Sunday, February 27, 2011
Post-swim lunch
Back to Saturdays at the YMCA, where we do "boot camp", then go swimming with the boys, then do lunch in the lounge afterwards. Both boys will be ready for the pool this summer. Noah's swimming laps in the lane pool, and Elliot's practically swimming for real - he has the stroke down, but can't move fast enough to keep his head out of the water yet. Not that he minds going under - he's back to being fearless about dunking his own head under the water, causing a few panic-driven lunges by nearby parents to pull him back up. He bobs up smiling and looking for a high-five.
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| "All my food is in my tummy now!" - he had a PB&J sandwich, a banana, a string cheese and a bag of cheez-its. The boy can put down some food when he's hungry |
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| "I see, I see!" It's getting hard to take pictures of E because he wants to see the picture as soon as you raise the camera. I think that is water still draining out of his nose - he was underwater about half the time we were there. He bonked his head on the cement climbing out on the ladder. |
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Top of the world
Last weekend I took Noah to a "restaurant in the clouds". After Mandy and I came back from our snowshoe trip, I spent a lot of time catching up at work - going in early, leaving late - and she mentioned to me that he had really been missing me all week. So after attending a baptism on Sunday, I decided to give him some one-on-one time. Trying to think of something fun to do, I asked him if he wanted to go to a restaurant in the sky. His first question was, "Is it in the clouds?" I told him it was. He eagerly said yes.
We headed down to the Hyatt a little before 4:00. I didn't realize the restaurant didn't open until 5:00, so that gave us an hour to kill. The skywalk system down there links the Hyatt hotel to Crown Center and to Union Station, so it was easy to wander around without him getting too impatient. It may have been that the Hyatt was hosting a convention called Naka-Con, whose attendees struck us both as a little (ok, a lot) odd, or it may have been that he just seems more attentive when one on one, but he was happy to stick close to me, and wanted to hold my hand as we walked and talked.
We took the skywalk over to the toy store in Crown Center first, and he played a while with the various unique toys they have on display. After that, we visited the "Under the Sea" exhibit, an underwater-themed play area. We then walked over to the Crown Center hotel itself, and rode the glass elevators to the top. As we went, I pointed out the restaurant we were headed to, another 20 or so stories higher. We sat around out in front, across the street from the fountains he and Elliot played in so much last summer. Along the way we talked about nothing in particular - his school, his mom, the planets, his brother and other things important in a 4 year-old's life.
As it neared 5:00, we headed back to the Hyatt and rode the elevator to the top. We were still three minutes early, so we had to stop on the 40th floor for a few minutes, where we took in the city. Noah was duly impressed, and not nearly as nervous as I was about walking right up to the glass window.
A few minutes later, we were seated in the lounge of Skies restaurant at a table right next to the windows. The restaurant not only has a great view from its high vantage point, but it also rotates 360 degrees over the course of an hour, allowing you to see the entire city. Noah was sort of speechless for a while, which is unusual for him, but then he started peppering me with questions as I explained all the things he was looking at. He saw trains, people playing in the parks, tv towers, and people in the office buildings next door among other things.
I ordered him a raspberry lemonade to get started, and after they brought it out, he didn't speak much until it was gone. I have to admit, I tried it and it was damn good. I didn't see much on the menu that he would probably like, so I ordered some french fries and some sort of chicken appetizer. Noah took one bite of the fancy cumin-flavored ketchup that came with the "truffle fries", and gave the waitress a weird look that probably made her think he was getting ready to spit it out. He may have been contemplating it. She quickly offered to bring him regular ketchup.
Noah must have asked me a thousand questions about different things - the restaurant, how it moved, what we were looking at, etc - and I dutifully answered each one. It was a fairly quiet place, but Noah doesn't have a "low" volume setting, and I could hear the couple next to us laughing once in a while at some of his questions. After our appetizers, we split a piece of cheesecake as we watched the sun go down. After it was done, we sat there for a few minutes and then he said quietly, "I love you, dad." It was one of those moments that make having kids worth everything you've ever had. He then followed that endearing moment by saying (loudly), "Pay the bill and let's get out of here." He doesn't like waiting for the check any more than I do, apparently.
