Labor Day Weekend

Usually once a year, my most excellent husband takes the kids up to the mountains to visit my parents. And I get the house TO MYSELF. The thought of that one weekend keeps me going some weeks, I tell ya.

Anyway, I filled my 2 1/2 days with cleaning, organizing, planning, but also with reading, bible study, browsing online and catching up on some shows on the DVR.

Meanwhile, at the grandparents' , it truly was "labor" day. Scott and Chase helped my dad put up a new fence:

But they also found time to have fun and eat s'mores

On the way home, Scott stopped at a favorite place by the river and took a group photo for me. Thanks, hon!

The weekend helped recharge me and now I'm ready for the new school year!

Last week

My parents run a motel in Walden, in the mountains of northern Colorado. It's a lot of work and they don't get away from it very often. So they asked if I'd come up and run it for a few days after Christmas while they took a little vacation. So this is what me and the kids (and Scott who came up over the weekend) did last week:

Washed laundry...

folded laundry...

made beds

and cleaned bathrooms.

End result --

nice and clean.

I also answered phones, rented rooms and took reservations. It had been a slow month up there and my mom figured I'd have it easy. Ummm...NOT. We got busy the day they left and it stayed that way. LOL

In fact, on Sunday we were hit by a snowstorm and all the surrounding roads were closed. So people passing through on their way to the ski resorts were stranded. We ended up having every room rented, with people continuing to call and stop by trying to find a place to stay.

That was the day my parents were planning to return, but they were stuck a few hours away due to the closed roads. And Scott had gone home that morning, making his way over a very treacherous pass. It hadn't yet closed but he said it was almost a total whiteout. Needless to say, I was a nervous wreck until he called to say he made it home safely.

These were taken in Walden:

These were taken out Scott's window on his way home:


My older two boys were so great and took care of Zane for me while I was slammed renting rooms and answering the phone.

It was a hectic week but overall it went well. And my parents were able to get away and hopefully be refreshed. I'll write about their trip in another post.

Small Town U.S.A.

I feel like I can finally get caught up with the last few days. On Friday, we drove to Walden. Saturday morning everyone helped load my grandparents belongings. Then my parents, grandparents, uncle and my oldest son Conner left for the long drive to North Dakota. My cousins and aunt left to go back to Denver shortly after. That left me, Scott and our other 4 kids to run the motel.

The weekend went well. The motel was full Saturday night so we had a ton of laundry to do Sunday. My mom does have one lady who comes in to help clean rooms. They usually do them together. So Scott and I worked with her to get all but 3 done. We left those to finish Monday since that's usually a much slower day. Chase and Brenna were great helpers, making beds and taking turns watching Aiden and Zane.

We found a special visitor hiding on the top floor behind a gutter. Can you tell what it is?

It's a little bat. If you look closely, you might be able to see his little ears sticking up in this next picture:

On Monday after all the work was done, we took a walk "downtown".

There is only one main street in Walden. No traffic lights, no speed bumps. It's really like a little, old-fashioned town set down in a valley surrounded by mountains. It's one hour from the several large cities, and 3 hours from Denver. Tourists come in the winter to snowmobile or ice-fish, during the fall for hunting season and in the summer to fish or visit the sand dunes just outside of town.

Walden is also considered the "Moose-viewing capital of Colorado". These are a couple we saw on the drive up last year.

Here are a few shots of buildings along Main Street:

This is their motel.

We stopped for ice cream at the shop my mom's friend runs:





My parents and Conner made it back on Monday at 4pm. It was a LONG drive for them and a very quick turnaround time. But Scott needed to be at work Tuesday, so we had to leave. Poor Conner had maybe a half hour after their return, and then had to climb into our vehicle for another 3 hour drive.

This time, Chase gets to stay alone with his grandparents. Each child stays up there for about 2 weeks each summer. That gives them time alone with granny and grandpa.

We will miss you, Chase, but I know you'll have a great time!

Goodbyes are hard

My grandparents left for North Dakota today (Saturday). We are all sad, but pray it is for the best. As I was growing up, they always lived within 10 minutes of us. We visited them at least once a week and I would spend a week or two with them every summer.

I have fond memories of playing card games with my grandma. I knew she would always be up for a game of Slapjack or War. She has a huge heart for children and ran a daycare for many years.

My grandpa was an iron worker, and worked hard all his life. In more recent years, he has been an AA sponsor and has really helped people turn their lives around.

