The Force Awakens!

December 21, 2015 by

With our recent trip to Disneyland for their “Season of the Force” (slacker mama, I still haven’t full written about that trip), we watched all the Star Wars movies back-to-back and have become bona fide fans. We’ve been counting down the days until we could see Star Wars: The Force Awakens but were deterred by the crowds and bedlam. Sure, we love Star Wars but do we love it enough to stand in line for hours on end?

The answer is we love it enough to wait a few weeks until the hype dies down.

However, after seeing everyone’s social media posts on opening night, I casually did a search at our local theater to see if there were still tickets on Friday. I was shocked to see there were so snagged up four of them as a surprise for the kids in celebration of Winter Break. I remember going to see it with my family and I was thrilled that the kids will have the same memories.

Concerned there would still be a crazy-long line, Jamie instructed us to arrive an hour early for most optimal seats, which is exactly what we did…and there was only one family in front of us. As the wait stretched out, only a handful of people showed. That’s the funny thing about our local theater: it’s plenty nice but not super high-tech and fancy so it’s never crowded. In total, our theater had maybe 20 people in it for the 5:30 p.m. showing.

And of course, we all sat bunched up in the middle of the theater. Best seats in the house, of course!

Just what did we think of  Star Wars: The Force Awakens? We loved it! It was filled with nostalgia as Director J.J. Abrams managed to weave important elements of the past with a new direction for the film. I laughed, I cried, it was better than CATS.

Well, if I’d actually seen that musical that my parents chose NOT to take me to when I was about 9 years old.

And yes, I’m still bitter. But my kids won’t be because this was one film not to be missed.

Filed Under: Family

The Christmas Piano Recital

December 18, 2015 by

Hadley spent the week prior at Outdoor Lab so didn’t practice.

And then realized the Monday before the Wednesday concert that she lost the music.

Then realized she forgot how to play it and I had to write in some of the notes.

And then pulled off a Christmas miracle by playing great.

See that chokehold? That’s motherhood personified.

Filed Under: Hadley, Humor

Winter Park Resort: The Ultimate Family Vacation

December 17, 2015 by

As I reached the crest of the first hill, I briefly paused to marvel at my exuberant family breaking trail. The snow whirled around them, casting alabastrine shadows that dipped and rose with the terrain as they hopscotched their way on skis down the mountain.

We were in Grand County. As the closest major destination resort to Denver, the Winter Park area is a veritable winter wonderland with a bevy of activities for the entire family–from snowmobiling to free ice skating at Cooper Creek Square to careening down Colorado’s fastest sledding hill at Colorado Adventure Park to warming up at the Foundry Cinema and Bowl. Our weekend was full of fun, laughter and (mis)adventures.

And  yes, I’m referring to  when I got locked in the bathroom at Zephyr Mountain Lodge and the kids thoughtfully fed me Starburst under the door. It’s weekends likes ours where memories are made.

CLICK TO KEEP READING with many more misadventures along the way. Tree bashing and creek jumping, anyone?

Filed Under: Colorado, Family travel, skiing

Snow Days: Denver Style

December 16, 2015 by

I have a conflicted relationship with Snow Days. On the one hand, I think they’re ridiculous. I grew up in Canada with seven feet of snow and do you think school was ever canceled? No way! In a place like Colorado, I’d assume people wouldn’t freak out when the snow flies but that’s exactly what happens. And they expect school to be canceled every time.

We’ve had a few minor storms this year but finally, FINALLY we received accumulations more than a few inches and school was canceled, which I fully supported because there was enough snow for us to actually play in it. Since I don’t sleep, I was awake when the school notified us at 5 a.m. I snuck into the kids’ bedrooms to turn off their alarm clocks. Their reactions when they woke up were indicative of their personalities.

7:45 a.m. Hadley strolls into my bedroom. “School is canceled today,” I announced. “Oh, good,” she leisurely announced, not worried at all she’d slept through her alarm.

8:30 a.m. Panicked Bode races in, “I SLEPT IN!!!!!!!!”

Ying. Yang.

We spent the morning snugged up in our PJs, made ebelskivers for breakfast and the kids played video games while I worked. That afternoon, Alex and Nicky came over for some good old-fashioned fort and slide building while I spent a couple of hours shoveling our walk, as well as our neighbor’s. Because have I mentioned I really really love snow?! This was topped off by making gingerbread men and a hot chocolate competition. If this is what snow days are all about, I’m all in for an eternal winter.

