Tag Archives: surprise

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.

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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 2.1: Vail Farmers’ Market Surprise

After the long first night in Colorado, we were up and at ’em to go to the Vail Farmers’ Market for day 2. We had planned on going before going on our trip since it’s only open on Sunday so it would be our only chance. Knowing this, I reached out to the friendly Executive Director of the unique market to ask about helping me with a little 8th Wedding Anniversary surprise.

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I had no idea just what exactly could be arranged, but I told Angela, the kind director, how it would be our anniversary soon and I wanted something to surprise her while there. I love surprises, big or small, and when given the opportunity, I’ll take it!

That opportunity arose when Angela suggested making use of the live jazz band to announce our anniversary and play us a song in the center of the market. I immediately said yes to her suggestion and couldn’t believe how generous she was just talking to a stranger from Texas. She arranged for the announcement and even told me the time to be there, asking nothing in return.

But geez, getting everyone to stick around the area proved to be an arduous task! I should’ve know how hard it is to do anything that involves standing between a woman and shopping, and it almost resulted in a little argument when I became a tad pushy about moving back towards the jazz band. Notice how I’m walking ahead of everyone in the picture above.

With the help of my wonderful in-laws and several covert e-mails with Angela (Kelley kept bugging me about getting off my phone), we made it just in time to hear the band announce us by name and say happy 8th anniversary.

Jazz Band at Vail Farmer's Market

Steve, Kelley’s dad / Papa, works wonders with the camera, and captured our family of three enjoying the song the band played for us.

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Make that two of us enjoying the song, Avery just wasn’t excited about the large crowds and wanted to run around more. We asked her to smile for another picture, but she only looked more annoyed.

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She did, however, seem interested in sitting down to finish watching/listening to the band play “our” song.

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Kelley was surprised, and beautiful smile on her face filled me joy. It might sound corny, but it’s true, and I will never hesitate to announce it through and through! She’s so wonderful and I’m lucky to call her my wife and best friend. I think Avery was feeling far from being either of our best friends, especially when she had to go in the stroller.

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Not that it stopped us from taking turns getting a picture with the happy girl.

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All of our moods took a turn for the worse when we walked to Sweet Basil, a restaurant within the town square where the farmers’ market is held.

Avery was already hungry and cranky, and the rest of us were turning hangry as well. It took an hour before our food arrived and the unenthusiastic and uninformed waitress hardly knew what her place of employment served and forget about getting anything answered about the menu. Avery had to be taken outside several times when she turned on the vocals to scream in protest. Thankfully Cousin Ashlee was there to help watch Avery as she ran around with an “I do what I want!” attitude.

Cousin Ashlee and Avery Running Around

Normally, it’s just kids being kids, but we all wanted to do the same and couldn’t blame her. She would hardly eat, and would not have it sitting in the high chair. She went back and forth to Kelley’s and Nana’s lap and we felt it was a win after she ate the watermelon and red onion salad I had to piece together from two separate entrees.

Avery eating watermelon onion salad

Notice the surprised face on my wife after Avery took a bite. It was clear we had an unruly toddler at the table, but waitress even took her Sweet Basil ass time to bring us the tab we asked for. But don’t worry, she had plenty of time to stand and talk to the patrons at a table next to us about her college plans and probably how she sucks at hearing or just life in general.

Sorry for the rant, but we all left the place extremely irritated and unsatisfied. Plus we were all still hungry! In sum, go to the Vail Farmers’ Market (it’s full of unique crafts, fresh food, and local wine and spirits), but DON’T GO to Sweet Basil!

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The Vail Farmers’ Market was only half of our day 2 adventures. Once we returned home to Nana and Papa’s Kelley and I took off to the nearby trail I went on the first day to spend time hiking together. I’ll save our hiking story for the next post so as to not drag things on in one post.

Don’t worry, it won’t be long. For a little teaser, I’ll say that at one point, I found myself stuck between a rock and hard place.

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Have you ever had a horrendous dining experience? With or or without kids?

Do you enjoy Farmers’ Markets? Any favorite finds?