Glenwood Springs or Bust!

We had a blast in Glenwood Springs! The drive up was relatively uneventful, except for the fact that Cole got a bit car sick. So after about an hour, we had to pull over, poop on the side of the road, stop at the next town and get some pepto and tylenol and of course, a halloween ball to play four square. After all that and ginger ale, he was ok.

After we checked into the motel, we decided pizza was our dinner of choice so off we went in search of a pizzeria. Pepperino's was lucky enough to have us, followed by some ice cream from Klaidescoop.

The next morning, we had a breakfast at the motel and then headed over to the pool. It was a perfect day, the water was awesome, and the hot tub super super hot. We even went down the water slide four times and enjoyed more ice cream.

It was fun to laugh and play with Gramie and Cole. Our trip home was delayed an hour on i-70 because an RV caught fire at the top of Vail pass. Even though it was mildly irritating, I'm sure it wasn't as bad for us as it was for the peeps with the burning RV. Another opportunity to practice patience and more Gramie to think of creative things she could pee in while in the car.

What, no hiking?

I went on a trail run by myself on Sunday. Cole wanted to go "biking" with his dad. Whatever! I can already see it. He was born to be a cyclist like his poppy. He LOVES it. He doesn't love hiking. Whatever! Atleast he got my swim gene. The run was great; peaceful and relaxing. I even got a hike in this week in Boulder. Again, fabulous. It's been stressful at work and the alone time was nice. It clears my mind, re-energizes me.

1. We finally have a new home for NITA. It only took five months and lots and lots of stress and work and phone calls, and meetings, and more meetings....we're moving to Boulder! The space is beautiful. The drive won't be great, but Whatever!

2. The new NITA website...well, it's coming along. We're already six weeks late so what's another six weeks? Whatever!

3. Personnel issues suck, especially when you're not the one with the issue with the person, but because I manage them, it's my problem. Whatever!

4. I watched the first season of LOST in four days. That's absolutely insane. Every free minute I had I was on my iPad. That was like 20 hours of TV. And now I'm addicted. I still have five more seasons and like 100 more hours. Whatever!

5. I drank 3/4 of a bottle of wine last night, BY MYSELF! I never EVER do that! Whatever!

Goodnight world. I'm off to watch more LOST.....geez!

Phat lips

Cole got a fat lip trying to do a trick on his bike. Besides the fat lip, he skinned his knee, nose, and forehead. Sweet monkey....so adventuresome. Good thing you're tough and very very brave. I took this picture right after, but I really should have snapped one the day after, because it looked much worse.

This has nothing to do with fat lips, but worthwhile mention. We're headed up to Glenwood Springs with Grandma tomorrow afternoon for a sleepover at the Silver Spruce Motel and some swimming in the hot springs (stinky but warm) pool. My mom use to take me and Derrick up when we were little. I think we might have gotten burned really bad one time, but that's not that the point of the story. The point is, it's a wonderful childhood experience and memory that I have and now I get to share it with Cole. I remember once, she said one night, "Call a friend. Let's go to Glenwood." And I did and we were on the road late at night and swam the whole next morning. It was awesome... I ditched school with my mom and one of my best friends. Here's to you mom and to childhood memories worth passing on.

Broomfield Days

Well, it was the annual outing for Broomfield Days. Grandma came up with Eliana and Parker in tow. It was chilly out, but the parade was worth it. Cole even walked in the parade with Emerald.

Cole and his Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Troxel.

The Emerald Float! Go Dragons!

I just like this one...very patriotic.

We didn't have time to enjoy the other festivities in the park because of the Ice Box Challenge mountain bike ride that CV did, but it was fun nonetheless. Thanks for coming G-ma.

My First Grader

I love Cole so much. I went to his school for his assessment and while I was waiting for him to finish with his teacher, I got to see some of the cool stuff they work on. I'm so proud of him. He is reading at 2nd grade level. It's amazing to see the books he brings home to read to us. Six years we've been reading to him almost every night and now he gets to read us a bed time story. So very proud of you little monkey!

