By Jen Adair, Blogger at Slightly Tilted, Entreprenuer, Homeschool Mom to two fab kiddos
Summer vacations bring back so many memories of the beach; warm sand, ocean waves, and salt in the air. I love the ocean. My favorite part of the whole day is right before sunset when the wind picks up and the waves are roaring in your ears and all is right with the world.
But not this year.
This year, we went to the mountains.
One of my daughter’s best friends moved to Colorado a few years ago and they hatched a plan to go to a summer camp out there every year to make sure they still get to see each other. Usually, one of us flies out there with her and the other one flies out the next weekend to pick her up. This year we all flew out and, while she was having the time of her life at camp, we got to experience the mountains in the summer.
I highly recommend it. I highly recommend experiencing something new in general.
Of course, no vacation with my family would be complete without a few obstacles to overcome.
- Hubby either obtained a stress fracture or sudden onset plantar fasciitis or some other foot disorder about two days before we left. BEFORE WE LEFT FOR A HIKING TRIP IN THE ROCKIES.
The Starbucks at the first resort was only open 7:30 to 5. I mean…are we still in America, or what?- Son was upset that the white water rafting trip didn’t have Class 5 rapids. Sorry, little American Ninja Warrior…this is just your first trip.
- I forgot to reapply sunscreen to my nose and spent the trip as Rudolph, the peeling southern girl.
And…that was it. The rest of the trip was perfect. It’s true that my kids were separated and so we only had one to deal with, but still. I’ll take it.
I’ve only been to the mountains in the winter, so it was weird to see the trails I’m used to skiing uncovered and filled with flowers and dirt paths. It was like seeing your legs for the first time in shorts after avoiding looking at them all winter. (What happened here? Where did that come from? So that’s what that looks like!) The mountain is beautiful no matter what season, my legs are not.
And the weather! Oh, man. We were wearing sweatshirts and jeans and had to sit by a heater because we were still cold. In JULY! Isn’t that amazing? I called my mom back in Arkansas to tell her about the perfect weather, and she said she almost had a heatstroke watering the plants in her backyard. Gloating accomplished, I stepped back outside to shiver just a little more.
Limpy (hubby), Ninja (son), and I (Rudolph) took our time getting out in the mornings and walked up and down Main Street like a band of weird misfits. One dragging behind, wincing with each step, and the other leading a small ball of reckless energy with her bright red beak. People politely averted their eyes. (Mountain people are nice that way.)
The best part of the trip – that absolute BEST part – was picking up our daughter. I silently worried about her all week: Was she having fun? Did she put on sunscreen? Were the other girls nice? Was she eating camp food? Finally, we walked down the path to her cabin and she sprinted to her brother and hugged him. It made his life — she is not a hugger. And then, THEN, the girls in her 
cabin rushed out and gave her hugs and then my heart grew three sizes and the happiness threatened to spill down my cheeks, but I knew if that happened she would be mortally embarrassed and probably die on the spot.
So, I just smiled and looked at the ground, and thanked the mountains and the God that created them.
Hey. I’m Jen Adair. I’m an entrepreneur. Homeschool mom. CEO of organized chaos. Ok – it’s really not all that organized. Some days are great, some are not, some days I feel invincible, some days I can barely get out of bed. BUT…it’s my life and I’m living it. Browse my collection of random thoughts, humor (well, I think I’m funny!), images, links, whatever…at my blog Slightly Tilted. Sharing is caring, people! 🙂
