Family | Life Elevated Mom

Mother’s Day: Something to Smile About

May 13, 2013 by Amber

Mother’s Day can be joyful but also full of hurt and despair. I am surrounded by women who are tremendous mothers and examples to me. I also know several who have yet to become mothers–some struggle with infertility, others chose not to have kids, a handful have lost their mothers or have a bad relationship with them and many more want to settle down but haven’t found Mr. Right.

My own mom never liked Mother’s Day so I’ve always treaded softly around the subject. This morning, I posted a picture on Facebook of Bode reading a book he wrote to me with this message:

Happy Mother’s Day to all the wonderful women who mother, even if they are not moms.

I had been up most of the night with an unrelenting cough, causing Jamie and Fat Kitty to leave me alone in my misery so they could get some sleep (and I didn’t blame them a bit). Early the next morning, I saw three faces peek through my bedroom door and when they realized I was awake, burst in with my favorite breakfast: fresh mangoes, raspberries and strawberries with yogurt.

They showered me with homemade gifts–Bode a beautiful picture, Hadley a fun notebook she had made at church and Jamie spoiled me with a new juicer (send me your favorite recipes), two four-hour deep house cleaning Groupon cards (HALLELUJAH!) and he reluctantly wore his Canadian maple leaf tie in my honor.Our ward’s tradition at church on Mother’s Day is to have pie at the end of our meetings. One year, some silly man got it into his head the women didn’t like the pie so changed it up. I won’t go into the ugly details of the Mom Revolution (think: World Ward III) but I was very happy to see pie back on the agenda the following year.

And this welcome addition: Jamie prepared a smoked beef tenderloin, thyme-rosemary fingerling potatoes, garlic mushrooms and poppy-seed coleslaw.

My vote is he’s on dinner duty from now on.

Our little family likes to keep Mother’s Day low-key. A couple of years ago, we went for a walk around gorgeous Evergreen Lake where we love to skate in the wintertime. It was so memorable I declared it our new tradition because there are just so many things to smile about like this: Not to mention this.

And this.But don’t tell that to Hadley. She thinks I have a camera constantly in her face and she would be correct. Sorry, dearie but such is fate of the iPhone generation of parents who always have their camera phone with them. Doesn’t she just looked thrilled to be in this picture?

May2013

Jamie wasn’t much better. The first shot I took, he was mimicking Hadley by scowling at the camera.
I obviously made him retake the picture.

For this one, I told Hadley we weren’t moving until she would smile. Stubborn Miss took a while (so long poor Bode declared he was going to start crying because he had been smiling forever).

It’s my Mother’s Day and I’ll MAKE YOU SMILE IF I WANT TO.

But don’t be mislead. She was smiling 99.9 percent of the time as we took that beautiful stroll around the lake. I even caught this candid shot of her (gasp) smiling.

Just don’t let her know I’m onto her.

Happy Mother’s Day!!!

Filed Under: Bode, Family, Hadley, Jamie

Happy Mother’s Day!

May 10, 2013 by Amber

We’re in the home stretch before school lets out and I’ve been racing through writing deadlines, purging the house and holding a garage sale, field day, chaperoning Bode’s field trip to the aquarium, piano, Hadley’s 3-day camping excursion to a farm, wrapping up soccer and tennis, a long weekend in Colorado Springs, a father-son campout, a kick-off to summer potluck with a few friends and oh, did I mention I’m sick? Check on me after May 31 and you’ll be able to put a fork in me. Though at that point, I may opt for a knife.

With grandkids in the Outer Banks

Of course, Sunday is Mother’s Day and I’m so grateful for my mom. Around Christmas, we almost lost her and I can’t tell you how grateful I am that she pulled through. Growing up, she was always the life of the party, uber-talented domestically (cooking, crafts, sewing, you name it) and so cool my friends would come to hang out with her. She started selling her crafts on consignment in the area and was encouraged to showcase her talents by opening a successful tea room and gift shop. She was the reason people came for miles…she knew how to make people laugh and feel special. She has always had an admirable sense of fashion and was an amazing cook (hence the reason she opened a restaurant).