We finally got it paid, and I apologized to the couple next to us for interrupting their dinner as we left. The lady said, with real enthusiasm, "No, I loved it, I loved listening to him." We rode the elevator down and walked through the lobby. As we were walking through the parking garage towards the car, Noah said, "I had a really fun time with you."
I'm not sure when children begin to retain specific memories - I know it varies. But when I have days like this, when being a dad is so enjoyable and easy, I like to think that he'll remember activities like this as fondly as I know I will. These days also help remind me that with the smallest investments of time, you can really reach your kids and they can reach you. Children are naturally curious and in awe of a lot of things that adults find ordinary, and it's fun to rediscover being a child again when you're with them. In case you don't end up remembering it someday, I had a really fun time too, Noah.
We headed down to the Hyatt a little before 4:00. I didn't realize the restaurant didn't open until 5:00, so that gave us an hour to kill. The skywalk system down there links the Hyatt hotel to Crown Center and to Union Station, so it was easy to wander around without him getting too impatient. It may have been that the Hyatt was hosting a convention called Naka-Con, whose attendees struck us both as a little (ok, a lot) odd, or it may have been that he just seems more attentive when one on one, but he was happy to stick close to me, and wanted to hold my hand as we walked and talked.
We took the skywalk over to the toy store in Crown Center first, and he played a while with the various unique toys they have on display. After that, we visited the "Under the Sea" exhibit, an underwater-themed play area. We then walked over to the Crown Center hotel itself, and rode the glass elevators to the top. As we went, I pointed out the restaurant we were headed to, another 20 or so stories higher. We sat around out in front, across the street from the fountains he and Elliot played in so much last summer. Along the way we talked about nothing in particular - his school, his mom, the planets, his brother and other things important in a 4 year-old's life.
As it neared 5:00, we headed back to the Hyatt and rode the elevator to the top. We were still three minutes early, so we had to stop on the 40th floor for a few minutes, where we took in the city. Noah was duly impressed, and not nearly as nervous as I was about walking right up to the glass window.
A few minutes later, we were seated in the lounge of Skies restaurant at a table right next to the windows. The restaurant not only has a great view from its high vantage point, but it also rotates 360 degrees over the course of an hour, allowing you to see the entire city. Noah was sort of speechless for a while, which is unusual for him, but then he started peppering me with questions as I explained all the things he was looking at. He saw trains, people playing in the parks, tv towers, and people in the office buildings next door among other things.
I ordered him a raspberry lemonade to get started, and after they brought it out, he didn't speak much until it was gone. I have to admit, I tried it and it was damn good. I didn't see much on the menu that he would probably like, so I ordered some french fries and some sort of chicken appetizer. Noah took one bite of the fancy cumin-flavored ketchup that came with the "truffle fries", and gave the waitress a weird look that probably made her think he was getting ready to spit it out. He may have been contemplating it. She quickly offered to bring him regular ketchup.
Noah must have asked me a thousand questions about different things - the restaurant, how it moved, what we were looking at, etc - and I dutifully answered each one. It was a fairly quiet place, but Noah doesn't have a "low" volume setting, and I could hear the couple next to us laughing once in a while at some of his questions. After our appetizers, we split a piece of cheesecake as we watched the sun go down. After it was done, we sat there for a few minutes and then he said quietly, "I love you, dad." It was one of those moments that make having kids worth everything you've ever had. He then followed that endearing moment by saying (loudly), "Pay the bill and let's get out of here." He doesn't like waiting for the check any more than I do, apparently.
