Our Little Vacation | Estes Park

Our family! Soon to be four!

A few weeks ago, we had ourselves a little vacation or getaway to Estes Park. We knew that I was only going to get more pregnant, so it was now or never. This is probably our last trip as a family of three, which is really surreal to think about. Very soon we will be a family of four and our lives will never be the same. 

This was the first time our little one has gotten to go on a little trip like this. In the past, she has stayed with grandparents. We talked up the trip for weeks and I think she had a very good time. We ended up taking a little drive up to Estes Park, CO for a few days. Nothing crazy. Still pretty close to where we actually live. Long gone are the days of relaxing on a beach somewhere with a margarita, but I'm alright with that. This is the season we find ourselves in. 

We stayed at Murphy's River Lodge and were very pleased with it. The breakfast was great. Marin would have swam in the swimming pool all day if we would have let her. Our little room was right on a river. We were able to check out a bunch of movies and just hang out with each other for a few days. We ate a lot of wonderful food. It snowed quite a bit while we were there but it was still very enjoyable. 

New reading material from the book store on Main Street. 

Out on the back porch of our room, on the river. 

Traveling with a toddler is always an adventure. She did so great for the most part. The hardest part was getting her to wind down for the night and sleep in the same room as us. She wanted to just stay up with us and not miss out on anything. We missed nap time completely the second day which actually worked to our advantage that night because she fell asleep almost immediately. 

It was a refreshing way to unwind for a few days. Work has been crazy. We've been prepping for the arrival of our son. We are gearing up for maternity leave and for our lives to change. I wish the little trip could have been longer and maybe a bit warmer, but it was just what we needed. 

We brought lots of things to keep her entertained. 

We stayed at the Murphy's River Lodge.  We would most definitely stay there again. It was nice and relaxing. 

Some places we ate: 

Dinner the first night was here. I had an amazing burger with jack cheese and guacamole with sweet potato fries. 

Lunch on the second day was at a little diner with amazing pie, called You Need Pie. Perfection. I had a reuben sandwich for lunch. Dessert was a slice of s'mores pie and blackberry, split between all of us. Seriously amazing pie. 

Dinner the second night was at our normal place when we go to Estes, Poppy's!  You can never go wrong with pizza. 

Right before it snowed a bunch.

Marin would have swam forever. We need to get her swimming lessons.

Someday we will get our tropical beach getaway as a family but for now escaping to the mountains for a few days was wonderful. Until next time, Estes Park. 

The Great Road Trip | Days 7 & 8

The last two days of our trip were pretty predictable. We were driving and driving......and driving. Overall, from our little home to Portland, it takes about 20 hours to get there or back. I've only driven it straight through a few times in my life and I'm fine with not trying to accomplish that feat yet again. I'm getting to old for stuff like that. All nighters and driving in the dark? No thanks. My eyes just can't handle that like they used to. (I sound old...)

Saturday morning we packed up our bags and hit the road. Our half way goal is always Twin Falls, ID. Saturday was like most days on the road except for one little thing.....It was our 6 year wedding anniversary. 6 years. I found it pretty fitting to be out on the open road the day we celebrate 6 years of marriage together. There's just something about being in a car together, just driving. You can read about our past anniversaries here, here, here. Looks like I failed to blog about it for a few of years.

These past 6 years have been incredible. I am very blessed to have a wonderful marriage. We own our home. We get to do life as parents and raise Marin. We are able to provide for each other and support one another. I cannot imagine waking up every morning and not living life with Ryan.

On our trip, we spoke of what we want the next year to look like. I am very goal-oriented, so conversations like that always get my brain going. We talked about when we would want to start trying to have another child. We talked about jobs. We talked about playing music again and how much we miss it. We talked about health. I want to be able to do life with this amazing man for a very long time.

Over the past few years, we have celebrated our anniversary with pie. It seemed only fitting to find the local Shari's and partake in a tradition while we were on the road. I had the Sour Cream Lemon pie and Ryan has the Smores pie. Add a cup of coffee and I'm set.

The rest of the trip consisted of driving, driving, and driving. We stopped at many questionable gas stations. We ate too much junk. I totally nerded out and started reading the Outlander series. I know...I know....It was very good to pull into our driveway and finally arrive home. Picking up Marin from the Grandparent's house was something we had been looking forward to all week. Marin is making sure that we don't go anywhere for a while. Next time, she's coming with us.

It is good to be back and to slowly get back into the swing of things. I need vacations like this. It helps me focus on all of the other areas of my life. Next vacation though...I want a lot less driving and a lot more beach.

