the symphony

Sometimes I romanticize the event. I make reservations several weeks in advance and look forward to exposing the kids to "real culture" and being classy myself. It's even fun to consider it a dress-up-worthy day.

I truly believe it's an amazing event, and I love that Inside the Orchestra makes it possible for kiddos to be ThisClose to the music, and really soak in the experience. For three years in a row, we've attended the on-the-stage performance at Boettcher Auditorium. It's like theatre in the round, but the audience is surrounded. Love it!

But. I have to be honest and clarify that it's not classy. Or at least not for my crew. It's hectic. Reviewing this year's performance *which I truly did LOVE*, I found all this pouring onto the keyboard:

**
Whew. I love [it] every year, but every year it's never the relaxing, sweep-me-away experience I envision. Rather, it's rush-rush-rush, park, scrunch in, try to find friends who are also there with kids, "pardon me" closer to them, try to get comfortable, laugh at the conductor's jokes (though this year he asked the 7-year-old pianist if her mother was a "Tiger Mama;" at first it seemed a tactless comment, but on reflection, it struck me as a little racist), wish Figaro's song wasn't quite so long, LOVE all the surround sound, reposition, tell the kid to sit down, again, marvel at being on stage!, sigh, soak in the music, dig out a couple of bucks, shuffle up to an instrument for the kid to touch, be swept off stage, potty, try to remember where the car is, rush back to school.

**

Having gotten that out, I do feel free to simply LOVE the experience as one of the most magical events for kids. I mean, really, how can you go wrong when little people are surrounded by world class artists playing the theme song from Star Wars?!

For a more loving review of the symphony from a couple of years ago (and the set list is pretty much the same each year), see here.

I Am Going Camping

Jeesh! Has another summer passed without our family officially going camping? Well, with the temperatures continuing to break record highs, maybe we still have a chance. I'd like that, though I wish we weren't quite so hot and dry. Last night we had one of those incredible neon pink sunsets granted only when forest fire smoke clouds the horizon. Terrifying beauty.


If we do make it into a tent, maybe we can Griswald-ly sing this song. It was on one of the many coloring sheets that arrive on my kitchen table from somewhere. I'm copying down the lyrics, so this sheet can become tomorrow's grocery list.

I Am Going Camping

(to the tune of I'm a Little Teapot)

I am going camping (point to self)

Time to pack (look at watch)

My tent, my bedroll, (make tent with hands, then fold hands)

And a snack. (pretend to eat)

I'll sit by the campfire (warm hands over a fire)

Its glow so bright. (wiggle fingers for fire)

Then snooze in my tent (pretend to snore, head on hands)

'Til the morning light! (open eyes wide, forming sun over head.)

We have had some great "day camping" experiences. You know, when you don't have to pitch the tent only to a) get a few hours of fitful sleep after finally deciding who's sleeping on which stretch of lumpy ground and several hundred trips to the bathroom in the great outdoors, or b) unpitch that tent by flashlight and firelight at 11pm, while trying not to wake the kids who just got to sleep but one of whom seems to have developed a forest-fever delirium.

Oh, that's just our family? Huh.

Kay, we'll have to try again.

Big Brrrr

Oops, I did it again.

Evergreen's New Year's day Big Brr lake plunge. Pics to come, though you can click on the News 4 slideshow and about 25 in (click on the right arrow three times), you'll see my biggest fans:
http://cbs4denver.com/slideshows/evergreen.polar.plunge.20.1400814.html

I was one of these folks:
Dozens of people took the plunge on New Year's Day at Evergreen Lake to raise money for the Driver Smart Evergreen/Conifer and the Evergreen Parks and Recreation District Special Needs Program.

http://evstudio.info/2009/12/11/big-brrr-the-evergreen-lake-plunge/

8:30am Thursday, Day 2

Scott is supposed to fly home tonight. Will he make it? The weather forecast calls for 3-6" more in the metro area, 4-8" more in the foothills. We're usually somewhere in the middle of those. And 40mph winds picking up "potentially creating blizzard-like conditions."

