Page 6 of 18

Posted on

Snowbasin

Yesterday morning we headed to beautiful Snowbasin. The boys and I did this hike with Melly last year and we all loved it. Consequently, I was eager for us to do it again. To get there, we had to drive through the beautiful canyon. The drive through this canyon takes a bit longer as it’s one lane each way and there’s some road construction. Nevertheless, it was a spectacular ride.

Snowbasin was quite busy when we got there due to a Xterra trail race that was happening that morning. Additionally, they also had a Germanfest starting at noon. Surprisingly the top of the mountain was not crowded. The ride up the gondola was breathtaking with fall colors all around us. Fortunately or maybe unfortunately, we were all able to fit into one gondola car. Goalielocks and the Mayor in that close of quarters is never a good combination.

While we went to hike to the summit, my folks walked the area near the ski lodge. The trail up to the summit is fairly easy. Albeit it didn’t feel easy on the way up. The hike starts at 8,500 feet, so it’s only a gain of just over 500 feet. It, however, felt like I hiked an elevation gain of 1,000 feet. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful hike up to the summit of Mount Ogden.

We spent twenty minutes at the summit taking pictures and enjoying the beautiful views of the Great Salt Lake to the west and the valley and mountains to the east. As we sat, the boys started a game of seeing who could hit the sign with the most rocks. It was a funny moment and a great way to catch our breath before heading down the mountain.

After Snowbasin we headed back to the AirBnB to enjoy our leftovers from Hibachi. Post lunch Grandma, Jake, the Mayor and I headed to Walmart to pick up packing supplies and few additional items. I was anxious to get some chapstick as my lips were killing me. The air is so dry out here that I also had buy some hand lotion.

The rest of the day we chilled at home. For dinner, I made beef tacos. I cooked up three pounds of beef and we don’t have too much meat left. We’re trying to eat at the AirBnB as much as possible since it’s cheaper and healthier. After dinner, we played the game Hot Seat, which was a ton of fun.

If you go:

Snowbasin

Games:

Hot Seat

Posted on

Celebrating Melly

Yesterday was all about acclimating to the altitude and celebrating Melly and her 20th birthday. It was fun to have everyone together here in Utah to celebrate with her. We started our day with a nice pancake breakfast in her honor. In fact, we even got to test the AirBnB’s smoke alarms courtesy of the pound of bacon the Hubby cooked.

After breakfast, we headed to Kohl’s to pick up some hiking boots for the boys and a new suitcase for Melly. Goalielocks had forgotten to pack his boots, while the Mayor had outgrown his old pair. While at Kohl’s I found the perfect opal bracelet for Melly. My parents, my hubby and I, Jake and Melly, and Goalielocks and Isa all started dating in October, so I bought both girls a piece of opal jewelry for their birthday. Jake treated us to Chick-Fil-a before we headed to the mall.

We spent the afternoon chilling at the AirBnb. Before we headed to dinner, we played a rousing and endless game of Uno. Apparently, they added a shuffle hand card with the new edition. Consequently, it turned Uno into a never ending game. Nonetheless, it was super fun.

For dinner, we headed to Tokyo Station in downtown Ogden. It’s a hibachi restaurant that happens to be the only one locally that has yum yum sauce. I’m not sure how a hibachi restaurant could function without yum yum sauce. The wait was long since they don’t take reservations, but the food was worth the wait. Most of us has the filet mignon, while Goalielocks and the Mayor had the chicken and shrimp pairing.

After dinner we headed back to the AirBnB to have birthday cake and play games. I had bought a cheesecake for Melly while we were out and about. Additionally, I had some super cute candles delivered with the cake. The card game was a ton of fun although the name escapes me at the moment. This morning we’re headed over to Snow Basin on the east side of the mountains.

Posted on

Utah Day One

Utah day one was a big success despite the lack of sleep the night before. Fortunately, our flights out West were smooth sailing. Thank you Delta! Once we got into SLC, I went to get the rental car set before my parents flight landed. Luckily, the logistics we planned worked out perfectly.

I ordered pizza to be delivered to Jake’s apartment as we drove North to Ogden. Since it was around 2:00 by the time we got to Ogden, it was still too early to check into our AirBnB. Thanks to Uber Eats and good timing, our pizza got to Jake’s about a minute after we arrived. Speaking of Jake’s place, it’s absolutely perfect for him. It’s a really nice place.

After hanging out at Jake’s for a bit, we headed over to our AirBnB. The place is just over 3 miles north east of Jake’s place, which is perfect. Thankfully, the AirBnB is as perfect in person as it looked on the website. Moreover, the owners decked it out completely with everything you could need and more. I love the place!

