Utah Mom Blog & Mommy Blogger | Life Elevated Mom

Colorado Friends: Be Sure to Tour the New LDS (Mormon) Temple

August 8, 2016 by Amber

This entire summer has been a whirlwind and I haven’t told even a small portion of the story yet. But one of the reasons for all the delays has been that I was asked to help with the social media promotions for the new LDS (Mormon) temple that will be opening its doors very soon. As many of you know, temples are super sacred places for us and a new temple is opening in Fort Collins, which means for a limited time, the public is invited to tour the temple.

Fort Collins Temple

Below is the press release I posted at Mile High Mamas today:

Salt Lake City temple

Have you ever been intrigued to see inside an LDS (Mormon) temple? The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is preparing to open the doors of the new Fort Collins Colorado Temple to the public for an open house. The temple, which is the second Mormon temple in the Centennial State, is located at 2180 Majestic Drive, on the corner of Trilby Road and Timberline Road.

The general public is invited to tour the temple from Friday, August 19, through Saturday, September 10, 2016, except Sundays (August 21 and 28 and September 4). To make a free reservation for the open house, visit www.templeopenhouse.lds.org or call 1-855-537-2000. Tours will consist of a 10-minute video followed by a 40-minute walking tour through the temple.

Dedication and Cultural Celebration

Following the public open house, the temple will be formally dedicated on October 16. It will then be closed to the public. The dedication will be preceded by a cultural celebration featuring music and dance by local youth of the Church, to be held on the evening of Saturday, October 15, at the Hughes Stadium on the campus of Colorado State University. (It breaks my heart we won’t be here for this because Hadley would have LOVED to participate).

Background Information

Latter-day Saint temples differ from the chapels or meetinghouses where members meet for Sunday worship services. Temples are considered “houses of the Lord” where the teachings of Jesus Christ are reaffirmed through marriage, baptism and other ceremonies that unite families for eternity.

Will everyone need to have a ticket to participate in the Temple open house?

It is highly encouraged that everyone reserve a ticket on-line before they come. This will help the tours to go more smoothly and be a better experience for their guests. However, no one will be turned away. The tour is wheelchair accessible and all ages are welcome.

What will the tours be like?

The tour will start in the Trilby building with a short video and then guests will be escorted across the street to the temple where they will be taken on a guided tour. Time will not permit asking questions while in the temple. At the end of the tour, guests will end in an air conditioned hospitality tent where there will be displays and additional information about temples and visitors can ask questions and take photos in front of a backdrop of the temple. There will also be a display of materials used in the building of the temple.

How long will the tour take?

The entire experience will be approximately 1 hour.

More information about the purpose of temples is available on www.mormonnewsroom.org.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

The skinny on all the fat around here

August 5, 2016 by Amber

Welp, we’re in full-blown GO mode here. I have a few blog posts I’ve scheduled over the next few weeks but I won’t have a stitch of time for real-time updates until our move is final. Here are a few things coming down the pipe:

The kids and I are back from a great 2.5 weeks in Canada. Many, many updates to come at a later time. Or not. Maybe the rest of my life will be crazy.
Not so fun: 50 hours as the lone driver. Normally I leave B.C., overnight in Boise (about 12 hours) and then stay in Salt Lake City with my in-laws (4 hours away) for several days before returning to Denver (9 hours). Because of our move, I had to drive back from B.C., overnight in Bozeman and drive straight through to Denver. That was 24 hours of driving in two days. I wouldn’t recommend it. At all.
Normally I have several days to recover and don’t travel again for a few months. But we’re moving in less than 2 weeks so that is not an option. I have a sore throat and am wiped out. Not surprisingly.
Our house in Midway won’t be finished until late-September so we have to rent a couple of PODS to avoid loading everything in a moving van, unloading it into storage, reloading it again on our actual move date and unloading it. PODs are more expensive but are much more convenient.
We’re downsizing on our main level so are selling a lot of furniture: two sets of couches and both of our dining room sets. Dear Craiglist purchasers: please buy pronto!
Fat Kitty will inevitably be traumatized because he hates the car. We bought him a huge crate and this week, Jamie brought it upstairs, put his blanket in it and Fat Kitty loves napping there. Jamie has been christened The Cat Whisperer.
Our awesome friends threw a going-away party at their pool for us this week and our neighbors are throwing us a bash next week. My heart physically hurts at the thought of leaving these people.
Our POD arrives Aug 13, we’ll do our big moving party on the evening of August 15, I am helping with the Fort Collins Temple Media Day on the 16th and then we official leave Colorado on the 17th.
We’ll stay with my in-laws for a few days in Salt Lake City while driving to Midway to finish up the last of the kids’ school registration, pick up their laptops, etc. Pretty cool that every child gets their own computer for the year!
The bad: Hadley’s school starts at 7:40 a.m.; Bode’s doesn’t start until 9 a.m. and there is an hour difference at the end of the school day. This won’t be a big deal once we’re in our house and they can ride the bus but we’re staying a half-hour away so I’ll spend 3+ hours of my day chauffeuring them back and forth, not to mention after-school/church activities in town.
The good: In an ideal world, we would have been in our house by the time school started, which is what our builder originally projected. But everything has been delayed: the sale of our house, the permits for our new one so we are essentially homeless for 1.5 months. Of course, staying with my in-laws is an option but that is an hour drive. Enter: my Snowmama friend Kristen who is renting us her luxury 3-story townhome in Park City for a fraction of her nightly rate. It will still take about 30 minutes to drive to Hadley’s middle school but the timing of it all worked out perfectly and is an answer to prayers.