They are two people who are very special to me. I pictured that when I had children, my grandma would watch them like she had so many other children over the years. And I would never worry about them under her loving care. But 3 weeks after I had my first child, they moved. They were originally from North Dakota and decided to move back there. They both come from very large families and they were weary of going back for funerals and wanted to be able to spend some quality time with their remaining brothers and sisters.

It was hard when they left. I missed stopping by, and I mourned them not being able to see my child -- their first great-granchild -- grow up. But we called and wrote and I mailed plenty of pictures.

They came to visit about once a year, and we were able to go visit them a few times. It was a new normal, and we got used to it.

But then a few years ago, my grandma had several strokes. She was near death more than once. And she's never fully recovered. Physically, she gets around although slowly. It's mentally that she suffered the biggest blow. Her memory is spotty. Sometimes she will remember who I am, other times not.

Two years ago, they moved to Colorado to be near my mom. She was able to help my grandpa with my grandma's care. That was a blessing, but in the end, it was not ideal. My parents live in a small mountain town. The air is very thin, which caused my grandma to need oxygen. They are also one hour from the closest hospital, and she's had to be airlifted out once, and taken by ambulance more than once.

So this summer, my grandpa made the decision to return to North Dakota. They still have some family there and can be closer to medical care. And, though it's a sad thought, my grandma has always wanted to be buried there next to her daughter. So he decided they needed to go back.

This weekend, we went up to run my parents' motel so they could drive my grandparents and their belongings back "home". My aunt, three of my cousins, and their families also went up to help pack up and load the trailer. It was nice to all be together, but sad knowing they will be so far away. And with their health issues, we never know which goodbye will be the last.

With 11 of their 15 great-grandchildren

However, I feel blessed to have had the last two years. My family has been able to go visit them many times. Whether my grandma has always remembered who we all are or not, she always enjoyed having the kids around her. She gave us a kiss before getting into her car, and spent the most time with Zane. She kept saying, "I just love this little baby." I'm so happy her love for kids has not left her.

We will miss you, Grandma and Grandpa. But we're already making plans to come visit you soon.

With 4 of their 10 grandchildren(and spouses)

Mountain bound

Today we headed to the mountains again. We dared to drive the curvy route, even with kids who suffer from motion sickness. We bought Sea Bands for 2 of the kids and they seemed to work ( thanks Kristine! ) because nobody got sick. Woohoo!

We stopped partway up the canyon to stretch our legs and take a few pictures. There were plenty of rafters even with the cooler, rainy weather.

Zane wasn't sure about the cool river water

Maybe it's not so bad

My 5 Blessings

me and my hubby

We arrived in Walden around noon and went to lunch with my parents (see previous post about the lemon). We will be running their motel for them this weekend while they help move my grandparents to North Dakota. I'll blog more on that later.

It's much cooler up here than down in the city. And it's so nice to breathe the fresh, clean air. Denver is so congested now that unfortunately the air quality has suffered greatly. We have often discussed moving up here. Someday, maybe.

heading for the hills...

My parents live in the mountains northwest of Denver. There are a few ways to get there. We usually travel up into Laramie, WY, and then back down across the border into Colorado. It's not very scenic, but it's the best way to avoid carsickness.

My favorite route is through Poudre Canyon. It's just gorgeous, but the road is very circuitous. We discovered that so far 2 of our 5 children don't do well driving that way. But this time I only had 3 of the kids with me, so we tried it. Unfortunately, one of them did end up sick on the side of the road. But he was a trooper about it! (name withheld at the puker's request)

It rained off and on and since I was driving, I wasn't able to take many pictures. Conner snapped these of the Cache la Poudre river. It was running very high at the lowest end of the canyon, and we saw loads of rafters.

This rock is called Sleeping Elephant. If you look closely, you can see what looks like a curled-up elephant.

My parents own a motel in their small mountain town. This is the view across the street.

This will be a short visit, we head back home tomorrow.

Got my girl back!

Each summer, my kids take turns spending a week or two up at their grandparents' house in the mountains. Brenna has been there for 2 weeks now, and we drove up to get her yesterday. She had a great time. It's always nice for them to have their grandparents all to themselves. Of course, that make adjusting back to life with siblings that much tougher. =)

I've really missed her. We are the only girls in the house, so when she's gone, I feel the lack of female companionship. My boys are loads of fun, but there definitely is a difference, isn't there?

Welcome Home, Boo!