Estes Park

On our last full day in Colorado we visited the town of Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park with my parents, grandparents, my brother and niece.  Estes Park is a charming little town with a creek running right behind the shops on their main street.  We enjoyed a little window shopping and lunch before trekking out to the nearby National Park.

 The whole gang (from the left): Gordon, Frankey, Nelse, Sydney, Terry, Me, River, Janie, Lila, Thom

 I was so glad my grandparents could fly out from Nebraska to come visit us.  It had a been a while since we last saw them and they had never met Lila.  We had a great time re-hashing old stories and playing 3 to 13 late into the evening while they were there.

 Lila loved the little creek and was intent on sharing her sign for "water."  After lunch we separated in to two groups.  The altitude of the hikes in the National Park was going to be a bit much for Grams and Gramps, so they took a tour of the town with Dad while the rest of us tried to figure out the park shuttle system.

The information site in Estes Park was ill-equipped to handle our questions; after asking for the best shuttle to take for an easy hike for our little ones, the ladies at the desk suggested we "just drive up there" or "just skip the national park and head to the playground up the street."

Needless to say we worked it out on our own.

 Lila was thrilled, THRILLED to be in the forest.

 As requested, River found giant boulders to climb...

 ... and treacherous waters to navigate.

 We saw a beautiful bull elk munching leaves just off the trail.

 After a long hike we made it to the top of Alberta Falls.  It was a gorgeous view next to a precipitous fall.

 After a wonderful day we headed back to home base and ate Chinese food while screening Independence Day.  All around, pretty perfect.

The next day we had to say our goodbyes and head home.

 River and Lila were troupers on the flight.  Lila even took a nap!

Here she is on the floor of our plane, curled up in her standard sleeping pose: thumb in mouth, favorite blankie gripped tight.

It was a wonderful vacation and one we'll remember for a long time.

mini me

Thom and I had reason to get a hold of our preschool photos recently and they are truly stellar.  Thom's knee-high black socks and my gap-toothed smile are reason alone to share, but I thought I'd take it a bit further.

Behold:

It's bit eerie, no?

what we're all working on

As you can see, dinosaurs have not completely pushed out River's love of all things trash. A bit of packing foam in the mail inspired a whole new round of the city dump game. But since he came down with a fever this morning the only thing River's working on is recovery (mainly in the form of snuggling with mom and napping).

Lila is working on SITTING UP!! Go little girl, you rock!

And I've been working on appliqueing onsies. The skull shirt Lila is wearing above is a recent design as is this inverted-appliqued bouquet. I like the process of "sketching" with the sewing machine. Definitely a work in progress, but I'm seeing all kinds of possibilities with this technique.


Thom is working really hard on just plain work. He's been a machine lately and I'm hoping he'll be able to enjoy some down time soon.

Happy Birthday to my man (and lots of other random stuff)

Thirty-seven years ago today, the most amazing man was born. I feel extraordinarily lucky to call him my husband, and I hope we can be together to celebrate another 100 birthdays.

We spent the morning sleeping in (okay, Thom slept in and I got up to turn on cartoons for River and finsh making a cake). It's a chocolate cake with oreo cream filling and chocolate butter cream icing I made from scratch. Been a while since I was this ambitious in the kitchen and I think it will taste great.


After breakfast (egg sandwiches from Petsi Pies) the boys went outside to play while I put the finishing touches on the cake. Then Lila and I joined them. We played pirates who own a paper company and River ran the wood chipper. As you can see, Lila was a totally awesome pirate.


Thom's present from the kids was this painting (they did the feet, I did the heart).


His folks sent some fun T-shirts. The packaging was pretty out of control:


Last night we ventured out to our friend Jonathan's art show at the University Place Gallery. It was quite a lovely party - a beautiful quartet playing and lots of fancy people mingling. Jonathan's work is fantastic and whimsical and he sold three pieces. It was great to see him again after so long.



We took the Banks Street Doyles with us, then followed up with dinner at Fire and Ice. With mobs of people, crazy-hungry-overstimulated boys, and really poor service, it was a dinner not to repeat. I think we've discovered our Friday night ritual of delivery pizza and a rented movie is just perfect.