One of my favorite memories is when I was 16, she and her business partner took her daughter and me to San Francisco. While they were at a gift show, my friend and I explored the city, after which the four of us rented a car and fell in love with the gorgeous coasts of Carmel and Monterey. On my recent visit to Calgary, I interviewed her about her colorful personal history of growing up on the farm in Southern Alberta..from cutting off chicken’s heads to funny stories about my grandparents who raised her. Truly, I come from such a wonderful legacy.

Her 25-year-long battle with her horrid disease has been a roller-coaster as it has ravaged her poor body and mind. A recent blessing she received gave some perspective on it–that the Lord views what she has gone through and continues to go through as a sacrifice. And she has had to give up so much of her former life that I know it kills such an independent spitfire like her. But through it all, she is so kind to her grandkids and does what she can with and for them and is so generous to my brothers and me.

I love you, Mom. Happy Mother’s Day!!!

XOXO

Filed Under: Family Tagged With: mom

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March 13, 2013 by Amber

I have not been home in March since my final year of high school. With Mom’s deteriorating health, I knew I didn’t want to wait until our summertime visit to Calgary. Though she isn’t in the same critical condition that has landed her in the hospital most of the last two months (she had her eighth ER visit while I was here), her pain is unrelenting.

I caught a hint of the frustrations of socialized medicine (REALLY? The MS Clinic can’t see her until May?! We can’t find any meds that even touch the pain?!) and am so grateful for what champions my dad and brother’s family are for helping her. It’s a heartbreaking situation that is only going to get worse.

There were however, some silver linings, like being entertained for hours by her colorful childhood stories, which I typed up for her personal history. And being well enough to get her hair done by my niece Ashton.And the food. She has lost 30 pounds since December so I was on a mission to fatten her up and spent a lot of time in the kitchen making apple pies, apple crisp, macaroons, roast, Pao de Queijo (Brazilian cheese bread) and so much more.

I’m not sure if she gained a pound but Dad and I are now in a food coma.

But he and I stayed active with our favorite wintertime activities: cross-country skiing and skating. On my first day in Calgary, he showed up in his skiing garb.

“Are we going skiing?” I excitedly asked.
“Not exactly. Your skis got burned up in the garage fire.”

Balloon…deflated. I later took his cross-country gear out on the golf course and it’s a good thing we weren’t able to go together because I was dragging. Though the snow conditions were perfect, it was my first exercise since getting sick and all I had eaten that day was rice pudding and jelly bellies.I told you I ate (too) well on this trip.

Another case in point: My sister-in-law Jane’s A-M-A-Z-I-N-G fondue, tempura and raclette cheese smorgasbord. We also skated at my favorite place on earth: 52-acre Lake Bonavista. It has been several years since I’ve been able to go because, despite the fact we’ve been home for Christmases, the lake hasn’t been frozen. The last time I went, Dad and I figured we’d initiate Jamie in The Canadian Way with an authentic skating experience.

But here’s the problem with Lake Bonavista: It’s private and you need to live in the community to use it. Fortunately, Dad found a way around it when, at a church activity eons ago, some friends from our ward told him he could cut through the yard of their lakefront house to go skating whenever he wanted.

Little did they know 25 years later, he’d still be doing it.

When we took Jamie, we snuck through the yard. Dad first, me next, Jamie last. Dad and I were almost down to the lake when someone came out of the house and accusingly shouted at Jamie,

“Just what do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m with the Borowskis,” he said, pointing to us.
“Who are the BOROWSKIS?” he retorted.

Turned out, Dad had accidentally cut through the neighbor’s property.

Fortunately, that was the only time he made that mistake and I have never had a better skating experience than I did lat week–the Zambonied trail cut around the perimeter of the lake was as smooth as glass and we floated on it for miles and miles. I thought my heart would burst from sheer joy.

Skating AND skiing on the lake.

Bonus: Dad and I whizzed past some hockey-playing 20-something whipper snappers.

At this point, we’ll take anything we can get.

