Pardon the long break, everyone! It’s been a busy few weeks, and this post explains a big chunk of that. Get ready for a week in (a million) pictures… I took Little A and Baby S to visit my sister in Colorado last week, and had a blast. How did I end up taking just half of my crew, you ask? Well, it was going to be a trip by myself, but Baby S is still pretty much attached to me and can fly for free, so she was a shoe in. And because Little A was in need of some attention (she was battling a nighttime fear of excavators when I booked the flights), I chose her to join. The plane rides were somewhere in between perfectly fine and incredibly uncomfortable for everyone on board. People kept saying to me in the airports “oh my gosh, you’re so brave!”. But I had decided before I left that it would be no big deal and sort of made that idea become true. Plus, it was only HALF of my children.
We talked about grand plans of going to hot springs, and hiking once we arrived in Buena Vista. But really, all that happened was as follows:
We splashed in puddles and enjoyed the views,
rode bikes,
ate amazing food at The Asian Palate (that’s my dear sister Angela and her husband Bobby),
had a fine beverage with my sister at Deerhammer while my brother-in-law drove around in the car with the kids (what?!),
and visited my sister’s boutique, Made On Main. It’s a unique shop with beautiful clothing, art, jewelry and more inside. The Grand Opening is this weekend if you can make it! I’m lucky enough to have a sister who can provide fashion advice and outfit me with basically a new wardrobe. Thanks, Angela!
Recognize this? It’s by Jamie Heiden!
Original artwork by Angela.
And then we crossed the street to her new endeavor, Petal & Flour, the go-to place for wedding consulting in Buena Vista.
The week was filled with dogs and bikes and water. And surfing on the river. CKS is the place to go to get started with that, but I’ll get to surfing in a minute…
Did I mention bikes?
And rocks.
And pacies and blankies because when you’re out of your element, you need some comfort. Even if you’re coming up on three years old and have already given up diapers.
Eddyline serves a paddle of beer, and I felt it a must to partake. Unfortunately, I’m more of an Ale, Amber, and Stout kind of gal. So the line of IPAs and other hoppy beers was better suited to someone like my husband.
My sister and I took the girls out for breakfast at The Evergreen Cafe, and trashed the place (sorry Barb!). But also had killer smoothies and a sweet potato breakfast complete with balsamic vinegar, black beans and cilantro. Barb, the owner, was kind enough to share the recipe with me.
The deer in peoples’ front yards look a little different in Colorado.
And so do the playgrounds.
Back to river surfing. Here’s how you do it:
Easy, right? Well if you’re interested in the sport, BV is a great place to go. The Arkansas river offers some premiere whitewater rafting and surfing experiences, with a long stretch of navigable water. At pretty much any time of day, you can see people getting ready to put in or boats floating past.
We took a trip to the pond to meet up with neighbors and cousins and get the kids out on the water. For all the two year olds out there, here’s how you rock some new sunglasses.
Little A had a blast, clearly. She got to mess around and be with big kids and run the show. Not that that’s all that different than at home, ahem.
I’m thinking she can be a poster child for Badfish stand up paddleboards, yeah?
After the trip to the pond, we went back to the river to watch these ladies, Liz and Alex. They had come in from out of town and were happy to see us and join in on the fun.
It was great week. I got to see my one and only sister, spend time outside, pet some dogs, throw rocks in the river, pawn my kids off on my brother in law (who happily obliged), give Little A some one-on-one, and gaze upwards at the western sky.
I’ll leave you with a few parting shots of Bobby and Earl Richmond (the latter who practically invented the sport) taking a nighttime surf.
Special shout out to my parents for helping with Little T and J, to my sister and brother in law for hosting, and to the people of United Airlines for attempting to help. Well wait…I take that last part back. No thanks to United’s tiny plane with NO changing table in the bathroom. Because sitting on the toilet seat and changing your baby’s diaper on your lap while the bathroom door is open because there’s no room otherwise sucks. But thanks to the lady sitting a foot away from said open bathroom door for not minding, and even keeping Little A entertained while it all took place.
Hope the summer’s treating you well, everyone. Tell me about your latest adventure, in OR out of state!
A. Storm
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