Yerba Buena

 

How lucky are we?! We were given the opportunity to go to San Francisco for the weekend by Chuck's old boss, Pete. Chuck had done some pro-bono work for him and as payment, Pete flew us out to Frisco to join him for an event. It was incredible! Sadly, a delayed flight precluded us from enjoying the event with Pete. But we were able to meet him and his wife, Kristine, later that evening for the most delightful dinner. I just love conversations that go on for hours and you learn so much. The intellectual curiosity at that table filled me to the brim. They are the kind of people that make everyone and the world around them better.

 

This was the incredible view from our hotel room. That's the Bay Bridge in the background.

 

This is the front of our hotel that faced The Embarcado. It used to be an old Army/Navy YMCA hotel back in the 1930s.

 

We sure do love our fireplaces. This one was great for playing cards on.

 

The first night we were there, we dined with Pete and Kristine and called it a night. We woke up and had brunch with them the next morning before we each headed off on our own adventures. Chuck and I decided to walk up to Coit Tower from our hotel - a 2.3 mile hike straight up-hill. It couldn't have been a more beautiful day, high 50s and sunny. 

 

I'm always so delighted with the flora in California. Everything, even in winter, is so lush and colorful and bright. This particular one smelled like kool-aid, sweet and aromatic.

 

And this beauty looked like it came right out of a Dr. Seuss book!

 

This is only one of the many murals that lined the inside walls of Coit Tower. They are stunning and so detailed. It's a beautiful history of the city. Speaking of history, did you know that San Francisco's original name was Yerba Buena meaning, Good Herbs? Precisely for the same reason I'm enthralled with their flora, so were the original occupants. The area grew flowers and herbs and bushes so well and always smelled good. 

 

From the Tower we had an incredible view of Alcatraz Island.

 

We also got a spectacular view of Golden Gate Bridge.

 

Do you see that tall tower in the far upper right hand corner, that's Coit Tower. It's looks farther away than it is (only 1.5 miles). That's where we walked from to get to the famed curvy road on Lombard Street. I've driven down it several times, but this was our first time to walk up it. From there we walked down to the Bay to grab some ice cream at Ghirardelli Square (delish, btw). Then back through Chinatown to grab a late lunch. As we were leaving, we realized that it was close to the time for the parade to start, so we hung around for the opening of it.

 

We just happened to be there on the day of the Chinese New Year's Day Parade. What luck! And we had a front row seat to witness the festivities.

 

The dragon dancers were my favorite.

 

As we were leaving, we came across this group of people lining up and getting ready for their part in the parade. It was so cool to see the entire community take part in this event.

 

The evening sunset played off this signage beautifully.

 

This is the Ferry Plaza. Just beautiful inside and out.

 

And this is the view we were treated to once we got back to our room. 

 

The sunrise on the morning we left. *Happy Sigh*. Until next time San Fran....

 

 

New iPhone Feature

 

My sweet girl was sick the other day. I woke up to several texts saying: "Mooooooom." When I didn't reply because I was sleeping, and Chloe didn't want to get out of bed to come get me, she reverted to using the new "echo" feature in the messaging app. This allows one to type in a word and for that word to reappear over and over again while cascading up the screen. That is what you see in this picture. 

This is the modern day equivalent of what we used to do as kids. We would either call our mom over and over again, with our voices, until she came into the room to see what we needed or ring the little bell she set by our bed for such an occasion. In our house, we have no little bell. But we do have personal cell phones with the echo feature and Chloe is very adept at using it. Can't you just hear her desperate, sick, voice with all those little "mooooom" texts floating up to heaven? I can. And I come running....when I can hear my phone, that is.

Tea and Crumpets

This is our life in the winter. The kids come home from school to this. We like to call our little snack "crumpets" just because it sounds all British and formal and silly. But really they're just blueberry scones. We don't even know what a crumpet is.

And it's not as easy as just pouring hot water over a tea bag. Everyone here has their own tea preference. We have descended into pure tea snobbery. Our trip to Murchie's in Canada opened our eyes to what truly delicious tea is and now we are forced to order our own 50 bag box of tea (sometimes I'm so desperate I even pay shipping). How pathetic are we?!