Filed Under: Canada, Family, Health

Skiing, zipling and extreme sportin’ at Copper Mountain

February 27, 2013 by Amber

I’ve decided winter is exhausting. Not only do we usually come down with The Plague (Jamie is on week four) but we have a short few months to cram in as much outdoor fun as we can. With Denver’s dismal snow year, it has been that much more mandatory for us to head to the hills.

And yes, I said mandatory. As in HAS TO HAPPEN.

Copper Mountain was our latest destination to host us. A favorite among the locals because it’s an easy 75-mile drive west of Denver up the I-70 corridor, it remained a glaring omission in my must-ski list (though we had a stellar time there in Oct. 2011).

Hadley had a five-day weekend and Bode had three days off so we drove up after church on Sunday, skied as a family on President’s Day and then the boys drove home early Tuesday morning for work and school. That left two glorious days for Haddie and me to play, and one of them was my birthday.

X-Treme Sports

Upon arrival, we did a tour of Woodward at Copper. I’ll admit this 19,400-square-foot year-round ski and snowboard camp half-amazes, half-terrifies me. Nicknamed “The Barn,” Woodward is an all-steps progression program to help ages 8 and older learn aerial tricks and skills in a safe environment that you can translate on the mountain. See those ramps? My kids thought they were the coolest things ever.And I guess they are if you’re inclined to catch more than 1 inch of air on the slopes (which I am not).

The Barn offers drop-in day sessions, summer camps, SuperTramps and will undergo a big makeover this spring and improvements will include a new progressive foam pit designed for development of beginner park skills. The street area will double in size allowing for full access by BMX, mountain bike, skateboards and park skis and snowboards.

As a nervous parent, I was impressed with the capable staff’s emphasis on safety. Helmets are mandatory on the ramps and to even jump into the foam pit, my kids had to fill out some waivers and receive instruction.And Bode is counting down until he’s 8 so he, too play.

Copper Mountain

We’ve traveled to a number of mountain resorts around the country and what my family loved most about 2,465-acre Copper Mountain is that it was so easy. Easy to get to and the 140 trails across three mountains are easy to navigate. In fact, Hadley marveled about how wonderfully contained the base village is. “We don’t even have to get in the car!” she raved. “We can walk to skiing, dinner, tubing, zipling, skating and dinner.”

I didn’t correct her when she said dinner twice. It is, after all, very important.

On President’s Day, the kids went to ski school while Jamie and I hit the slopes. It is one of the few Colorado ski schools that has incorporated the FLAIK global positioning system, which tracks the kids’ on-mountain location, skier stats, and runs skied. Their instructors simply attached the GPS device around their leg and at the end of the day, we went online to see all their logistics. Turned out, they skied a lot harder than Jamie and me but we didn’t tell them that, of course.

Good thing there’s no tracking devices for parents who opt for an extra-long, leisurely lunch by the fire at Copper Station.

At first, I was disgruntled The Schoolhouse is located in the West Village, a shuttle stop away from the Center Village. But after dropping off the kids, Jamie and I rode Union Creek, followed by Timberline Express and that is where we found the best snow conditions that day.By day’s end, we were happy and tired. This was our first major outing since getting sick, which took quite a toll. In fact, sweet Bode fell asleep on the two-minute shuttle ride back to our condo.

How to Get an Alpine Rush

We vacillated on our plans. We had hoped to try out the new Alpine Rush Zip Line in the Center Village and then head over to the East Village for the Tubing Hill but remember the exhaustion thing? We opted to swing by the zip line since it was close to our condo, go back, chill out and then see if the kids were up for tubing.

The latter didn’t happen but the former did…in a big way.

Poor Bode practically sleepwalked through Center Village and I honestly wasn’t expecting him to even try. But the second he spotted the zip line soaring over skating rink at West Lake, there was no holding him back. (Note: You must be at least 50 pounds and each ride only costs $10),

Jamie got outfitted in his harness and went first, racing across the sky. Hadley freaked out, “That’s too fast,” she wailed. A couple of summers ago, the zip line at Vail’s Adventure Race traumatized her and she’s been gun shy (terrified) ever since.

“I’ll go!” Bode boldly volunteered and he was off.The more you weigh, the faster you soar so Bode was considerably slower than Jamie.

