Tag Archives: family

Colorado Family Vacation Day 5: Almost Surprised

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.

The setup
The setup
Almost there!
Almost there!
Success!
Success!

“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.

At Cuppa Joe in Breck_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.

DSC_2146

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?

Colorado Family Vacation Day 4: Trail Run & Distillery Tour

After tackling the 4 mile trail hike with Going Mom the day before, I felt compelled to go back out to make it a solo trail run. The thought was in my head, but I never set it in stone because that be planning, and I hate planning on vacation.

But, as usually happens when I get something in my head, I did it. I woke up early just as the sun was coming out, not from an alarm, but because I had to pee. After relieving myself, I thought long and hard about getting back in the warm bed with my wife, but the allure of a cold, wet (it just rained the previous day) trail run forced me out the door instead.

I wore my trusty Soft Star Shoes Dash RunAmoc’s with Trail Soles since they had done extremely well for everything else so far.

DSC_1900

Once more, they were the perfect choice. I was jumping on and over wet rocks, going through mud and streams, and making steep ascents and descents with a solid footing the whole time. Okay, not really, right before finishing the 4 miles, I wasn’t paying attention and tripped over a large rock. Go me!

The fall was hard, and I had a nice limp-run (think Hunchback of Notre Dame) for the quarter mile that was left. My right knee was throbbing with pain, and I’m just now recovering from whatever it was. Glad it was nothing too serious!

I knew I wouldn’t rest until I got at least one trail run in, and I was happy to fit it in. The run started out pretty chilly, and the wet leaves of overlapping plants on the trail only compounded things, but I was soon warmed up and didn’t mind running in my soaked shirt and shorts. The day before, I went for a run down and back up the mountain Steve (Papa) and Kathy (Nana) live on, but neighborhood streets just aren’t the same. That said, I was sucking in air on as I ran the straight one mile up!

When I returned, everyone but Steve was still asleep. Phew, I didn’t miss anything exciting yet! Not long after, everyone was awake and having breakfast. Meanwhile, Avery was having a blast going up and down the stairs.

DSC_1950

She loved those things, and we loved that it helped her get that constant flow of energy out of her system. Unfortunately, I think the rest of us lacked the energy to chase her up and down, especially poor Cousin Ashlee who watched/played with her the most.

DSC_1955

We all breathed a sigh of relief when she would take a break from climbing and start reading one of the books Nana got her instead.

DSC_1965

Love that little samurai pony tail! If you have an extra toy sword, like Leonardo’s from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, please, send it our way to complete the look! 🙂

Our big agenda item for the day was heading to the Breckenridge Distillery for a tasting and a tour. And Kathy mentioned getting me a late birthday present while we were there. Obviously, I chose the Breckenridge Bourbon, and obviously, I kept cool about my new gift.

DSC_1990

Kelley isn’t a big liquor drinker, as in, hates it, so it was just Kathy and me doing the tastings. Kelley did try one sip of bourbon and a spicy vodka, but that was about it for her. More for Kathy and me!

DSC_1983

We had gone on the tour a couple years ago when Kelley was pregnant with Avery, but they added a lot to their distillery since then. It was interesting to see the changes and go through the enhanced plant. If only we could’ve brought one of these back….

DSC_1988

Oh well, my birthday bourbon will probably last me over a year anyway since I rarely drink. Just nice to have a little sip every now and then.

We had more rain that day and kept indoors after getting back. Luckily, we had Avery to entertain us by walking around in Mommy’s shoes.

DSC_2003

Man, that girl gets extremely frustrated when she can’t walk very well with the over-sized slippers! But it didn’t keep her from trying.

DSC_2013

After a little reading session with Avery, I took off for a solo walk around the neighborhood.

DSC_1998

Everyone else hung around the house, but I have this OCD thing about getting an evening walk in. The change of scenery and fresh air was pure bliss and I loved being able to get out in it as much as possible. And the view was spectacular!

DSC_2073

The rest of the family went out to the backyard for their fresh air fix and to get more loving from Avery. I think she was smiling on the inside with Papa here.

DSC_2032

Same for when Nana joined in; I’m sure of it.

DSC_2052

Although she hated having her picture taken, Ashlee has an adorable smile that can’t not be shared too.

DSC_2069

If you’re seeing this Ash, sorry, but you having nothing to hide dear!

Another day of vacation had come to an end. Lots of fun was had, and we still had a full day ahead of us. Just that alone made me want to stand on my head…..literally.

DSC_2137

Do you ever crave just getting out on a walk/run by yourself?

Any “healthy” OCD tendencies like walking that you have?

Colorado Family Vacation Day 3: Kayaking + She Thought I Was Lost

Day 3 of our stay with Nana and Papa in Colorado had us constantly going. No, not like that, I was trying to make a play on words since this is the Going Dad blog. Oh, did you already get that? Anyway…..

Kayaking was on the agenda for my wife and I while Nana and Cousin Ashlee took Avery to the playground at the Silverthorne Recreation Center. Like practically everything in Colorado, it’s a beautiful area with everything well maintained. But first things first, we needed coffee!

