End of Summer Round Up

It's back to school and back to work season for FFM and me. We started mid-August and spent the last few weeks of summer vacation relaxing and fitting in a few last adventures and field trips.

We went to see the Chihuly exhibit at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Twice. In one week. We'd probably have gone a few more times if school hadn't gotten in the way.

 Cousin Katie came to visit and kindly brought her lovely parents along with her. FFM is so in love with Katie that he almost can't stand it. As she grows up she just gets to be more and more fun. These two kiddos have an abundance of personality on their own, you can imagine what it's like when they team up.

 We spent a few days up in the mountains and got to see the super moon rise over the peaks.

 I refinished a crummy old dresser that's been sitting in a closet for years with my newly acquired decoupage skills. You can fall asleep dreaming of Beaver Creek and Vail trails you'll ski the next morning.

 Granny Annie drove us up to the top of Mt. Evans (highest paved road in North America you guys!) with our pals the Rushers. The weather was perfect and I stood at 14,265 feet and there wasn't a lick of wind. You could see a hundred miles in each direction, it was a postcard perfect day.

 Travis mentioned we'd been in our house for nearly 5 years and I realized that the rug under the dining table that I bought at a consignment shop as a stop gap measure had been on the floor for nearly 5 years. I never liked the rug very much, so set forth to find a replacement. My mom recently put carpet squares in her basement and we liked the idea of being able to replace a square when it gets dirty/stained/worn out. Travis flexed his design muscles and came up with a layout we really like. Putting it down was trickier than we expected, one of the color/pile choices we made wasn't the best for beginners.

 The first day of school came and went. I'm back in my role in the office and FFM started 2nd grade. He's got a great teacher with a teaching style that suits him very well. Two weeks in and it's already a totally different year than last year. He requested a giant laundry list of activities but after lots of family and parent discussion we're sticking with piano and swimming for the most part. We agreed he could add in 4-6 week classes periodically, and right now he's taking a hip hop dance class that makes him so happy his smile looks like it's going to swallow his head.

 We did some camping this summer and realized our tent wasn't going to fit all three of us for much longer. We have a pretty good sized tent and Travis just fits lengthwise. Our strategy was to pile all our gear below F's feet since there wasn't really any room by my feet or T's feet. Not only is F's gear getting bigger, but the space below his feet is getting smaller! We looked briefly at giant 6+ man tents and then spent an afternoon looking at campers. We were unimpressed until we found our perfect camping solution. The size, beds, and floor plan sang to all of us and the next thing we knew we were the proud owners of a brand new pop up camper.

 Turns out we all still like to feel like we're in a tent, the hard side campers didn't hold any appeal for us. It's awfully nice to be able to stand up to get dressed and to have amenities like cubbies for clothes instead of giant piles at F's feet. We took it up to a campground about an hour away and did a test run. FFM is so enamored that he'll rope you in and tell you all about the finer points of our camper just like a mini salesperson. Our neighbors all deserve medals for their gallantry while listening to his running narrative.

It's finally FOOTBALL SEASON! We kept all our preseason tickets this year and took FFM to the games. He's turned into a rabid fan and has a good grasp of basic rules and the flow of the game. He hollered more than anyone in our section and is campaigning to go to some regular season games, too.

Go Broncos!

 Our neighbor's peach tree survived the last frosts this spring and is producing some of the best peaches ever. Travis has been eating them and canning them as fast as he can. He remarked that they are so big this year he's getting about 1 peach per jar.

 After a successful and better than expected GI procedure I was cleared for activity just in time for Labor Day weekend. We joined my Mom and Eric at Dinosaur National Monument. My Mom and I were the only ones that had been before long, long ago. After sleeping most of two days I was feeling good and we did lots of hiking. Normally this time of year we'd expect high 90-100F days. Our temps hovered in the low to mid 70s. Such luck!

Hiking to petroglyphs.

 Hiking the box canyons.

 Sunset from our campsite.

 Travis asked about scenic trips nearby and we spent half a day at Fantasy Canyon. Strange and bizarre rock weathering so far off the beaten path you can still walk right up and touch them.

It's back to work and school for all of us tomorrow. Tuesday is hip hop dance class day!

Birthday Week 2014

FFM and I have birthdays just a few days apart. They coincide with a big national holiday so at our house we have declared an entire week off of work, etc and have cleverly dubbed it "Birthday Week."

This year marked an, ahem, significant birthday for me. Travis and I talked about what sounded good and quickly landed on a plan to retreat to a famous resort here in Colorado as a special treat. FFM, however, had plans for a huge bash with every single person he knows. We did throw a big (not birthday) bash, nearly 70 people in our backyard and greenbelt, and had a great time. Took ZERO pictures, but we played in the water, ate and drank well, and enjoyed the company.

Right after cleaning up the party we headed south to Colorado Springs. We stayed through the holiday weekend and enjoyed relaxation and pampering and amazing food. The boys had never been to Cave of the Winds, so we spent half a day exploring the cave and riding the new rides that have appeared. FFM surprised us all by being an expert on the ropes course, he even ventured out onto the top most level that juts out over the canyon. The ropes are far enough apart there that it's not really meant for someone his size, even Travis had to stretch a few times, but by being creative and swinging his little body around (my mom senses tingled mightily and I mumbled over and over that the safety equipment really was safe) he tackled every single run on the course. I enjoyed the lowest section, managed the upper section, and quit when it got time to go over the canyon.  FFM loved the cave AND ropes and we're already making plans to see some bigger and better caves in the west and hit the ropes course in Vail.