“Maybe that wasn’t so bad,” Hadley faltered.

“You’ll go as slow as Bode. Let’s give it a try,” I encouraged her. The staffer soothed her fears and before she knew it, she was flying.In fact, the next day she begged to do it two more times. I’m not sure if she’s cured but her fears were definitely calmed.

Now, I just need to follow her example and tackle the ramps at The Barn the next time we’re at Copper Mountain.

Stay tuned next time for our memorable mom-daughter adventures the next two days!

Filed Under: Bode, Colorado, Family, Family travel, Hadley, Humor, Jamie, outdoors, skiing

Valentine’s Day or Bust!

February 5, 2013 by Amber

Crummy health is the theme chez nous. Bode and Jamie are still sick and Mom is in bad shape. The only people holding it together are Hadley, Fat Kitty and me (and yes, we count him as a person).

Since I’m my slammed tending to the sick and afflicted and my deadlines are on the back burner, check-out my latest hilariously painful Denver Post column about the worst Valentine’s Day ever.

Because we definitely need a few laughs around here.

Filed Under: Family

Our Wii U Par-tay all the time!

February 2, 2013 by Amber

The big news around our house is we got a Wii U for Christmas and my kids have been local celebrities because of it. So when Nintendo offered to throw a party in its honor, we were game.

Pun intended.

We’ve had a great time becoming acquainted with our new Wii U GamePad controller and the kids love the fun new games, camera, microphone and the LCD touch screen. I like that the console is Wi-Fi-enabled and supports HD content, Netflix, Hulu+, Amazon Instant Video, etc. Jamie loves the Nintendo TVii where you can input your favorite movies and TV shows and then build a custom TV guide around your preferences. The Wii U GamePad acts as a big, easy-to-read touch screen remote control.

But enough of the logistics and onto the party! Nintendo told us we could invite 20 friends. At first I was stressed we wouldn’t have enough people but turned out we had way too many (there is no middle ground in my world). Nintendo sent two fun and informative “ambassadors” Lauren and Amy to get the party started.

My friend Kristen told me her kids had been counting down for the big event all week. A huge spread of food from Qdoba Mexican Grill + unlimited access to the Wii U? Those kids thought they’d gone to heaven but without the death part.

Of course, being me, there were a few hiccups. We had not yet installed Nintendo Land (which has 12 mini games in a virtual theme park) because Bode has been too busy playing all-things Mario and Kirby. So our lovely ambassadors had to take the time to download the software. And then, right as we were ready to play, the Wii U GamePad died because Bode had forgotten to recharge it, which caused me to joke, “Worst. Wii U. Party. Ever?”

Fortunately, Jamie came to the rescue, plugged it in and our party was finally underway. With so many kids, I figured some would filter in and out but I was wrong. They all sat by, patiently waiting their turn as they went head-to-head in Mario Chase, Animal Cross: Sweet Days and Luigi’s Ghost Mansion (there was a lot of screaming in that one). The kids played asymmetrically: one player had the GamePad and faced off against everyone else with Wii Remotes, a fun new feature. I appreciated that they were playing with each other and not against one another.But I didn’t bother to point that out for fear they’d be anti-kumbaya.

Following Nintendo Land, our ambassadors switched us over to Sing Party, a karaoke bash on steroids where we chose two teams, took team photos with the GamePad, chose our songs out of their collection, passed off the microphone every few verses to our teammates and a winner was chosen in the end.

The cool guys ran for cover by my gosh, it was hilarious to watch the girls dancing, screaming and laughing as they sang to fan-favorites like “Call me, maybe.”It’s like we have tweens or something.

The party was a raging success and at the end, our ambassadors gathered us around for a little quiz with prizes. I thought they would hand out stickers or less-inspired swag but they actually awarded our guests with real games and a Yoshi. The grand prize was won by my friend Tina’s daughter Rowan: a Nintendo Sing Party game, complete with the microphone. We had laughed at her as she sang her favorite song, Bieber’s “Baby.” When she won, she clutched it like it was her most prized possession and wouldn’t let anyone hold it. “Do you think she’ll want to sleep with it?” I joked with my friend, Tina. “She already said she was,” she divulged.