We finally got it paid, and I apologized to the couple next to us for interrupting their dinner as we left. The lady said, with real enthusiasm, "No, I loved it, I loved listening to him." We rode the elevator down and walked through the lobby. As we were walking through the parking garage towards the car, Noah said, "I had a really fun time with you."
I'm not sure when children begin to retain specific memories - I know it varies. But when I have days like this, when being a dad is so enjoyable and easy, I like to think that he'll remember activities like this as fondly as I know I will. These days also help remind me that with the smallest investments of time, you can really reach your kids and they can reach you. Children are naturally curious and in awe of a lot of things that adults find ordinary, and it's fun to rediscover being a child again when you're with them. In case you don't end up remembering it someday, I had a really fun time too, Noah.
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| Looking at the traffic on Grand St from the skwalk. |
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| Hanging out near the some of the fountains in front of Crown Center |
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| Playing with robot spiders in the toy store. |
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| A sign from in front of one of the Hyatt ballrooms - get your "Ninja Weapons of Death" and your "Lolita Tea Party" all in one place. Almost all of the attendees were wearing costumes of some sort, many having to do with animals. It was a little bizarre. |
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| Waiting for Skies to open, looking north into downtown KC from the 40th floor. |
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| Going, going, gone. The raspberry lemonade was a big hit. He wanted to know if we could make it at home. |
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| Children's Mercy Hospital. I pointed out that his mom worked there, and that his brother stayed there when he was sick. He was really hoping to see the helicopter on the roof fly away. |
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| Checking out the city. |
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| Our fancy candlelight dinner - essentially french fries and chicken pita, at twice the price. |
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| Watching the sun set |
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| Heading back down. |
Raisins
Yesterday I got out some raisins for Elliot as a snack. I asked Noah if he wanted any knowing what the answer would be. Ever since he first ate yogurt covered raisins (last summer I think) he won't eat regular ones. He said "Mom, I don't like brown raisins. I only like white raisins". I thought I was being clever with my counter, "Well you say you don't like them, but you used to eat them all the time. And you like Raisin Bran. It has brown raisins in it."
"Mom. Those raisins have salt on them. That's different"
"Mom. Those raisins have salt on them. That's different"
Waking up
I came home from getting a cup of coffee early this morning, and heard the treadmill going downstairs in the basement. I peeked down there and saw Noah walking on the treadmill:
"Good morning, daddy. I'm getting my exercise." "Where's your mom?" "She went back to bed."
Because Mandy and I get up most mornings to work out, he's getting used to the idea that exercise is something you get up and do. The last few weeks he's been waking up, coming downstairs from his bedroom, going to the bathroom, and then heading to the basement to "do his exercises". I've never watched him do them before, but he says he does pushups, jumping jacks, lifts weights and does the treadmill. Usually he's down there just a few minutes, so he must be doing a quick circuit routine.
This morning I asked him if I could take pictures of him while he exercised. He was very serious about telling me about his workout program.
"Good morning, daddy. I'm getting my exercise." "Where's your mom?" "She went back to bed."
Because Mandy and I get up most mornings to work out, he's getting used to the idea that exercise is something you get up and do. The last few weeks he's been waking up, coming downstairs from his bedroom, going to the bathroom, and then heading to the basement to "do his exercises". I've never watched him do them before, but he says he does pushups, jumping jacks, lifts weights and does the treadmill. Usually he's down there just a few minutes, so he must be doing a quick circuit routine.
This morning I asked him if I could take pictures of him while he exercised. He was very serious about telling me about his workout program.
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| Walking on the treadmill. I do a '2' because a '4' is too fast." |
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| Explaining that he lifts weights first, then does pushups, then jumping jacks |
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| "I'm pretty strong." |
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| Jumping jacks |
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| Pushups. "You have to keep your back straight, dad." |
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| Breakfast of champions - Raisin "Brown" |
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Mr. Independent
Elliot has reached the "independent twos". I don't like when people call them the terrible twos, because it's kind of sweet and cute that they want to do so much for themselves and feel so proud about it. And, let's face it, we all know the threes are way harder.