We spent the evening at home, I had groceries delivered via Shipt. Afterwards, we headed to Smith’s to buy meats for dinner. The house has a nice gas grill, which we were more than happy to use. For dinner, we had burger, brats and Luke’s grilled potatoes. It was really nice to be able to eat outside under the stars without sweating off my weight in water.

Today is Mel’s birthday, so we’ll be celebrating her all day as we acclimate to the altitude. We’re hoping to the mountains behind us tomorrow morning before heading to Antelope Island for family pictures in the evening. Hopefully, this time we’ll actually see some Antelope on the island! Utah day one was a success. I love Utah!

Posted on

On My Way

I’m on my way to see my boy!!! We left the house at 4:00 am, which sucked. Needless to say, we’re all going to need naps on the flight. Our first flight is a quick jaunt to Atlanta, so I probably won’t sleep until the second flight. I am hoping that the MacDonald’s in Atlanta isn’t out if egg mcmuffins again because that was a real buzz kill last time.

This is the first time I’ve taken a long vacation since starting my new job. I have to say it was nice setting the out of office notification and knowing I won’t check email until I’m back. Thankfully, its a complete 180 from my last job where the expected you to be plugged in 24/7. Obviously, I don’t miss those days at all!! Well, I’m on my way and I’m going to enjoy watching Dumb and Dumber.

Posted on

Wonderful Wednesday

It’s been a wonderful Wednesday for our family. This week has been quite stressful after a routine physical uncovered a potential cardiac issue for Goalielocks. As you can imagine, this took us by surprise and created a lot of anxiety in our house. The doctor told us no hockey until the cardiologist cleared him.

After several anxious days, the Hubby took Goalielocks to the cardiologist at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. Originally, I had intended to go, but I was concerned that my anxiety would make him more anxious. Anxiety isn’t known to be helpful with cardiac issues. I did, however, make a list of questions to ask the doctor. His cardiologist had me call in, so he could address my concerns. Obviously, he is used to nervous mothers.

Thankfully, after another EKG, an echocardiogram, and physical exam, the doctor cleared Goalielocks for all activities. Goalielocks will wear be wearing a holter monitor for the next week, which will give the doctor an idea of how often the irregular heart beats are happening. We will be taking it on vacation with us and he’ll wear it on our hike. I’ll also be taking him in for bloodwork to check his electrolytes and thyroid. We are so happy its nothing lethal and he’s going to be okay. More importantly, he can resume his normal activities.

Our wonderful Wednesday got even better this evening. This evening Jake called to give us some good news. The Board selected him for BTZ, which is an incredible honor. We are so incredibly proud of all he has accomplished over these past two years. I cant wait to see him Friday!

Here’s a list of our day’s activities:

*I’m reading Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel.

*I ran 1.5 miles and walked a mile on the treadmill while watching Curb.

*Three days until I’ll have all my boys in one place!

*We’re tracking the Tropics here in Florida. Fortunately, it still looks like none of these waves will be impacting Florida. Although we still have two systems in the Atlantic Peter followed by Rose.

*Tonight I made myself a Lean Cuisine since everybody else was out of the house. I enjoyed it with a nice bottle of sparkling water.

*The word of the day is lithography. One of my favorite examples of lithography is Moulin Rouge by Henri Toulouse-Lautrec. 

*I took my puppies including sweet Anakin for a. I put on his harness every morning. Fortunately, we had no run-ins with the toads, lizards or grasshoppers today.

Posted on

Melancholy Monday

It was a melancholy Monday. I’m just kidding is there ever a Monday that isn’t melancholy?!? Unfortunately, I didn’t get a lot of sleep night, so I didn’t head into the day with a good start. To make matters worse, my coffee took almost ninety minutes to be delivered. Moreover, when it was delivered the coffee had been spilled.

My work day dragged as client after client was looking for free coverage. It’s a bit frustrating when call after call takes the same path. Nonetheless, my day turned out to be relatively successful. I’m hopeful, however, that tomorrow will be a bit more fruitful since I’m heading out on PTO Friday.

Speaking of time off, in four days I’ll have all my boys in the same place!! The excitement is palatable. I’m looking forward to having time off and spending it with my family. Moreover, it will be great to enjoy some cooler temperatures for awhile. September in Florida is unbearably hot and humid.

Here’s a list of our day’s activities:

*I’m reading Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel.

*I skipped my run tonight as I had to a PanCan affiliate meeting to attend.

*Four days until I’ll have all my boys in one place!

*We’re tracking the Tropics here in Florida. Fortunately, it still looks like none of these waves will be impacting Florida. Although we have two systems in the Atlantic Peter followed by Rose.

*Tonight I made chicken stir fry from scratch tonight.

*The word of the day is gallery. One of the longest tasks of publishing a blog post is selecting the best images for the gallery.

*I took my puppies including sweet Anakin for a. I put on his harness every morning. Fortunately, we had no run-ins with the toads, lizards or grasshoppers today.