The only problem? The townhome is exponentially more luxurious than the house we’re building so it will be a letdown to move. But we’ll (gratefully) take it.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Tween Scene

August 4, 2016 by Amber

They call them “tweens” for a reason. Not quite kids, not quite adults and, at times, not quite human.

One thing Hadley has going for her: she’s not an overly emotional kid so while her friends are reduced to tears the drop of…well, anything, Hadley just chooses moodiness. And to be obstinate. Thankfully, it’s only sometimes and for the most part, she’s pretty darn fun and is really growing into a beautiful young woman.

As she packed for her first Young Women Girl’s Camp ever, she was testing out my new sleeping bag. It reminded me so much of when we tried to swaddle her as a baby. No matter how tight we made the blanket, that colicky baby of ours refused to be controlled and we’d always find her stubbornly sleeping with one little arm out that she had somehow finagled out of her straight jacket. Just call her Houdini. I asked her to reenact that and this is all I got.

Stubborn baby meets stubborn tween.

Sometimes she really surprises me. As we were leaving King Soopers, she stopped at the little horsey ride she did as a toddler and went for the ride of her life.

I didn’t bother to tell her I finally won by snapping that shot with just one arm in the air.

Filed Under: Hadley, Humor

The Broadmoor’s Bliss

August 3, 2016 by Amber

I’ve long stated how much we love AAA Five-Diamond The Broadmoor and I feel honored to write for the resort’s magazine. For every visit I make on-assignment, we are spoiled to receive another trip just for pleasure. For the fourth Memorial Day weekend in a row, we returned to what has become our favorite place in Colorado.

Saturday morning, Hadley and I woke up early to conquer the Manitou Incline. The holy grail of extreme trails, this beast climbs 2,000 feet in 1 mile and we joined the rank of Colorado crazies who have done it. And never will again.

The Pool

The rest of our Broadmoor vacation was full of rest, relaxation and lots and lots of eating. Their pool is a lesson in luxury with poolside service and we even rented a cabana one of the days.

A Taste of the Good Life

Our BFF Cabana Boy feeding our virgin Miami Vice addiction

May we just take a second to talk about this man of mine? After a few hours at the pool on Saturday, he wanted to go back to the room to rest. We only had one key between us and the kids wanted to stay and play so he needed to go to the front desk to get another. The problem: he was in his swimsuit and didn’t have his wallet so he came up with a brilliant plan. When he walked up to the front desk clerk, she predictably asked for identification.

“I don’t have any. I left it in the room.”

“I need some ID from you, Sir.”

“Do you have a copy of The Broadmoor Magazine? There is a picture of me with my name in it.”

Talk about name-dropping.

The clerk looked at him, startled. And ended up sending someone with him to open up the room where he then needed to prove his existence apart from magazine evidence. So much for his “don’t you know who I am?” approach.

The Gourmet Food

Jamie made us diet the week prior to The Broadmoor, which was particularly difficult because we had an endless stream of graduations parties and a reception with gooooood food. His reasoning? Lose a few pounds so we can gain back 10 at The Broadmoor.

We made sure to hit all our favorite haunts, starting with bowling at their upscale alley Play, stuffing our faces with milkshakes and retro Americana favorites. I even played passably well and bowled a couple of strikes while Jamie had a gutterball on almost every turn…and yet he still somehow pulled off a win in the 10th frame.

I’m not bitter.

A trip to The Broadmoor would not be complete without room service.