Ready for spelunking!

View from the ground of the ropes course. F in center, waving

The section over the canyon. F reached by swinging to the next rope loop.

STRECTCHING to reach the platform.
It took 4 tries but he made it on his own.

I do believe this is where his aspiration to become a tight rope walker comes from.

The section that sticks out over the canyon.
It's further down than it looks! 

The resort figured out it was my birthday and I had little treats left for me in the room and a lovely Baked Alaska birthday cake with dinner.

We stuck around the resort on the 4th and partook of the various resort activities that were available (it's a bit like a cruise, you can hop from one thing to the next all day if you like). The pool was packed so after a short swim in the morning we played all afternoon and enjoyed the family carnival. We finally got to eat at the traditional (not quite) English pub and enjoyed a rowdy lunch. While the menu wasn't anything like any English/Scottish/Irish pub I've ever been in, the decor came straight from an old English pub that had been dismantled and shipped over.

4th of July family carnival. All you can eat cotton candy and sno-cones!

Finally getting to have some Irish lager at the Golden Bee

We discussed where to watch the fireworks from, and after deciding we were one of a few rooms that would have a good view we stayed upstairs and watched out our window. We could also see fireworks in nearby Colorado Springs, we think maybe from Fort Carson.

Fireworks from our window, a lucky treat!
 They opened so we got all the noise, too.

Our hands down favorite activity (tied with the cave) was the new bowling alley. T and I loved the adult beverage milkshakes (s'mores milkshake with Frangelico and whiskey anyone?) and FFM enjoyed the "bar" foods (waffle batter dipped buffalo corn dog)  and his kid friendly black and white milkshake. We ate, drank, bowled, boogied and had an all around fabulous time.

 After a leisurely Sunday brunch buffet this morning we headed back well rested, well fed, and happy to be headed home.

Ski the Alps

We left Geneva on a Saturday morning for the three hour drive to our ski resort, Tignes. Tignes is part of a gargantuan ski area that is actually two together, Tignes and Val d'Isere. Longer ago than I'd like to admit my family skiied both of these areas, before they were connected, and I have fond memories of both. Of course NOTHING in town looked the same after being away for decades, but the Alps and the Grand Motte Glacier still took my breath away.

View from our balcony

FFM riding his favorite kind of lift - POMA aka surface lift. 

The beginning of the week was snowy, up past F's knees in a lot of places! 

Twilight walk to dinner with pal Haaken.

Sunny morning, Travis getting ready to pop on his skis.
We had to walk a few yards uphill to get to the ski run.

View down the mountain to the village of Tignes.

Lunch on mountain, totally different affair than in the US!

Enjoying long, quiet, beautiful ski runs.

FFM loved all the different kinds of lifts, this was a massive 30 person gondola.

Having fun in the powder after my big crash!

Eric and FFM walking to one of the funiculars.

Patiently waiting for our turn on the "mountain subway"

Family ski day!

Life sure is good!

One evening we decided to go out to dinner with my Mom and Eric. I randomly picked a restaurant that turned out to be a local delight. After searching for our location, literally at the end of the road, we walked into a cozy stone building that had a row of flaming metal boxes out front. New to us, we used sign language (only place my rusty French didn't work well with totally non-English speaking staff) to inquire about the flaming boxes. Turns out it was for dinner, so we ordered enough for the table. Yum! Tucked under a big copper chimney we grilled various strips of meat, dipped in an assortment of sauces, and followed it up with a giant dish of potatos au gratin. Declared a gastronomic success!

Storm rolling in again, must be about time to head home.

Geneva - Switzerland

Part two of our trip took us to Geneva, Switzerland via a high speed TGV train. Our ski resort was in France, but Geneva is the closest major city. We met up with some friends and family there for a few days of Swiss sight seeing.

I would like to say that I would happily travel by high speed train anytime. It was so smooth, so quiet, and SO FAST! Lovely way to go.

Leaving Paris on our way to Geneva

Living large!

 The train served us a snack on our three hour trip, brie, prosciutto, fruit, and a mini baguette. No lame bags of pretzels when flying across France! Grown ups could, of course, also have a glass of wine with their snack.

 Day 1 in Geneva was stunning, we went for a walk around part of the lake and watched the famous Jet d'Eau.

 FFM is a big fan of alternative modes of transportation,
 a trip on the free water taxi was a must.

Souvenir shopping in Geneva included buying a fair bit of chocolate and nearly coming home with a cuckoo clock. We also did housekeeping things like laundry; Travis gallantly took a couple of bags to the closest laundromat which happened to be located in the red light district. Walking around waiting for the spin cycle to finish he got to view all kinds of ladies strutting their stuff in nearby shop windows. Meanwhile FFM and I had a fun filled afternoon catching up on homework.

Next day we rented a tiny car 

and headed up the nearby mountains to the town of Gruyere.

 Guess what they make in Gruyere? Yup, delicious cheese! After watching the cheese maker start a batch of cheese we checked out the cheese flipping robot. The curing cheeses get flipped and rinsed with a brine until they are all done.

The whole place smelled a bit cheesy...nevertheless FFM thought we should bring one of these with us. Whole wheels weigh in at 35kg, so Travis vetoed him.