This is what my tea cupboard looks like at the moment. I told you we are tea snobs. But what I love the most is that we can all share it together. We actually enjoy sitting around with our "cuppa tea" and visiting about our day while simultaneously getting all warm inside. Mind you, this happens usually twice a day, sometimes 3 on really cold days.

Birthday Adventures

I turned 47 this past Thursday. I am so happy to be alive! I think about that everyday as my maternal grandmother never got to experience this age having died at age 46 from emphysema. Every single day is a gift. The brevity of life touched close to home today after learning of the tragic news that stunned the world of Kobe Bryant's death. It causes you to do some deep reflecting and soul searching; an apt reminder for us all to live each moment to its fullest.

 

We had a wonderful family celebration on Thursday evening where all my loved ones showered me with the most thoughtful gifts. We even had Gavin with us via FaceTime. Chuck pulled out all the stops, as usual, and gave me the most treasured gift of time together going on adventures. Being us, we like to have a plan, but rarely do we follow it. It's more of a "flexible idea list." Usually, we get to everything on our list and even then some, but we like to keep it open for other fun things that come up that we didn't anticipate. So, no surprise, that's what happened with this beautiful plan too. Sadly, we never made it to the Book Sale. (Side note: the library only has 4 book sales per year and we are there! This is our mecca. We have grown our personal library by leaps and bounds through this book sale. So it's a big deal.)

We decided instead to have a late (for us) breakfast at The Urban Egg and get nice and full to start our hike early. Around here, the sunniest and least windy part of the day is in the morning. The sky is a beautiful, vibrant blue. It's so sunny and happy. We decided to make the most of the beautiful morning. This was our destination - Horsetooth Mountain. It is the iconic Mountain in the Foothills of Fort Collins. This is as close as we made it, however. After almost two hours of hard hiking, we made it about 30 minutes away from actually getting to climb on the rock itself. You can see tiny dots on the right of the mountain, those are people. We are not them, nor did we want to be. We were happy just seeing it this close up. The entire hike was a 1300 foot elevation gain.

 

I just love this photo. It sums up our hike beautifully. Sunny, uphill, rocky, happy.

What an incredible vista! I can't believe this is my life!

On the way back down, this is the view we were treated to. Can you believe those incredible clouds?! Can you believe we get to hike in January, in the mid-40s?! 

After the hike, we checked into, by far, the loveliest hotel we've ever stayed in. Craftsmanship and fine details were everywhere. We were both very impressed! The rest of the day went by in a blur. We made the New Belgium Brewery Tour. I detest beer, but loved the tour. It was fascinating to learn how they make it and how much science and time goes into the process. We headed to dinner and then the theater where we were yawning our heads off. But being 47, we can do hard things. So we pushed through our sleepiness and even ended with a nightcap of french fries at The Emporium. Chuck always wins at birthday gifts!

Watering Plants

 

This is my fridge. I love my fridge. These are the only two magnets I have on the front of it. Don't worry, there are also plenty of tacky magnets littered on the side that no-one can see. I'm normal. 

But this story is all about this adorable plant magnet. It is so artful. I just love it. I also love how succulent it looks. It looks and feels very real. 

That's why I couldn't help but giggle when I found Chuck in the kitchen one day with a tiny teaspoon measurement filled with water. He was gently pouring water into the teeny-tiny opening at the top of the magnet. I was laughing so hard I could tell him why. I just love his thoughtfulness!

 When I was finally able to calm down enough to tell him that the plant was fake, he asked me, "Are you sure?" To which, I said, "Ya, I'm pretty sure. But, now you have me second guessing." So we scrutinized the magnet to make sure there was no dirt in it. Turns out, I was right all along and Chuck had to clean up the water that was dripping down the front of the fridge since we don't water magnets.

