Another Christmas gift (belated)

For Christmas, one of the things Nathan got me was a stained glass class and night away. Given class scheduling, this past Saturday was when it happened. :)

So, Saturday, we headed down to Boulder for our intro date night stained glass class at Colorado Glass Works. Given the weekend, it was Valentine's Day themed. We had the option of making two separate suncatcher hearts or one combined suncatcher. The pieces were all pre-cut and grouped so we selected our set, taped the edges and soldered everything. It was fun! 

Nathan was so proud that the instructor told him she didn't even need to clean anything up on ours. :) (To be fair, Nathan has taken a stained glass class before. It was about 25 years ago. But still. He's soldered other things since then. I wasn't able to take the stained glass class all those years ago due to being pregnant and/or nursing then so this was finally my chance.)

After that, we grabbed dinner in Boulder then drove up to Estes Park in the snow. We stayed at an AirBNB we've stayed at before and then enjoyed a very blustery but beautiful Sunday in Estes Park. We had a fabulous brunch (at Bird & Jim) and ventured into Rocky Mountain National Park. We braved the wind and snow and ended up doing a quick impromptu hike around Bear Lake. We didn't have snow shoes or skis like some others but still managed pretty well...

I even made a snow angel right on the lake. :) (FYI, that end of the lake was a little warmer than other areas of the lake and Nathan did step in wet slush a few times, lol.)

We also drove through the park a bit more, got dessert back at Bird & Jim's, and grabbed our afternoon coffee/tea at Kind Coffee before heading home. It was a nice break from chores and a lovely belated Christmas getaway. Happy.

Vegas!

So, for Christmas, instead of random *stuff* we gifted all three boys with a trip to Vegas to see a couple specific shows. Last weekend was the weekend that worked to actually take that trip. It was just a couple nights...a quick trip that didn't require anyone to miss work or class.

We left Friday evening...ate dinner at the Denver airport then flew to Vegas and got settled in our hotel rooms at The Flamingo. Saturday, we got up and grabbed some yummy grub at the Gordon Ramsay Fish & Chips place in the LINQ Promenade then spent time walking and seeing what the strip had to offer. I tried to get a nice group photo in front of the Bellagio fountains but this is what I ended up with...

We watched the fountain show and continued walking...stopping here and there but mostly just taking in the sights. When we got to New York, New York, Asher, Nathan and I rode the coaster. It was actually pretty good--exceeded expectations, though it reminded me that perhaps I'm getting too old (and am too short) for roller coasters, lol. (Micah looked at the coaster closer than I did beforehand and opted not to ride, and Noah felt that he'd been happy with the coasters he rode at Universal in Tokyo so was fine with skipping this one.)

From there, we hoofed it back toward The Flamingo so we could make it to our BattleBots Destruct-a-Thon show in time. (Part of why we chose The Flamingo was its proximity to BattleBots.) We've all watched and enjoyed BattleBots shows for years...started following them during our Mythbusters years and have watched all of the episodes currently streaming. Nathan and I were sad that we couldn't make one of the shows during our Vegas trip last year so were happy to experience this with the boys. 

The show was great and we were delighted that most of the bots who battled were actually bots we've watched for years so were familiar with. There were some younger boys sitting behind us who were super enthusiastic (as ours were at those ages) which made it more fun, too. It was definitely a good time!

From there, we headed back to our rooms to grab some extra layers for the evening then went to find an early dinner at Guy Fieri's Vegas Kitchen & Bar. We then walked through Caesar's (to show boys the curving escalators) and made our way south to the MGM Grand to watch the Ka Cirque du Soleil show. It was AMAZING...so stunning in the choreography and production! If you have a chance to see it, we definitely recommend it!

After the show, we ended up walking and getting one of the big frozen daiquiri drinks while walking and then playing glow in the dark mini golf (inside the Horseshoe) before finally heading back to our rooms for the night.

Sunday, we enjoyed a fabulous brunch/lunch at Mon Ami Gabi at the Paris hotel in front of the Bellagio fountains then caught an Uber to the airport and made it back to Denver. We grabbed dinner together there before splitting up so Micah could head back to Boulder, and the rest of us headed back to Fort Collins and then Asher headed back to Greeley. Whew. 