For the most part I've learned to give Elliot lots of independence and choose my battles. I let him pick his own cup, climb in his own carseat, pick his spoon, yogurt, etc. I choose the battles that matter, like 'yes you can walk, but you have to hold my hand". The little stinker is still being resistant about that despite my being very consistent.
But, God forbid the times I don't think about or just can't let him "do it". We are talking some major dramatic meltdowns. This morning I made the horrible mistake of throwing away his diaper. WHAT was I THINKING?! Clearly, I wasn't! Last night Noah ran to answer a knock at the door yelling out "I'll get it!". Oh.My.Goodness. "NO! I GEG IT!" he yells as his face turns beet red and he throws himself against the couch having a huge fit. It's as if he's being abused.
And one of the worst atrocities one can commit against Mr. Independent is simply answering the phone. "I GEG IT!". I'm getting better at answering it and dashing out of the room, so the person on the other end doesn't ask if it's a bad time and if they should call back later.
Oh, but I love my little independent guy. It's so adorable how proud and happy he is doing things for himself and learning new things everyday. And I know it all comes from frustration of just wanting more control in his little world. I'm trying to give you some, buddy. I'm trying. Just give mommy a little slack if I do something silly, like carelessly toss a diaper in the trash, k?
For the most part I've learned to give Elliot lots of independence and choose my battles. I let him pick his own cup, climb in his own carseat, pick his spoon, yogurt, etc. I choose the battles that matter, like 'yes you can walk, but you have to hold my hand". The little stinker is still being resistant about that despite my being very consistent.
But, God forbid the times I don't think about or just can't let him "do it". We are talking some major dramatic meltdowns. This morning I made the horrible mistake of throwing away his diaper. WHAT was I THINKING?! Clearly, I wasn't! Last night Noah ran to answer a knock at the door yelling out "I'll get it!". Oh.My.Goodness. "NO! I GEG IT!" he yells as his face turns beet red and he throws himself against the couch having a huge fit. It's as if he's being abused.
And one of the worst atrocities one can commit against Mr. Independent is simply answering the phone. "I GEG IT!". I'm getting better at answering it and dashing out of the room, so the person on the other end doesn't ask if it's a bad time and if they should call back later.
Oh, but I love my little independent guy. It's so adorable how proud and happy he is doing things for himself and learning new things everyday. And I know it all comes from frustration of just wanting more control in his little world. I'm trying to give you some, buddy. I'm trying. Just give mommy a little slack if I do something silly, like carelessly toss a diaper in the trash, k?
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Little old man
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| "The best, most exquisite automobile is a walking stick; and one of the finest things in life is going on a journey with it" - Robert Coates Holliday |
Now, Zeke is the oldest of ten kids in his immediate family. He's seen his share of loaded gifts, destruction and the beatings of siblings. So I know he knows the implications of giving a 4-year old a stick, even more so one who has a little brother. Which is why I'm not surprised he went out and got it anyway because, well frankly, he's evil.
While this stick is not technically a shillelah, a wooden walking stick with a little weighted handle that was historically used for settling disputes in Ireland, it has been used as such a few times on his little brother. And if he's not more careful around his little brother, it may be used as such again.
It's also pretty effective in knocking chunks out of the drywall corners in our house, and for tripping intruders who are prowling around in the dark, trying to change a diaper without waking anyone up.
Zeke, I'm sure you've been studying long enough to know what возмездие means, da?
Estes Park/Day 3 - Mills Lake
Today we started our day out at Starbucks for our caffeine fix and then went across the street to Egg and I for a nice carb loaded bowl of oatmeal, raspberries, blueberries, granola, raisins & brown sugar. We figured that would help us with our hike, which would be longer and harder than yesterday's. We also planned an earlier start.