Posted on

Launch

Well Spacex had launch this evening that was spectacular and beautiful. Naturally, I completely forgot about it until I saw all the great pictures on Facebook. Oh fiddlesticks! They didn’t deliver our Hellofresh box until almost 8:00 pm tonight, so i got a late start to dinner, which distracted me from the launch.

For dinner this evening, I made the meatloaf brushed with barbecue sauce and served with shingled potatoes and green beans. Thankfully, this recipe was super easy to make. It was also delicious. I’d definitely make it again.

My Co-workers

We’re now at nine days until I have all my boys in one place and I can’t wait. It will also be the first time I’ve seen my folks since the pandemic started. Moreover, I’m looking forward to the beautiful fall weather. Oh yes, the day time temperatures will be in the mid 70s and the night time temperatures will be in the 50s. Needless to say, it will be a lot easier to hike the mountains this weather versus our last trip. I do plan to fearlessly rappel down to the waterfall I wasn’t able to see last year.

Here’s a list of our day’s activities:

*I’m reading Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel.

*One week and three days until I’ll have all my boys in one place!

*I still can’t run because my toe. Honestly, I’m going to try running on it on tomorrow.

*We’re tracking the Tropics here in Florida. Fortunately, it looks like none of these waves will be impacting Florida.

*I made meatloaf, shingled potatoes and green beans via HelloFresh. It’s definitely a do again.

*The word of the day is digitally. One of the benefits of being in a digitally connected age is the ability to work from home I love working from home.

*I took my puppies including sweet Anakin for a. I put on his harness every morning. Fortunately, we had no run-ins with the toads, lizards or grasshoppers today.

Posted on

One Week

It’s been one week since we lost our Sweet Maya. Since her passing, Athena and Anakin have been grieving their sister. Meanwhile, we have left her crate intact with her blanket and her bed. Hopefully, this will help the dogs transition to life without her since they can still smell her.

Today Goalielocks’ girlfriend gave him a pillow she had made for us memorializing Maya. First of all, it’s beautiful. I mean, It’s absolutely perfect. Secondly, the gift was incredibly thoughtful and kind. When I saw it for the first time, it made me misty. It was such a kind and moving act. Unquestionably, its acts of kindness and caring like this that make the world a better place.

Tuesdays continue to be the longest day of the week. I don’t know how its possible for any day to be longer than Monday, but here’s Tuesday jacking up myweek. Perhaps its because I start my Tuesday early and end it late with hockey practice. Albeit, my day is nowhere as long as my Hubby’s day. Meanwhile, the younger two boys are living their best life enjoying spirit week at school.

Here’s a list of our day’s activities:

*I’m reading Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel.

*One week and three days until I’ll have all my boys in one place!

*I still can’t run because my toe. Honestly, I’m going to try running on it on tomorrow.

*We’re tracking the Tropics here in Florida. Fortunately, it looks like none of these waves will be impacting Florida.

*I had siders and cookies for dinner tonight. I’m really winning at my diet today.

*The word of the day is oscillation. Unfortunately, the oscillation feature on my fan is no longer working.

*I took my puppies including sweet Anakin for a. I put on his harness every morning. Fortunately, we had no run-ins with the toads today. I was worried that he’s find one under the paver stones

Posted on

Obnoxious Hockey Parents

Obnoxious hockey parents come in all shapes and sizes, but believe it or not we’re not all crazy. Unfortunately, those that are crazy just stand out a lot more than the normal folks. Of course, their obnoxious in their own unique and special way. P.S. If you’re both a sensitive and obnoxious hockey parent, you should probably stop here. Consider that your trigger warning.

  1. The Bragger. Listen buddy, nobody and I mean nobody wants to see 50 pics of your child playing hockey on a statewide youth hockey forum. For that matter, they don’t want a recap of their performance at summer camp either.
  2. The Timer. We’ve all seen that one parent that always brings a stopwatch to the game and times everyone of their kid’s shifts. God forbid little Johnny doesn’t get enough ice time. Because this parent will hunt down the coach and demand to know why Princess only played 5.234 minutes in the game.
  3. The Suck Up. This is the parent who’s nose is so far up the coach’s ass it smell like ish. You know the one, they’re hours early for games and practices. Moreover, if the coach gives private lessons, they’ll sign up for every session to assure their kid’s ice time. (I totally forgot about this one until my hockey players pointed it out.)
  4. The Chronic Complainer. You simply cannot please this person. No matter what happens, it will be wrong. In fact, this person’s kid could win the Stanley Cup and they would complain its not gold.
  5. The Aspiring Golf/Tennis moms. First year bantam moms, I mean u-14 moms, this one is for you. Hitting is a part of the game and even a clean hit can result in injury. It’s a risked we all assumed when our kids hit the ice. If it’s too much for you, its time to sign the kid up for golf or tennis. Because frankly I don’t want to hear you screaming at the ref every time a kid gets checked
  6. The Coach. This one’s self explanatory, but I enjoy listening to hockey dads that have never skated strategize about the game. It’s amusing.
  7. The Perfectionist. This one is sad to me because this parent is always ragging on their kid no matter how good they play. For some reasons, these negative nellies have blinders when it comes to their kids’ achievements on the ice.
  8. The Anti-Ref. Similar to the coach above, the anti-ref is the parent who every game screams and yells at the ref despite not understanding the rules themselves. In some instances, they’ll even follow the refs to the ref room because their complete losers. Unfortunately, this asshole’s antics sometimes result in a bench minor for their kid’s team.
  9. The Uncommitted. When you sign your kid up to be a part of a team, you better make damn sure you’re upholding the commitment. Hockey is a team sport and a lack of commitment from a player can be a team killer.
  10. The foul-mouthed, broadcasting penalty box mom. Oh wait, that’s me.
  11. The Tailgaters. Just kidding tailgaters aren’t obnoxious. Tailgating pregame over the last decade has given me some of my best hockey memories.