Filed Under: Colorado

Happy birthday to My Rick Savage!

December 9, 2015 by

Jamie turns really Old today. I can’t tell you just how old because he reminded me how old I’ll be turning and it’s super closer to his oldness. Old.

But I’m so happy to have this guy in my life.  I asked the kids and here are the Top 10 reasons we think he’s awesome:

10. “He wrestles and likes to torture us.” -Hadley. Mom editor’s note: someone usually ends up with a foot in the face and crying. But I guess that’s fun?

9.  He’s funny. He has a subtle humor but that man can deliver the funniest zingers.

8. He’s hard-working. He’s a great provider and spends so much of his time building his successful web development business. Note: Honey, you need to come play more.

7. We get each other. If you were to meet the two of us, you would think we’re alike at all. But we have a very similar take and perspective on life and parenting…and rarely do we have conflicts on our opinions. Note: pumpkins, driving directions and the History Channel notwithstanding.

6. He’s kind and likable. I mean, really likable. I guess because I sometimes dated guys who were misunderstood or didn’t always click with others that I appreciate this quality even more. When someone new meets Jamie, they always like him.

5. He’s faithful and takes his priesthood responsibilities seriously.

4. “Usually he treats me really respectfully. He’s a good listener and really fun. I like having boy’s nights out.” -Bode

3. He’s supportive. I’m always concocting some crazy scheme and he goes along with it or tells me just how crazy it is (and rightly so).

2.  “I like when he lets me bite his eyelids to wake up.” -Fat Kitty

1.5 He’s not a whiner. He has been and continues to go through some tough times and rarely complains.

1. He’s mine.

Happy birthday, Jamie. So grateful to be #13YearsYours.

Filed Under: birthday, Jamie

Updates from the underworld

December 4, 2015 by

Yes, we’re still alive Chez Johnson but just barely. After a busy Thanksgiving weekend, Jamie casually mentioned on Sunday that he had been having chest pain for three days. SAY WHAT? With a medical history like Jamie’s, you don’t delay on such matters so he went to the ER that afternoon while I fretted and worried at home.

Thankfully, it turned out he *just* had pneumonia. (Only at our house would that be considered a minor ailment). The weird thing is besides the chest pain, he didn’t have any other symptoms, juxtaposed against Hadley who couldn’t get off the bed for two weeks last year.

I’ve been sicker with a cold than he is with pneumonia but the cruelty of the matter is that I’ve been too sick to play but not sick enough to languish in bed watching ridiculous movies so I’ve had to work. And feel crappy. And wish I was either playing or wasting my day in bed. I don’t have any Christmas decorations up, which is a major trespass in my world (I usually have them before Thanksgiving but no later than the day after).

Tomorrow, we’re going through the temple with a dear friend who was baptized last year, followed by our Ward Christmas Party. Then next week is Jamie’s birthday. And our staff Christmas party. And Cub Scout caroling. And feeding the missionaries. And the kids’ piano recital. And volunteering at the school’s Santa Shop. I also somehow landed a huge campaign that will be all-consuming for seven days and then is taking me to Breckenridge at week’s end, followed by a weekend ski trip to Winter Park.

Maybe I’ll never get those Christmas decorations up.

In other news, Hadley just returned from Outdoor Lab, a sixth grade rite-of-passage where they spent the  week in the mountains playing in the snow and learning earth science, astronomy and wildlife biology. She has the time of her life every summer at week-long Camp Chief Ouray so I knew she’d have zero problems adjusting (as opposed to many of her  friends who’d never been away from home).

She was glowing when I picked her up, raving about everything from her day-long hike to her group’s failed skit to star-gazing to a fun electric guitar music performance to the team-building activities, to the cute high school counselors (OK, I added that in but I’m sure she thought it). She was completely in her element and already wants to return as an intern or counselor in high school. These pictures are from family friend Whitney, who was there as a counselor.

Cabin Juniper: B: Lexie, Morgan, Kasey, Lexie, Lily, Ellie. F: Charlie, Hadley, Jaeda, HS Leader Miss Acosta, Whitney, Alex, Lordan

Castle View

Outdoor Lab

Bunkhouse crazies

It brought back so many of my class trip memories. A world of possibilities was literally opened to me as we journeyed to the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium as a teen.  In middle school, we flew out to Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre,  a world-class teaching and research facility located on the outer west coast of Vancouver Island where I fell in love with coastal marine sciences…and then proceeded to live out my days in land-locked mountainous states (go figure!)   Dear Mom and Dad: If you’re reading this, you totally rocked for giving me those opportunities and set the trajectory for a love of travel, adventure and learning for the rest of my life.

