Jump. Lift. Run.

I've tried to keep myself in more or less decent shape for years now, primarily by running.  I even thought I was reasonably dedicated the last couple of years; I'd get up at 4:45am a few days a week to go for a run since it was the only time I could work it into my schedule.  I ran as long as possible into both pregnancies.  And I really enjoyed running the occasional road race, too.

But something totally different has recently happened to my workout routine.  Joker convinced me to go to a gym.  And not just any old gym, but one that is part of a "thing."  Apparently a trendy thing.  It's the CrossFit here in Evergreen, and I have been loving it.  I lift weights for the first time in my life.  I am working towards doing real pull-ups and handstand push-ups.  I make crossfit jokes with the other people in my classes.  I'm even doing crossfit things (like odd sit-up variants and pushups and the like) at home after my regular run-of-the-mill jogs.

I'm not sure if those insane obstacle-laced races are next.  I'm not sure if this is all just a side effect of living in Evergreen.  I'm not even sure how long my interest in jumping on boxes or doing dead lifts will last.  But for now, I'm stronger and thinner than I have been in years.  Even if it just leads to more tank tops year-round, it's probably a good thing.

Kick the round ball

The Bug started soccer, which is also known as "football" or "futbol", if you happen to live on the wrong side of the Atlantic.  This is her first foray into team sports: playing with other kids, getting instruction from the coaches, that sort of thing.

The first day was an unmitigated disaster.  There were witnesses; I am not exaggerating.  She cried the whole time, clinging to my leg.  She kept moaning she wanted to go home, to which I very sensitively replied, "You wanted to play soccer; we are staying until practice is over."  Disaster.

But since then, Joker has been taking her to practice and "games" (they just kinda let the kids run around and score goals, best as I can tell).  She's actually participating, and was reported as doing perfectly yesterday.  So, yay.  She also loves her shin guards and cleats, wants to see the local high school girls play, speaks extremely fondly of the sport when she's not there.  In short, this might just work out fine.  With any luck, even I will get to witness the success in person.

A few extra hands

After our move to Evergreen, I was housewifing.  The Bug was in school four days a week, the Bunny went to daycare once a week, and things were pretty manageable.  Yeah, I'm a crappy cleaner, and I actually learned that dusting is even worse than mopping, but we ate three somewhat healthy meals every day, there were clean clothes in the drawers, and the kids got to go to the library and the park and my grandparents' house and other cool places.

But as soon as I returned to full-time work, I realized how much was falling through the cracks.  I rarely never cleaned, laundry piled up, grocery shopping was done while emailing, my kids would watch TV while I attempted to work (fyi, school until 2:45pm is not "full day")... and don't even ask about showering.  It boiled down to this for me: even with an extremely flexible and understanding work situation, and with a rather helpful husband, it is virtually impossible for a working woman to do all the mommy and wife-y stuff.  Especially if she's not supposed to be an enormous grump at the end of the day and/or drink an entire bottle of wine before dinner.

But - hooray! - we have gotten to a rather wonderful place, with the addition of a few helping hands.  I have someone cleaning the house every other week, which means that after nine months of just sitting there, my bookshelves have now been dusted.  Twice.  And this week we found a delightful babysitter who can pick up the girls a few days a week, leaving me with some precious extra hours to devote to my job while the girls get to play outside and have adventures. 

To all the superwomen out there, huge kudos for handling what I cannot.  And to you normal women, trust me, we all need help.  Now let's go grab a drink.

Happy Birthday, Easter Bunny!

Another year, another Easter, and I'll be damned if I don't love the cuteness.

Yesterday we colored our eggs.  Which, apparently, is just the beginning.  Then we gilttered them.  And then we sequined them.  If E. Bunny doesn't lay a jelly bean when he sees ours then call me a monkey's uncle.

This morning we went to the egg hunt at the Evergreen Elks Club.  It was pretty sweet - they break the kids up by age so the teeny ones don't get squashed by the big kids.  Except there was some snafu or another, which resulted in the 3-4 year olds' hunt being over before half the kids arrived.  Lucky for us, this town is full of incredibly nice people. (Have I mentioned that before, because it's uncanny, like someone's pumping ecstasy into the town's water or something.)  Anyway, a couple of kids filled the Bug's basket with eggs.  We went around the corner with another family, hid those eggs, and the four kids had their own hunt.  It was perfect.