The Summit is our favorite restaurant at The Broadmoor and their crème brûlée is worthy of the very best belated birthday celebration.

But not to be surpassed: The Brunch with the most amazing spread of gourmet food I’ve ever seen, easily the best brunch in Colorado.

Following Colorado’s destructive floods a few years ago, The Broadmoor acquired the popular tourist destination Seven Falls and in typical 5-star fashion, restored it to to an even more glorious condition. There are seven beautiful falls that cascade 181 feet down a solid cliff of naturally-carved Pikes Peak granite. We climbed the steep stairs, relishing in the refreshing spray and views, followed by an indulgent dinner in their new Restaurant 1858 at the base.

So Long, Farewell

With all that eating, I needed to burn off some calories and energy. On Memorial Day before dawn, I set out for my traditional trek up North Cheyenne Cañon, easily my favorite hike in Colorado. I relished being completely alone in that special place that, in a few hours, would be overrun with outdoor enthusiasts. I thought the views along the lower trail could not be surpassed.

Until I climbed higher and higher.

I touched magic that day, just as we do every time we are privileged to stay at The Broadmoor.

Filed Under: Colorado, Family travel

7-Eleven Day at Play

July 28, 2016 by Amber

One of the things I’ll miss the most about Colorado is our posse of friends. I love that when I get one of my hairbrained ideas, I can send an email out and my friends respond. In droves!

July 7 is the hallowed day when 7-Eleven offers free small Slurpees. The kids and I wanted to bike over to get one so why not make an event of it? I invited our peeps to come hang out and then play in Van Bibber Creek with us afterwards.

Best. Friends. Ever!
The girls look sweet but they were actually plotting a movie party at our house the next night. Sucker that I am, I obliged.

We introduced many of these friends to our secret spot in Van Bibber Open Space and I was surprised so few knew about it. In fact, my friend Amy rides through there a lot and didn’t even know there was a creek. I felt honored to pass the torch to the new generation.

Of course, a Van Bibber adventure isn’t the same without a Bike-off where we compete to see who can make it through the creek without falling off. Shockingly, everyone made it through multiple times without incident, even when I did a couple of runs as The Mom Representative.

Bode’s crossing

Kids being kids, they decided to up the degree of difficulty and had splashers on the sidelines.

But in the end, they were the ones who got sprayed the most…and none of us minded one bit.

Filed Under: biking, Bode, Colorado, outdoors

Our Summer Pool Party Tradition

July 27, 2016 by Amber

Every summer since the kids were little, I have enrolled them in two weeks of swim lessons. About six years ago as I sat bored out of my mind watching other moms having a great time with their friends, an idea was borne: invite members of our ward to participate.

So the following summer, I sent an email to a bunch of ladies with kids of similar ages and I was pleased to get a great response. And every year, participation has exponentially increased and has become a beloved tradition. Following swim lessons, we also stay after for public swim where even more friends come join the fun.

This year, Bode was a “Shark” with his buddies Carson and Noah.

There were probably about 12 moms with over 30 kiddos in swim lessons for a veritable pool party every day. Here we are celebrating Averi’s birthday!

Yes, I am expecting kick-backs from the community pool and hope the tradition continues long after I’m gone.

Filed Under: Bode

My love affair with Evergreen, Colorado

July 25, 2016 by Amber

The prospect of leaving Colorado physically hurts me sometimes. I’ve loved on this place hard and while there are still so many things on my bucket list, I have zero regrets that I’ve left any major stones unturned.

One of my favorite places in Colorado is Evergreen. Just 30 minutes from our house, this gorgeous mountain hamlet is tucked away in Colorado’s mountains. Evergreen Lake was named one of the top ten most scenic places for ice skating in the world and is bordered by mountain parks with miles of trails.

Lo, do I know those trails. I’ve spent countless hours exploring them and have only one major item left to conquer, Bergen Peak, which I vowed to do when I picked up Hadley from Mount Evans Outdoor Lab. But my irascible knee was not cooperating with this 10-mile hike so I had to resort to something different; a trail I’d never hiked. I first called the chamber for advice, then the ranger’s station, then the open space and no one could help me. I finally found some luck when I talked to a woman from the Evergreen Recreation District. I described all the hikes I’ve done in the area –from the extensive network of trails at Alderfer/Three Sisters to Dedisse Mountain Park to Elk Meadow Park to Evergreen Lake.

She responded, “I have to tell you that you’ve done more exploring here than most of our locals.”