Alright, back to my current pitiable condition. I finally dragged myself out of the house today to run some errands.  I was in my foggy, semi-functional state at the grocery store check-out stand when the cashier reached into one of my recyclable bag and pulled out my sports bra. Which would have been super awkward had it not been a super cute Soybu one.

Maybe I should have spent the week in bed.

Filed Under: Hadley, Health, Humor

The perfect winter day near Denver: Sledding Meyers Ranch Park + Country Road Cafe

December 2, 2015 by

Have I mentioned how much I love winter and snow? Jamie summarized it best when he said I have a temperate zone of about two degrees and I’m either too hot or too cold…until it’s a chilly 20 degrees F and I’m just right.

On Saturday, we invited our neighbors the Morgans to come play with us in the foothills near Denver. We’ve adored this family since our neighborhood was built 12 years ago but they are always crazy busy–if they’re not working, they’re working harder on extraordinary renovations in their home (it’s Meredith who does the over-the-top outdoor movie nights in the summer).

So we decided it was high-time to relieve them of their overachieving ways and come play. One upon a time, we got into a battle about who had the best breakfast place. We raved about our beloved Country Road Cafe while they boasted McCoys had the best eats in Denver. Eight years ago, we visited McCoys with them (very, very good) and we finally did Country Road Cafe last weekend.

Since Colorado had a glorious dump of snow over Thanksgiving, we decided to hit the hills…the sledding hills to be exact. Meyer Ranch Park in Conifer (about 20 minutes from Denver) has an awesome sledding hill but when we stepped out of the car, we wondered “is it steep enough?” Believe me, when the powder has been compacted, careening down is plenty fast enough.

The kids all had a blast…well, with the exception of 5-year-old Evan who wiped out on the first run and never fully recovered. The rest of us more than made up for him.

Meredith warmed us up with the most delicious hot chocolate as we settled into our cozy outdoor seating.

Hadley soaking it all in. I have an identical picture of her sipping a pina colada poolside at The Broadmoor.

The girls adventured in the forest.

While my little (snow) angel beckoned me, “Mom, you’ve got to lay down beside me and see this.”

The dark green pine forest and pristine white snow field lured me in as I snuggled up to that boy, marveling at the huge frozen bulbs clinging to branches like wasps’ nests against a bluebird sky.

God is an amazing artist.

I somehow convinced Meredith it was a good ideas for us to sled together. With her in front, we barrelled down that hill, laughing ’til we cried as we soared over bumps, her leg got stuck under the sled and a spray of snow gave us a face-freeze near the bottom.

We were such ridiculous fools that we ordered The Husbands to do the same and I wish I’d video taped their run because it was about the funniest thing I’ve ever seen as Andy claimed they set a landspeed record. That wasn’t too far from the truth!

From there, it was onto Kittredge where we played near Bear Creek.

Meredith had an impressive run on the slide at Kittredge Park.

While Hadley was equally as impressive (getting stuck) on the tire swing.

Of course, the climax of the whole day was introducing Meredith and Andy to Country Road Cafe where we devoured fresh cinnamon rolls, fluffy oversized pancakes, breakfast burritos, pumpkin cheesecake-stuffed French toast and the Timber Ridge Tamale Benedict–Two pork filled tamales topped with two eggs, cheddar-jack cheese, green chili, avocado, salsa and sour cream drizzle.

Suffice it to say, our overworked friends are now converts to the playing way of life.

Filed Under: Bode, Colorado, Family travel, Hadley, outdoors

With a mother like me, she’ll someday rule the world

November 30, 2015 by

Baby H

Me: “Can you please go upstairs and look for my phone?”

Hadley (after a few minutes of searching): “I can’t find it.”

Me: “Do you want me to call it?”

Hadley: “Yes.”

Me (at the top of my lungs): “Phone, where are you?!”

Hadley: “Never mind.”

Filed Under: Hadley, Humor

The Roadshow

November 27, 2015 by

Every four years, all the youth ages 12-17 in our wards (congregations) from our stake (our city’s entire geographic area) perform a roadshow–a 15-minute play/musical they write themselves. This year, our theme was “Latter-day Avengers” and all seven wards made a fantastic effort. Some were funny. Some inspiring. Some sang. Some had celebrity appearances à la Scott Sterling, who has become an icon in Mormon folklore.

