Another Snow Day?!?!

Richmond is having some crazy weather! We got dumped on again today and have another snow day tomorrow. Crazy spring so far!!

Margarita Saturday

Brad has been on a hiatus from drinking for a few weeks and in default, so have I (mostly, although I have still been having a glass of wine here and there). Saturday night I was feeling like having a few cocktails so I got some frozen margarita mix at the store and blended it up. Instead of tequila, I added seltzer water. Definitely not be same but it was refreshing and delicious and Cyrus could enjoy with us, which was fun :)

Run To Rebuild Richmond 5k

The Run To Rebuild Richmond 5k was the first race that I facilitated with the Collegiate Race Club. We had about 5 people show up from Collegiate, not great but it's a start. The race wound through Sleepy Hollow and was pretty hilly. I surprised myself by finishing first place woman overall with a time of 22:48 which wasn't too bad considering those monster hills. I won a $100 gift certificate to Endorphin Fitness for a VO2 Max analysis which will probably be helpful for my upcoming monstrous 50k.

Hooos There

Cy and I went for a nice walk after school on Friday and he, of course, wanted to tromp through the woods. We came up to a little stream that was, in my opinion, a little gross. The water was pretty stagnant and there was moss and mold growing on the stream bed. Cy decided that we should sit and watch it for a bit. I was trying really hard to be patient and enjoy the moment but we also had a ton off errands to run. So, I told him we could sit for 5 mins before we had to go. Pretty much as soon as we settled in, there were two owls that were talking to each other through the trees. We couldn't see either of them but we heard them and it was awesome! No trip to the grocery store would have compared to that. It was a great reminder to stay present in the moment, especially when it comes to this precious time with my son.

Lyle Lyle Crocodile

Alison, Christy, and I took the kids to the Barksdale Theatre to see Lyle Lyle Crocodile. It was a great production. It was a musical based off of the books, House on 88h Street and Lyle Lyle. The kids were totally enthralled for the entire hour performance! It was right during nap time so Cy was a bit sleepy but he had a great time!! We took them to Sweet Frogs after. It was a wonderful way to spend our Saturday.

Spring?!

Despite the snow and freezing temperatures, we believe that Spring is actually coming this year. In celebration of spring, we had a HUGE load of mulch dumped off in our front yard today. We are going to have our work cut out for us this weekend. There is a lot that needs to be done with the landscaping on this house, I have some ideas of what I would like to do but we haven't had the time yet and the weather has been less than perfect. I should have ripped up the hedges in front of the house this winter and planted some new, native, full growing ones but I dropped the ball on that. We tried to cut them back but it still looks bad. Jill and I are going to give it a go this spring I think. The problem is that we are going to be gone all summer and anything newly planted will need to be watered, a LOT, especially here in this southern heat. So, we start with mulch.

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

Cy and I went to his very first baseball game today! Collegiate played Benedictine and I have a number of guys on the team in my classes and thought it would be a great way to spend the afternoon. It was freezing, of course, at 41* so we only made it for about an hour but we had a great time. Cy enjoyed himself and I look forward so the games when it is hot and sunny so he can run around with the other little kiddos and I can do some serious cheering.

When we got home tonight he ran to his room and grabbed his bat and pretended to play baseball all over the house. Super cute, we haven't introduced traditional sports to him yet so it's fun to see him try them out. We went to a lacrosse game earlier in the week and he tried out a little friends lacrosse stick and ball. He got the hang of it pretty quickly but I am not interested in him playing lacrosse (not that it's all up to me), it's a pretty violent sport (much like football) and I'd much rather he gravitated towards running or swimming (of course)...we'll see.

Passports!!

Cy and I went to get our passport pictures taken today. He needs one for this summer when we head to the Caribbean and I need to actually change the name on mine before I head to Costa Rica this summer. Couple things, Brad and I will be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary in June...and, I'm just now changing my name. It's such a pain to do all this name changing. Equally as surprising/annoying/disappointing is that I haven't been out of this country in 5 years. I really need to step it up! I will be using it twice this summer, so that's something I guess. And, I am definitely not changing my name again because at $125 EACH, it's getting a little steep! At least their good for 10 years...well, mine is. Cy's is only good for 5 :( I'm going to try to fill it up between now and then:)

Cyrus's Spring Break Vacation (without us!)

