Moab

On a whim, after our last house concert, we decided that we loved the band 3 Penny Acre so much that we wanted to follow them to the desert, to the Moab Folk Festival, to hear more of their beautiful music!  So, we packed up the Scamp for one last trip before winter, and left Castle Rock early on a Friday morning.  We knew it would be snowing, and despite the promises I had made my worrying mother that we wouldn't go if it snowed...we plowed on through.

Snowy roads do not bother me or scare me.  I drove on pure ice for 7 straight months at a time when I lived in Alaska.  BUT, I'd never driven the Scamp in the snow, so that was of course a different matter.  I was SO, so pleased to find that the Scamp had actually no bearing at all on my ability to safely navigate us over the continental divide in a snowstorm.  And look what was waiting for us on the other end.....

Five Things September

Another quick installment of Five Things...inspired by Journey Mama.

1.  Water can be such a beautiful, forceful agent of change.  It can also be heartbreaking, terrifying, and destructive.  All of us who love Colorado, especially those of us who make our homes here, have been heartbroken as our friends and neighbors lost their homes to the recent flooding.  It's just made for a strange couple of weeks....

This is a picture of the Planet Bluegrass Ranch in Lyons, CO.  This magical, perfect place where I've been spending festival weekends for over a decade has been significantly damaged by the flooding.  It's been very sad for us in the festivarian community.

2.  I had the best birthday celebrations this year.  My husband and family and friends all came together to help me celebrate my 35th birthday.  The weekend was full of all my favorite things....reading in bed, good food (including cupcakes!), locally brewed beer, pickin', and all my favorite people (at least those in Colorado).  My heart was completely overwhelmed by all the love inside of it....

3.  My garden is hanging in there, despite the periods of neglect it has suffered from this summer.  I did manage to throw some additional arugula and spinach seeds in the ground, and am hoping to get some more of those before things freeze up.  In the meantime, I'm halfheartedly working in the garden, and managing to still harvest some peppers, beets, greens, and a few last, measly tomatoes.

4.  Last week Brian and I visited a school in our community that we're interested in sending Sadie to, starting next fall when she'll be a kindergartner!  This school is considered a Magnet School, and although it is not a charter school, and is a county school with the same testing requirements as other public schools in our county and state, it has a bit of an alternative approach to teaching and learning that we're interested in.  But it certainly does have my mind reeling...I just cannot believe that my little girl is getting so big so fast, and that all of a sudden (it seems) we're thinking and talking about this big choice and all that goes along with it! 

5.  I am sure one lucky mama and wife.  Towards the end of the summer I was feeling quite depleted, ragged, and exhausted.  Our busy, wonderful summer took a lot of energy and planning and organization on my part, and it caught up to me.  And it showed...my patience had worn thin with my family and my coworkers, I was feeling overtired and cranky, and knew I needed to do something about it.  Well, being close to home and spending a little bit (just a bit) less time on the go has done wonders for me.  And I've also been lucky enough to have some alone time...which I'm thinking is just what I needed to press my reset button.  Last Friday I left work a bit early to take part in Denver's Happiness Sprinkling Project.  And without going on and on about how much this experience meant to me, I'll sum it up by saying it absolutely filled me up.  The smiles and love that we were able to inspire in perfect strangers, for no reason other than the joy of spreading happiness...oh what an amazing thing it was.

After all this Happiness Sprinkling, I continued on to a quiet dinner and reading alone over a nice glass of white wine, and then to see some of my very favorite music in the whole world, played by Cahalen Morrison and Eli West.  I sat and knit and listened to these friends playing and just could not stop smiling.

Summering

Things are starting to wind down for us after a very busy summer.  The days and nights are getting a little cooler, it gets dark a little sooner, the garden is slowing down, and we're starting to think about house concerts and canning and football season.  But my what a summer it has been!  This has probably been my most favorite summer ever.  I feel like we've been going non-stop, and honestly, by this point I'm exhausted.  But all I have to do is think back on all the adventures we've had and I know that it's all been worth it.  In addition to the big trips and festivals that I've talked about....our summer has looked like this...

Plants coming home to the garden

Sadie's end-of-year preschool program

The boys playing music for Record Store Day at Bogey's West, our local record shop

A special birthday cake for my hubby..Guiness Cake with Bailey's Cream Cheese Frosting.  I LOVED this recipe and will definitely make it again.

A weekend of celebrating the fathers in our lives....first with my papa at Euclid Hall, a restaurant I've been wanting to try for a long time.  This Brat Burger on a pretzel bun was to die for. 

And then with the Peterson side of the family for a Sunday afternoon pizza date.

Sadie's had as musical of a summer as we have...and it appears to be rubbing off on her.  She's showing a LOT of interest in her fiddle and we couldn't be more thrilled with that development.

She loved watching friends play music at Park House, our new favorite bluegrass-friendly venue in Denver.

We had a great 4h of July celebration in downtown Denver with our friends the Friesens....saw three different fireworks shows and felt like we were right underneath the awesome display the Colorado Rockies put on every year.

Of course plenty of time hot tubbing at Nana and Poppie's...

Time with both the mothers and sisters in my life....

A special celebration to honor our friend Marjorie and the awesome advocacy work she does as part of this organization.

Hooping with our buddies the Jamiesons at the Institute for Spiritual Advancement

Date night to go see Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers, with Edie Brickell at the Chatfield Botanic Gardens!

Goodness from the garden and a vodka tonic on a warm summer night. 

Early morning yoga with my girl

Celebrating the newest member of our neighborhood family, Dyer baby #2 is on her way soon!!!

The Avett Brothers and Old Crown Medicine Show threw it down at Red Rocks!

All this fun and adventure in addition to the five festivals we will have been to, the camping trips, trips to the east coast...oh and our jobs....whew.  No wonder we're so tired.  But I wouldn't trade any of it.  This summer has deepened my love for my family, my friends, this beautiful state we live in, and the music with which we fill our days.  Sure feeling thankful, lucky, and blessed as we turn into fall.