Here are more pictures...the Sphere as we landed in Vegas, Asher and me after the NY Coaster, me getting my daiquiri, Micah relishing in his trash can nachos at Guy Fieri's, surreptitiously taking a photo before Ka started, and playing mini golf. 

So. That was our quick weekend. Merry belated Christmas to our boys! Feeling fortunate to spend the time and have the experiences with them! 

January

Last day of January, y'all! January's been a bit of a hermitting time for me so I haven't really been checking in here. Before February starts, though, let's catch up a little with what's been going on...

1. One Little Word. Yes, I've selected my word for 2025. I don't feel the need to share it here, though. :) I like the process of picking and feel like it only matters that I chose it for a reason and that I can keep that in mind throughout the year and let it guide me. 

2. Spring semester. Asher and Micah are fully into their spring semesters now and busy with classes and extras. Both seem to be enjoying and are challenged by their classes. Asher continues to participate in his taekwondo and PE clubs and will be taking steps to get ready for student teaching, which will be spring semester of next year. Micah's been climbing more and has chosen to cut back to just one part time job to spend more time looking for after-graduation positions. Overall, both appear busy but good.

3. Japan. Meanwhile, Noah had an opportunity to go to Japan this month! One of his friends has a friend who gets cheap standby tickets through his job at Denver International Airport. So, Noah, his friend, his friend's friend, and that guy's twin had a fabulous experience in Japan from January 19-29. They stayed in Osaka and Tokyo, took day trips, and had awesome adventures. Noah's been back at work yesterday and today but would rather be back in Japan. :) 

4. Empty nest. While Noah was gone, Nathan and I had a little taste of what it will be like to have an empty nest. Between this, that, and the other, we're pretty sure we haven't had the house to ourselves overnight since November of 2000 when Noah was born. (We've had trips and such on our own but just not time at our own house without at least one boy.) We think we'll be just fine once we actually are on our own. ;)

5. Start of year stuff. Every January (at least for the last few years), I take some time to update the emergency binder stuff I've put together. It has important documents and information that would be needed in an emergency. It's nice to have that up to date...peace of mind. I also finished submitting our tax info to our financial planner (who does our taxes) earlier today. Nice to have that out of the way. 

6. Continued walking. I think I mentioned last month that I've been trying to intentionally walk more. That continues. Given that our Colorado weather swings widely, some of the time I've been walking laps (with Deanna) inside our local (mostly vacant) mall and some of the time we've walked outside (and even in the dark) and some of the time I've enjoyed the gorgeous sunshine around my neighborhood all on my own. It's been good and I feel better for it.

7. Waterproof shoes. Relatedly, for the last few months now I've been on the search for comfortable waterproof black walking shoes. You'd think that would be fairly straight-forward. You'd be wrong. I've ordered (and returned) more than a dozen pairs of shoes online and tried on at least a dozen pairs locally at multiple stores. I ran into issues and have some questions: what the heck is speed hiking? why would you want a white pair of hiking shoes? why can't I find my size locally? (Okay, I know the answer to that last one. I have a small foot. It's annoying (though practical) that stores don't stock extra small sizes and that manufacturers don't always make small enough sizes. I tried kids sizes but the fit is different. Bleh.)

In any case, it became a personal challenge. I tried hiking shoes. I tried trail running shoes. I tried street shoes. Most were too big. Some had uncomfortable gusseted tongues. Some had uncomfortable arch support. You get the picture. 

Celebrate with me, then, that I finally seem to have found a pair that works for what I was looking for! Whew! (In case you're wondering, they're Altra Lone Peak All-WTHR Low 2 shoes.) 

8. Still active. In my hermitting this month, (in addition to my walking) I've continued to do boot camp...Lynne and I have been making use of Tim's gym to workout on our own...and I've tried to climb a couple times a week and have been getting stronger at that. Feels good.