I’m sure I’ve missed out on one or more of the obnoxious hockey parents archetypes, so this list could be updated. Obviously, this list is not representative of the majority of hockey parents. Most hockey parents I know are there because they love, like me, watching their children play the game they love.

Here’s a list of our day’s activities:

*I’m reading Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel.

*11 days until I’ll have all my boys in one place!

*I still can’t run because my toe. Honestly, I’m going to try running on it on tomorrow.

*We’re tracking the Tropics here in Florida. Fortunately, it looks like none of these waves will be impacting Florida.

*I made leftovers and cookies for dinner tonight.

*The word of the day is goodbye. Honestly, we are all struggling to say goodbye to Maya.

*I took my puppies including sweet Anakin for a. I put on his harness every morning. In spite of the harness, he still managed to get a toad before I could pull him off. Fortunately, it was a small toad and he’s a big boy.

Posted on

Fifteen Days

In only fifteen days, we’ll be headed West to visit our airman. I’m absolutely so excited to see my boy. It will also be nice to have time off and spend it with all four of my boys. Moreover, my parents and Melly will be joining us, which is great. Since Covid started, we’ve been unable to see my parents in person.

I booked an amazing AirBnB, a cabin, at the base of a mountain. It’s a gorgeous property with a great hot tub and a trail access in the backyard. I can’t wait to hike the mountains again. Naturally, it’s going to be tough since I haven’t been able to run since July. However, the weather should be a lot nicer than the last time we were there.

We’re all adjusting to Maya’s absence and it hasn’t been easy. So far we’ve left her crate set up as it was before we lost her. Since Maya passed, we decided to try keeping Athena at night. Previously, we crated both Athena and Maya because they tended to have accidents at night. Although Goalielocks tried it one night to see how they would fair. It went well until Maya peed right next to his head just after dawn.

Night one with Athena sleeping out ended with me stepping on a piece of poop. Now that was fun. Last night I discovered Athena peed on the carpet in our bedroom hallway while walking to the bathroom. Fortunately, we got a new carpet cleaner, which made it easy to clean up Athena’s mess.

The bigger mystery, however, is what happened to my pink hoody. I left it next to the bed last night before I fell asleep. This morning when I awoke it was missing. In fact, I have yet to find said hoody. To make matters worse, my new hoody now has a hole in it. Interestingly enough the size of the hole corresponds perfectly with the size of our puppies’ mouths. Apparently, they were quite naughty last night.

I really miss my sweet Maya girl. It still doesn’t feel real. One of the best parts of working from home is getting to spend everyday with my puppies. They truly are the best co-workers. Anakin and Maya would always lay near me in my office, while Athena would sit on the couch. Now both Anakin and Athena lay near me while I work. At any rate, the countdown is on! Fifteen Days until I see my boy!

Here’s a list of our day’s activities:

*I’m reading Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel.

*I still can’t run because my toe. I’ll be unable to run for at least four weeks. It’s now been two weeks since I broke it. Honestly, I’m going to try running on it on Sunday.

*We’re tracking the Tropics here in Florida. Fortunately, it looks like none of these waves will be impacting Florida.

*Uber Eats delivered my coffee for me today and will do so until we get another vehicle. 

*For dinner, I made chicken, black beans and rice for the Mayor and I. Goalielocks and Coach Hubby are in Miami for hockey practice tonight.

*The word of the day is ping pong. Maya’s passing has my emotions ping ponging all over the place.

*I took my puppies including sweet Anakin for a. I put on his harness every morning. Otherwise, I have difficulty controlling him on the leash. He’s incredible strong and can pull me off balance, which is why I’m now wearing a boot to protect my poor broken toe.