Winter Park

Mr. W. and some of his buddies rode from Nederland to Winter Park a couple weekends ago. It was a long but beautiful ride. Cole and I met the group with their overnight bags at Ward's cabin. We had a great time. On our way home the next day, we stopped in the Jones Pass area and went to Urad Lake. It was gorgeous. The trees are changing and fall is here.

Way to go CV. I was so impressed and proud of your efforts....and a little bit jealous.

Fia's Birthday

Sofia turned six and we helped her celebrate at Sunflower Farm. Mr. W. climb a tree and picked us some yummy apples and Cole...well, take a look:

Happy Birthday Fia. We love you.

Hiking Eldorado State Park

Cole didn't want to hike....I made him in exchange for a bag of balloons. I thought that the balloons were a better choice than candy, but I'm pretty sure that those damn balloons were almost the death of me. Just imagine someone blowing up a balloon, like 1,000 times, never tying it and letting the air out slowly sometimes, fast other times, sqeaky, flying....oh, all the ways to play with an untied balloon. One balloon would have been fine, but I bought the bag with 12 and him and Sofia went through all 12...it was something else.

So, we ended up hiking Rattlesnake Gulch Saturday morning. It was a gorgeous day and we had a blast chatting and playing with sticks that we pretended were bow and arrows. When we started the hike, this charming metal rattlesnake is at the beginning of the trail and it scared both of us to death. But, by the end, Cole worked up the courage to touch it. We visited the Crags Hotel ruin. It was a hotel built in 1908 and burned down in 1912. We ate lunch in what would have been the lobby.

He absolutely loves playing in the water. We climbed down a steep section to get to the Boulder Creek and upon arrival, he immediately said "I have to poop!" And you know he is serious because his face is fearful that he might not have time to actually pull his pants down. But, he made it. And poop he did. Is it bad that we just covered it up with a big rock?

On the hike he told me about playing soccor and how he kind of did the splits. Then he said, "I crack my balls good. I mean, I really cracked my balls."

I love you monkey!

Labor Day Parade

We went to the Louisville Labor Day Parade. I'm thinking it was something like the 75th Louisville Labor Day Parade. That's alot of parades.

Cole and I had a great time, eating cotton candy and watching all the people and floats.

At the end, he said, "Wow, that's a nasty storm coming our way."

I said, "Those look like smoke clouds."

We called Mr. W and he said that a fire broken out in Four Mile Canyon.
Simply terrible.
We watched the plumes of smoke all day fill our perfect blue sky all afternoon.
And in the morning, the smell of fire was all around us.
Our thoughts go out to all the families that have been affected.

Kids Camp Out

Caitlin, Cole, Julian, Sofia

We hosted our 2nd Annual Kids Camp Out over Labor Day. We invited four of Cole's friends over for a camp out in our backyard. Erik got sick and couldn't make it.

They played and played and played. Ate hot dogs. Roasted marshmellows. Watched a movie in the tent. And went fast to sleep.

Mr. W. stayed in the tent with the kiddos and got a 6am wake call. Homemake waffles, turkey bacon, and fresh fruit for breakfast!

Love you Cole. You seriously are one cool little man! We were a great host to your friends.

HIking: Dakota Ridge

As promised, Cole and I hiked Dakota Ridge Saturday morning. It started out a little rough - too many people, too many dogs, too much whining (and not just from Cole). So about a quarter of the way into the hike, I made Cole a deal - if neither of us whined for the rest of the hike, I would get him a special treat that he could choose. He declared Skittles and we agreed to continue our hike, whine free.

Then, of course, a minute later he tripped on rock and took a pretty good face plant. And cry he did. Not just any cry, but a whaling cry, to be heard through the whole canyon. I'm surprised the flight for life wasn't called because he sounded like he was dying. The only damage was a tiny, and I do mean tiny, scrap on his palm. So, after settling down a bit...still crying mind you...he asked "does this mean I don't get my skittles?"

I'm pretty sure he was crying, yes because he was scared and falling hurts, but also because he thought he wouldn't get his damn skittles. I wanted to offer two packs of skittles if he stopped crying and we could get off the mountain, but a little water and a napkin on his palm did the trick.


