spt -- give me a break!

When I saw this week's challenge (to document one way in which we treat ourselves or just need a breather), my plan was to go get a pedicure and document that much-needed pampering (see last week's spt).

That didn't pan out. Yet.

Then I realized that reading is my go-to break, every day.

I can't seem to go to sleep at night unless I've done some reading, even if it's just a few pages sometimes. Flopping on my bed during the day with a book – even if it's just for 15 minutes – brings me back to calm when it seems everyone is hell-bent on stealing it.

And when I have a really good book, I'm not above taking it into the bathroom with me. (I tend to not get disturbed as often when I'm in there.) A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

Vail -- part 2

On Monday, Emily and I looked up Vail yarn shops and found The Yarn Studio in a nearby town. We found it easily and it was a lovely, though tiny, shop. We wandered for about an hour, feeling the different fibers and delighting in all the colors. It was hard to narrow down the choices for sure! (Incidentally, I thought this was my first visit to an actual yarn shop, but when Denise was talking to Grandma, she found out that Grandma used to come to this very shop and that I accompanied her there when I was young!)

Eva enjoyed finding all of the pink yarns and exclaiming over the softest ones, saying things like, "Grandma! You've gotta come feel this one!" She also loved the owner's dog who was resting on a bench near some knitters.

My favorite purchases: soft merino wool, cotton, alpaca silk, and a cashmere blend. I can't wait to use them! (is it wrong that I want to buy every yarn in green? I have to restrain myself.)

We walked to this great little park. It has a playground for small kids, a playground for big kids, and a pond to walk around. This charming little stick fence goes around the entire perimeter. On our last evening, we met a woman with two dogs who was throwing balls into the pond for the dogs to fetch. They were absolutely entrancing. Again, I love other people's dogs.

Eva's first time on a see-saw. Max carefully let himself down slowly so that she wouldn't fall off or get scared.

Lucas helped.

On Tuesday, we went into Vail Village to walk around. I was curious to find out if it was anything like I remembered when I went there as a child. (I think I was about 12 the last time I went there.) The verdict: nope! I didn't recognize a single thing. I don't know if it's due to massive change or just faulty memory. In any case, it was fun.

We went in several cute shops, but the Cos Bar (cosmetics bar) was definitely my favorite. Eva's as well. I ended up buying some Bobbi Brown silver lipgloss. It sounds scary, but it's really neutral and pretty. Mom also bought me some B.B. super-sparkly silver eyeshadow, which Eva gave her stamp of approval.

Charlotte cozying up to William Shakespeare.

Many self-portraits were taken (Denise and Sarah here), and many strangers offered to take our picture. It's hard to explain that you actually want to take the picture yourself! Some people just don't get it.

Eva met a frog prince.

I took a picture of this manhole cover for you, Kristi!

I was just taken with these red-paned windows, shutters, and awnings!

We had hamburgers one night with Grandma's homemade buns! Delish. Poor Uncle Mark singed some of his facial hair and took one for the team when he did battle with the soaring flames of the grill. We also had our favorite black bean/tomato/corn/avocado/lime salad, but I forgot to take a picture.


We all watched the American Idol finale. Not a great picture, but I wanted proof that my mom did actually just sit and relax! A lot. It was amazing and, I'm sure, much-needed. Also, take note of Emily's knitting -- her first time trying double-pointed needles and in colors that matched her outfit!

Ryan and Miles aren't A.I. fans, but they watched with us anyway. Miles said, "I can see why Grandma likes American Idol -- it's stylish!" and, when there was a close-up of Adam, "He's wearing eyeliner. And he has elongated eyelashes!" He's only eight, but he has always had a way of cracking us all up with his repartée.

Eva was thrilled to have so many people around that she could cajole into playing with her. She colored with Dad and Ryan, played dinosaurs with Mom and Sarah, and threw rocks in the creek with Miles. Nothing could be better for this very non-independent girl.

We took a bunch of family pictures before leaving on Wednesday. Of course, that was the day I decided not to do my hair...!

It's been far too long since I've seen my brother. I think Ryan looks so cute with his head shaved!

My mom is so darling. I hope I look like her when I grow up!

Dad actually elicited a rare smile from Eva. She refused to pose or smile for any pictures, but I guess she couldn't resist when she got one of his bear hugs.