It looks like Tina will be buying a Wii U really soon.

Thanks to Nintendo for the fun party!

Filed Under: Bode, Family, Humor Tagged With: Wii

YMCA of the Rockies: The Nordic Redemption

January 31, 2013 by Amber

Now, when I entitled this blog post “Nordic Redemption,” I didn’t mean this.
But rather, this.
The back story: As a Canadian, I grew up cross-country skiing the golf course across the street from my house. Jamie is an avid alpine (downhill) skier so I figured his transition to Nordic would be a snap. It turned out to be a different kind of snap when he fell over going 0.0005 mile per hour and claimed a concussion.

That was ten years ago and I figured it was time he got back on the horse again. I signed our family up for a group lesson at YMCA of the Rockies’ Snow Mountain Ranch’s world-class Nordic Center, which offers more than 100 km of trails—from beginner loops to advanced ski trails. The kids are both becoming good skiers so I figured they were ready to add another style of skiing to their repertoire. Though I get a passing grade in cross-country skiing, I’m not an expert and would like to take up more advanced techniques, like skate skiing or mastering backcountry climbing skins.

Or not running into your friend Aimee when she’s trying to take your picture, which was my memorable wipe-out that day.

Our husband-wife instructors were excellent but the conditions were not. The snow was hard-packed so it was baptism by icy fire when they opted to start our lesson by taking us down a short, moderate slope while demonstrating the hallowed snow plow. Crash after crash occurred but the only one who took it to heart was Bode, whose confidence was shattered early-on.

“It’s OK,” I consoled him as I wiped away his crocodile tears. “You’re the youngest one in the group and you’re doing great.”

And he really was. When we moved to the beginner practice track, he started to regain his mojo as we all learned to stride, kick, push and glide like “neanderthals.”

I somehow didn’t think neanderthals were all that graceful prior to our outing.

The tepid skiers in the group stuck to the practice track and Jamie offered to stay behind with Bode while a handful of more courageous folks ventured out and followed a trail alongside Pole Creek. Hadley started mastering the smooth cadence and I was thrilled to see at least one member of our family take to Nordic skiing.

“So, when do you want to do it again with Mommy?” I queried, salivating over Snow Mountain’s bright winter sky, frosty trees, long mountain views and fast tracks.

“Maybe in, like, a couple of years,” she replied.

Though Jamie had a much more positive experience, he still wasn’t sold. “It was OK but I like downhill skiing more. Besides, it’s a different breed of people out here.”

“What do you mean?”

“There are no, ‘hey dudes’ or ‘let’s hit some bumps.’ These people are more like the marathon-running crowd.”

That’s his nice way of saying, “NO WAY” and I’m on my own. I’ll take it.

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Don’t miss parts I and III of our adventures.

YMCA of the Rockies: My Colorado Love Affair

YMCA of the Rockies: Reliving and Reinventing the Glory Days

Filed Under: Bode, Family, Family travel, Hadley, Jamie, outdoors, skiing, travel

YMCA of the Rockies: My Colorado Love Affair

January 30, 2013 by Amber

YMCA of the Rockies, 2006

I had an epiphany during our latest trip to the YMCA of the Rockies at Snow Mountain Ranch: I love their two Colorado properties. Now, let me qualify that. I am a fickle traveler and have many love affairs with destinations all over the world but most of those places are one-time deals. We visit, capture memories, check them off the bucket list and move onto the next.

For me, YMCA of the Rockies is a soul-stirring, this-is-where-I-belong kind of haven where I yearn to repeatedly return with my family and envy the couples who retire and move nearby to live out their days volunteering. Now, that is some serious amour.

I can’t put my finger on what makes it so special for me. Maybe it’s that YMCA of the Rockies was our first really fun vacation with Hadley (we coined it our “Crazy Fun Family Weekend,” a phrase that has stuck). Or that Jamie’s family had a memorable family reunion there.