Kelley and I made the 2.5 mile walk from their house to Red Buffalo Cafe to enjoy a good brew by the Blue River. Along the way, we had to stop while crossing a bridge for an obligatory couples selfie.

RC & Kelley Selfie_Blue River

I’ve been on a cold brew coffee kick for a while, and loved Red Buffalo’s high octane drink that steeped for 18 hours. Kelley got their house brew, and as an official taste tester of all things pure coffee, I confirmed it was good too! Then I was lucky enough to get to enjoy the coffee with this beautiful smiling lady next to the flowing river.

Kelley at Red Buffalo

That damn old couple took the better bench while watching that fly fisherman, so we had to make due further back. But no worries, Nana soon arrived with Ashlee and Avery to pick us up and drive us to the neighboring town of Frisco for kayaking. Withing 10 minutes, Kathy (Nana) dropped us off at the Frisco Bay Marina where we agreed to meet her back in two hours.

The kayak rentals were for 2 or 3 hours, and we figured 2 would be plenty for us. We made it romantic and rented a tandem kayak so I could be the motor and take my wife along the lake while pretending it was a gondola.

Kelley insisted on helping out with the paddling and she did, but I ended up getting soaked with each stroke she took. We eventually found a rhythm, but then lost it again. Meh, we had a good time together and found 2 hours on the water was actually a lot longer than expected!

Our arms were getting a good workout in, and we only paused to take pictures (obviously) which included a great selfie shot by Going Mom.

We passed the time just chatting about random things and enjoying the surrounding views of mountains, eagles, osprey, jumping fish, and some middle school kid running in shorts and a football helmet.

While we were out navigating the torrential mildly choppy waters in our tandem vessel, Avery was living it up on the playground with Nana and Ashlee.

Ashlee & Avery Swinging

Okay, so not the most thrilled look on either of their faces, but I heard they had a blast! Nana even took a selfie, something Avery is no stranger to!

Nana and Avery Selfie

Yeah, still not impressed I guess. She did do something I haven’t been able to get her to do yet which is walk along the equipment that’s raised above the ground.

Playground with Ashlee in CO

Still a little cautious, but Ashlee helped support her, and those Soft Star Shoes provide plenty of confidence in her movement. I think after getting back down to ground level on the speckled turf, Avery was getting over her seriousness.

Avery on playground with Nana and Ashlee

Ohhh, and there it is, the swings helped push her to finally crack a smile!

Swinging in CO

She just wanted her own swing. Guess we have some work to do about sharing. Back to my wife and I on the lake, we waited for the girls to finish playing and pick us back up by, you guessed it, getting coffee! More cold brew and several trips to pee later, and we were back at Nana and Papa’s home.

Avery was also back to her grump-face, so Kelley tried reading to her. The dog, Olivia, apparently enjoys story time too.

Mommy and Avery Reading in CO

Everyone read a lot of books to Avery throughout the day to keep her happy. I am confident Cousin Ashlee is still reading the books without even looking at them.

After refueling, Kelley got Avery down for a nap and we were back at it to tackle the 4 mile trail loop we heard of the day before. Not wanting to waste precious nap-time…errr…time, we hurried out the door after quickly getting the O-K from Nana and Papa who would need to be there if Avery woke up.

Once more, we were on the trail taking the opposite way from what we did the prior day. The sights, sounds, and company were pleasing to the senses and we stopped only a few times to take selfies with Kelley’s phone. Then it died.

I didn’t have my phone, so we were slightly concerned that someone would try to contact us and wouldn’t be able to. But that didn’t stop us, we had a loop to conquer! I took the lead and Kelley bravely followed along.

We came across a few signs on our hike which gave us options for different paths. Sometimes, options suck! Either way, I went with a little instinct and little hopefulness for each direction I chose. Eventually, everything turned quiet, and you couldn’t even hear the rushing of the used-to-be-near-us water stream. That’s when Kelley’s nervousness could be felt through the air as she kept asking if I knew where we were.

I just kept saying yes and not to worry. Secretly I was just a tad bit worried myself, but I would never let it show. As we trudged through an unfamiliar, very narrow and muddy path, Kelley raised the question again asking if I knew where we were. Trying to remain confident in my voice, I just reassured her all was good.

Finally, we came across another directional path with a sign that had a familiar name to one of the trails! We took it and eventually started to recognize our surroundings. At the same time, we both noticed the tree I had just climbed the day before and scratched myself up really good.

From there, we carried on until we were back out at the trail head where we started. We hurried the rest of the way home fearful that Avery had been awake for the 2.5 hours we were gone and was a raging terror for the family. Turns out, she was still sleeping!

So much for that worried hike! Despite getting lost, or so my wife says, I had fun taking a long trail hike together and soaking up the thin mountain air. It was a long, non-stop day, but I’d say everyone had a great time.

The rest of the day was spent resting and getting ready for another fun day, including visiting the Breckenridge Distillery!