I’ll wear that observation like a badge of honor.

She recommended the Beaver Brook Watershed, a little-known trail that is part of a 20-mile wildlife corridor between Elk Meadow and Mount Evans. I was in!

Early that morning, I took my friend Amy biking along Ralston Creek Trail and then my friend Lisa and I drove up to Evergreen together. We were limited on time so only did the 1.8-mile round-trip hike to the reservoir but I was blown away by this gorgeous, easy hike dotted with aspens and a dense forest.

There’s nothing like saving [one of] the best for last.

Filed Under: Colorado, Family travel, hiking

Busted: A visit with the cops

July 20, 2016 by Amber

My brother Jade arrived with his boys late last night. We always look forward to their arrival with two exceptions: 1) We get booted from his dark, cool room in the basement for our stuffy. 2) Cousin Jaxson. Don’t get me wrong, we love cousin Jax but he’s a hilarious kid with a quirky, unfiltered personality and has about five things he’ll eat in this world.

My childhood bedroom is the loudest and stuffiest in the house so I heard them when they arrived around midnight.

Then, after a near sleepless night, I heard something that sounded suspiciously like the Wii next to my head. Sure enough, Cousin Jax (on East Coast Time) was up before the crack of dawn playing video games in the family room. So I did what any loving aunt would do: I gave him a hug and punched him in the face. 🙂

The good news of my early wake-up? I went on a killer bike ride.

Fish Creek

Upon my return the whole clan was awake so the kids went on rides in my parent’s golf cart. An hour later, the cops pulled up to our house.

Oh, hell.

I was the only adult in the near vicinity so I had to deal with it. I saw them walk up the door and waited. And waited. A false alarm?

And then the knock came.

“Ma’am?”

“Yes.”

“We’ve had a complaint from a neighbor about a certain golf cart being driven by two boys through the gully.”

“The Gully” Venue of my childhood and now, the cops

They didn’t bother to ask if we had a golf cart; the evidence was parked right in front or our house. The delay at the door was probably due to them checking the engine to see if it was warm.

Truth be told, the cops were really cool about it and said they wouldn’t even be there had the neighbor not called to complain. Talk about a killjoy ruining the kids’ summer fun!

My brother’s observation when I posted our experience on Facebook?

We have been in Canada for 9 hours mostly sleeping and we already brought the cops here for driving the golf kart recklessly.

The coincidence? Just two days ago, I posted this picture on Instagram on Bode’s birthday talking about him narrowly missing running into our car while driving with Grandpa.

Turns out he’ll be needing that Get Out of Jail Free Pass sooner than later.

Filed Under: Bode, Canada, Humor

Bode’s Canadian Birthday

July 19, 2016 by Amber

The kids and I are in Calgary. I’m going to be bouncing around a lot on this blog over the coming weeks, alternating between Canadian fun and our final Colorado adventures. Normally, we’d be at the lakehouse in B.C. this week but I begged my family to push back the date with all the uncertainty with the sale of our house. It worked out pretty well. Of course, nothing has been ideal this summer but when we return early-August, we’ll have a couple of weeks to pack up the house and move. So, we’re trying to enjoy a bit of downtime with family while we have it.

Traveling to Canada for 2.5 weeks in the middle of a move is certainly not prudent but this is the only time I see my family all year and my Mom’s MS has grown from bad to worse. Undoubtedly this will be the last summer she will still be able to travel so it was especially important to be here. I’m just grateful for Jamie who made it possible and is holding down the fort at home.

We’re usually in Canada for Bode’s birthday and this year was no exception, except that we’re generally at the lakehouse. So, this year, he had a rather leisurely birthday at my parent’s house. I went on the hunt for his beloved Tim Horton’s Timbits (tougher than usual; who knew several franchises only carry a few varieties? The horror!)

He went on a golf cart ride with Grandpa.

Just minutes before, he informed me that he’d dropped his iPod at our hotel in Great Falls a few days ago, shattering the screen. Then, he narrowly missed Jamie’s car when he was driving.

Way to get it all out there when you can’t get in trouble on your birthday. Well played, Birthday Boy.

Since it was his day, I let him have free reign on what he wanted to do, which mostly involved video games. For a 10-year-old boy, that is the best birthday ever!

Later that night, we went over to my brother Pat’s house for a a pizza party and Kung Fu Panda 3 movie night in their home theater room. He and his wife Jane spent a minor fortune on a gorgeous outdoor pizza oven and they made the most amazingly delicious pizzas. Their family just got back from a European vacation where they took a legit pizza-making class in Florence, Italy and that crust was out of this world.