It was hard to leave the beautiful mountain setting and my fun family. I was feeling my characteristic weepiness whenever we part for the first hour or two.

I also stopped to buy some No-Doz, just in case. It worked! No drowsiness on the way home.


I was sure hoping Eva would sleep longer than the 1/2 hour nap she took. But at least no one got carsick!

Crystal hit it on the money when she asked if I was feeling that week-after hangover. Why do I always feel like I need a vacation after coming home from vacation? Ah well, back to real life...

Vail -- part 1

A friend of Denise's offered her the use of his "cabin" in Vail, and she invited us to join them. I had been debating, since my boys have missed so much school lately, but ultimately we decided to go. It was a great vacation and we were all so glad we did! (Marc had to stay home and teach, but at least he had 6 days of peace and quiet.)

I dared to snap a photo when there were no other cars around. I love the way these windmills look.

As previously mentioned, we had a terrifying near miss when I started to fall asleep at the wheel. The kids haven't said anything about it since, but I know I was traumatized. For a few seconds there, as we spun out across two lanes of traffic, I thought we might all perish together on Highway 6. Thankfully, we were protected and came through the experience with no physical scars! The remaining 5 hours of the trip was a white-knuckle drive for sure.

I was so very relieved when we arrived at the house, and a very beautiful house it was indeed. We estimated about 10,000 square feet!

This is the amazing view from the family room.

Mom and Dad were there, too, and Dad's birthday was the next day. His birthday breakfast was this mountain of donette gems. (Ashley calls them fauxnuts, which I think is the perfect moniker for these waxy little donuts.) Everyone was thrilled.

He spent his birthday going back to Denver to pick up Ryan and Miles -- my brother and nephew whom I haven't seen for 3 years! My cousin Sarah was also returning from her clogging competition (national champions!), so they waited and all came back to Vail on Saturday night.

We watched Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea! I haven't watched them probably for 15 years, and it was a real treat. That Matthew is unbearably sweet. They are quite possibly my favorite movies ever, but I don't have anyone (in my house, at least) that would want to watch them with me, so this was a fun opportunity to indulge our love of Anne, Matthew, Marilla, Gilbert, and all the rest.

Mom and Charlotte were helping Emily to wind her yarn into balls, until they got to the "hell ball" and gave up because it was too hard to untangle. Emily came out the conquerer, however! I love the colors of her yarn. She knitted her first hat with it and then started in on muffatees (our new shared obsession). It's fun to have a fellow knitter around.

Dad opening his cards and gifts. I gave him a subscription to Smugmug, so maybe now I'll be able to see all of his cool photos!

Even though Grandma and Grandpa decided not to come to Vail, Grandma made Dad his favorite carrot cake and sent it up. I forgot to get a picture of it, but it was delicious, of course.

There was plenty of time and space for everyone to do whatever he or she wished. Here my very tall cousin John is stretched out, playing his Nintendo DS. The kids' domain downstairs had an air hockey table and foosball, and Lucas was pleased to discover a basketball hoop in the garage.

As Denise said on her blog, we are sort of low-level recreators in our family. We are happy with movies, good food, walks, and maybe a little shopping expedition or two. Ryan and Miles, however, are real outdoorsmen. They took Max on a long hike and a fishing attempt (no bites).

We enjoy cooking together, and it cracked me up that, with 5 bloggers among us, the food was surrounded by paparazzi.

Denise forgot to bring a rolling pin, so she had to improvise with the can of Pam.

Many hands make light work, especially when you are making 4 batches of breadsticks! (I thought this excessive until I discovered that they were all gone shortly after dinner. Denise knows what she is doing.)

Miles doesn't sit still for long, so I was glad to capture this cute grandfather/grandson moment of relaxation.

Charlotte and Emily taught all the kids to play Killer Bunnies. I never did learn the game, but they sure did have fun! They had several long, rousing games.

We played a lot of Bananagrams. I love that game! I can't remember the last time my mom sat down and played games with us.

We went on daily walks around the neighborhood, soaking in the fresh mountain air, the sights and smells. Everywhere we turned there were babbling creeks (one of my very favorite sounds), beautiful trees, and many varieties of birds. I discovered that hummingbirds make a sound -- other than that of their wings flapping -- and Eva and I became experts at spotting them. In fact, she would keep a "creature count" during our walks. Mostly we saw birds and dogs, but we also saw a few squirrels and a fox.