All in all though, once we got past the people and the dogs and of course our own whiny selves, we enjoyed a beautiful morning together outdoors.

Back to School Night

Thursday was Back to School night. Over the summer, Emerald Elementary made good use of the $10 million dollar bond that the school got. We got a new gym, new playground, new computer lab, and of course, our new Principal... Mr. Taneka was there to present.

We got to see all the new construction and Cole gave us a tour of the building. I still can't believe he is a 1st grader. He showed us around his classroom.

Hiking Green Mountain

We hiked the top of Green Mountain last Saturday. It was awesome. I realize how much I miss hiking and trail running. The views from the top were amazing and some random guy commented on how well Cole did on the hike and then handed him a special coin from the Secretary of Argiculture. It was really cool. That's why kids should hike more instead of watching Saturday morning cartoons.

At the top of Green Mountain

So, put your walking shoes and get out in the great outdoors. I highly recommend it. So much so that Cole nows owns a new pair of hiking boots and we are making it our mission every Saturday morning for at least the month of September, to go for a new hike. We love to explore.

Happy Birthday Grammy

Yesterday we celebrated my Mom's 58th birthday. Thank you Virgil and Allene for having my mother. Without her, Derrick and I would not exist, and that would mean no sweet grandbabies. And we all know how much Grammy loves her grandbabies.

Seriously, Mom. I love you. I hope you had a great day! Here are some fun pictures from Casa Bonita celebration:

jumpNrope

This video is from my jump rope class.

Check it out, here.

Fun, huh?

Sweet Baby Cole

First day of 1st grade. You and Mrs. O'Hara are going to be great together! Getting ready for 1st grade at the real barber shop. I didn't get an after shot, but you were so handsome....

Aikido - really, does it get any cuter? Fun at Boondocks!
Baby Cole - I know you aren't a baby anymore, but I'm always going to call you my baby, because you are. I love you so much. Thank you for hanging out with me and making me laugh. You're super awesome!

Mega Swim

After the big 42nd birthday celebration, the rest of the weekend was spent in Ft. Collins getting ready for this silly 10k swim at Horsetooth Reservoir.

Check out the video. Thanks Charlie for putting that together.

In the video at the end I say it took me 3:20 but it really took me 3:33! Slacker!

Big thanks to Mr. W. for all his support as my paddler. And a huge thanks to all my friends and family who encouraged me along the way. Remember, Windsor? The race I pulled out of. That was tramatic for me, but it was my friends who got me past that hurdle. It's my friends that got me to that finish line, who believed in me. I really can't thank you enough. It's these words and more (like Mr. W. yelling at me to knock it off when I started crying at mile 5.5 because I was so tired) that got me to the end...

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Wen,
I am so proud of you my friend! No matter what hapens on race day, you have done months of training and being uncomfortable. The race is just a litttle piece of all you have already done. I wish I could be there. But know I am thinking of you, sending you warm thoughts, and know you will kick ass! because you ROCK my friend!
Love ya!
Michelle
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Hi Wendy,
I am so impressed with your effort. I am not surprised that you have trained so hard. When you make your mind up to do something, you do it, gracefully and humbly. I am not surprised and wont be surprised that you are going to finish this race, but know that even if you don’t, your win when you get to the starting line.
Good Luck,
Peter
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Rachel Greenberg Matz commented on your status: ""Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, only this time more wisely."" Thoughts after Windsor....spot on.

Post race: Friend - i am SOOO proud of you for accomplishing a huge goal today!! all the dedication, training, mental perserverance, and energy you put into today really paid off. it was so amazing watching you swim across the finish line. what a huge physical and mental accomplishment!! sierra, ryder and i were really happy to be a part of it, thanks for inviting us. :)
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Charlie sent me a great quote on race day but I can't find it....lame! It was really awesome.
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Even my jump rope instructor: I want to recognize one of our jumpers, Wendy Velez. She is participating in a super insane crazy awesome event this weekend at Horsetooth Reservoir. She is swimming a 10K in open water - no wetsuit.. Not only is Wendy a super fast jumper, she is an amazing fish! GO WENDY!