Dessert was several different kinds of cheesecakes, a chocolate caramel cake and homemade Gelato.

I’m not sure what he wished for but at least one wish came true when he blew out the candles: no girlfriends.

Filed Under: birthday, Bode

Happy 10th Birthday to Bode!

July 18, 2016 by Amber

Dear Bode,

Happy Birthday! It’s a big day for you. Not only are you turning double-digits but your life is about to drastically change with our move to Utah. I know this is hard for you because, like the rest of us, you have loved the only home you’ve ever known. You don’t ever ask for much, which is why we splurged and bought you a cool electric motorbike to putter around our new neighborhood and Dad’s old BB Gun. Talk about perfect training for our new lives as country bumpkins.

We’re currently in Canada indulging in pizza from Uncle Pat’s new wood-fired outdoor oven, followed by a movie of your choice in their fancy basement theater room. For your “friend” birthday, we played Bubble Soccer at the Apex Field House, which involved a lot of laughter, sweat and Sumo knockdowns.

Fourth grade was a great year for you with Mrs. Trapp as your teacher. You had loads of friends, did Student Council, cross-country, were in the advanced math program, performed in the schools’ talent show and also the most adorable stage production on “Colorado.” I wish we could have gotten settled in Utah prior to starting fifth grade at your new school but everywhere you go, you make friends easily. You always get chosen among the first when kids are selecting teams; not because you’re the best athlete but because you’re well-liked, encouraging and fun.

Talent Show

Speaking of which, you and I competed in our first adventure race together at Copper Mountain a few weeks ago. We each had our strengths. Me: mountain biking, glacier climb. You: Running, cargo net, obstacle course, Tyrolean Traverse, Darwin Dash, blow darts and the ropes course. This is just a nice way of saying you dominated the course and I was so proud to be your partner…even if I was usually a few (wet) steps behind. My only request for our mother-son adventure was that you didn’t throw up, which is exactly what happened–not once during our ski trip to Beaver Creek but twice when we rescheduled it a few months later.

6th grade kids vs. teachers basketball

You and your neighborhood friend Nicky have been inseparable this year and you’ve had plenty of adventures with church friends Porter, Carson, Seamus and Noah. I loved meeting you for lunch at school and playing Four Square with your buddies, though I am remiss we are moving before I can truly humble Brody from his smug position in the head square.

This was a big year: You skied your first double-black diamond at Sunlight Mountain Resort and rocked the Kids Adventure Games in Vail with Seamus. You love soccer, The Broadmoor, snuggles to start and end the day, Fat Kitty, listening to Fablehaven, Cub Scouts, video games, summer swim lessons, riding your bike with your friends, piano, and catching crawdads. We had plenty of ski trips, Christmas in Utah, a media preview of “Season of the Force” at Disneyland, a weekend with friends at YMCA of the Rockies Snow Mountain Ranch, summer fun at the Calgary Stampede and boating at the Lakehouse in B.C.

I especially appreciated your help when it came to our miserable 2+ months of house showings and you frequently asked me “what can I do to help?” Of course, no one is perfect and neither is your room but you did a great job keeping it picked up and gave me hope that slobbery is not in your eternal future. But you’d better believe that very day we went under contract, your room quickly returned to its original (condemned) condition.

You were born with an extra ray of sunshine. Being happy, having faith and obedience come so easily for you and you truly want what is best for those around you. In a world that encourages boys to be competitive and tough, you reminds me everyday that kindness counts (along with a healthy dose of silliness). You’re such an easy-to-please bloke that sometimes it’s tough to figure out what you really dislike (beyond the obvious food choices like peppers and seafood) so on our recent hike to St. Mary’s Glacier, I asked you “Bode, what kind of things do you hate? I mean, Hadley really hates math. What would be on your list?” You took a long pause of consideration before responding “you know, I really hate mean people. Why can’t everyone just be nice and kind? I want peace for the whole world.”

St. Mary’s Glacier

Jamie joked “”world peace?’ You’ll be a great beauty contestant with an answer like that.”

All kidding aside, your sincere answer so beautifully demonstrated your role in this world as a peacemaker. Every day you teach me about love and patience. I got weepy writing this letter because Colorado has been a wonderful dream for you full of friendships, developing your testimony in the gospel and fun…and I hope you will always look back upon your single digits with wonder and magic because that’s exactly what they were.

Love,

Mom

P.S. For a stroll down memory lane, see birthday letters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, 8 and 9.