Colorado Family Vacation Finale: I Jumped But She’s Crazy

08/24/2015 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

The last day of our Colorado Family Vacation, day 5, was far from a lackluster day. Usually, the trip back from vacation entails lots of sitting, waiting, and sulking from having to get back to reality. But since we had a late afternoon flight, that meant there was more fun to be had!

I started with my final morning walk before anyone else was up to fit in my much needed daily workout. Seriously, my mental state depends on it! I wound up making the walk from Nana and Papa’s house down to the neighborhood entrance for a playground workout routine.

The walk down was one mile (warm-up), then I did…

7 rounds of:

5 monkey bar pull-ups
10 push-ups
15 Squats

And then briskly walked a mile back up the steep road to the house. I came back to everyone awake and having breakfast. After she was finished eating, Kelley and I planned on walking the 2.5 miles back to the Red Buffalo Cafe for coffee and temporary freedom thanks to Nana agreeing to keep Avery.

With my post-workout feel good endorphins on high, Going Mom and I set off for that beloved cup of coffee. We made sure to soak up the scenery on the way.

The views all around beat the views of traffic and large buildings back home, so no view was taken for granted. Even the Blue River, which we saw the first time we walked for coffee, had picked up the pace of its current since it just rained.

Seeing the increase flow of the water might deter others with the same plan I had set since the first day we arrived, but I’m not one to back down from a challenge; even if I’m my own challenger. Our first day there, as Steve drove by the Blue River to their home, I claimed I wanted to jump into the clear, cold water while visiting. Well, I hadn’t done it yet, so this was my final chance.

Kelley and I completed our trip for coffee first, and then searched for the best jumping spot as we made the walk back to the house. We passed several “potentials”, but finally settled on a fairly calm area for me to check off my vacation bucket list item.

I slowly emptied my pockets as I ran what I was about to do through my head.

Free plug for Zevia here. I love the shirt and all of their drinks! Then off with my trusty Soft Star Shoes and socks.

Last to go was my shirt and I was ~~already cold~~ ready to go!

Thanks to my awesome wife, I got it on Instagram and then she followed up with several pictures.

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Holy crap, it was cold! I mean, I expected cold, but this was COLD! Hence the look on my face….

By the time she finished, I was going numb. It was hard enough to keep my grip against the current, and losing my feeling helped not a bit! Needless to say, it was nice once I finally got out.

Well, out and dry. But I did it, and boy did it feel good! I dried rather quickly as we walked back, and we even ran into Nana and Avery just about to leave the playground I had walked to that morning.

Avery had blessed her with a nice poop, and we showed up just in time for her to finish changing her diaper. Perfect timing! Thanks, Kathy! 🙂

We finished our walk home to eat and pack for our return. The drive to the Denver Airport was sluggish with traffic clogging the roads. Apparently it’s common around there….bleh. Finally, we made it to the airport where we said goodbye to Papa and waited for our flight.

I thought the first flight wasn’t as bad as expected, so how bad could Avery’s second time flying be? Never should’ve asked! For one thing, it was right around her bedtime which is when her super crazy side comes out. On top of that, she just wasn’t eating much and was obviously hungry. It was even trouble feeding her a banana, one of her favorites!

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So, for the entire flight, our beautiful little demon was all over the place, which meant all of us and our floor space. And she might’ve kicked the guy in front of Kelley 1 2 1,000,000 times.

Luckily, we survived, but not without more fussiness all the way home. We only unpacked what we needed as I prepared a quick meal for my hungry girls. Then it was right to bed (after bath and book, of course) for Avery.

And there you have it, our first official Family Vacation is in the books! We don’t have another trip involving planes planned for the near future, but hopefully Avery will be a little easier to communicate with when we do.

Have you ever jumped into cold water? On purpose or by accident?

What do you think is the best age to start flying with your kids? If you had a choice.

#MySundayPhoto, Parenting

“Nothing Gold Can Stay” Debunked: #MySundayPhoto – 08.23.15

08/23/2015 R.C. Liley 10 Comments

Other than the pictures from our family vacation in Colorado, we have been eased up on the picture taking as of late. Maybe because we’ve felt it a bit excessive in the past, or just that Avery’s so active that we’d rather spend the time playing with our growing girl.

Whatever the case, I am absolutely in love with this picture and glad I took the time for a few shots (while playing) to get it. This was one of those pictures you don’t even realize you captured until going back and looking at them later. My wife and I were both in awe of this one.

My heart fills warm with love and I turn speechless every time I look at this photo. How much she has grown in just the past few weeks is unreal, exciting, as well as a little depressing. It makes me think of the poem, Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost, and how it’s both right and wrong.

Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

Right, because obviously so many beautiful things in life come and go every day. A newborn baby is only newborn for so long until they get older and older and older until they’re taking care of the couple that raised them.

Wrong, because, as you can see, pictures will forever capture that one “Gold” moment enabling it to “Stay” or last forever. Plus, that newborn baby will continue to be golden in so many ways throughout life.

Whoa! What happened? I feel like Will Ferrell in the debate scene from Old School where he snaps out of it after his winning debate. Even a pun-loving guy like myself has serious deep thoughts at times.

Anyway, I’ve gone on too long, but just wanted to say how much I love this picture I’m happy to have it for us to enjoy even as she continues to grow.

Do you have a certain photo that totally captivates you?

What do you think about the saying “Nothing gold can stay”?

Life, Parenting

Colorado Family Vacation Day 5: Almost Surprised

08/22/2015 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

My wife told me not to plan anything for the last day of our Colorado family vacation, a Wednesday, and gave no further details. Well, at first, but then I kept getting tiny bits of additional info.

First, she had to make sure she was covered under her dad’s insurance so she could drive us to Breckenridge. She also mentioned how she’d like to get there early so we could walk the familiar streets of Breckenridge. So now I knew we were going to Breckenridge.

Then I couldn’t help but think about how we had to be there at a certain time, so obviously it was something that required an appointment. The last hint was when I asked how to dress. Since I would most likely venture off to do some sort of workout, I obviously wouldn’t be that clean, so I had to ask.

“Just don’t be smelly.” was her only request. Easy enough, I would hope I could at least pull off not being smelly. With these clues, I finally put together my best guess that we were getting massages. I’ve only been talking about getting one for a long time, so I truly hoped I was right.

I fit in a workout by going on a 4 mile trail run, which did in fact make me smelly, and wet from the early morning dew. Oh, and the overnight rain.

No doubt, a shower was needed before going out with Going Mom for my “surprise”. But first, I asked her to get a few pictures of me trying a head stand.

“Who cares?” you ask? Probably no one but me, but I can and obviously will share it here! Then I showered so as to not be smelly.

On the drive to Breckenridge, I let off that I was was 90% certain where we were going, and Kelley immediately caved.

“Well, happy anniversary.” she said, slightly disappointed. I let her know it wasn’t until that very day that I put it together, and getting massages, surprise or not, is just freaking awesome! And having a couples massage where I can lay next to my wife as we don’t speak a word to each other is….well, guess that doesn’t sound all that great, but it is!

We arrived in town with time to spare, so we took to the streets to take in the atmosphere. Oh, and get coffee, duh. No pictures were taken while we enjoyed our time together, but the place we got our coffee, Cuppa Joe, has been our favorite choice from year’s past. Here we are when we went in the winter of 2012.

Holy crap, we aged! Is this what having kids does? Nah, I’ll blame it on, *gasp*, the passing of time! That’s deep, I know.

Our couple’s massage at Harmony put us in harmony for the rest of the day. I had the Ashiatsu Massage, and let me tell you, having someone walk all over you isn’t always a bad thing.

Here’s the definition as given by this site.

Ashiatsu Massage Therapy. “AOBT Definition” Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy™ (AOBT) is Asian barefoot massage. “Ashi” means “foot,” and “atsu” means “pressure.” Oils and lotion are applied to the body, and soft, clean, bare feet give a rhythmic and deep Swedish massage

It was relieving, and although not a huge surprise, the perfect anniversary gift from my wife. Thank you, Kelley, I love you dear! Now when can we go again?

The rest of the day was low key and spent at home with Nana, Papa, and Ashlee. While we were out, Ashlee continued her marathon book reading to Avery like the awesome cousin she is.

That night, we got Avery to burn off lots of energy by mimicking Ashlee as she ran and jumped into a pillow pallet we created. Over and over again, she would do her best to “jump” into the pile and crawl around.

She slept very good that night! Which was great since it made for uninterrupted Yahtzee playing time for Kelley and me.

Besides the first night, every night we were there, we’d hole up in our room for a couple rounds of Yahtzee. We hardly play anything at home (as in never), and I forgot how fun it was to play a board game, especially with my wife! It probably helped that I won all but two games, but I think Kelley would agree it was part of the best thing of our vacation.

Maybe it sounds silly, but quality time spent together truly is the best thing for any relationship!

The next day was our return home, but not without crossing the last thing off my vacation bucket list. Come back to find out what it was. Hint: it was cold!

Have you ever figured out something that was supposed to be your surprise? Has your surprise ever been figured out?

Do you play board games with friends and/or family often?