Other stuff to share

Just a few more things to share/catch up on...

1. Micah skydiving. I got to see Micah's skydiving video last weekend...figured I'd share one of the screenshots: 

Seems like he had a great time. :) (The rest of the pictures are pretty similar to the ones I already shared from Asher's video...but with Micah's face and enthusiasm.)

2. Update on Noah. Since people keep asking me, yes, Noah seems to be having a good time in Japan. On my birthday, he actually shared this photo with me...

He's on one of the observation levels of the Tokyo Skytree. The structure is 2080 feet high...Japan's tallest structure. (For comparison, the Seattle Space Needle is 605 feet high and the Eiffel Tower is 1083 feet high, so, yeah, he's pretty high up there.)

So far he's been in two different hostels and has been walking all over...seeing the area around him, hiking mountains, and visiting sites.

3. New car! Oh, and by the way, on Tuesday we leased a new car. 

We really hadn't been planning to do anything about vehicles right now...had been thinking we'd address that in 2-3 years once sons are potentially/hopefully off on their own and with their own vehicles and insurance (and hoping against hope that our current vehicles would make it that long, lol). But. Toward the start of the month my brother Zach called me to share the great deals he'd just gotten on electric vehicles, specifically the Nissan Ariya. He'd leased one for his wife and one for his daughter and the numbers were pretty darn great/low. 

Long story short, we ended up leasing one of our own. We didn't get rid of any of our other vehicles but this way we have a bit of a buffer so that if anything (knock on wood) happens to one of the others, we have an "extra" either to take its place or to buy time so we can actually look for better deals instead of needing to spend money right away. We'll still use our minivan for longer road trips (since charging along the way doesn't look like it makes sense right now).

So. We've been enjoying learning our Ariya and having fun driving something newer than 2008. It's definitely a bit of an adjustment but I keep reminding myself that learning new things is good for me, lol. Also, it's fun and pretty. :)

Okay, that was it for now...just wanted to share before I forgot or got distracted, lol.

Milestone reached!

So, last Saturday, I celebrated my 50th birthday. Yup. Five. Zero. Given that, here are five things….

 1. Firstly, thank you all so very much for the many birthday wishes online, over the phone and in person. I’ve tried to reply to many of you but apologize if I’ve missed anyone. I’m tremendously grateful for all of you and the part you’ve played in my life thus far.

2. Yes, I celebrated with my guys a couple weeks beforehand (given that Noah was in Japan by my actual birthday). I posted about that here. Nathan and I will be doing our “big” celebration this fall…taking a trip together.

3. I’ve also celebrated with numerous friends…lunch and shopping, breakfast and walking, happy hour and drinks (not all on the same day, lol). It’s truly been a lovely birthday week! Alas, we were having so much fun we forgot to take photos except for this one:

4. Honestly, I’m really happy about being fifty. It’s a privilege to reach this age, and I know that I’m incredibly blessed all around.

5. I feel like I should have some profound blog post to accompany this milestone…some list or statement or wisdom or something. But. I don’t. I’ve made lists for myself but am good with those just being for me right now. Maybe I’ll share or come up with things in the course of the coming year…

That’s it for now. Thank you again!

Thankful Thursday on Friday

Meant to post yesterday but got distracted. ;) So, here are things I'm thankful for right now...

1. That Asher and Micah survived their skydiving adventure. Last Friday, Asher, Micah and a good friend went tandem skydiving down in Longmont. They had a great time...and I pulled some screenshots from Asher's video to share...

The three of them hung out in Boulder afterward before Asher and Josiah headed back to Fort Collins. I haven't seen Micah (he's living and working in Boulder this summer while he looks for what's next) so haven't seen his video yet. Asher says he enjoyed the part after the parachute opened more than the initial freefall because he got to control the parachute and did some flips and spins. I'm thankful to have the video to see a bit of what they experienced...and especially thankful to have them both safely on the ground.

2. That we haven't needed to turn on our outside water yet. With the rain we've been having lately, we haven't needed to water our yard yet. I'm always thankful for any fewer weeks that we need to pay for the water. I'm not a huge fan of the grey skies and storms but I guess I'll take it. :)

3. That my peonies continue to put on such a show. Another benefit of the rain is the moisture it's provided for my peonies. This one always blooms spectacularly!