Tonight the kids will stay home with Megan and the grown-ups get to go out. I think cocktails and a mad hatter will be involved. But for now, River has skipped his nap and Lila's pudgy cheeks are calling to me. Hope you're all having as nice a Saturday as me.

Travelogue

To visit New Orleans while pregnant and with a toddler at times seemed to miss the whole point. I could neither leave the hotel past 8:30pm (when, from the sounds outside our window, things actually got started) nor could I hop from bar to bar drinking Hurricanes or "huge ass beers" even if I could get out at night. More than any other city I've visited (and remember, I'm from Las Vegas) this city seems dedicated to the sole pursuit of getting bombed out of one's skull. Oh yes, people talk about the wonderful music and Cajun food, the beignets, the muffulatas, the pralines. But I know the truth - if you are a tourist in New Orleans and you can't join the party, you might as well be a eunuch in a whorehouse.

In the French Quarter in particular the street is lined with bar after bar blasting fantastic live music or horrible Brittney Spears remixes - and music choice doesn't seem to matter because neither kind of establishment wants for customers. Every place we passed by (we can't go in, remember: toddler) advertises "Cocktails and Beer to Go," even the restaurants that look like you might need a tie and a reservation to get in. No one wants to miss the opportunity to sell cheep beer or mixed drinks to the throngs of college students and tourists who are looking for god at the bottom of a plastic cup. And I'd like to be one of them - at least for a little while. It looks like fun to spend the afternoon strolling down brick-lined streets with no agenda but to find the next Hurricane. It's the kind of escapism I could enjoy for a day or two until my liver screamed out in protest and my throbbing head told me to STOP! PLEASE STOP!

But there were definite advantages to experiencing what I view as "Bizarro New Orleans" this past weekend. We stayed at the Bourbon Orleans Hotel, situated at the corner of Bourbon and Orleans Street, and our room was a lovely suite on the corner of those two illustrious streets which, if you've been there, you know is the epicenter of party town. So after a long day of travel as we were anticipating the sweet sleep to come, we were affronted on all sides with music that hasn't been popular since Regan was president. And someone had told them to crank it up to 11. Below that was the sound of wild revelers, broken bottles, and lost inebriates. How River and Thom slept that first night, I'll never know, but I got by with one ear plug and my head against the pillow.

But back to the advantages of Bizarro Nola - when I woke up the next morning at an unthinkable 6:30am, I made myself a cup of tea and took advantage of the beautiful deck we had overlooking the street (which I'm sure is typically engaged by people drinking something much stronger than tea) and watched what goes on The Morning After. On the next patio over were a couple of ladies - and I use the term loosely - finishing some beer and cigarettes before heading in for the night. Down below, the street cleaning crews were busy at work hosing down the wreckage of the streets, emptying the overflowing trash cans, and attempting to scrub the party stink off the sidewalks (though never entirely successfully). The bars across the street were quiet, though not empty, and I gave thanks for the hangover I would not have later that day.

River woke up shortly after and this moment of calm was about my last for the weekend. The next two and a half days were spent in a flurry of activity, roaming the city and seeing sites that had nothing to do with Mardi Gras or deadly blood alcohol levels. I occasionally experienced a sting of jealousy watching those giant "To Go" cups wander down the street, but mostly I was thankful to get to experience a part of the city I might have otherwise ignored.

River and I started our first day off riding the streetcar to the New Orleans Zoo. We took a long walk through the Audubon park, enjoying the stretches of green and the waves of sticky heat. River fell in love with the zoo and could have watched the elephants for hours if there weren't so many other things to see. Lions, tigers, and bears, oh my! Gators and flamingos and monkeys, whoopee! We fed the turtles and took the zoo train and wandered well past River's nap time.

Thom played hooky from his conference that afternoon and we snacked on fried pickles and Cajun eggrolls at Jackson Square. Afterward we walked along the river's edge and into the French Market. River ate a fresh peach and mommy tried to keep herself from attacking the flea market booths. Since I couldn't drink, I was determined to sample as much of the local culinary delights as I could, so we spent the evening wandering the French Quarter in search of a restaurant that could accommodate a toddler and a vegetarian. We found a gem in Cafe Amelie, and though River only took two bites of dinner and tried to swim in the fountain it was a lovely evening.