Art Appreciation

 

Once Chloe and Bennett went back to school, the rest of us took a field trip to the Denver Art Museum to view the Monet exhibit. It was quite spectacular! I have always loved Impressionistic art and Monet in particular. In college I had a poster of his artwork in my tiny living area. I also painted a duplicate of one of his pieces in art class and gave it to my parents as a gift. I loved one of his many quotes that were painted randomly on the walls throughout the gallery: "Apart from painting and gardening, I'm not good at anything." 

I thoroughly enjoyed learning about Monet's life and appreciating the perspective his paintings take. He loved wide open spaces, sunsets, flowers, water, and landscapes. In that, we are of one heart.

I was surprised to learn how often he moved. This painting was done while he lived in Holland. 

 

 Isn't this just gorgeous! Oftentimes I found myself equally impressed with the craftsmanship of the frames as I was with the art held inside them.

 

This one is entitled "Fog". It was done while he lived in London. How do you capture fog? It's so ethereal. 

 

The museum also had another exhibit entitled: The Treasures of British Art. That is where we viewed the piece above. This painting by Edward Collier is called "Ode to a Dead Soldier" and was done in 1667. The detail in this piece just blew me away. I don't know all the fancy speak that art appreciation people use to describe beautiful art, but if I did, I would use all the words. Incredible! 

 

Here is yet another impressive piece. This unbelievable architectural painting called "Interior of the Cathedral, Pisa" was done is 1859. How can people be this talented?! 

 

After being duly impressed at the art museum, we walked through downtown on our way to lunch passing this giant bear peeking into the convention center. We then indulged on the most delicious pizza outside of Minneapolis, Pizza Republica. We were just as excited about our food as we were about the beautiful art we just witnessed. Needless to say, we were all incredibly happy on this day of beauty.

 

Chloe's Quote

 

The other day I was just innocently sitting on the sofa reading when Bennett wanders over and decides that is going to try to mess with me the way only a teenage boy can mess with his mom. I looked him directly in the eye and in my best serious voice and death stare said, "Boy, don't play games with me."

And as if on cue, Chloe appropriately adds: "Mom doesn't play a lot of games, but those she does play, she wins!"

Bennett got roasted twice. Chloe won "quote of the day." And I felt vindicated. Win/win all around.

Wisdom Tooth Tale

Bennett got all four of his wisdom teeth out this past Thursday. He was a trooper. When the Doctor called me back after the surgery, he and the nurse couldn't stop smiling. I'm sure the see and hear so many funny antics as the kids come out of their drug induced stupors. When I first saw him he gave me a high five when I asked him how he was doing. Then he gave the Doctor a high five. I imagine he was doing that a lot prior to my entering the room. As I was attempting to video him (while driving) he kept winking at my phone.

Some funny things he said on the way home while his mouth was stuffed with gauze that I had to interpret:

• "I'm stronger than this"
• "I want a burrito" 
• "basketball" (at multiple random intervals)
• "the office"
• "they put codeine in the iv" 
• "i woke up in the car"

Adulting

 

 This is what 21 looks like.

 

You still have to pose with your siblings on high ledges when Mom asks you to.

 

But it's so worth it because you're outside, up in the mountains on a gorgeous day in January celebrating the gift of being alive with your whole family gathered around you. What could be better?!

We were so thankful to be able to spend Gavin's 21st birthday together before he had to be back at school. We had an awesome 3 whole weeks together playing tons of games, eating tons of food, and watching tons of movies. We won at adulting.

Let's Go Adventuring

A free, sunny, 60 degree Saturday in January has all the makings of an adventure. Sadly, Bennett had to work all day, but luckily, Brooke was available to join us, so we still numbered 5. Gavin had a hankering for Chuy's. Since it's an hour away from us, we decided to see what other fun things we could do around there. Lucky for us there was the Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum. This is where we in the above photo.

Who knew how incredible this museum would be?! Honestly, I took way too many photos of rocks. I really, really enjoyed my geology class in college.

 How can one not be impressed with a mini diorama made of silver and gold inside a walnut shell?!

 

This is Dolomite from Namibia.

 

This is Cyanotrichite from Idaho.

 

And this is the most incredible carving of a duck made out of Rhodochrosite.