The forecast called for a windy, but mild day with temps reaching the high 40's in town. But, it was SO windy. My mom said she saw on GMA that morning that there were wind advisories in the Rocky Mountains for up to 60mph. I thought that was odd to be reported on national news, especially since the park ranger didn't give us any warning when we entered the park. Looking up high into the mountains, it looked calmer than the day before, actually. But, when we got out of the car at the Glacier Gorge trailhead it was extremely windy. We both had that feeling inside that we could have been talked out of the hike, but we are both too stubborn to ever actually SAY anything like that out loud. Luckily, as soon as we got into the trees, the wind quieted down and it was actually quite nice and mild. Less than a mile into the hike, I had to take off my coat to prevent sweating.
We stopped at Alberta Falls first, which was frozen and snow covered. It just looked like a steep hill. Naturally we had to climb onto it, just to say we did. I was satisfied just to hike out to the middle, but Paul hiked up that steep hill to the very top.
After a small little pitstop we continued on to Mills Lake. It was pleasant hiking and we kept up a nice pace for awhile in the mild weather.
In the snow it is really easy to get off track. For one thing, they have purposeful detours called "winter routes". I like to just follow obvious trails, but these are not so obvious. And then sometimes it is. It looks like a trail. It's packed with snowshoe tracks. But often the snow has blown over and it's smooth and you have no clue where to go. So we got off track at some point.
We think it might have been here.....
Paul had his compass and a map and was able to tell where we were and where our destination was. We did run into 2 other experienced hikers who also got off trail (probably following our tracks), which was kind of encouraging to me. Paul was never worried because we weren't "lost". He knew where we were on the map. The way the crow flies it wasn't too far. But, getting there was not so easy. We were first going through snow not well packed and it's physically hard when you go down deep and lift up your foot with snow piled up on your snowshoe. It's just a hard workout. And at times, I was in knee and even thigh deep. Pretty soon, Paul tells me we are going to have to do a little bushwhacking. By the time we got through the area of dense trees and hiked down to the bottom we could finally could see the creek/drainage from the lake to our right. The actual "trail" was across the drainage and up quite a bit higher on a ridge. We stopped for some GORP and Gatorade and I felt more energy, but just wasn't sure how long I could go not knowing when it would ever end.
Paul said he was 100% sure he'd get us there, so I said we would keep going, after him asking if I wanted to turn around.
As we were getting closer and passed a couple of hikers coming down they warned that it was really windy up there. We could start to feel the winds pick back up and knew that it would be very windy on the lake.
As the winds were picking up and we were almost there, we stopped to put back on all our layers and gear to protect us. Boy am I glad we stuck to it. After 4 hours of physically strenuous snowshoeing of what should have been a 2.7 mile hike (not sure how far it actually was for us), we were so richly rewarded with the most beautiful sight I have ever seen in the Rocky Mountains. Mills Lake in the winter, is just gorgeous. Of course, it sounds cliche and we always say it, but these pictures do not do it justice. Professional pictures don't do it justice either. You have got to be there in person to truly witness the majesty of it all. It's beautiful in the summer, too, but in my opinion, it was even more so in the winter.
So my first impression is sheer awe at the beauty of it while simultaneously amazed at the powerful winds. HOLY COW. It was way worse/windier than the day before that we thought was bad.
Paul told me to go out there and we'd get a few pics and leave.