It’s not fancy like many of the destinations we visit–in fact, it’s one of the most basic, even rustic. But it doesn’t matter. Between the natural beauty, family-building activities and outdoor fun, it’s about developing traditions and the simple joys of family and friends.

Bode lost (and swallowed) his second tooth, Snow Mountain 2013

Last summer, the kids and I joined some other Denver bloggers and their families for a retreat at YMCA of the Rockies’ 860-acre Estes Park Center. This time around, we congregated at Snow Mountain Ranch’s 5,100-acre family ranch located between Winter Park and Grand Lake. We last visited that location in 2007.
My, what a difference five years makes.

Stay tuned for our favorite activities in what I have deemed Colorado’s most fun and affordable family destination. And be sure to check-out my write-up about summer and winter highlights at Travel Mamas.

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Don’t miss parts II and III of our adventures.

YMCA of the Rockies: The Nordic Redemption

YMCA of the Rockies: Reliving and Reinventing the Glory Days

Filed Under: Colorado, Family, Family travel, outdoors

Winter Park Day 3: A Family That Skis Together, Plays Forever

January 11, 2013 by Amber

I truly fell in love with Winter Park Resort’s 3,081 skiable acres and thanks to its close proximity to Denver, it will become my go-to place for a quick half-day of skiing. Though it consists of four mountains (Winter Park, Mary Jane, Vasquez Ridge and Vasquez Cirque), I felt like I was skiing two different resorts. At The Village at Winter Park, there are restaurants (don’t miss Goodys’ to-die-for crepes), the new Alpenglow Massage, ice skating, an event gazebo and 200 luxurious condominium units in Fraser Crossing.

Goodys’ Good Crepes

Train playground, condo’s 30-person hot tub, winter wonderland, Polar Bear

The base of Mary Jane is dedicated to the diehards who don’t need all the pomp and circumstance. Sure, there are a few dining options but the important thing is it’s a short walk from your car to the slopes. I even spotted a camper or two in the parking lot.

Gorgeous amenities + staying connected to their roots? I’ve dubbed Winter Park the best of both worlds.

On our third and final day at the resort, we skied together as a family. I’ve dreamed of saying that for years. We have made several attempts but I can’t count hunched-over-trying-to-keep-Bode-from-falling-all-the-way-down-the-mountain as skiing. The sport has finally clicked for him and he LOVES it. When we awoke that morning, he announced he wanted to ski his first blue (intermediate run).

We tackled several difficult green-level runs (the easiest), often times splitting up so Haddie could find more challenging terrain and then meeting at the bottom of the lift. There was no pomp or circumstance when Bode decided he was ready for more difficult terrain. Like most everything in his life, he just decided he was going to do it and so did.

Hadley had some impressive moments as well.

“I want to do those,” Hadley said pointing to a run that was so bumpy it resembled a strawberry patch.

“Since when have you skied moguls?” I demanded.

“Since last year,” she breezily replied.

Bumps Girl

And skied them she did. Of course, she’s still figuring out her form but gosh darn it, I was stunned with how brazen she was. There is no way I could have set foot (or ski) on a mogul when I was her age. I have no doubt Bode and Hadley will soon surpass Jamie and me on the slopes and that Saturday at Winter Park confirmed it.

And I could not have been more proud.

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Winter Break: Oh, How Sweet It Was

January 6, 2013 by Amber

I’ll be honest: I love that my kids are almost back in school and I will have several hours to work and play. But when they are home for an extended amount of time, I’m reminded just how much I love being with them without the pressure-cooker of school, activities and homework. I was worried we would get stir-crazy but we had the perfect mix of fun, excitement and R&R. Haddie goes back to school Tuesday, Bode on Wednesday and then it’ll just be Jamie, Fat Kitty and me.

Here’s a quick pictorial summary of our happenings!

Class Party

Our winter break started with Bode’s holiday party at school. I brought my family’s traditional bells and those first graders were about as cute as can be playing Jingle Bells.

And yes, that is Hadley who invited herself along as my very helpful “assistant.”