Colorado School of Mines is located in Golden, Colorado. We accidentally happened upon the quaint little downtown area. Looks like an old west town. But we didn't stop, just passed through on our way to the Lookout Mountain Nature Center.

 

We had fun walking through the snow covered paths of the Forest Trail Loop.

 

Dad and Gavin doing their best to keep the shoes clean.

 

When one finds a tree, one climbs it.

 

So does the other one.

 

And the last one. All by herself with no help. 

I just love going adventuring!

Parenting is Hard

I know I've mentioned alot in this blog about how I really have loved the teenage years. And I still do, but....it doesn't mean parenting stops or gets easier. These past few weeks are proof of that.

These two adored each other when they were young. Bennett has always been so thoughtful about including Chloe. And Chloe couldn't give him enough kisses or hand holds. But things came to a breaking point this week and all those lovey feels were no longer in the air. It broke my heart. I waited and watched. Parenting looks different at each stage. At this particular one, I can't go in and tell them to stop and fix the problem for them. I have given them all the tools they need, I just need to stay on the outskirts and see how it plays out. 

However, I decided to come off the sidelines yesterday. The animosity between these two had risen to new levels and it wasn't getting better - rather worse. What I wanted to do was yell at them to take their heads out of their butts and see how they're hurting the other person. I wanted to tell them to just stop it and they would. I wanted to tell each of them how mean and selfish they were acting. But has anyone ever changed by pointing out all their negative qualities? Obviously, I was going to have to find a different way.

Chuck was out of town (the go-to peacemaker), we'd reached our breaking point, and I was the only parent left to clean up this mess. I was scared. I hate conflict. This cannot be overstated enough. I hate conflict between myself and others and just watching it play out between other people. I just want it all to go away. I decided the famous prayer of "Help, God, Help!" was in order. I left my prayer time with an idea of how to handle this situation and felt much better about the inevitable conflict that was to come.

I talked with each kid individually telling them that we would be having a talk in a little while about what's going on between the two of them. I wanted to prepare them so they not feel attacked. I wanted them to have time to think about the things bothering them the most so they would be able to articulate it instead of melt into a puddle of tears or use the famous teenage adage,"You just don't understand."

We all decided to sit in my room. I started the conversation off by reading them a blog I wrote 10 years ago about how much they adored each other. They both remembered the situation and seemed a little melancholy after I read it. I told them that their feud has gotten to the point where I needed to intervene because they are not using the tools I taught them. This situation has gotten out of hand and they need a mediator to help walk them through the hurt each of them are feeling. I get to be that mediator. 

They began by telling each other the one thing they love the most about one another. Then they were each free to tell the other the one thing that the other was doing that was causing them so much pain that they felt justified in treating each other in such spiteful ways. They each had to listen and not respond until it was their turn. It's hard to hear and see these ugly things in ourselves - especially when we feel justified. They had to sit with that pain and hear how it hurt the other. That is a humbling place to be. They both did it well. 

There was no yelling. There were no accusations. They seemed relieved to finally be talking about this and getting it out into the open. It was a healthy conflict resolution. I was the only one to cry, but I seem to do that a lot these days. I cry when I'm overwhelmed, happy, sad, hurt. Chloe might have cried as well, but I had my glasses off and couldn't see clearly. But all the tears were of relief. We were all relieved this hurt between each other was named, discussed, and forgiven. We were relieved to go back to our normal relationships letting love guide and not the hurt.

The thing about conflict is...it's normal. To avoid it is to avoid relationship. Relationships take work. We have to push through the hard parts. We're unique human beings with our own wills, of course there will be conflict. But how much do you love the other person? Enough to fight for your relationship?

To keep them honest and resentment from building up causing another episode like this again, now, on a daily basis, they will have to tell each other one thing they really appreciate about the other and one thing the other did or said that made them feel aggrieved. Like anything worth while, it takes practice. There will be more ups and downs, but they should be better equipped to handle them on their own.

The Far Side of Parenting is so much harder than when they were little. But I'm thankful for these opportunities to grow and learn along with my children.