Cyrus stayed back in Richmond while we went to Colorado for Spring Break. He spent the nights with Jill and Doc since my parents were also on Spring Break in Florida. I know it's a LOT to ask of someone to take in a 3 year old for 6 nights and we could not appreciate them more. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, he spent the majority of the days with Alison and Emma & Georgie. Alison is a life saver. Not only is she my best friend here in Richmond, she is the most amazing mom ever. She is an inspiration to me and I love her so much. She agreed to take Cyrus on (whole - heartedly might I add) when she already had her two crazy wonderfully wild children to deal with. Cyrus was in heaven. Anytime he can play with E&G he is thrilled. She had a full week planned for them including playdoh day, painting bird houses, the Children's Museum, the Fire station, Houligans, Sweet Frogs, the candy shoppe (Cy's first experience there, he loved it), and on and on. Between Doc & Jill, and the Anders, Cy had a wonderful time. We FaceTimed almost everyday and I spoke to him at least once a day, usually twice. He took it like a champ. I know he was getting lonely for me and B at the end of the week but he held it together. I was so proud of him. There was no WAY I could have been without my parents for that long when I was his age. I didn't even start sleeping over at other people's houses until middle school b/c I couldn't be without my parents! I'm glad he did great. It was a good warm up for Costa Rica in June as I will be gone for 12 days. But, he'll be with Brad the whole time which makes a big difference I think.

Steamboat Spring Break - Day 5

We were up early today as this would be our last day on the hill. We were heading home tomorrow. A week is definitely not enough time to do it all or see it all but we are heading back out for the whole summer so leaving feels more tolerable.
We went back up on the hill and everyone split off into their compatible groups again. We went to the top again so Brad could ski the chutes. I opted out because Tim was with us and there was no way he was going to head down them. We inched our way down the treed terrain to the left of the chutes and made our way back to the bottom. I love that part of the mountain the most. It's wild and steep and unsure and I love it:)
We met the kids again at the top of Storm Peak at Storm Peak Laboratories. I set up a tour of the Lab up there because I've always wanted to really check it out and this seemed like a good time to do it. It was so cool. There is a couple that run it, and have for 7 years. We had a great time with them, learning about all their research they are conducting and the data they are recording for various organizations around the country and the world. I learned a lot and would like to bring some of my students back there to do some microbial research at some point, that would be amazing.
After the lab, we all skied back down the mountain and had a few hours left to spare before the last chair made it's way up the wire. Mike, E and Kate met up with us for our final runs again. It was hard to say goodbye mid-mountain but I'm just counting the weeks until we're back out there again at this point. There has never been a place that has become so embedded in my soul like Colorado, and specifically Steamboat. There is no doubt in my mind that we will make our way back out there again..in a number of years, but it will happen. I have lived in a bunch of places and traveled to even more and there is nowhere on this planet that allows me to feel that alive.

This was such a wonderful trip on so many levels. It was so great to get to see all of our friends (or most, rather) and to see our mountain again. It was great to spend that time with Tim and the other guys and get to know them on a different level, and it was so great to ski!!!! I can't wait to do it again!!

Steamboat Spring Break - Day 4

Today was our rest day, hallelujah! My legs are killing me! We have been the first ones on the mountain and the last ones to leave the mountain each afternoon. Our condo is up a couple flights of stairs and those are killers in the evenings! We decided to sleep in today, have a bit of a lazy morning, and then head to Freshies for breakfast. Yum! What a fabulous breakfast/lunch spot. I had  whipped greek yogurt with fresh fruit and granola and a side of one cherry and granola pancake! Holy Heaven. I was stuffed. Good thing because our afternoon consisted of heading up to Strawberry Hot Springs. Sweet Pea tours picked us up at noon at the Condo and drove us up there. It was so great to be back. Strawberry Park was one of our favorite high lights of living in Steamboat...as a matter of fact, I think I celebrated my 32 birthday up there. Anyway, the weather was awesome. It was about 45* but on a sunny day, with not wind, at 8000', that is simply warm and lovely. The pools were wonderful and I got to lay out and read my book a bit as well. It was an incredibly relaxing afternoon.



We went back to the Condo and showered and then headed down to the Rio for dinner and to meet some friends. So good to be back!

Steamboat Spring Break - Day 3

The guys were a bit harder to wake up this morning as they were definitely feeling tired!!! We got them up and on the hill by 9am. One of the guys needed to take another lesson as his first day didn't go as well as we had hoped. Everyone else paired off and Tim, B, and I headed back out and up and told the other people we would meet them for lunch at Rendezvous for lunch at 1pm. The three of us had such a great time on the hill, exploring all the great runs and trees that we had left behind two years ago. It hadn't stopped snowing since we arrived so we had another powder day and it was awesome. Tim was a great sport. He hadn't spent too much time on skis in his life so we were literally dragging him along but he loved it, and he was good;)
Mike and Eli met us around lunch time to take some turns with us. Eli has grown up so much! She is a teenager now and she certainly is, in every way. She is beautiful and fun and annoyed with grown ups and just awesome. It was great to see them again!
We all met up at the end of the day to head back to the condo again for another hot tub session. I love hot tubs, I definitely miss that part of our house more than any other! We need another one in Richmond. I'll work on that:)
The guys were super tired tonight so we stayed in and made Turkey Tacos for dinner, they were super yummy. I was surprised that some of the guys had never had avacado or mangos before...weird. They loved them (obviously, yum). We ended the evening with a mean game of dominoes which took us into the wee hours of the morning. I threw in the cards at 2am!!