spring mini-break

Not too shabby a view from our balcony

Thanks to our trip to Arizona in February with Papa Ken, I didn't feel too bad about not having any elaborate spring break plans.  I did keep my eyes peeled for bonus time at Grand Lodge in Breckenridge and the week before, was able to score a night.  I told Ryan that Ben and I were going with or without him and he managed to get a day off work so he and Ben could ski.  Ben and I could have extended our time a bit had Ryan not joined us, but we were thrilled he could.  We headed up early Tuesday morning, having been smart enough this time to rent skis in advance.  We were thinking about just getting Ryan a half day ticket, but at a whopping value of $118 instead of the full-day price of $149, Ryan got to ski all day.  Ben still skis free until he's 5 when tickets are $85!!!  Thankfully there's a new program where Colorado kids get 16 free days a year and as Ben skis more, Ryan will have to take advantage of a season pass.  I would NEVER spend $150 for a day of skiing, so I will likely one day have to jump back on the pass bandwagon.  I keep telling Ryan I have a pass to the hot-tub and that's all I need, but he won't buy it. ;)

We arrived just after the lifts opened and the boys got right after it.

Ben had to get his "ski-legs."

They make fabulous clips to keep kiddos ski's in the pizza shape.  Unfortunately, the brand-new ones we brought with us were broken.  I ran all over town and eventually borrowed the personal pair of a ski shop manager.  Thank-you to that angel who turned our whole day around!

Ben didn't particularly enjoy the pommel lift.

After the big lift, the day took a big turn in the positive direction.

There's a video with a little of Ben and a lot of Ryan skiing here. ;)

 The boys made two long runs using the big lift and Ben made great improvements.  We hit up a favorite spot, Empire Burger, for lunch and headed to Grand Lodge.  Ben and I headed for the pools and hot-tubs and Ryan skied right out the back door all afternoon until the lifts closed.  We I enjoyed drinks by the pool and we all enjoyed pizza and salad at the pool for dinner.  Swimming and pizza at the same time meant Ben was in hog heaven.

60 degrees and sunny made for perfect ski-watching.

 

Here's a clip of Ben enjoying the water slide face-first, just as someone directed him not to do. ;)

We did have to rise early and head back to Denver so Ryan could go to work but the escape was delightful and remarkably refreshing for such a short getaway.  I might just have to plan another Grand Lodge adventure soon.

A nice sunrise to bid us adieu

evolution !!!!500!!!!

So, I've had this post title saved for a couple months.  Evolution, though, was meant to be about the evolution of design in our home.  I have "finished for now" updates of our bedrooms but wanted to emphasize that they're never really "done," merely, evolving.

Well, there sat the title waiting for the words and pictures and slowly I noticed my published post count inching nearer 500.  Finally it was clear that Evolution was meant for this, my fiiiiiiiive huuuuuuuuuundreth post!  I was surely not always certain this blog would go on this long, and to average more than 100 posts a year has really delighted me.

As I contemplated this post and the history of this blog, lots of wonderful things hit home.  It all started with Ben and a BBQ and a way to keep faraway family and friends in touch with our day to day lives.  As we were blessed to move back home and close to lots of those in our initially intended audience, the blog evolved into my gift for Ben and our family.  I can't imagine how delightful it would be to have a history like this of the early days of my own life and I sincerely hope Ben appreciates it someday.  

Now, and slowly, it's become clear that the biggest gift of this blog isn't to Ben or our family but to ME!!!  In the hours of writing and picture organizing and yes, at times, dreaded life-capturing, I've given myself THE MOST AMAZING GIFT.  

Motherhood is no doubt my passion and calling and now I have this beautiful documentation of my life's greatest and most extraordinary adventure.  I know Ryan appreciates our blog and I know one day Ben will too, but if no one ever reads another post, the blog will continue just for me.  Realizing that makes me look so forward to the next 500 posts and the grand changes and adventures they will capture.

All that said, if you're a long-time and always reader, or a pop-in once in a while and take-a-peeker, I appreciate you and am so glad you're along on this beautiful journey.  XOXO! -Jess

workin' (and huntin') for the weekend

The continued coming of Spring in the Heimer hood and impending Easter hosting duties meant I planned our weekend full of yard work and a "little" project.  Before the work began, though, we had to hunt.  I had seen the Infinity park Easter Egg hunt advertised every year since we lived here but could never make it.  Infinity park houses two rugby fields and surrounding park and picnic areas so I thought the hunt would be nothing short of fabulous.  Unfortunately, it was nothing but short.  Ryan dropped us off and headed to park and was sadly directed VERY far form the stadium instead of the spots we had seen that were very close.

