Living in Munchkinland

The kids had a three day weekend so we took the scenic route down to Taos. Our friend Suzy joined us with her two children. We had a lovely weekend with an amazing hike on the Italianos trail, Norteno margaritas and frito pies at the Stray Dog in the ski valley, shopping and twirl downtown, the arts festival, two trips to Ktao, a trip to the gorge, amores by the fire, family movie night of Stardust, and many battles of ping pong. I love Taos so much and I am so lucky that we live close enough for a long weekend now.

I put it out into the universe and all of a sudden things started to happen. Isn't it marvelous when that works out? I hoped to make some friends and then all of sudden I had opportunities to do just that! We had an impromptu happy hour on Wednesday. A neighbor from the other side of the green belt came over and he and Michael played pingpong and geeked out together. Suzy and Jason came over with the kids and we sat around the table and ate and sipped and had a marvelous time. Friday evening, we drove over to the park and had happy hour with Suzy and Jason and then moved the party over to Suzy's friend Christin's house and met a friend of theirs and we all made merry and the kids destroyed their playroom with happy abandon and Michael and guys all hung out in the living room and it was so fun! This morning Samuel had an all day playdate with a friend. Suzy and I went to Alamo Drafthouse for a movie. Michael and Davis are out on a mountain bike ride with Davis'...

During my sophomore year of college, I found a book called "Outlander", by Diana Gabaldon. This became my favorite book and then series of all time. When my parents suggested we might go to Europe that summer, I argued for a two week trip through Scotland and they agreed. I loved every moment of that trip. One of my favorite moments was attending the Highland Games near Inverness. A few weeks ago, I saw that there was going to be a Highland Games and Scottish Festival in Estes Park. We have been wanting to drive up to Estes Park to check it out and this looked like a perfect opportunity. Michael and I love festivals and this looked like it would check all the boxes. I bought tickets online and then went to book some cheap place to stay. Only there wasn't a cheap place to stay. Everything was completely sold out. I called bed and breakfasts and begged. I looked at more and more obscure options. And finally, finally, I found one. Jellystone Park had ONE ...

My weekends are full of fun and joy and adventure. My weekdays are not. Most weeks, Michael is gone and when he is home, he is closeted in the basement for ten to twelve hours a day working. From 8-2:45 I am on my own. I clean and I cook. I exercise and walk the dogs. I grocery shop. I am grateful I don't have a job. I need this time. I need this time to figure things out and think and take care of myself. I am so happy I have this time. But sometimes the hours are empty. I get homesick. I miss my mom. I miss my dad. I miss the camaraderie of friends and church. I don't want a billion friends and commitments. There is no way that I am ready for that. But I would like a friend to occasionally have lunch with. I'd like once a week to meet a girlfriend out for coffee or at the gym and just talk. Making friends in a new town is hard. I talk to my mama every day and that is very good. We stay close and our friendship deepens. I am so lucky. I have a fr...

My mama spent the long Labor Day weekend with us and it was absolutely wonderful. Having her with us makes me so happy. Every moment that we spend together is good. We enjoy the little things, walking the dogs, sipping coffee in the morning, researching travel, shopping. Having her around doing all those things makes it so fun. We also did a lot of special activities. On Friday, we tried to go hiking, but rain came so we gave up that plan. Instead, we went to the Museum of Art and looked at art. We truly enjoyed the dance exhibit. We walked outside the museum and previewed the Taste of Colorado and got henna tattoos. We watched a movie that night and snacked on popcorn in the lower living room. The next day we watched the boys play tennis and then took the light rail back downtown and spent the day at Taste of Colorado, eating, sipping and listening to music. The boys had a great time racing around in giant hamster wheels and making crafts. On Sunday we drove up to Boul...