Everywhere he goes, Bode makes a new best friend and this entire school year, he has been raving about his buddy, Brody. When I was busy helping kids at the party, I heard Bode say, “Excuse me, Mommy.” I turned around and, grinning ear-to-ear, there were two BFFs standing together. As polite as could be, Bode said, “Mommy, I would like to introduce you to my friend Brody.”

“I’m very pleased to meet you, Mrs. Johnson.” And then, because the formality was about killing me, I give him a fist bump as greeting.

Great Eats

To celebrate the kick-off to winter break, we went to see the Hobbit at Harkins Theaters in Stapleton and also hit one of our favorite restaurants, Zengo, which is now offering bottomless brunch on Saturday and Sunday (hail any restaurant that offers Saturday brunch!)

It would appear Bode LOVED their churros with Mexican hot chocolate dipping sauce (as did we all).

What would you think of a restaurant that only survived gourmet, healthy food? On New Year’s Day, we ate at Cherry Creek’s new True Food Kitchen. Based on Dr. Andrew Weil’s anti-inflammatory diet, this restaurant paired popular trends in cuisine with healthy living. Even the kid’s menu was delicious and I’ll be doing a full review on it all later. Bottom line if you live in Denver: GO.

Christmas Treats

One of my favorite things to do at Christmas is to bake delicious treats for our neighbors and friends. This year’s line-up was caramel corn, almond rocha, sugar-and-spice cookies, snowball cookies, cream cheese cutout cookies, shortbread, coconut penuche and caramel toffee squares. Hence the reason our kitchen looked like this.
And then, of course, we went skiing at Loveland on December 24, had our huge Christmas Eve fete and a fun Christmas Day.

Evergreen

To burn off a few calories, we went skating at Evergreen Lake (one of my favorite winter activities in Colorado) with our besties Nolan and Rowan. And then we added the calories back on when we stopped at our favorite breakfast place in Colorado: Country Road Cafe in Kittredge. Don’t believe me? Take a gander at that basketball-sized pancake stuffed with raspberries. I took a risk from my favorites and tried something new: their Timber Ridge Tamale Benedict, which was two pork tamales topped with two eggs, pepper jack cheese, pico de gallo, sourcream, red chile cream, avocado and cilantro mojo drizzle.
It was a risk worth taking.

New Year’s

Remember when I graciously planned a New Year’s Eve bash at my friend Lisa’s house without telling her? It turned out splendidly! Haddie made beignets….And we all miraculously made it until midnight to ring in the New Year (I was the person in question). One of the highlights was winning the Newlywed Game because many of our answers resolved around the pumpkin. I.e. “Name something your husband has too much of.” Pumpkins. “What is something that annoys you about your husband?” Pumpkins.

We even almost nailed the question, “What cartoon character does your husband most resemble?” The other couples were waaaaay off-base, such as Phil’s answer “The Incredible Hulk.” His wife’s? “Homer Simpson.” For Jamie, I immediately thought of It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, so wrote down Charlie Brown. Jamie’s answer: Linus.

Me: “Linus. Why did you choose Linus?”

Him: “Because it was Linus who believed.”

Following the game, one of my friends joked, “I had no idea your lives revolved so much around pumpkins.

They obviously do not read this blog.

Harlem Globetrotters

One of Jamie’s bucket-list items has been to see the Harlem Globetrotters so we were thrilled to score tickets. I knew they were funny but I did not anticipate two hours of non-stop, interactive, gut-busting hilarity. Bottom line: We loved them! When I asked Jamie about his favorite part, he immediately said, “Watching Bode.”He nailed it. Though we all loved the game, Bode was out-of-his-gourd excited for everything. The above picture on the right is when he grabbed Haddie to rush the court to do the YMCA, one of only countless fun moments that evening.

Sweet, Sweet Skiing

I have lived in Colorado for 10 years and there are still several major resorts I have yet to ski including Copper Mountain, Steamboat and Winter Park. Last weekend, we spent a few days at the latter. Stay tuned for all the fun details of our Winter Park vacation.

Just let it be known you may not hear from me for a while. After such a fabulous Winter Break, reentry into the real world is going to be bumpy.

Filed Under: Colorado, Family, holidays, Humor, pumpkins, skiing