The advertisement warned us to arrive at 10 am sharp but didn't state our only warning would be a quiet, "go."  There seemed to be a communication mis-fire between the older kiddo hunt and ours and suddenly there I was, all alone, with neither camera or phone ready, and encouraging Ben to hurriedly grab eggs.  At past hunts we'd always gotten a one minute warning at the very least.  Ben had three whole eggs and a couple other candies before every last thing had been scooped up, and sadly Ryan missed the whole thing.  After Ben ate one chocolate he said, "Now let's go in there for the egg hunt!" while pointing to a nearby building.  I explained that that had been the whole kit and kaboodle and tried to make him excited for the Easter bunny (who was nowhere to be seen).  Ben remembered we had plans for Home Depot next and was thrilled to get on our way.

his haul was a little anti-climactic

Our "little" project was for Ryan to make a new sandbox cover using these great trex-like tiles his mom found.  While I thought he would just snap and screw them together and voila!!, he was keenly aware of the structural constraints if we were to use this as an extension of the deck.  It was a much more costly and time-consuming project than I expected but Ben and I are already dreaming of days on a hammock in the speckled shade of this spot.

Four of these tiles are removable with straps underneath to slide it under the adjacent big deck.  Sometimes the journey is long, but the solution with an engineer at the helm 

is almost always amazing.

 

 

Ryan's parents had stopped by earlier in the week with a load of rocks they had pulled
out of their yard.  While Ryan built the sandbox cover, I hauled rock and dug trenches for
several new bed borders.

I just happened to snap this pic earlier in the week showing how quickly the snow had melted but it made a nice "before" pic. 

I had no idea where I'd use the rock when they brought it, but containing this pea gravel was a definite bonus. 

  

I also added this corner to accent the other rocks that were already in this bed.  Containing this mulch was a must.

And finally, this border will stop the mulch from falling onto the sidewalk adjacent to the garage. 

We ended the weekend with an impromptu BBQ to help Papa Jim celebrate his birthday.  It was delightful to gather and look down on our hard work and dream about that hammock. ;)

Library

Ben "works" for a fun afternoon activity EVERY day at school.  It helps keep him on task and motivated and keeps his teachers and therapists from motivating him with screen time, which was their first idea.  There's a whole other post behind all that that will likely never happen here, but needless to say, thinking of something EVERY day gets exhausting.  Ben often asks to go to the library but we actually hadn't tried it in at least a year.  He is blessed to have so many books at home that we might never read them all, and like many kids, enjoys a few favorites most.  He is also very blessed to have a large school library and librarian which many preschoolers don't experience.  He's been doing great in the library at school and apparently loves a certain Skyscraper book.

So, yesterday I threw out the idea that today Ben could earn a trip to the library followed by a trip across the street for ice cream.  Amy, Grace and Sara ended up joining us as they are on Spring break and we all delighted in the late afternoon journey......mostly.  Ben bopped around a bit and was much more absorbed in the playhouse than the books I thought he might enjoy.  He asked for some of his favorite books from home before noticing another little boy watching Dora or Diego (are they the same show?) on a computer nearby.  Sara had also settled into a game on an adjacent computer and then all books were lost on Ben.  He was happy to click and pound away at the blank screen, but this was not an okay library activity in my book.  Thank goodness Amy was there so I could get library cards and gather a few books I thought Ben might enjoy.

To be fair, we did arrive at Ben's toughest part of the day, and he waited very patiently all day for his friends to arrive.  It was after 5pm by the time we finished our ice cream and walked home so I fully own that side of things not going swimmingly.  

The great side of this story is that I did find a Skyscraper book that Ben carries all around the house so it's always nearby and he also LOVES The Big Blue Thing on the Hill almost as much as I do.  We will crack open the others in the coming weeks and I hope that with more regular and better-timed visits, the library might become as dear to Ben as it was to me as a kid.  There are 3 other libraries very close so I might scout the others to find one without shows and computer games in such close proximity to the kiddo books.