Travel Log: Spring 2012 - In random order, :)!

1.) Our constant trips to the local skatepark were paying off and the boys learned to "drop-in." Whenever I've watched a skateboarder drop in, they seem to do so with ease, they are usually already in motion on their board, when they get to the edge and go over and down. Or they are running with their board in hand, jump up and onto their board, then down onto the ramp or into the bowl.

I remember so clearly, standing alongside them at this point, on the verge of dropping in for the first time. A friend had coached us in how to do it. I stood on the board, like the boys above, showing them how we had been taught to keep our weight, feet, momentum on the board. I stood below them, in the bowl, ready to catch them if when they propelled too far forward or backward. A mere drop of 4 feet was intimidating at the time and we spent hours simply staring down, standing in this position. 

Today, they do more extreme stunts but having been right there alongside them through it all, it warms my heart to watch the videos of their first times. It is not unlike their first step videos. I cherish the videos of their first time riding their boards down a slight hill, their first time doing an ollie, their first time dropping in, and all the fears that came with those acts. 

2.) While I do not talk too openly about the life of a business owner, anyone who has been one knows that it is a time/thought consuming lifestyle, that has countless weights of responsibility and countless curveballs. On one particularly wild day, the kids and I sent Josh goofy photos of us. On another particularly wild day, I made Josh pose in cheesy photos with me. The gestures were small, but like the first Proverb we had the kids memorize, the sentiment rings true for us during those wild times: "A cheerful face makes a joyful heart." 

3.) After having had the most amazing trail run in Moab, I was re-energized in my "running." I say "running" because I have never been, nor will ever be, a runner. I am more of a speed walker or jogger or shuffler. When we arrived home from Moab, my recent Runner's World magazine had a 5-week plan for running a 5K in 30 minutes. My previous fastest time was 32 minutes, so I decided to tackle the plan as a way to have a goal in my "running." The kids were (mostly) happy to either run or ride alongside me on my road and trail runs, and I used the gym indoor track while the boys were at swim practices for speed work.

The next month when my Runner's World showed up, it had a 10-week plan for running a half-marathon. The thing I realized when looking at it was that the two plans overlapped in mileage. Intrigued, I started looking around for a half marathon to train for and started talking to my friend, Molly from EP, who was already planning on doing the EP half marathon in June. Since we were going to be in Boulder for the month of August, she agreed to run in her second half marathon that summer with me then/there.

4.) Wait... Boulder in August?

When I was growing up, we went on only a handful of "yearly" family vacations, (that lasted between 12 and 48 hours long). 4 to be exact. Chicago (for a wedding), Adventureland (for one day), Wisconsin Dells (to the cheapest/smallest waterpark there for one day), and St. Louis (to Mark Twain Cave & zoo only). Growing up, we didn't have much money and my dad didn't like traveling, but he sacrificed time and money to squeeze the six of us and our luggage into our little Ford escort station wagon to take us on, what were for us, once in a lifetime trips. It was while driving home from one trip that my dad would suggest the next year's trip. Admittedly, it was a sad day when after four years the trips abruptly stopped. I remember it was plans to go back to Chicago and visit the Museum of Science and Industry. Le sigh. 

When we were driving home from Moab, we, too, were already planning our next month long get away. This time we chose to go to Boulder for a month. Boulder was another great hub of the tech industry that we are in and we wanted to research and pursue client relationships in the area. Because we had just returned for one trip, I was slow to getting on VRBO to look for a place to stay or figure out time frames. The decision was finalized very quickly for us when late one night, Josh came to me and said, "I found a beautiful house that looks like an art museum near downtown Boulder on AirBnB that is available for the whole month of August. They say they don't want kids under the age of 10 because she has so many fragile things in her house, so you'll have to convince her to rent to us. You should contact them and try to rent it right now."

AirBnB had only been mainstream, finalizing a massive funding round and expanding throughout the country, for a year prior to this time. (At that time, they also were trying to recover/solve a scandalous robbery situation. Remember that one?) I was still under the impression that it was primarily for renting out one room in someone's house, but Josh found a whole house for rent. However, at this point in time, AirBnB was set up so that you could not make simple inquiries on places to stay, like VRBO or FlipKey, etc. You had to put your money where your mouth was and fork over the full amount to AirBnB with your inquiry. I used my "three well-behaved children" line and hoped for the best. Within 12 hours, our money was taken, she accepted our request, the confirmation was set, and we were now staying in Boulder for the month of August.

Wham, bam, thank you, ma'am. Here it was, only April, and our summer was set.

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