I felt equipped to deal with the constant wind (25-45 mph according to the weather report), but then there would be these HUGE gusts every minute (or less), that were up to 60mph, per the weather report. We mentioned Paul was blown off his feet the day before at Dream Lake. Well that was nothing. I was shielded somewhat by some rocks in the middle of the lake when Paul was taking pictures. I got in my "stance" and squatted down, planted my poles and found a focal point to balance. I did pretty well, but Paul started running REALLY fast taking these mini short steps. It was a hysterical sight to see! He looked like a little girl running. He said he was trying not to fall down as the wind was pushing him, and I was shielded. Of course, I felt MAJOR wind and didn't think the rock shielded me. I thought I was just doing better balancing. He asked if I was ready to go back. I told him "No way, I'm having too much fun!" It was crazy out there, but such a natural high. After being exhausted hiking up, I felt my gas tank filling up with endorphins at reaching the lake and adrenaline from the crazy wind giving me a renewed sense of energy. Paul was pleasantly surprised I wanted to walk across the lake and stay longer. So I continued to walk slowly out in the wind. Suddenly another big gust came. I got in my standard "stance" (which we later laughed at looking at all the pictures, as we decided I was doing what babies do when they poop in their diapers standing off in a corner) and braced myself and suddenly it didn't work. I got blown away. And then I started doing the "girly run" taking steps trying not to fall not 2 minutes after I laughed at Paul doing it. Except it didn't work. I fell down on the icy lake as one of my poles was blown out of my hand and across the lake.
Meanwhile, Paul wasn't bracing himself well as he was taking my picture. He was not only blown down, but actually blown ACROSS.THE.LAKE. Then his hat blew off and into the mountains. After making fun of ME running like a girl, he went to retrieve his hat and both of our poles that blew away, as well. We saw some cross country skiers blown down, too.
After that gust, it felt a little more scary and out of our control and I thought it would be a good idea to start heading back and Paul agreed. It was a lot of fun and we stayed long enough to really take it in. We talked to a local guy up there. He said its always windy, but normally you can find a spot by a rock and sit down and eat comfortably. He said he's never seen gusts like that.
Shortly after getting out of the wind and hiking down at a good pace, I realized I was hungry. Starving, in fact. So we stopped in the snow and had some food and Gatorade to refuel. The hike back down was much easier and only took 1 1/2 hours. There were only a couple of times we had to stop and make sure we were staying on the trail and a few steep areas that slowed down the pace a bit. We felt that wonderful and familiar feeling of exhilaration as we approached the trailhead after accomplishing the hike we set out to do and burning some major calories (estimates are 2,500 calories for that hike). Naturally, we had to replenish those calories splitting a large pizza afterwards while watching Bucket List at the condo. Another great movie to end our weekend.
Even though we had the condo for the night, our 6am flight was going to come early and DIA is a good hour and a half drive from Estes. So we decided to pack up our stuff and head into Denver to stay by the airport for the night. I talked Paul's ear off until we got out of the mountains and then once on a freeway I succombed to the exhaustion and passed out in the car until we got to Denver.
This trip met all of our expectations. We got away from all the distractions in our busy life and just got to have fun and reconnect, just the two of us, and it was great. But, not to be mistaken we did miss our boys desperately. We knew they were safe and happy with Grandma and Aunt Sam, so we certainly didn't let it ruin our fun, but we did our fair share of talking about them and how much we missed them.
The 4am wake up call came quick, but I was so excited to go home it wasn't hard to get up. After an hour delay due to a maintenance issue we arrived in KC by mid morning. As Monday is the day both boys go to school, we stopped for breakfast on the way home and then got some unpacking and laundry going before it was time to pick up the boys. We both picked up Noah at school together and we were all so excited. They'd had Valentine's Day celebrations and Noah broke into some fun dip, even before we pulled out of the parking lot. We enjoyed a walk and some playtime at home before it was time to pick up Elliot. Noah wanted to stay home with Paul, so i went to get him and have never been more excited to see him in my life. In just the few days we were gone he is talking even more. It was so fun just hanging out with our boys that afternoon refreshed from our getaway. And since we've been back, I've been able to parent the boys with more joy. Just taking a little break I think makes me a better mom somehow. Not sure how that works, but it just does. I'm so thankful to my family for helping us out watching the kids. It is no small feat and my mom was actually sick, so it was great Sam & Keith were there to help.
