When we initially planned this trip months ago, it started out as just a little family road trip, but then more and more fun things came up that got added on. I usually like to come up with a story to share or a thread to follow when talking about our adventures, but there is so much I want to share about the last two weeks. Forgive me for this being a little bit journal-y. I’ve highlighted each day with just one…
This last month has been a time of almost constant rain. A desert girl at heart, I generally love rain. Growing up rain was novel and needed; any time it happened was a time to rejoice. At first I did just that. I reveled in the smell of rain and introduced my children to the beautiful sport of puddle jumping. As the weeks went on though, the skies grew darker, the sunny days turned into moments, the basement flooded, my four-year-old Target…
My parents visited for a few days last week. Both of the kids loved having grandma and grandpa around, but I think their visit was especially heavenly for Cooper because we did so many of his favorite things. They “chased” clouds and ended up hiking all the way to the top of the mesa near our house. Grandpa kindly hauled Ellen around when she reached her limit. We’re working on increasing that limit . . . We toured Hammond’s Candy…
I recently read an article titled “Busy is a Sickness” that struck close to home. I’m a high-functioning, chronic sufferer of self-induced busynesss as well as the complaining symptom that often accompanies it. Since reading the article, I’ve been trying to change some of that about my life. This last week was a bit of a challenge to that goal. Between having my sister visit, putting on a church event, trying to be involved with a community issue, and getting…
I’m sure most people feel the same way, but we don’t take it slow very often. Most days, life is like a treadmill set one notch higher than a pace I’m comfortable with. Just like in training, pushing yourself can be empowering, make you stronger, and help you reach your goals faster, but it also can lead to serious injury or burnout, which is why rest is so crucial. This weekend was a much needed recovery weekend. We decided to…
This year Christmas sprawled across two weeks which in some ways was lovely, but in other ways was exhausting. We celebrated Christmas at home on the 20th then travelled to Utah to celebrate Christmas with my family. By the time we made it back to Colorado more gifts had accumulated on our front porch and so we had what felt like third Christmas. Even now that we’re in the first week of January, I keep coming across bits of wrapping…
Danielle (Noel’s sister) joined us for Thanksgiving this year. The kids were so excited and it wasn’t just because she works for a chocolate factory. We decided to treat her to a beautiful tour of the Colorado outdoors and took her on a very windy snowshoeing trip. The pictures make it look still, but Ellen seriously got picked up by the wind at one point. Thanksgiving morning we went to our church’s Turkey Trot. Noel and I took the coveted…
It’s still strange for me to think of my parents as grandparents sometimes. I feel old enough to be a parent, but I just don’t think of my parents as being old enough to be grandparents. Regardless, just like the song, Cooper and Ellen love it when grandma and grandpa come to visit. Noel and I also love their visits because the kids tend to get into less trouble since they’re getting so much attention. Also, if we’re lucky, we’re able…
We’ve grown accustom to a certain percentage of things going wrong in our lives. We could blame it on the kids, but truthfully things going less than perfect is nothing new. We’ve learned to lower our expectations, which may sound depressing, but actually has made it easier to enjoy life. When we planned a weekend getaway to Winter Park, CO we tried to bridle our excitement since we knew getting our hopes up is always a bad idea. As the day approached…
When I was a recruiter for USU, I repeatedly told students USU was “only an eight hour drive away from home and therefore the perfect distance from family.” The eight hour buffer gives you space, but you also can make if home if something important comes up. While there is some truth to the buffer theory, the eight hour drive is a lie and one I have been guilty of perpetuating. Sure Google maps will support the eight hour theory, but it’s…