my week of winter

I just spent a week in Denver.  It hadn't been that cold there in 26 years.  The day I arrived it was -10, but felt like -24 according to the weather website.  I had never been in weather in the negatives before and I spent most of my time indoors.

When I walked out of the airport and into the awaiting car, it was so cold it was hard to breathe. When it wasn't too cold, it was snowing.  It snowed enough that church was canceled.

Donovan was excited to show me his Indiana Jones outfit:

He was a good help in shoveling the walks.

Sarah, Donovan, Gemma and I met my sister, Cheryl and her daughter, Lisa and baby Aaron for brunch one morning.
 
The food was delicious.  Cheryl got Sticky Buns French Toast which was beautiful AND tasted good.

For Super Bowl Sunday, Sarah made S'mores Pie.  Everything she makes is yummy.

We went sledding.  Well, they went sledding and I took pictures

Gemma actually liked the sledding although it doesn't look like it!

We played a game for family home evening and then the kids had S'mores done with giant marshmallows in the microwave.

Gemma won!

Then I decided that I needed a picture with each of them.  I wanted to be sure that they have a picture with just them and their Grandma.  When I look back through my pictures, I don't have many with just one child and their grandparent.

It was fun to be in Denver because I just love those kids, but it is nice to be back where it is green and sunny!

for the record

Part of the reason I blog is because it is a kind of journal for me.  So the rest of this blog post is not for anyone else but me.  I'm not trying to brag, just record.

Last week marked the 2 year anniversary of getting my training G*armin.  It is a wristwatch type thing that records my heart rate, distance, and elevation gain of my bike rides.  In the last two years, I have ridden over 9,500 miles!  To me that is amazing. I mean, if you had told me that at 55 I would start riding a bike that much, I would have thought you were crazy.  But the fact is, I couldn't have done it when I was younger.  There simply wasn't time.  Now, instead of endless vacuuming, endless laundry, and endless kid activities, I have time to explore my interests. I put in 34 years of being a full-time mom and this is my reward!

That got me to thinking about doing things you don't think you can do and starting new challenges.  At the age of 40 I started teaching music in the schools as a volunteer which I did for 10 years.  It was the most rewarding experience I have had in teaching.  But that was not something I would have even thought about or imagined when I was in my 30s. The thing is, there are a lot of things out there to do, talents to develop, weaknesses to overcome.  And there is a season for everything.

Life is not over when you are in your late 50s.  Save something to try at every stage.  I'm looking forward to my next challenge.