The forecast called for a windy, but mild day with temps reaching the high 40's in town. But, it was SO windy. My mom said she saw on GMA that morning that there were wind advisories in the Rocky Mountains for up to 60mph. I thought that was odd to be reported on national news, especially since the park ranger didn't give us any warning when we entered the park. Looking up high into the mountains, it looked calmer than the day before, actually. But, when we got out of the car at the Glacier Gorge trailhead it was extremely windy. We both had that feeling inside that we could have been talked out of the hike, but we are both too stubborn to ever actually SAY anything like that out loud. Luckily, as soon as we got into the trees, the wind quieted down and it was actually quite nice and mild. Less than a mile into the hike, I had to take off my coat to prevent sweating.
We stopped at Alberta Falls first, which was frozen and snow covered. It just looked like a steep hill. Naturally we had to climb onto it, just to say we did. I was satisfied just to hike out to the middle, but Paul hiked up that steep hill to the very top.
This is me climbing into Alberta Falls
Paul in the middle, where we are used to seeing rushing waterfalls
Paul's view from the top of Alberta Falls
After a small little pitstop we continued on to Mills Lake. It was pleasant hiking and we kept up a nice pace for awhile in the mild weather.
In the snow it is really easy to get off track. For one thing, they have purposeful detours called "winter routes". I like to just follow obvious trails, but these are not so obvious. And then sometimes it is. It looks like a trail. It's packed with snowshoe tracks. But often the snow has blown over and it's smooth and you have no clue where to go. So we got off track at some point.
We think it might have been here.....
Paul is standing in Glacier Creek (it drains out of Glacier Gorge into Alberta Falls), which normally is a stream and not part of the summer trail for sure. *cough* I don't think it's part of the winter trail either *cough*
Yep, it was steep
Soon it was clear we had gone wrong somewhere and were off track
Paul had his compass and a map and was able to tell where we were and where our destination was. We did run into 2 other experienced hikers who also got off trail (probably following our tracks), which was kind of encouraging to me. Paul was never worried because we weren't "lost". He knew where we were on the map. The way the crow flies it wasn't too far. But, getting there was not so easy. We were first going through snow not well packed and it's physically hard when you go down deep and lift up your foot with snow piled up on your snowshoe. It's just a hard workout. And at times, I was in knee and even thigh deep. Pretty soon, Paul tells me we are going to have to do a little bushwhacking. By the time we got through the area of dense trees and hiked down to the bottom we could finally could see the creek/drainage from the lake to our right. The actual "trail" was across the drainage and up quite a bit higher on a ridge. We stopped for some GORP and Gatorade and I felt more energy, but just wasn't sure how long I could go not knowing when it would ever end.
Paul said he was 100% sure he'd get us there, so I said we would keep going, after him asking if I wanted to turn around.
As we were getting closer and passed a couple of hikers coming down they warned that it was really windy up there. We could start to feel the winds pick back up and knew that it would be very windy on the lake.
Getting closer....
So my first impression is sheer awe at the beauty of it while simultaneously amazed at the powerful winds. HOLY COW. It was way worse/windier than the day before that we thought was bad.
Paul told me to go out there and we'd get a few pics and leave.
