Are Toddler’s Ready to Snow Ski?

After my sister took her two boys (5 & 7) skiing last year, I've wanted to teach my boy early too. And it always takes time to plan a good trip, but it takes extra time to plan travel on a budget. Needless to say, we've been counting down to this trip for about 6 months. 

My parents and I shopped bargains and deals until we booked it all for better than fair prices. If you want to know how I book travel, one piece at a time while on a budget, comment below. With enough requests, I'll write a separate post about this.

Day 1: My boy has been so excited about traveling on and airplane with his grandparents, my parents who go by Popaw & Lollee. We have slightly different travel needs than they do, but I found us flight times that seemed perfect for all. Atlanta departure time was 1:05pm and arrival into Denver was 2:15. Just enough time on both ends to be relaxed about our travels. Or so I thought...

I thought my boy would nap on the plane, and if not, I figured he'd definitely sleep in the car. Unfortunately, this little man fell asleep during landing and in the car two times right before we got out to shop and eat. Oh, we had a delayed arrival time which pushed us right onto the interstate for Denver rush hour traffic. Awesome, right? We tried to make the most of it by jumping off the interstate for a wholesale shopping trip, and then scooted up the mountain range to Idaho Springs for a great meal at Tommyknocker Craft Brewery and Pub. I mean, they have an AWESOME Peach IPA, and I didn't even get the name of it.

All The Feels After Forty

At forty, I'm probably not supposed to wake up to eat cake with my coffee, but would you look at this delish, delish strawberry cake!!! I have to brag on my sister real quick... My family told me how she stepped up to help my husband pull some details together, including decorations and this homemade cake that apparently took her days to complete because of the bake, freeze and then ice process. Mmm Mmm Mmm, it's so good, and I think you'd also eat it for breakfast! (Maybe I can get her to provide the recipe? Ya'll be sure to check back here for a link.)

So, today, I woke up having ALL. THE. FEELS. Have you had these days? You know, sentimental like?

As I stand in the kitchen, in one that my mother raised me, freezing left overs from this fabulous surprise birthday party from my husband, I can't help but to remember all the other birthdays I shared here with my family and some other really good people.

I am so very thankful for the people God has put in my life. You've all helped mold me into who I am today. It might sound selfish to say "I am proud of who I've become", but without self-worth & self-appreciation, who would we be? So, I say it loud & proud. Sure, I have flaws, areas that still need a lot of improvement, but I also have acknowledgement & awareness of those things that need special attention. (Can't say I had such self-awareness at 21 or even 30.)

At Forty...

Let's be honest. As our birthdays approach faster & faster throughout the years, they bring a range of emotions that might look a bit like a heart rate - up & down, up & down. Though depending on your attitude, you might hear the music behind that beat!

As my B I G  4 O approaches, I find myself listening to the music from my almost forty year old library because when I was young, I truly expected forty to be have that "over the hill" feeling or maybe even "life is over at forty" feeling. For me, thirty was much harder. The music I hear today reflects acceptance, adventure, authenticity, change, gratitude, kindness, love and an abundance of memories! Maybe I see the glass half-full, as compared to thirty I saw the glass half-empty. It doesn't really matter. I'm here. I survived the last decade, and I have a boatload of experience, wisdom and memories to prove it.

I am looking at 40 as 4 perfect 10's because though there maybe a lot of difference between twenty & forty, some things that are the same-same-but-different. So, if you're about to hit this milestone, as I will in a week, think about some facts that are resonating with me.

• At forty, I still cherish memories as if I was creating a high school yearbook, but at forty, that yearbook is in pieces. The memories are spread throughout drawers & boxes because I printed pictures, I saved a magazine clipping, but I no longer have time to even put them in one place, much less find time to put them in a photo album or a scrapbook.
• At forty, I still dream like nothing can stop me, but at forty, I dream for others more than myself.
• At forty, I still think of others, but at forty, the hand written note that I wrote them is found under a pile of mail that was misplaced and might never make it to the mailbox, much less get handed to them.
• At forty, I still look at my surroundings trying to notice the beauty in this world, but at forty, my goggles are forty years old. I see with more clarity. At forty (not at thirty), I love swapping my forty-something goggles for toddler goggles.
• At forty, I still say I am sorry, but at forty, I don't wait for perfect timing.
• At forty, I still get disappointed, but at forty, I seek God's wisdom & comfort, rather than justice.