Given the forecast rain, though, I did go ahead and cut all the open ones earlier this week to save them from getting pummeled. They're huge!

4. That my parents adopted me all those years ago. Last Wednesday was the anniversary of my adoption day. Back then, I got placed on a plane with a volunteer and brought to the US where my parents picked me up at the airport...

I was not quite a year old (my travels had been delayed due to chicken pox so I'm sure my parents were impatiently waiting). Truly. I'm so blessed that my parents (both my birth parents and my parents) chose adoption. Immensely grateful!

Okay, that's my list for now. :)

Bon Voyage

...and the reason Nathan and I came back early on Sunday was to have time to take Noah to lunch...chat while he finished packing...and then drive him (through a severe thunderstorm) to the airport. Yep, he's off to Japan!

In a nutshell, he's been living here and working at the bank for about three years (since graduating from CSU). It was time for him to change things up. He gave his notice at the bank, worked his last day on Friday, and is off to Japan and South Korea for months (about three months in Japan and probably the same in South Korea)...traveling, experiencing the world, and looking for what's next.  

He literally has just the bag on his back. (He was a very efficient packer, lol.) He had a long layover in Calgary (with time to go into the city and do a little exploring) and made it to Tokyo this morning. We're looking forward to hearing about his travels, are thankful he can take this time, and are excited about the adventure he'll have.

Short weekend away

Last weekend, Nathan and I had a quick couples road trip...had just decided to see a bit more of Colorado that we hadn't been to before. It was short but sweet. :) 

We headed out Friday afternoon and stopped in Denver to have a fabulous dinner at Magna Kainan, an elevated Filipino cuisine restaurant. Um, YUM! Having been raised on traditional Filipino food (my mom's dad immigrated from the Philippines in the early 1900s and her step mom came to the US a couple decades later), I was familiar with a number of the dishes. No disrespect at all to my mom and all the aunties and uncles but this food was amazing. :)

That's my Tito Boy Shot (the rum is from a woman-founded small batch distillery in the Philippines)...lumpia and skewers of prawns and chicken...our desserts of bibingka and pandam cheesecake...and pancit bihon (noodles) and kaldereta (crispy lamb in assorted veggies). It was delicious and the service was wonderful...highly recommended!

After that, we continued down to Colorado Springs and checked into our hotel...complete with a lobby that offered a free happy hour drink, had numerous games out to play, and sported a table with supplies for painting rocks. Fun!

The next morning we drove over to Manitou Springs and took the Cog Railway to the top of Pikes Peak. It was my first 14er! (Yes, I'm counting it even though I didn't hike it. So there.) We rode one of the two car trains (they also have newer 3 car trains) and had reserved the Engineers View Downhill seats. (So our seats were at the back of the train on the way uphill and at the front on the way down. I don't know how the other seats were but ours were great. I also recommend sitting on the left side of the train (when going uphill), as the views are better.)

At the top, we had about 50 minutes before our return trip. Given the timing, we grabbed some quick lunch and took just a few photos before getting back onboard. If we were to do it again, I'd not go at a meal time so that I wouldn't need to use that time getting food.

All in all, it was a lovely experience and we learned some great history and facts along the way from our conductor, Taylor. If you haven't ridden the Cog Railway, we recommend it. It's hard to believe how long it's been running and that people built it in the first place. 

After leaving Manitou Springs, we ventured to Victor, CO where we found the remaining wooden troll in Colorado. (We'd visited our first one in Breckenridge in October of 2023.) This one's name is Rita the Rock Planter. She's one of many by Thomas Dambo. Seriously, these trolls are so impressive!

From there, we continued south to the Royal Gorge Suspension Bridge & Park. Due to the storms and lightning surrounding us, the gondola and ziplines weren't operating while we were there but we enjoyed the bridge and the views and the big horn sheep/rams. Again, impressed by the ingenuity...who thinks to build a bridge so high out in the middle of nowhere like that?! 

And then we found dinner in Canon City and checked into our hotel. The next morning, we decided to forego going back to the park to do the zipline and gondola and instead headed home. More on why in my next post...