school and we all hear about it. Daily. Top priority: scraping together some money to finish the bathroom downstairs.

The first five weeks were rough. Unpacking. Working 15-hours days getting settled before I started my job. Hadley sleeping on the floor in my now-office. Jamie’s desk in our little bedroom. We hired someone to frame and drywall two rooms in the basement and we’ve done the rest. We finished last week and moved Hadley to her room and Jamie is in his new office. Space is still tight upstairs but at least we’re not living on top of each other.

When we’re finally able to afford finishing our basement, we’ll be just fine but who knows when we’ll have a chunk of money to complete it? For now, I’m just trying to live and love what we have while lowering expectations. Sure, we don’t have the tight-knit group from Colorado but we’ve already made a few good friends. We love our ward, the kids are doing wonderfully in school and love being closer to Jamie’s awesome family. I truly love living in this charming mountain hamlet. In fact, I wonder why I’ve lived in the suburbs of a big city my entire life. On Friday, I went for a hike around Soldier Hollow, the world-class cross-country skiing venue for the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Games. It is a five minute drive from my house. This just blows my mind and I can’t wait to ski it this winter.

So, for those of us who might be feeling a bit less-than grateful this holiday season while also still recognizing our blessings, this article I quoted last year from The Atlantic still rings true:

Gratitude is the truest approach to life. We did not create or fashion ourselves. We did not birth ourselves. Life is about giving, receiving and repaying. We are receptive beings, dependent on the help of others, on their gifts and their kindness.”

Photo taken by Willie Holdman of last week’s sunset in the Heber Valley

Filed Under: holidays

Small Town Livin’ Updates

November 16, 2016 By

I’ve never lived in a small town. Sure, I went to college in Rexburg, ID and served as a missionary in several small villes in France and Switzerland but it’s just not the same. I find it rather humorous that when I was single, I was the PR rep for a popular musician who lives in the Heber Valley…and I remember thinking “why on earth would anyone ever live out there?”

Park City has many of the amenities of a big city (Home Depot, Walmart, numerous franchises) so it’s been interesting to adapt to our little hamlet with a population of just 4,000.

A few observations thus far:

  • The mountains, views and sunrises. When we sat on our front porch one evening before we moved in, it was complete stillness and peace under a blanket of stars. It took me exactly 20 seconds to get used to it.
  • Whenever I hear Salt Lake City’s traffic reports, I give a little chuckle of gratitude and am SO glad I don’t have to deal with that on a daily basis.
  • There are very few radio stations out here so KPCW public radio in Park City has become my go-to station in the mornings. I love all the evidences of small-town life including their lost and found reports.
  • There are a few private Facebook groups for the Heber Valley that crack me up on a daily basis as people sell, swap and ask any question under the sun. Takeaway: people in small towns are ready to help their neighbors. And sometimes get snippy with them, too.
  • The kids’ recreation guide included gems like “hunter safety, concealed weapons class and wilderness circuit rodeo finals.
  • Bode’s teacher “rodeos” and she was absent from class because her husband won the lottery…for a sought-after hunting permit.
  • Bode missed the competitive soccer tryouts and by fifth grade, most kids are playing competitive. We’ve found out why on his rec team this year. Some of these boys have never played before (which is fine) but our frustration is the league’s horrid policies on rules…as in they don’t enforce them. Offside? No problem. Let’s teach kids to cherry-pick. You’ve stepped three feet over the line for a throw-in? Throw away! I’m surprised how much it has bugged me. I don’t expect perfection but my gosh, can we please teach the kids how to play soccer?  The good news is not only was Bode the oldest but he was the superstar of the team–he scored more goals this season than he did the last few years combined in our city league. It’s been great for his confidence but not his skills. Better luck next season!