And tonight, the kids are watching a movie (Gene Wilder in Charlie & the Chocolate Factory - our kids occasionally exhibit great taste).  The note to the Easter Bunny has been written, carrots are laid out, and they even picked up their toys so that he wouldn't trip... "in case he wears glasses" said the Bug, though the relevance escapes me.

Anyhoo, Happy Easter to you!

The Bug's big night out

Last night was a milestone of sorts: the Bug had a sleepover (by herself!) at Aunt Jessie's house!  The highlight for the Bug might very well have been the big-girl outing to see Disney on Ice, where princesses galore twirled around in their princess gowns, doing various and sundry princess things.  (Since I wasn't there myself, I'm more or less paraphrasing the detail my daughter provided.)

Anyway, after the show they went back to Aunt Jessie's, ate ice cream, watched a movie (presumably also about princesses) and had a good night sleep.  The Bug had been a wee bit torn: desperately wanting to see the Disney show and to go to Aunt Jessie's house, but not quite sure she was ready to spend a night away from the Bunny and her parents.  Princesses persevered, and the Bug had a blast!  Thanks - and major kudos - to Aunt Jessie for conceptualizing, and flawlessly executing, this memorable event!

The Road

Cormac McCarthy's The Road, winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for literature, tells the story of a man and his son struggling to survive in the post-apocalyptic world after an unnamed cataclysm has destroyed all civilization on earth.  The setting is bleak: ash fills the air, blocking the sun.  It's always cold.  Living animals and vegetation are nonexistent.  And the people who are remaining are largely "bad guys": thugs, thieves, cannibals.

The man's wife gave up hope and committed suicide before the events of the novel, unable to face the thought of raising their newborn son in this new world order.  The story begins some years later, the man and the boy traveling on a road in the a southerly direction, hoping to find the sea.  They travel with blankets loaded into a shopping cart, a pistol that has only two rounds left, and a vague sense that the sea will provide them with a less unforgiving climate in which to survive.  Against all odds, they find unraided bunkers for the canned goods, water receptacles and the other provisions that are keeping them alive.  Their path is beset by all sorts of obstacles: long-abandoned trucks blocking a bridge, rain and snow that soak through their pathetic clothing and extinguish their fires, gangs of men carrying crude weapons and dragging slaves behind.

The prose is fantastic, and there are some glimmers of good among all the ruin.  Chief among them is the filial love between the man and his son.  They talk of "carrying the fire" and of someday meeting "the good guys."  They are truly living for one another, the man exercising unbelievable strength and will if a threat to his son, whether external or an illness, is perceived.  The boy has known no other world, and from his bleak vantage point there is not much to live for.  But he loves his father and believes that they are doing the right thing by surviving alone, together.

As wonderfully as this is written, the picture painted of this post-apocalypse is so completely hopeless it's hard for me to call it a great book.  It's depressing, but, yes, a remarkable book and worth reading.

Next up: The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper.

A visit from Pop-pop

This weekend, we had a very special visitor in town: Pop-pop (Joker's dad) came to see us for the first time since we moved!  The girls were super excited to show him some of their favorite things to do around town.  And the weather could not have cooperated better: we had a series of 60-plus degree days.  Delightful.
 
We started the weekend off easy, with the girls playing hookey from school to take Pop-pop to a couple of our favorite local parks.  We rode bikes in Kittredge, and after lunch went to Dinosaur Park (a.k.a. Stagecoach Park to the rest of the world) where we played on the playground and flew a kite.

On Friday, another day off from school.  We did the 1.25-mile hike around Evergreen Lake, which was still covered with its last remnants of ice.  Just two days later and it's wide open water again - but here's a last view of the winter's hockey rinks in front of the Lake House.

We spent Saturday up at the farm, where the Bunny rode on a tractor for the very first time!  Other highlights included mudding in Mima and Boppie's pond, though we are disappointed to report that we didn't spot a single mermaid this visit. 

And on Sunday we went to Red Rocks, had a nice hike around the park and the Bug and the Bunny got to fool around on the rocks backstage! 

A really fun weekend - lots of the great Colorado outdoors - and we can't wait to show Pop-pop more on his next visit!