This picture is for you, Jess. Eva and Miles were looking for big rocks to throw in the creek and she was quite taken with this one. Of course it reminded us of rock you became attached to as a tiny girl, coincidentally also found in Vail!

Many of the homes have bear statues, but we dubbed this one the "were-bear". It's kind of creepy, but it became a friendly landmark of sorts over time.

On Sunday, we attended sacrament meeting at the Vail branch. Half of the meeting is in Spanish -- half of the hymns, prayers, and talks. Well, at least my dad understood everything! It was a wonderful meeting and I absolutely loved the talk given by the visiting high council member. I was shocked to discover that this branch is in Denise's stake, as it is about an hour and a half from where she lives. Oh so different from the boundaries we have here in Utah.

One night we had homemade pizza for dinner: barbecue chicken, cheese, pepperoni, and veggie varieties. Delicious!

Stay tuned for part 2...

trip to Oregon -- Black Butte

We arrived at Black Butte Ranch on Thursday afternoon. Marc's family has some friends who own a vacation home on the ranch (which is really a misnomer as it's actually a golf resort). Marc and I stayed in the home for a few days on our honeymoon. It has been expanded and entirely remodeled since then, which is not too surprising considering that was 17 years ago!

This is where you check in to the ranch! The weather was just gorgeous -- 80s and sunny -- a refreshing change from Utah's heat.

This is just a partial view from the dining/family room. It has floor to ceiling windows the length of the room. The golf course is just a few yards beyond the deck.

All of the kids just loved Black Butte. There was so much for them to do: ping pong in the garage, a giant closet full of bikes and plenty of bike paths, a giant hot tub on the deck, tennis courts, a fabulous pool within walking distance. They had a lot of freedom and they really enjoyed being all together in one house, while the adults enjoyed having several bedrooms for privacy.

Uncle Bob took Max & Nicole to play tennis.

Eva really loved the little sandbox on the deck. (Especially when Grandma sat by her and joined in the game.)

In the evenings, the kids would walk out and play on the golf course. They loved the freedom of being able to run all over the place in the soft grass.

Grandma being indulgent yet again -- playing tag with Eva. Somehow I never want to do that.

Grandpa gave Lucas a little swinging instruction.

We walked over to the pool. I think the kids would have stayed there all day, if there weren't so many other fun things to do. Eva particularly loved the kiddie pool with a beach entry. I snapped this picture of her "taking a mermaid" (this has been cracking me up at Seven Peaks, but I never have my camera there).

By the last day, she got brave enough to play in the fountains!

On Friday, Max and Lucas had been playing -- for a long time -- in the giant hot tub on the deck while Eva took her nap. They were just getting out when she woke up wanting to get in with them. Max agreed to stay in with her and ended up spending probably another hour and a half in the tub!

This is what his feet looked like when I rescued him.

...and this is the face I got when I wrapped her up in a towel.

I don't know if this is moss or some form of parasite, or both, but I found it very intriguing. A beautiful addition to the trees!

Black Butte was beautiful, and very relaxing. Lucas loved it so much, he didn't want to leave. He said he wished the beach was just on the other side of the house -- then we could stay put and have the best of both worlds.

We left late Saturday morning for the final leg of driving to the coast, about 3 1/2 more hours. As Marc was backing carefully out of the driveway, he just couldn't seem to avoid one pesky tree, and he had to keep maneuvering to get a wide enough berth. He actually exclaimed "I hate nature!" at one point, which made the rest of us laugh hysterically. (He was only kidding a little bit.)

Unfortunately, Lucas got carsick about an hour into the drive, despite the aforementioned prescription motion sickness medicine. (We've tried Dramamine and Benadryl in the past. I've asked about getting a patch for him, but apparently you have to be 18 for those. We also use those acupressure wristbands. The poor kid just gets really sick.) I prayed and prayed that it would be an isolated incident, since we've had nightmarish experiences in the past with him being sick for hours until we finally reach our destination. Luckily, he was okay the rest of the time, but I'm sure it really reinforced his desire to remain at Black Butte.