Boy did we have an adventure this weekend…
Because we live in the best state ever, our kids get free ski passes and a free lesson in January. We decided to take advantage of said lesson to help them brush up on their snowboarding on January 31 (the last day the free lesson is available) because that’s how we roll.
So we wake up at 5:15 and drive up the hill in between winter storm warnings (picture Mount Everest) with all of the other procrastinators who had the same idea. By the time we arrive at the resort, my Super Hubby’s knuckles are white, but it’s no matter. We’re here! We’re ready to enjoy a day on the slopes! Except we can’t seem to find the right parking lot. We haven’t been to this particular area of this particular resort and so we drive around. And drive around. And drive around on winding mountain roads until Super Hubby breaks down and calls the snowboarding school people. You know that parking lot you passed, they ask. Yeah. You have to go back there and ride the gondola up.
So we wind back down to the very crowded parking lot and breathe a sigh of relief. We made it! This time we’re really here! At this point in the story, it’s important to note that my youngest has always been a puker. He’s as cute as sin with mischievous dimples, but you never know when the boy is going to erupt. Except you can count on it happening during lengthy car trips and also at some of the worst possible times. Sure enough, we get out of the car and youngest spews his egg sandwich all over the parking lot.
At this point, Super Hubby is ready to throw in the towel. Let’s go home, he says. This just isn’t our day. But what do we women always do? Say it with me: we soldier on. We step right over the puke and we keep on going. Somehow, I convince my family to get on the gondola. Everything will be fine! We’ll have a great day on the slopes, I promise.
Everything is not fine.
Five minutes into the ride, youngest’s face starts to cloud over again. His eyes get wide and we quickly abandon ship at the nearest stop off, which is nowhere near where we’re supposed to be for the elusive free lesson.
Now Super Hubby is really done. We need to go home, he insists again. But going home would admit defeat! We can’t go home, I say. Look how far we’ve come! We’re almost there! Somehow, I convince my family to get back on the gondola. This is how much they love me.
So up we go again, youngest closing his eyes and breathing deeply to ward off the motion sickness, and you know what? We make it. We find the place we’re supposed to be. No more getting lost. No more puking. We get to the snowboard school (by now youngest’s color has returned and he can’t wait to get out there). We march them up to the instructor and are putting on their gear when we realize we forgot their goggles.
Super Hubby looks at me. I can see the frustration. And yes, I feel it too. But this is not a problem! We have this magic plastic card that the people in the shop are more than happy to accept. (We were not the first people in the world to forget goggles.) So with brand new goggles protecting their eyes, our resilient boys head out with their new best friend/instructor for the day.
And do you know what Super Hubby and I did? We denied the temptation to go straight into the lodge for a stiff cocktail and we skied. Alone. Together. It was beautiful. There’s nothing quite like swooshing your way down a massive mountain while snow falls lightly all around you and the sun does its best to break through the clouds every once in a while. It was therapy. We needed that.
On the ride home, we crawled along within the interstate’s insane traffic gridlock, tired and slightly slap happy, giggling our way through a conversation about poopsicles. (Don’t ask. This is life when you live with all boys.) But I sat there thinking that this is what life is really about. These little adventures we go on together. These moments of breaking out of the routine. And yes sometimes there’s adversity and you hesitate and question if it’s really worth it, but you also persevere because you know there’s something beautiful to experience somewhere inside of the mess. It was there. We found it because we kept looking. (And because I have quite the stubborn streak.) But even with the hassles, it’s worth it. I want to teach my boys the value of adventuring. No matter what, I want them to keep looking for the beautiful moments inside the messiness of life.
Have you ever had an adventure go awry? Leave a comment and I’ll draw one person to win an advance copy of my upcoming release MORE THAN A FEELING!
Welcome to another edition of Teaser Tuesday! I’m starting to gear up for the launch of SOMETHING LIKE LOVE (book 2 in the Heart of the Rockies series), which officially releases October 27. This book is full of adventure and humor and, of course, plenty of romance.
In our sneak peek for today, Ben has convinced Paige to go paragliding with him. She sees him as one big distraction to her career goals and he promises that, if she jumps off a cliff with him, he’ll leave her alone and keep their relationship strictly professional. Paige agrees to the deal, never dreaming that one flight through the sky could change the way she sees so many things, including Ben.
To find out how that jump changed everything, you’ll have to read the book! One lucky commenter will win their own advance copy. I’ll draw the winner at noon mountain time on Friday, August 21. Good luck!
Welcome to Teaser Tuesday!
Every Tuesday, I share a teaser from one of my upcoming books. Up this week, an excerpt from Something Like Love. (Ben and Paige’s story for those of you who’ve read No Better Man.)
There’s just something about a cowboy…
At least that’s what Paige Harper thinks. Last year, she had a whirlwind fling with Benjamin Hunter Noble III…until one of his many exes made a scene at a black-tie gala. After being humiliated in front of Aspen’s wealthiest, Paige wrote Ben off for good. Unfortunately for her, he’s back in town, and her boss already told her she has to be nice to him. When Ben shows up out of the blue at her family’s small café, it’s a little too easy to remember why she fell for him in the first place. But she’s learned her lesson and there’s no way she’ll let it happen again. No matter how much she loves cowboys. 
We had so many adventures in New York City last week! We hiked around Central Park (about eight miles on the hottest day NYC has seen all year) and wandered neighborhoods all the way from Battery Park back to our hotel in Times Square. We rode one of those double-decker tourist buses around to see as much as we could. From profound and reflective moments at the 911 memorial to a crowded cruise around the statue of liberty to the low-budget character costumes in Times Square and an entire day spent at Rockefeller Center, we saw it all.
But I have to say the best experience we had was visiting Studio 6B to watch Jimmy Fallon rehearse his monologue. Most people I’ve talked to didn’t even know you could go watch a monologue rehearsal, so now I feel it is my duty to inform the masses.
When we started planning our trip to NYC, the number one item on our list of things to experience was a taping of the Tonight Show. The day they released the tickets, we were in the queue an hour early. When we couldn’t get through, we were so disappointed, but then we heard that they also give away tickets to watch Jimmy rehearse the monologue a couple of hours before they tape the show. We weren’t expecting much, seeing as how the monologue segment is only eight minutes, but we figured it would be better than nothing.
It turned out to be WAY better. We checked in at the studio an hour early, got through security and then waited around in this really swanky lounge area where the walls were decorated with large screens that scrolled through different pictures from past shows. (It was almost embarrassing how many of them we’d seen.) Right before they led us into the studio, Albertina Rizzo (one of the talented monologue writers) gave us a brief rundown and told us that Jimmy rehearses in front of a live audience to test out the material. (She’s hilarious, by the way. Very entertaining.) Then they make changes to the monologue based on well the audience relates to the jokes.
When they brought us into the studio, Jimmy came out and greeted us. It was all pretty casual. He read the jokes off of the script and when we’d laugh enough, he’d ham it up and add original content to the joke. He also interacted with the writers and made notes on the script for later. As a writer, it was so fun to watch that creative process in person. All in all, I think we were in the studio for about a half hour, and we were still laughing when we left. It was fun to watch the show later that night and see what jokes had made the cut. What a great experience to add to our NYC adventures. The entire staff, from the check-in personnel to the security guards were friendly, professional, and so much fun! If you’re ever in New York and can’t get tickets to the Tonight Show, make sure to catch a rehearsal!