So. It's been a fairly quiet January here. Nathan and I have gone on a couple dates, I've been out with friends a few times, and Nathan has even met up with people a couple times. Course, Noah wins for having gone to Japan. :) Basically, 2025 is underway and we're doing what's within our control to make it a good one.

(PS Sorry I don't have any pictures. Apparently I didn't take many this month. Obviously Noah has pictures from Japan, but those aren't mine to share.)

Five on Friday

First post of 2025! Not hugely exciting, lol, but here are five things today...

1. Annual Santa photo. So, after our Montana trip, Micah headed back to Boulder on Dec 26th to work during break. He came back home last weekend to hang out and we got my annual Santa photo. It's one of the things I ask the boys for as a Christmas gift each year. They've been getting creative as they're getting older and more reluctant to actually sit with Santa...

We put a fireplace scene on the tv and they wore their matching sweaters (Micah got one for Noah for his birthday and got one for Asher for Christmas). After that, it was a good weekend of brothers binging shows and all of us playing games. Yay!

2. NYE. Going backward for a moment...Micah didn't join us for New Year's Eve, opting to hang out with one of his roommates instead, which was cool. The rest of us did our own thing. We don't generally do a heap of anything special...some snacks just before midnight and a toast with sparkling cider. Exciting stuff, lol. This year, we did a wee bit more and had a kinda theme. We streamed the Wicked movie and had Wicked themed cocktails and snacks... 

No one else appreciated my pink cotton candy with the pomegranate sparkling cider so they opted to torch it instead, lol. 

3. FAFSA. During this winter break, Asher and I also filled out his FAFSA for next year. I'm pretty sure it was the 18th FAFSA I've filled out (between my own eight years of college and the three boys). It went surprisingly quickly, so, whew. Since Micah will graduate in May and the 2025-26 academic year will be Asher's last, I *think* this may be the end of me needing to fill out FAFSAs. Woohoo!

4. Vinnie. So, on Wednesday our minivan--Vinnie--decided not to start. Turned the key and nothing. Lovely. Ended up having him towed from our garage to our preferred repair shop. Fortunately, on Thursday they were able to replace the starter. Also fortunately, Asher's still home so we had an extra vehicle here to use on Thursday and to pick up Vinnie. Really glad it was just the starter and that Vinnie's home and working again now. Whew.

(Note: Vinnie is getting a little old. We got him new 16 years ago. He's been a fabulous vehicle for us and has seen us through many extra-curricular activities and road trips. We know we'll eventually replace him as our primary vehicle but are trying to wait until Asher and Micah are graduated and on their own enough to no longer be on our auto insurance policy.)

5. Miscellany. Just a few things I'm thankful for right now...

1. my holiday card door...I tape all the cards I receive on my office door and keep them up throughout the year. I love seeing all the smiling faces and sentiments daily. :) 
2. large print library books...yeah, sometimes I check out the large print versions from the library. Mainly, they're often available sooner than the regular copies. But. It's also lovely to read without my reading glasses, lol.
3. our new Blink doorbell...when we were delivering our holiday fudge to neighbors, we realized we're the only house on our cul-de-saq without a video doorbell of some sort. We're not really worried about it because we're generally home all day anyhow and our front porch is one of the most visible ones. But. There are times that Nathan and I don't hear the doorbell when we're each in our offices. So. We got a Blink video doorbell, which alerts our phones when there's motion at the door. This is particularly handy when Micah's prescriptions are delivered, as they don't always ring the doorbell and the meds need to be refrigerated. It also came in very handy the other day when some neighbors dropped something off but Nathan didn't recognize them. I was able to look at the video clip that was recorded and tell him who they were. :) 

Okay, that's what I have for now. Asher will be heading back to Greeley tomorrow. Classes at both UNC and CU start Monday for spring term. It'll be the end of our winter break officially, and then we'll all finally be underway with the new year. 

Twenty Eight Years

Happiest of anniversaries to my fabulous husband! Thankful that he's still the partner and friend and man that I'd pick time and again. So very blessed to be celebrating 28 years of marriage today! Randomly, here are some of my favorite photos of us from this past year...

So very thankful for our many adventures and looking forward to many more...