 

  • We were given a stipend from our builder for our front lawn so we immediately hired someone to do the sprinklers and sod. The problem was there was no grass to be found this late in the season so we are lucky enough to be the only house in the neighborhood who will have a mucky lawn all winter.
  • There are so many things we need to buy for this house in order to truly fit–cabinets for the laundry room and garage, an end table, lamp, rug and an addition to our too-small couch (that’s just the tip of the iceberg) but my top priority has been getting these kids skiing. We can’t afford season passes this year so are biting the bullet to do the skiing through our rec program. For just $350/kid, they get six weeks of half-day ski lessons and passes to Sundance Ski Resort and transportation up there. There goes our entire budget but really, all I want for Christmas is to get these kids of ours on the slopes.
  • Juggling my new job with Mosaico Travel along with all my other gigs has kicked my can. The good news is it’s been baptism by fire and I’ve been literally thrown into their busy Christmas travel season.
  • I look forward to life calming down a bit so I can actually get out and explore this glorious place we get to call home. Soon, right?
Filed Under: Bode, Hadley, Uncategorized, Utah

Hardworking Kids, Proud Mama

November 15, 2016 By

Moving is hard but I could not be more proud of these kids for working their butts off in school. They came home with their report cards and both mostly received Straight As except for Bode’s A- in flute (a minor miracle because he couldn’t even make a sound the first several weeks).

Things come more easily and naturally to him but he is a hard worker. That’s his talent: to put his heart and soul into everything he does. His teacher recognized this in her comments: “Bode is such a great kid who has a love for learning. He’s so fun to have in class and he’s always striving to do his best.”

Hadley got straight As except for a B in math. Some parents might be sad about that but for years, all I’ve wanted is for her to be at grade level and for years (and lots of tutoring) she has fallen short.

To put this in perspective, at the beginning of sixth grade I had her tested for learning disabilities and now she’s almost got straight As. I still feel like the public school education is geared to linear learners like Bode and not visual-spatial, experiential kids like Hadley so in some sense, she might always struggle. But she’s figuring out how to make it work for her. Never once have I had to remind her to do her homework, a huge departure from elementary school.

Two of the people who were instrumental in getting Hadley on the right path were her teachers last year. I sent them this note at the beginning of this school year:

Mr. Lewis and Mrs. McLean,

With the new school year upon you, I have to thank you for last year. My daughter Hadley came to sixth grade at Vanderhoof struggling in school and doubting her academic capabilities. By year’s end, she was a completely different person, thanks in large part to both of you. She fell in love with learning and most importantly, came to realize that she is good and smart enough.
We moved to the Park City-area over the summer and she has delved head-first into her new middle school, joining both the science club and taking a journalism elective to write for the school’s newspaper. Neither of these things ever would have happened had she not had such rock star teachers in sixth grade.
Thank you for opening the doors to her future. Sixth grade is a year we’ll never forget.
To reward the kids, we went out for ice cream. And not just ice cream, but Jamie proposed ice cream for dinner, which was about the best reward EVER.
I personally in hoping they perform just as well next term for that very reason.
Filed Under: Bode, Hadley

The Prodigal Cat Has Returned

November 14, 2016 By

Fat Kitty has had a rough six months. First, we started tearing apart our house and loading everything up in boxes.

Then, we’d dump him off at our neighbor’s house during three months of house showings.

And don’t forget about the 10-hour drive to Utah where he was so traumatized he meowed the entire drive, despite being given a sedative (that is one strong-willed cat).

Then, after only a few days with us at Grandma’s, we left him there to fend for himself. He was so depressed he didn’t even leave the basement for the first week.

Poor, poor kitty.

Our Park City rental didn’t allow pets so my in-laws graciously let him stay for a couple of months. We’ve been in our house for almost four weeks and we had every intention of quickly bringing him to our new home but the chaos continued as we unpacked and finished off two rooms in our basement. We FINALLY wrapped the construction last week and moved Hadley into her bedroom after the poor girl has endured several weeks of sleeping on the floor in my office and then a few days on the beanbag.

We were excited to finally bring Fat Kitty home!

On Friday, Duane, Linda and Aunt Lisa drove him out to Midway (amidst much meowing, of course) and poor Fat Kitty could not have been more confused. He tepidly walked into his new home, explored a bit and then dove under our bed. A while later he reemerged to survey the rest of the house and he seems to be settling pretty smoothly. That night, he cuddled up to me on my pillow and all was right in Fat Kitty’s world again.

Now, lest you feel sorry for The Fat One, don’t. Living at Grandma’s for three months has been like a Fat Cat Day Spa/Boot Camp. They bought him new food dishes, a cat tower, scratching pad (which he loves despite being declawed?), a comfy bed (he’s currently curled up in it as I type) and lots of toys. Much to all of our shock, The Fat One (a.k.a. the laziest cat in America) loves to play in the evenings. Who knew?