I felt equipped to deal with the constant wind (25-45 mph according to the weather report), but then there would be these HUGE gusts every minute (or less), that were up to 60mph, per the weather report. We mentioned Paul was blown off his feet the day before at Dream Lake. Well that was nothing. I was shielded somewhat by some rocks in the middle of the lake when Paul was taking pictures. I got in my "stance" and squatted down, planted my poles and found a focal point to balance. I did pretty well, but Paul started running REALLY fast taking these mini short steps. It was a hysterical sight to see! He looked like a little girl running. He said he was trying not to fall down as the wind was pushing him, and I was shielded. Of course, I felt MAJOR wind and didn't think the rock shielded me. I thought I was just doing better balancing. He asked if I was ready to go back. I told him "No way, I'm having too much fun!" It was crazy out there, but such a natural high. After being exhausted hiking up, I felt my gas tank filling up with endorphins at reaching the lake and adrenaline from the crazy wind giving me a renewed sense of energy. Paul was pleasantly surprised I wanted to walk across the lake and stay longer. So I continued to walk slowly out in the wind. Suddenly another big gust came. I got in my standard "stance" (which we later laughed at looking at all the pictures, as we decided I was doing what babies do when they poop in their diapers standing off in a corner) and braced myself and suddenly it didn't work. I got blown away. And then I started doing the "girly run" taking steps trying not to fall not 2 minutes after I laughed at Paul doing it. Except it didn't work. I fell down on the icy lake as one of my poles was blown out of my hand and across the lake.
Meanwhile, Paul wasn't bracing himself well as he was taking my picture. He was not only blown down, but actually blown ACROSS.THE.LAKE. Then his hat blew off and into the mountains. After making fun of ME running like a girl, he went to retrieve his hat and both of our poles that blew away, as well. We saw some cross country skiers blown down, too.
After that gust, it felt a little more scary and out of our control and I thought it would be a good idea to start heading back and Paul agreed. It was a lot of fun and we stayed long enough to really take it in. We talked to a local guy up there. He said its always windy, but normally you can find a spot by a rock and sit down and eat comfortably. He said he's never seen gusts like that.
This is me walking just off the lake back down
Shortly after getting out of the wind and hiking down at a good pace, I realized I was hungry. Starving, in fact. So we stopped in the snow and had some food and Gatorade to refuel. The hike back down was much easier and only took 1 1/2 hours. There were only a couple of times we had to stop and make sure we were staying on the trail and a few steep areas that slowed down the pace a bit. We felt that wonderful and familiar feeling of exhilaration as we approached the trailhead after accomplishing the hike we set out to do and burning some major calories (estimates are 2,500 calories for that hike). Naturally, we had to replenish those calories splitting a large pizza afterwards while watching Bucket List at the condo. Another great movie to end our weekend.
Near the trailhead as we finished our hike. See how the trail sign is buried in deep snow.
This is how one looks after snowshoeing 5 1/2 hours and enduring major wind :)
Even though we had the condo for the night, our 6am flight was going to come early and DIA is a good hour and a half drive from Estes. So we decided to pack up our stuff and head into Denver to stay by the airport for the night. I talked Paul's ear off until we got out of the mountains and then once on a freeway I succombed to the exhaustion and passed out in the car until we got to Denver.
This trip met all of our expectations. We got away from all the distractions in our busy life and just got to have fun and reconnect, just the two of us, and it was great. But, not to be mistaken we did miss our boys desperately. We knew they were safe and happy with Grandma and Aunt Sam, so we certainly didn't let it ruin our fun, but we did our fair share of talking about them and how much we missed them.
The 4am wake up call came quick, but I was so excited to go home it wasn't hard to get up. After an hour delay due to a maintenance issue we arrived in KC by mid morning. As Monday is the day both boys go to school, we stopped for breakfast on the way home and then got some unpacking and laundry going before it was time to pick up the boys. We both picked up Noah at school together and we were all so excited. They'd had Valentine's Day celebrations and Noah broke into some fun dip, even before we pulled out of the parking lot. We enjoyed a walk and some playtime at home before it was time to pick up Elliot. Noah wanted to stay home with Paul, so i went to get him and have never been more excited to see him in my life. In just the few days we were gone he is talking even more. It was so fun just hanging out with our boys that afternoon refreshed from our getaway. And since we've been back, I've been able to parent the boys with more joy. Just taking a little break I think makes me a better mom somehow. Not sure how that works, but it just does. I'm so thankful to my family for helping us out watching the kids. It is no small feat and my mom was actually sick, so it was great Sam & Keith were there to help.
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