But really, the evening is about camaraderie with our fellow Saints and a lot of laughter. Some of these kids are performers, most aren’t and I love that kids who aren’t normally the superstars have their chance to shine. I know I’m biased but 2nd Ward did the very best, thanks (in large part) to the new musical power couple who moved into our ward and oversaw the project.

I was excited for Hadley and Bode to see what they’ll be participating in four years from now and they were pleasantly surprised how fun it was. Hadley was having a blast…until our ward performed and she saw every single one of her close friends was participating except for her.

Age 11 is an awkward age in the Church, especially when you’re the youngest of your peers. Upon turning 12, kids move up into our Young Men/Young Women organization where they meet for weekly activities…but she’s stuck in Primary (the children’s organization) until May while all her friends have moved on. I tried to distract her but it reemphasized we need to make her feel as involved as possible because the next six months are going to be tough.

My friend Debbie did a fantastic job entertaining the crowd as MC and between performances, she told corny Mormon jokes. For another, she had a silly basketball competition. I was having a good time until she declared “open mic night” where members of the audience could come share a joke. Bode started bouncing in his seat like Tigger. “I want to go up there!” he exclaimed. Startled, I whispered back, “what’s your joke?” because, let’s face it, sometimes 9-year-old boys’ gross-out humor is anything but humorous. He ignored me and gosh darn if he wasn’t the second kid to get up there and share his corny, cute joke in front of 200 people. Can we please have a collective “WHEW?!”

During the next break, Debbie opened it up to the adults to share a funny story of their spouse. What?! This one was fine-tuned for me.  Do I not have an entire blog worth of fodder about The Pumpkin Man?!

Here’s a little sidenote: I practically had to drag Jamie to the roadshow because the BYU football game was on and he’s obsessed. We compromised that I would call him when it was our ward’s turn and he’d race over to watch. Unfortunately, Debbie’s proposition happened when Jamie was there.

My arm shot up. Jamie, alarmed, realizing that this would be about him, grabbed my arm and enveloped me in a straitjacket. “I cannot be contained!” I protested but we were at the back so Debbie didn’t hear my cries and I missed the opportunity to share with the world Jamie’s mouse sleep-walking story.

The censorship on my performance? I shall call it The Silence of the Lambs.

Filed Under: Humor, LDS

Happy Thanksgiving Gratitudes

November 26, 2015 by

Happy Thanksgiving! With a 20 degree high and snow, we’re forgoing our annual Turkey Trot hike and hunkering down with movies and lots of tasty goodness. As I type this, my awesome husband is brining and then smoking our turkey.

This Thanksgiving, I’m grateful for this beautiful family of mine. The kids are growing so fast–too fast–and I’m trying to treasure every last minute with them. We had planned to go skiing but ended up sticking around for a week of fun with friends that included a game night and also a boy’s lightsaber fete while Hadley was at her bestie Alex’s birthday.

There were casualties.

A free Hammonds Candy Factory Tour with 25 fun friends.

Hiking Prospect Park, an adventure we’ve done a hundred times but with Clear Creek’s low water levels, an otherworldly cavernous maze was revealed.

While Hadley was ice skating with friends, Bode hit Big Time Trampoline Fun. It was to be my day of triumph when I conquered their new Wipeout-esqu “Big Balls. Until I took my first step and they completely deflated. Note: not built for anyone over 100 pounds.

On Tuesday, our plan was to go mountain biking and to piano lessons. We decided to combine them and bike to piano but hadn’t anticipated the adventure we would have through Van Bibber Park. If my kids ever relay a story of how their mom dragged them up a hill so muddy they got completely stuck and their wheels wouldn’t turn, don’t believe them. Lies. All lies.

The calm before the (muddy) storm

We had a PJ/movie day where Bode made cinnamon rolls from scratch almost completely by himself.

Bode’s Cub Scout troop did the Scouting for Food drive. The kids and I then donated the food to our local food bank–almost 50 pounds! And then went went to the playground across the street and soared.

A couple of weeks ago for Family Home Evening, we did our annual gratitude turkey. Hadley designed the body while Aunt Lisa cut out the feathers, resulting in our most beautiful turkey yet filled with so many blessings!

This article in The Atlantic nails it: “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.”

My heart runneth over to have so many wonders in my life.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Filed Under: Bode, Hadley, holidays
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