The Martian by Andy Weir My rating: 5 of 5 stars This was an amazing read! Not since The Da Vinci Code has a book commanded my attention as much as The Martian! It’s a very simple exposition, with minimal backstory. You are rooting for the Mark Watney in the here and now, the crew … Read more
I am mainly writing up this post so we have something to stash to Pinterest.
Dave and I joined some friends who just moved to the area in the Colorado Springs area Parade of Homes. Unlike other Parades I’d been to in other communities, this one requires you to drive all over the city to see the houses in assorted neighborhoods.
In the Banning Lewis Ranch neighborhood, about 10 minutes from our house, was a house that had a youth bedroom decorated like a hunting lodge.
My family had the chance to attend Denver Comic Con* this past Memorial Day weekend with family press passes I obtained through my association with GeekMom, a $150 value. This fact that the organization offered complimentary admission to our entire family is a testament to what a family-friendly experience this particular Comic Con is trying to maintain: children’s admission was only $5 per day and $10 for the entire event.
Accompanying the press passes were interview opportunities with the celebrities and comic book artists. Interviews are not my strong suit but I did my best.
Because DCC provided complimentary admission, I made sure the timely writing about the event was posted to GeekMom first back in June, but I figured I’d summarize all the posts here and then share the full photo album.
For our last day in Utah, we decided to make the trek over to Alta Ski Area, which is one canyon south of Park City. It seems so simple, but in reality, what we had to do was take a route that was a 270 degree loop that was ~40 miles to visit a resort only 10 miles away from our condo. It was about a one hour drive.
Please note that Alta Ski Area is a ski only resort. Snowboards are not allowed. I know that for many families this might be a show-stopper.
We are very happy that we elected to visit Alta during our Utah trip. It was some of the best skiing we’d ever experienced. We weren’t sure about making the trip over to the next canyon, for fear of being disappointed.
After a disappointing day of skiing at Park City Resort without any new snow in the forecast, our family decided to do something else the following day. We drove into Salt Lake City, had lunch at In-N-Out Burger, and then continued northeastward towards Promontory Summit to visit the Golden Spike* National Historic Site.
Yes, I’m pretty far behind. I think…before the DIY Kitchen Transformation posts…I left off in the middle of our trip to Utah back in March? Yikes, I’m terrible!
Well, for now, let me leave you these photos of the boys on the first day of school. Jacob is getting increasingly annoyed with my photographing him on the first day of school, to which I had to respond, “Get over it, you’re getting photographed.”
I couldn’t get my boys photographed together, I’m not sure why…but here are their pictures for posterity’s sake!
Last August “Weird” Al Yankovic came in concert in Denver. We got tickets for the whole family! This tour was announced in 2014 not long after Weird Al’s Mandatory Fun album was released, and our boys absolutely loved the songs and music videos.
In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume My rating: 4 of 5 stars Judy Blume digs deeps into her past, citing the horrible 1950s aviation tragedies that struck Elizabeth, NJ, one after another. Blume takes us into the hearts and minds of several residents of Elizabeth, including children who were impacted by seeing the crashes … Read more
We are done!
Today the contractor finished grouting the backsplash tile, and with the exception of some very tiny touch ups and sealing the grout, our kitchen is officially REMODELED!
Before:
