I should back up to Halloween, which was the Saturday before I went to Denver. Here are my kids in their costumes:
Katie was the beautiful ice queen Elsa and insisted on wearing the plastic high heels that go with the dress everywhere we went--including trick or treating through the neighborhood for hours. Fashion diva. Sophie was Vanellope Von Schweetz from Wreck it Ralph. We made her stop trick or treating two years ago. To make up for it, we threw a big Halloween party for her and her friends. This year, I had a change of heart. She loves Halloween so much and she really wanted to dress up and go trick or treating and I thought -- what the hey! She is growing up so fast. How many teenagers knock on my door every year? There are worse things she could be doing than wanting to still be a kid at fourteen. We let her go trick-or-treating. Isaac was an army guy. This is the 3rd year in a row he has mirrored his best friend's costume. First they were army guys together, then they were construction workers together and this year they were army guys again. I love it.
This picture shows Katie's dress a little better. So sparkly!
Ian decided he is too old for trick or treating and dressing up. Unlike his older sister, he came to this conclusion on his own. I bought him this shirt that has holes where the eyes go and a pocket inside the shirt. You put your phone (or, in his case - ipod) inside the pocket and download an ap that makes it look like the zombie's eyes are looking all around. It is seriously cool and turned out to be a big hit at the junior high. On Halloween, he stayed home and helped Brian pass out candy while I took the others trick or treating.
Halloween was a weeklong event as usual. I took the kids to an evening carnival at the church and a carnival at the school on a different evening. On Friday, they dressed up for school and had their class parties. Of course, there was trick-or-treating on Saturday.
The timing of my Denver trip was unfortunate as I left so soon after Halloween which meant there was a lot of work to do in the office the week before to prepare for the meeting as well as a lot to do to get myself packed and ready to go. For this reason, I ended up working until 7 p.m. on Saturday and I was having a little pity party as I rushed home. I usually like to get an early start and leave our house at 6 p.m., it was already 7 p.m. and I needed to help everyone get into costume. As it turns out -- even if you start trick or treating after 7 p.m., your kids still get waaaay too much candy. Halloween was saved!
I am being transparent when I say that switching gears to being a working mom has been a challenge for me over the past several years. One of the best parts has been seeing Brian step up to fill in the gaps. It is a very big blessing to me and our whole family.
Halloween 2015--Success!
Monday morning, I left for Denver. Here are all of the wonderful parts:
The two people I was on-site with are two of the most amazing people I have ever met. Working with them is such a privilege.
We stayed at the Four Seasons. Here are some pictures of my room:
The waterfall feature at the top of this shower was luxuriant.
A sunken bathtub too? Yes!
I had a beautiful view of downtown Denver from my window.
When we arrived, we had a working lunch at the Four Seasons. Seafood cobb salad - Yum!
That night we met at the bar for martinis (mine was virgin of course). The weather was gorgeous. We walked to Capital Grille. It is one of those restaurants where the entrees are $40-$50. Then, you choose your side dishes separately. It is always fun to try new things. This was not like my normal life for sure.
I had the most tender scallops with risotto. There was also the best coconut pie in the world for dessert. That is what the waiter called it. And, I think he may have been right.
In between enjoying the finer things in life, we were very productive. In fact, when the trip was over, my colleague and I figured out that we had worked 12-hours each day we were there. It felt good to be so focused and to accomplish so much in three days.
The meeting began Tuesday. That night we dined at Ocean Prime. Brian would later ask me, "How do you go out to dinner for four hours straight?" That is the way dinners always are on these trips. It is an art form. It is kind of amazing and probably more amazing to me than the others since I'm always the only one not drinking the $100 bottles of wine.
I had a gorgeous filet mignon with giant shrimp scampi, brussel sprouts and lobster bisque. My colleague insisted that everyone get dessert to go and ordered me the most scrumptious chocolate peanut butter pie, which I had to enjoy the following day because I was so full.
Even after working all day and enjoying dinner until 10 pm, it was funny to me that all three of us were in our rooms working and texting each other about work for another hour. So much to do!
The next morning, breakfast was a lovely spread by the Four Seasons. The meeting went smoothly and at 2 pm we were taking a car to the airport to fly home.
I arrived at my home at 7 pm. It was so wonderful to see my kids! It was a short time to be away. I have to admit that having someone make my bed every morning and turn it down for me every night with a fresh little carafe of water and bucket of ice on the nightstand did make me feel like a princess. It's the little things. But coming home to my messy, chaotic house felt simply like heaven.
I am blessed beyond words for this job opportunity. I can not complain. It is a gift.
Full disclosure -- when I missed Katie and Isaac's Halloween parties on Friday so I could work I found myself sobbing in my office as I printed materials and updated lists. I had thought it would be no big deal and I had to get the work done sometime. But, when I was there, it hit me that I was missing out on memories that I could never get back. I realized I have never missed the kids' Halloween (or Valentine's Day) parties. I guess I didn't realize what a big deal it was to my mother heart. Luckily, I was in my office alone so I could have a little private cry about it. It is very hard for working moms to have our cake and eat it too.
Speaking of cakes, there is a lovely one pictured here. I gave Katie my room key when I got home so we could play "hotel." She is very good at it! First she made my bed. Then, she brought me room service:
She even "vacuumed" my room with a stick she was pretending was a vacuum. Next time, I need to give her the real thing - Ha! Isaac kept saying, "Katie, quit playing the 'do chores' game." What a stinker trying to ruin our fun.
For weeks, Katie has been asking me to take her swimming. Remember how she learned to swim in California in June? She has been itching to practice some more since summer ended. It was very important to her that we go to a pool just the two of us. Sweet thing. As the youngest, she has hardly had a moment alone with me in her whole life.
Yesterday we made it happen. This daughter of mine could not go down the curly slide. She could not play on the water playground. The only thing she could do for two hours straight without a break is swim from the side of the pool to me and back again. She is obsessed with becoming a better swimmer. I love it! There was definite improvement in the two hours we were there. She even relaxed and learned to float on her back. It was a wonderful time for the two of us and I will treasure the memory.
One story I forgot to add -- the night before Halloween one of my favorite radio personalities Bill Allred came to the G.O.A.L foundation to record a podcast. The recording was set up inside Brian's actual office (up in the loft of the building). There was delicious food from Rooster's. Fun night! Life is good. So grateful for Brian's job and for experiences like these.
Bill telling stories about growing up in Ogden.
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