Marge came to visit in February and we took her skiing for the first (and last) time. She was a trooper and her Iowa friends were seriously impressed. Selah didn't have the patience for Grandma, though, and opted to ski laps around her instead of wait. Visits from Grandma Margie are so special--S gets her undivided attention 100% of the time. They have a very sweet connection.
We spent a day in the Colorado National Monument hiking, picnicking, and enjoying the scenery. The Monument is one of our favorite places to climb, bike, and run.
We had the enormous privilege of joining my family in Hawaii this Spring! S and I got a full two weeks and M came out for the second half. This was such a treat for us and times like this make me incredibly thankful for my family. I work with some students of divorced (and fighting) parents and had dealt with some of their serious family issues just prior to the trip. Throughout our time, I couldn't stop thinking about how important family is as an adult, let alone as an adolescent. I feel so blessed to have parents that love each other and that can provide this sort of opportunity for us. We spent our time in Maui well, as in every day was full of adventures--hiking, running, snorkeling, burying S in the sand.
Dad and I. I'm about 24 weeks here.
Mom had the wonderful idea of visiting the aquarium so Selah could figure out what was under the water. She was enthralled with the fish.
Maui is for lovers.
Pool time in Hawaii is one of my top 5 memories of all time. The entire pool area rolled with laughter watching Wes and Selah play. In this shot, you can also see Selah is looking through the port hole on her boogie board, a present from Papa. She got used to it in the pool while we all swam underneath her and made silly faces. Later, we took her in the ocean and she had a blast looking at all the fish and coral. She would go with us while we snorkeled and would last for a solid half hour!
Sea.Mike and Wes ran the classic "Sea to Summit" route on Mount Haleakala. It goes from sea level to just over 10,023 feet of elevation in about 19 miles via Kaupo Gap. Dad did it solo before the rest of us arrived and did a great job of scoping the beta for the boys. Since there's a highway to the summit, most people opt for hiking Summit to Sea, but c'mon, all of my readers know my family. Dad and I hiked about 15 miles that day ourselves and picked the boys up on top.
Summit.
Family photo op! Mom and I threatened to hire a professional photographer if we couldn't all look nice at the same time within 24 hours of the mandate. This is more of a struggle than you think with a family that plays hard EVERY day until the last possible moment and everyone comes home stinky and covered in grime!
Family paddle board time.
I have no words.
We all took turns jumping off of this dam on the Waihe'e River Valley trail.
Aunty Stef and Selah love each other sooo much!
Aunty Stef and Grandma hooked S up with a hula skirt for her 2nd birthday!! How fun!
And some photos of the remainder of the past couple months:
This is Noah and S in the tub on one of our many unintentional DIA layovers. I feel kind of bittersweet about the fact that nearly 100% of the time, I have flights canceled between Denver and Aspen. I have been stranded in Denver so many times in the past year that I've lost count. The sweet part is that Hannah and Jarred live just a short drive from DIA and Hannah has figured out that every time I call, she should just get in the car and start driving to the airport to pick me up. I've started to look forward to travel delays so the kiddos can play and the mamas can chat!
I ran the Horsetooth Half Marathon in April at 27 weeks pregnant with my friends Kathleen and Anne (not pictured). We had a great time together and made a weekend out of it. Mike was teaching all weekend, so another friend took over babysitting and watched S while I ran. He lured her into the Chariot with Mike n Ike's, started riding his bike along the course, and she fell asleep within a few minutes. He rode all over the course and met up with me every couple miles. S was happy and cheered me on from the Chariot. The race went really well and I felt so good at mile 9 that I picked it up and probably passed 300 people in the last 4 miles. I must admit, I love all the "go mama!" cheers and double takes, especially when I'm passing the double takers. I ended up running a 2:08, about 30 minutes faster than the half I ran while pregnant with S, and only had to pee 3 times!I'm 33 weeks now and still running quite a bit, 6-7 miles a few days a week. I'm biking and hiking the other days as time permits. I am happily pregnant right now and trying to savor this experience with the realization I may never be pregnant again. My nausea finally subsided at 24 weeks and I have yet to hit the third trimester blahs. Running feels relatively comfortable, much more so than with Selah. I remember having a lot of pain in my hips after running with her and I'm not experiencing any running related pain this pregnancy. I'm thankful and hope to keep it up until the end.
This girl might just take after her mommy. This is about 3/4 mile up the Scout Trail, a steep single track in Glenwood and she had pretty much run the entire way thus far.
Easter!
One of S's favorite past times is going through "muddles", whether on foot or on her bike, she wants to jump and splash.
Family climbing day.
Selah is 100% addicted to her Strider. She wants to ride it constantly and is getting decent at it!