As we curled up to Fat Kitty in Bode’s bed that first night, my sweet boy commented, “I had forgotten how joyful it is to have him around.”

And he is a joyful, sweet, gentle, snuggly cat.

Not only has he emerged from The Grandma Spa more playful with a new lease on life, he also has a girlish figure. They put him on a diet with a very regimented feeding schedule and he lost two pounds.

The miracle of the matter? He’s the only one to EVER emerge from Grandma’s house skinnier than when he entered.

Filed Under: Family, Humor Tagged With:

Our first Utah soiree

November 9, 2016 By

We had so many wonderful neighbors help unload our PODs that I wanted to thank them sooner than later…so concocted an informal caramel apple dipping soiree for FHE. It was fun, casual and oh-so delicious.

Now, when I say “informal,” I mean it. We had only been in the house for five days, had been hanging the insulation all morning (horrid) and our big farm table was camped in the garage because it was too big to fit through our front door. My mother-in-law was reupholstering our chairs (read: nothing to sit on), our accent chair wasn’t finished yet and we had a gazillion other projects. Bonus: We finally got the table into the kitchen at the last minute.

In Jamie’s words: “WHO PLANS A PARTY WHEN YOU’VE BEEN IN YOUR HOUSE LESS THAN A WEEK?”

In Amber’s words: “MEEEEEEE!”

It was so fun to have the Seversons, Frisbys, Collettes and Noonans as our first official guests. I made five batches of caramel, which is a nice way of saying we’ll be eating caramel for weeks (a.k.a. winning).

Bode had a blast with his buddies Cole, Andrew, Charlie, Jonas and Eli while Hadley and Zoe?

I think they had more fun than any of us.

Filed Under: Bode, Hadley, Utah

When your husband goes grocery shopping

November 8, 2016 By

You ask him to get fruit because this is what your holder looks like.

And he instead purchases these.

Filed Under: Humor, Jamie

A shift in direction

November 3, 2016 By

I’ve felt a changing in the winds regarding my career for a while now. So much has evolved in the blogosphere from The Early Days. Blogging was about story- and truth-telling…about making real online connections. Now in the days of Instagram, Twitter, Facebook etc. it’s not about great writing, it’s about a quick fix. The Instagram stars are the beautiful people who give a snapshot of their beautiful life with beautiful pictures.

When we decided to move to Utah, I knew I wanted to shift out of that space. My first love has always been writing about travel. My jobs after college were as a publicist for SkiUtah and Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort as I worked with travel writers from across the country. I was the travel editor for a local magazine for a number of years and freelanced as a writer for a national travel publication distributed by the Utah Travel Council. I reconnected with both of these magazines upon moving here. The first was eager for me to contribute; the second was in the process of disbanding because the UTC had recently decided to dissolve their print publications, a huge mistake in my opinion. Much of the world has switched online but there is still a place for print.

While in Park City limbo, I was frustrated because I wanted to delve into my next path but didn’t have the time to pursue anything (driving kids 25+ hours/week will do that). It’s funny because life seems to happen when you least expect it.

Last February, we were at our Johnson Family Reunion at Estes Park when my sister-in-law Tammy casually mentioned I should connect her friend, Erynn, who ran a popular family travel blog, Tropic of Candycorn, and travel company. Erynn and I started following each other’s social media accounts and planned to meet when we moved to Utah early-summer. And then our move was delayed.  When we finally arrived here in August, Tammy invited us to her famous outdoor move night so I pinged Erynn to see if she’d be there…and we met. That woman makes me look like a homebody and has lived around the world with her husband and four kids.

Photo: Erynn’s Clan at Mashpi Eco Lodge

A couple of weeks later, she contacted me to see if I’d be interested in a part-time operations position with Mosaico Travel Services and I started this week! Essentially, I’ll be arranging custom travel for their high-end  (A-list and celebrity) clients to Central and South America and Antarctica. I’ll be doing operations and travel writing to start, with the hope of moving into sales once I learn the business and as they expand globally. And yes, travel will hopefully be involved.

I’ll be working from home, the hours are flexible so I’ll still be able to juggle Mile High Mamas and other freelance positions.

I’m super excited and the kids are, too; I caught Hadley googling “Five star hotels in South America.”  That girl is setting herself up for a lifetime of disappointments when reality hits but here’s to a fun new adventure!

Filed Under: travel
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