GANPRTSBA 2016 Day 4: ARCHES!

I need to go to bed, but I know that if I don't take this day by day it will get overwhelming and I won't do it justice and Arches DESERVES justice. It's one of the most amazing places I've ever seen- so beautiful and so foreign, like we're walking on Mars. It's impossible to describe and the pictures can't capture it all, but I'm going to upload a bunch and try to describe them anyway.

We planned to get up early, but we all slept in and thst was totally worth the line of cars we had to wait in at the entrance to Arches at 9:30. We packed snacks and lunches and probably not enough water. I didn't have a handle on the weather- it was 27 out when we woke up, with a high of 55; that seemed chilly, but when you're up in the mountains anything over 30 is practically hot, but this is the high dessert so I don't know- we wore layers and gloves and hats but forgot the one thing we might have actually used- sunscreen. We also accidentally bypassed the Visitor's Center (pro tip- it is immediately on the right after you enter; I was putting our beautiful new Southeast Utah Parks Pass away and bam, missed the turn, and the narrow 2-lane road did not allow for u-ey's), so we pressed onward up the road through the park, ogling the crazy rock formations out every window.

Three Gossips and Balanced Rock

We decided to do the Delicate Arch hike first. It's 3.0 miles round trip and rated as Difficult. There's really nothing technically difficult about it all, especially if you stay on the nice smooth trail, it just has a lot of elevation changes and steep grades up and down along the way. Obviously we went off trail and climbed on rocks the whole way, making it considerably harder and a lot more fun (footnote: we only left the trail in the purely rocky areas; I always read every word of the trail guide and it educated us on the delicate ecosystem at work in the soil, so made sure to never touch any dirt or sand unless it happened to be covering a marked and approved trail. These parks are precious; we're careful about that.). Landon probably hiked at least 5 miles total with all the extra climbing and running back and forth he did.

Part of the hike involves walking up this enormous smooth hunk of red rock. It's such a bizarre hiking experience- so very different from hiking up and along mountains though I can't quite describe why. The weather was perfect and after about 20 minutes I had stripped off my jacket and long sleeve shirt and was sweating in a tank top. In 45 degree weather. So, yeah, that part was just like hiking in the mountains.

We climbed up the sides of the walls, stood in a few archways (unnamed on the trail map, though I'm sure they're cataloged somewhere), and generally got distracted by every rock face before us.

We even found an awesome cave to sit and take a little break.

The pathways were sometimes narrow, thrilling the kids, and the views were breathtaking in every direction.

The "view" pictures are the ones that really don't translate to the screen- or maybe they would if I knew how to use photoshop to punch up the color the way it looks in person, but parts of it are so barren- beautifully so- and then these giant red rocks rise up, and behind them, mountains, and behind those more mountains, these topped in snow. It's just gorgeous. I kept looking around in awe of it all and I hadn't even seen my first famous arch yet!

We climbed up one rock face to stand in another arch and Delicate Arch was right through it! Simply spectacular. And so big! And surrounded by more sheer rock, a crater, and more strange rock formations all around. We got a picture and excitedly scrambled down our cliff to get back on the trail and walk around the bend and BAM there it was again.

All the pictures I'd seen made it seem more, well, delicate. But no. It's huge and tall and proud. We look like little ants standing underneath.

But it is also delicate and simply amazing to think it was carved by nature and has stood there for so long.

We put our packs down, let Cora loose (omg she needs a leash; "I WALK MAMA! NO HANDS. I JUMP! NO. HOLD. HANDS!"), climbed up the rocks around us, and ate a snack.

It was really such a beautiful spot. If you can, I highly HIGHLY recommend the 3 mile trip. You just can't feel the impact of the arch from a distance.

We finally packed up and hiked/ran the 1.5 miles back, marveling again at new rock shapes we missed on the way up.

After getting to the car we drove over to Devil's Playground Trail Head and picnic'd in the car before taking the hike out to see Landscape Arch. The Devil's Playground area is really neat. I wish we'd had the stamina left to go all the way to Double O Arch and beyond, but Landscape Arch was only 1.6 miles round trip and I know the kids didn't have much more than that in them- and I was surprised to find I might not have much more than that either.

So we soaked up more alien scenery and looked forward to seeing the longest arch at Arches- 306 yards- longer than a football field! And so we hiked and climbed and the kids ran and then, whoa, there it was!

Again, a lot is lost in translation. The arch is huge, and so thin, James kept calling it Delicate Arch on accident. Even though we'd reached the end of the trail we were supposed to do, there was a sign for a "primitive trail" that you shouldn't hike if you're afraid of heights and it looked like it went straight up one of the rocks and we just can't resist things like that, so we pressed on just a little further. Landon and I hiked up one steep pathway and then James and Cora went further. Claire decided she "just wanted to watch" so she picked a boulder and watched us, neck craned up and waving. At one point, after I had started to walk back to her, a group of 20-ish hikers passed through and yelled up to James- who was really high up, with Cora on his back- "Hey, look at that! That's a rad dad! Go you rad dad!"

Cracked us up. And he is a rad dad. Landon joined him and then they made their way down another angle while Claire and I sat on a surprisingly comfortable rock in the shade of the cliff.