Once again the revelers were out that night, but this time I was supplied with TWO earplugs and I slept like a dream. We had a fantastic breakfast at The Coffee Pot, complete with surly waitress. Since it was Monday and most of the sights we wanted to see were closed, the three of us took a morning carriage ride through the French Quarter. River was enamored of the mules, but less so by our friendly driver Joe's description of the history of Nawlin's. Thom and I were unsurprised to discover we'd been unknowingly walking past sites of historical import the entire trip. My favorite was the shop of Marie Laveau who, Joe tells us, was the creole con-lady who invented voodoo. After the ride we wandered over to Cafe du Monde for some heavenly biegnets and coffee and Thom headed off to do some work.

River and I had a great afternoon in the hotel swimming pool, eating panini and gelato at La Davina Gelateria, and walking in a sprinkling rain to dinner. Thom met us at El Gato Negro across from the French Market - a fantastic Mexican restaurant serving fresh guacamole and homemade tortillas.

That night I looked out our balcony to see a giant hand grenade mascot advertising the bar's signature drink. Later, I dreamt of spilling decadent cocktails on my large pregnant belly.

Our last morning in New Orleans was spent wandering the boardwalk and playing with the fishes at the Aquarium. This was absolutely fantastic! We watched sharks and rays and turtles through giant windows. River played in the Amazon Rainforest and pet a baby shark. By the time we left it was hot, my legs were seizing from all the walking, and I was worried about getting to our flight on time. Still, the stars were with us and River and I caught a streetcar back to the hotel just as we walked up to the stop, and we left the city with smiles on our faces.

I can't remember the last time I was a tourist in a city. Amsterdam and Bielefeld in 2003? Every vacation since then has been spent with family for the holidays or on a beach relaxing. And I loved it. I'm glad I didn't spend the trip in a drunken stupor - there was so much I would have missed! I loved looking at maps and charting our course everyday (even if it rarely ended up being the course we actually took). I loved sharing a new place with River and Thom and walking around proudly with a giant TOURIST sign stamped on my forehead. I loved having no obligations to anyone, the absolute freedom to do anything or nothing. And I love Bizarro New Orleans. It's a beautiful, rich city, and I know we've only scratched the surface of it. I hope I can go back someday (and maybe spend a little time seeing how the other half lives).

all about my man

I saw this meme on Bartender's Wife and was inspired to do my own. Anyone who reads this blog knows that Thom is a fantastic partner and the love of my life, but you might not know some of the nitty gritty details about our relationship. So here you go:

What are your middle names?
Thom's is Sandford, after a grandfather. (That's where the "rd" in his business Kerdan comes from.) Mine is Ryan. Instead of cutting all my hair off or getting piercings, I started going by Ryan when I entered high school. It created a lot of confusion for people who knew me as Summer as well as those who only knew me as Ryan but kept hearing everyone call me Summer. Thanks to my best friends it was a losing battle.

How long have you been together?
We've been together since August 2001 and married since August 2003.

How long did you know each other before you started dating?
I met him in high school. How? you might ask, since he's six years older than me? Funny story. See, I dated his little brother in high school (who now happens to be married to one of my best friends from high school and lives just down the road from us). Thom and I kept in touch as acquaintances for about 7 years before we thought, hey, there could be something more here...

Who asked whom out?
I guess, technically, I asked him out (though really, it was just an innocent request to get together for dinner). Still, I should have known he was putting the moves on when he offered to cook at his place.

How old are each of you?
I'm *cough* *cough* 29. For another month. He'll be 36 in March.

Whose siblings do you see the most?
Definitely his. The afore mentioned brother and sister-in-law live in our city, so we get together about 2-3 times a week. I would love to see my brother more often, but since he's in Vegas, we can't just hop over to his place.

Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?
I think we could probably both use more sleep. Ever since we hired a sitter, I have more down time (but since I'm using that time to start a business, is it really "down"?). Thom has approximately ZERO down time. I know we both want to exercise more and have more time with each other, but I just keep telling myself the toddler days won't last forever.

Did you go to the same school?
We both graduated from the same high school (Jenna Jameson is one of our illustrious alums). For college he went to MIT and I went to Sarah Lawrence.