The Great Road Trip | Day 1 & 2

Travel always does something within me. I feel like the second we pack up the car and hit the road, all of the cobwebs of my mind, body, and soul suddenly shake loose and I can see again. I can easily get caught up in the everyday, the routine. Don't get me wrong, our everyday is pretty darn awesome. I get to wake up everyday next to a man I love, care for a child that has changed me in ways I never knew were possible, work in a job that I can actually say that I adore. Life is good. But, sometimes, I need a change of scenery. 

I've been anticipating this trip for a while now. The northwest will always hold a piece of my heart from college. In so many ways, I was made in the PNW. I found love, lost it. I found creativity. I found friendship. I found a love for the landscape. the weather, and the people. I love this city with everything within me. It makes me feel alive. It wakes me up. 

We started our trip on Sunday. I worked until 10:30, rushed home, picked up the house (because I like coming home to a clean home...), said goodbye to the kid, and we hit the road. The thing that has pulled at my heartstrings so much in the past few days is the fact that we didn't bring Marin with us. We know that she isn't the best car companion and 20 hours in a car with a 16 month old wasn't the best plan. She is with Grandma and Grandpa Hollen and I know she is having a blast. I feel like I have a missing limb. Next time, kid. Next time, you will come with us. For now, FaceTime will have to suffice. 

We have driven a lot in the past two days. The last time we made this drive, it had either been fall or winter. So driving over passes in the summer has been a nice change of pace. We had some pretty decent gas station coffee along the way. We stayed in Twin Falls the first night and the sunset coming into town was breathtakingly orange and seemed to carry on forever. 

We have eaten breakfast at hole in the wall diners. We have listened to good music and podcasts. I have been reading an excellent book. We have replaced a burnt out blinker bulb in the car. We can't believe how hot it is out in the PNW right now. 90 degrees or more. Seriously???

Yesterday, we made it to our hotel, sweaty and road weary. We freshened up and headed downtown. One beer, one shot, and a burger with peanut butter on it, and I was content. We both agree that that was probably one of the top 3 burgers we've ever eaten in our lives. I love this place. 

 But alas, we have arrived in the city that I love. We have all of today to spend exploring and then this evening we are meeting a bunch of friends for dinner at one of my very favorite places. 

I love vacation. I needed this vacation. 

I miss our kid. 

Baby Marin | Week Thirty Eight

I don't have my ducks in a row this week. I don't have my stuff together. We are leaving for North Carolina for 3 days without Marin this morning. I have been packing and preparing. We have been making our lists and checking them twice. I don't think it has fully hit me yet that we are leaving our little girl for a few days. She will be in good hands but I know we will miss her like crazy. I'm sure I will wake up at 5 am wondering where the baby monitor is and why I can't hear her. 

I didn't pick up my camera to photograph her this week. My phone did though and that will have to do. This is the first Baby Marin post though that hasn't been taken with a DSLR. I made it 37 weeks though and that has to count for something. It's also stupidly cold around these parts and trying to get out and about to snap some photos definitely didn't happen. 

So, I will leave with this adorable, bundled up munchkin. She is not a fan of hats and mittens yet, but we are working on that. 

Baby Marin. Week Thirty Eight. 

A Weekend In Montrose: Losing Ones Mind with Family

A weekend or so ago, I went with a bunch of my family to Montrose, Colorado. My Grandma has Alzheimers and even though most of us don't want to think of this: she isn't doing to well. I haven't seen this side of the family nearly as much as I'd like so I jumped on the chance of spending a few days with them.

Listening to John Mayer. Loudly.

My traveling, baby bump.

Alzheimers is a crazy, crazy disease. Seeing a family member go through that makes me wonder if losing my mind or my body first is better or not. That's not really something one wants to think about, but it feels very real to me lately. Seeing my grandma so frustrated because she can't communicate like she once did is tough. I can't even begin to fathom what it is like to literally lose your mind. Do you know? Is she aware? 

At least, I know with complete certainty, that she is surrounded by family and people that love her. This woman carries a legacy. She had 7 kids. She raised them as the strong woman I know she is. My grandpa is also one of the strongest individuals I've ever met. He loves her, even when she might not have any idea who he is, he loves her. He's there. He's taking care of her and himself the best that he can. That's love. 

My Grandpa Triplett

I understand that our lives do come to an end at one point or another. I just pray that when that time comes for me someday that I am surrounded by family, much like my grandma. 

In the end, family and God are really all you have. 

That is enough. 

A Look Back: 2012

I like looking back at where we have been. I think it helps us figure out where it is we are going. 2012 was an interesting year for me. Many things came and went. My work life was probably the most challenging it has ever been. We played as much music as time would allow. So many things have grown in my heart for this new year. 

A look back....

I ate vegan/vegetarian for a month. Looking back, I remember how crazy that felt. I think a meatless day here and there is good for me, but beyond that, I am happy with Weight Watchers as of right now. (Mexico is only about 100 days away!) 