Shooey!

Better get that drive shoveled. Zach wants to go sledding. It's only getting to the mid to upper 20s today. I'm not sure I want to go sledding.

11:30pm

Too cold to go get the wine-bottle measurement.

6:00pm

Scully: "Oh, my." (sigh)
Don't worry. That wine is swiftly removed from the cold, after measuring the snow. It (and I) is much happier inside.

A couple of inches above the bottle, and that's not even at the middle of the table.

3:30 pm

Some of this is a result of drifting, but it's still a LOT of snow.
Poor Scully.

View through the kitchen window.

7 Inches and Counting...

Still falling fast...shall we all be snowmen for Halloween?

First 1/2

As I'm wont to do, impulsively, I signed up for the Denver 1/2 Marathon about 10 weeks before the event.

In preparation, I:

- spent some time researching training plans,

- created a training spreadsheet,

- learned I was *surprise!* late on beginning,

- developed a 4-week cough that sent me to the doc: bronchitis,

- took antibiotics that wreaked havoc on my GI tract, freaking me out on my "long" run, pre-race,

- remembered it was probably the antibiotics not just the running that necessitated proximity to the trees,

- felt accomplished at surviving that 90-minute run,

- tried to get a few more 5-mile runs in, hoping my body would remember it should expect a serious pounding soon,

- purchased a new "you-look-like-a-pro" running shirt and socks, and borrowed some capris to complete "the look",

- made crock-pot spaghetti, since we were without a few appliances (though the fridge was conveniently located next to the LaZBoy (sp?) in the living room, making it all-too-easy to reach for that training-mandated, extra (insert sweet treat)),

- assisted Scott with kid-wrangling, floorboard glueing, appliance moving, moulding-painting, wall touch-up, and assorted other bent-at-the-back tasks (all essential parts of race training, according to RunnersWorld),

- rocked out with the girls at Wicked on race-eve (ditto on the parenthetical above, especially if it can limit your pre-race sleep to about 8-10 hours in two days...oh, but if you throw in a coupla days of carbo-loading, it's even better),

- created several race-day prep lists, laid out all race paraphernalia in one spot, moved it to another spot, set the alarm for o-dark-thirty, and actually managed to sleep through to the alarm with only one "Did-I-Over-Sleep?!" waking,

- met up with Alayna at the park-n-ride to head downtown,

- may/not have earned a ticket at 6:00am at the intersection of 6th and Lincoln, as we wound our way over to the start area, looking for parking,

- marveled at how the weather cleared for race weekend (previous and post-weekends had/have been mis.er.able),

- visited the bank of portapotties, solicited help from fellow runners on how to attach our race chips, threw goodie bags into the stashing area, and cued up the Shuffle, and joined the throng of runners hitting the pavement.

Whew! It was an amazing experience! Part of me dreaded it, and part was super-excited and actually a little Zen. Huh? I think all my excuses led me to be able to just take it easy, and not get all anal and competitive about the whole thing. Of course now I think I could have done better, but that's for next year...

Labor Day - RTLC

Our family made its first (of many, maybe) trip to Family Camp at Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp just outside the small SW Colorado town of Hillside. Nestled on the mountainside, it couldn't have been more beautiful.

Even more fun (<- click for all the evidence): we joined six other families (Nelsons, Zinn Caulfields, Ternings, Scherers, Gunthers, and Hofmeisters) we've known through church for almost 10 years now. Needless to say, the families have grown over the years. Fun to see so many rugrats having so much fun.

The beauty of the Family Camp session is that it's not super structured. There are activities you can plug into when you want to, or you can choose to use the weekend as a family-focused time. Many of us stayed in the lodge (as opposed to the many cabins throughout the property), so we were able to put little'uns to sleep and then return to the common area for a brew or two and some Taboo ("manure?!"). We hope to make this camp a Labor Day tradition.