Are you from the same home town?
Pretty much. I wasn't born in Vegas, but it's the place I call home. Thom was born and raised there.

Who is smarter?
Thom is totally smarter. He has an incredible mind and is constantly working on new ideas. He has a much better memory for details than me and can enter a debate without breaking into tears. I'm constantly learning from him.

Who is the most sensitive?
Thom is incredibly sensitive, but he doesn't really stand a chance next to the tornado of emotion he's married to. He doesn't project his emotion all the time, whereas I can't help but spew my inner emotional life on anyone within a ten foot radius. In this area - emotional intelligence - I am probably the smarter one. I can read people, anticipate their needs, and react to them without really thinking about it. Thom has to think about it.

Where do you eat out most as a couple?
Eat out? Uh, what's that? We order from a great pizza place called Beauty's quite a bit.

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Fiji, for our honeymoon.

Who has the craziest exes?
Neither of us have that many, and they're not that crazy. I guess I did once date a guy who wanted to be Brandon Lee in The Crow, so I probably win.

Who has the worst temper?
Did I mention I'm an emotional tornado? Thom is so easy-going, sometimes it seems like nothing gets to him. I'm always surprised by those very rare occasions he gets mad (thankfully, I'm usually not the source of his anger).

Who does the cooking?
Me. And me. And, um, me. Thom used to cook more, but I'm kind of a kitchen nazi, and he's found it's just easier to stay out of my way than have me hovering over his burners and telling him to add more salt. He likes to get up on Saturday morning and make pancakes while I'm still in bed (I can't hover if I'm asleep).

Who is the neat-freak?
We're both incredibly messy by nature. And we both know our relationship will survive only if we maintain some kind of order in the house. I'm home more, so I end up working on the mess a little more than him. About once a month, when I have to do a large amount of picking up after the boys, I lose my s**t a little and start breathing fire. Thom knows it's best to just get out of my way for a couple hours and get me a cocktail once I'm done.

Who is more stubborn?
Neither is particularly stubborn, but since he's more easy-going we end up doing things my way more often.

Who hogs the bed?
We have a huge bed, so space isn't an issue. But he is a notorious blanket hog.

Who wakes up earlier?
Thom. I need a couple hours at night to wind down, so I stay up later. He's sensible and goes to bed early and wakes up with River most days.

Where was your first date?
His apartment in New York? Does that count? Our first outside date was at the Guggenheim Museum (where we saw a Frank Gehry exibit).

Who is more jealous?
What's there to be jealous about?

How long did it take to get serious?
I knew he was the one in a month. I think he did too, but he took longer to say it. On September 11 he was in Boston on business and I was in Manhattan working at Starbucks. He couldn't get in touch with me for hours and when we finally did touch base he told me he loved me.

Who eats more?
He eats faster and more quantity at mealtimes, but I probably snack more than him.

Who does the laundry?
Usually me.

Who's better with the computer?
Heh, heh. Yesterday I FINALLY figured out how to change my masthead. He went to MIT. What do you think?

Who drives when you are together?
I'm getting better about letting him take the wheel lately. But just don't ask us who's the better driver.

single mom for a week

This should be an interesting week - and by interesting I mean it could be like that visit to the dentist office where you unexpectedly run into an old friend or you end up needing a three hour root canal. A grab bag of fun!

Thom left for work this morning and, because of some intense out of town meetings he's running, he won't be back until Friday evening. That means it's just me and River with no buffer for four days and three nights.

River's been doing a great job of sleeping through the night lately (knock on wood), but even when he is his most cooperative and cute, I still feel pretty wiped out by 6pm. Getting through those last few hours without Thom is hard, and getting through them three nights in a row is almost unthinkable.

Still, I've prepared myself as best as possible. I'm putting low expectations on myself in terms of housework and projects, I'm vowing to nap, and I've planned playdates/outings for every day this week. That should keep us from going stir crazy with boredom, and having other moms and babies around always takes some of the pressure off.

If I don't post much this week don't assume the worst. River and I could be having a grand time - too much fun to sit down on the boring computer. Or I could be crying in the corner hugging a bottle of vodka. You never know.