We shared some amazing meals with some amazing people. 

We drove many miles to visit this store. 

We celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary. 

We built a front porch and gave our yard some much needed loving. 

I traveled to California to play music with The Piggies. 

I swiftly got back on a plane to visit Longview: the town that once held my heart. 

We tried to play as much music as possible. I also started to write and finish songs again. 

I could go on and on, really. 2012 was a good year. 2013 will be even better, of that I am sure. I have many thing stirring within me this evening regarding what is to come. 

Happy New Year, Everyone!

12 Novels, 12 Months

One of my goals this year, found on my 27 before 27 list, is to read 12 novels. I figure if I get through one a month, I should be able to make my goal. I might branch out to a memoir or two, but it's rare for me to sit down with a book that isn't about a diet or decorating part of my house. I love being able to get lost in a story that isn't my own and be totally alright with that. 

I read this book while traveling in September. In the past, I haven't read a ton of westerns. But, being stuck in an airplane for a good chunk of time, allowed me to become completely sucked in to this story. Spending the time playing some shows out in the desert didn't hurt either. 

"A darkly humorous Western satire about contract killers in the time of the gold rush may not be the first book you'd peg me to read, but I've been enjoying it ever since picking it up at the airport bookstore and feverishly ripping through its first half on one plane ride. Cinematic and easy to read, this Coen brother's True Grit-meets-Cormack McCarthy narrative is not just for the guys, trust me."

—Annie Georgia Greenberg, New York editor

I just finished this book the other evening. I actually bought this book a year ago before a trip to Mexico and it sat on my bookshelf for a year. It was a recommendation from some of the ladies at the bookstore/coffeehouse I used to work at. I should have read it sooner. I don't know why it took me so long to pick it up again. It's dark, but in a way that it pulls you in and you don't want to put it down. 

This well-written first novel attempts to be several things: a psychological suspense thriller, a satire of collegiate mores and popular culture, and a philosophical bildungsroman. Supposedly brilliant students at a posh Vermont school (Bennington in thin disguise) are involved in two murders, one supposedly accidental and one deliberate. The book's many allusions, both literary and classical (the students are all classics majors studying with a professor described as both a genius and a deity) fail to provide the deeper resonance of such works as Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose . Ultimately, it works best as a psychological thriller. Expect prepublication hype to generate interest in this book and buy accordingly. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 5/1/92.

- Charles Michaud, Turner Free Lib., Randolph, Mass.Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Now I must choose one for November....Any other suggestions? 

1. Wild: By Cheryl Strayed

2. Gone Girl: By Gillian Flynn

3. The Newlyweds: By Nell Freudenberger

4. Late Nights On Air: By Elizabeth Hay

5. The Dead of Winter: By Lee Collins 

(who actually is a friend of ours and just released his first novel!) 

6. Beautiful Ruins: By Jess Walter

But We Are Still Young......

I’m moving slowly today. My only desire is to go back and crawl under my covers and neglect the piles of dishes in the sink and the pile of laundry in the basement.

I find contentment in the mug of french press sitting next me and the warm weather sits upon my skin like a blanket. I need to do something today. To be productive. My infamous to do list is staring me down as I type this and each box is left unchecked and unnoticed. Those boxes taunt me with the knowledge of the satisfaction I find as I mark each one off. I find it is easier to get things done when I find even the slightest satisfaction in marking off a box, even if it only for finishing a load of laundry or clearing off the countertops in my kitchen.

I need a vacation. We need to get way. I want to feel the air upon my face as the mile markers pass us by. To not know fully of our destination but live in the journey of the unknown. I long for the disgusting road stops along the way, the feeling of the salty ocean mist upon my eye lashes, the last sip of the espresso from the city in which I came from, the place in which my soul died away for that period of time.

Routine is the word that sits sickly upon my tongue and heart this morning. My list is filled with all of the grown up things that grown ups do. So many times I feel as if I’m not getting anywhere, just simple passing through one day onto the next. Our weeks fly by us quicker than we are able to take our next breath.

The house behind us is full of children whining and screaming this morning. Their cries at each other make me thankful that we haven’t started that process yet, the process of beginning a family. At times I feel like I’m ready. The maternal bug rears its life changing head as I am dreaming of touring and getting away. Once children come, those dreams will fall away, maybe never to be seen again. I fear that those last statements drip of selfishness, but still we are young.

But we are still young.

Within that statement I will find hope today. Within a month or so, we will be on the road, even if it is for a week. I pray that I can make it til then, before the get up, grab some coffee, go to work, come home from work, have band practice, pick up the house, read a book, go to sleep routine overtakes all of us.

I’m longing for a good adventure. It couldn’t come soon enough.