We walked back, coming to a sign that promised two more arches just off to the side and this time it was Landon who said, "please no." Apparently we finally, FINALLY found out his physical limit. The kid was done. This has maybe never happened in his life and I was so surprised I didn't even try to convince him. His calm pleading and the finality in his voice said it all. So we kept going, getting to the car, passing out cookies to everyone, and verifying to both big kids that yes, we're done, even though mommy really wanted to stop to see Double Arch and the Windows on the way out. (We're now coming back on Day 6, just for a few wrap up items.)

done.

They did perk up when we mentioned the Visitor's Center, so we stopped there on the way out. My love of Visitor's Centers and Park Rangers just grows every day. I have rainbows and unicorns in my eyes when I see one.

And then we went home. Everyone put on jammies and we vegged out, even letting the kids go watch a show up in their bedroom because they'll never have a TV in their rooms ever and they might as well enjoy it now.  Plus they were troopers and amazing little hikers and James and I were also troopers and very much wanted to sit on the couch with wine and not parent. Cora walked continuously up and down the stairs between us, letting everyone know the (unchanging) status of the other group and generally showing that did not actually hike much today at all. Dinner was chicken barley chili and dessert was putting the kids in bed 30 minutes early and watching House of Cards.

Tomorrow we hit up Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse Point State Park. My legs are exhausted and pretending like I've never done barre or run a mile in my life, but the rest of me is so excited to see another part of this beautiful BEAUTIFUL place.

GANPRTSBA 2016 Day 3: Denver to Moab

We spent this morning packing up the car, making breakfast, and making sure everything was packed in the car. We said farewell to Tia and Billy and headed out for the 5.5 hour drive to Moab around 9:30, with bright blue skies and t-shirt wearing temps. Ninety minutes later we were in a massive snow storm outside Frisco and Vail with temps in the 30's. Because we just can't drive through a mountain range without a white out blizzard.

This round wasn't nearly so bad as our others- the snow didn't last too long and really wasn't a blizzard, but it was funny to go from sunny skies to the obligatory snow-covered windshield with wipers that haven't a prayer of keeping up. We used the mini blizzard to take a lunch stop at Larkburger in Edwards, Colorado, just past Vail- a place that reminded me very much of P. Terry's in Austin and was actually more delicious (omg the parmesan fries... I can't believe I took 100 pictures of mountains and not a single one of those fries). The Yelp app is one of my favorite things in the world- just type in "french fries near my current location" and BAM- all the options, with pictures, menus, and reviews. Never eat a mediocre fry again.

The snow set us back a bit since we couldn't go faster than 20, so we decided to take advantage of our newly adjusted itinerary to forgo anything we thought we'd do in Moab today and go off course at Grand Junction to check out the Colorado National Monument instead. Once again, an iPhone app made it happen, thanks to Trip Advisor reviews and forums, and we turned off I-70, following signs to the much lauded West Entrance to the Monument, which promises 32 square miles of spectacular views, sheer cliffs, and endless ledges just begging for you to stand on them. Also bighorn sheep, eagles, red tailed hawks (saw one!), crazy rock formations, and a lovely visitor's center. I adore state and national parks. They're just such happy places full of people who love what we love to do.

As we checked in at the west gate the ranger asked where we were headed next and we said Moab. "Oh!" he exclaimed, "you should get off the highway at Cisco- don't worry, you'll find it sometime after you cross the border into Utah, it's a beautiful drive into Moab and only takes about 10 minutes longer." I scribbled "Cisco" down on our entrance fee receipt and our itinerary changed again.

We weren't expecting too much of the Monument. I wasn't really even sure what a National Monument was except that it definitely wasn't just a single monument/formation like I thought maybe a few minutes prior. And we'd left the mountains and canyons and valleys behind, enjoying an hour or so of steady speed and no manual shifting to lower gears down sharp grades. The land was still beautiful, just different and more flat and subtle. So we drove into the "Monument," 3 miles off from the flat highway, and BAM. Smack you in the face sheer cliffs, steep grades, sharp turns, tunnels through giant rocks, rocks balanced on top of other giant rocks on top of sheer cliffs.

It was spectacular. We knew we couldn't spend long, so we sadly couldn't complete the whole 23 mile circuit along Rim Rock Drive, though we hope to return one day, so we switch-backed our way into the sky to the Visitor's Center where we talked to another extremely friendly and knowledgeable ranger who set us out on a trail behind the center to enjoy the views, climb on stuff, and watch our for snakes and scorpions.

The wind was crazy whipping through the canyon- I'm pretty solidly built and I had a moment stepping out on a ledge when I wondered if it really was possible for it to blow me over. I doubt it, but it's the only time a gust of wind has made me wonder. Luckily the wind died down a bit after that.

Obviously, we had to climb on rocks and then helped the kids do the same. A lot of time on our trips is spent testing things out, making sure they're safeish, and then letting the kids push themselves as much as they want and spotting them while they do it.

Like when James decides he needs to climb down to this ledge.

And then the kids ask if they can do it too. At the exact moment he had Landon standing on the ledge the both looked up to see a Red Tailed Hawk soaring by- Landon is an animal nut and it ranks as one of the coolest moments in his life so far.

Almost exactly one hour later we were back on I-70, headed for the Utah state line and I'm SO glad we decided to make the pit stop. I was even more glad when we turned off the highway, going against a HIGHLY skeptical google maps who was very uncomfortable with our decision, to head down the off beaten path to Moab. Oh my gosh, it was gorgeous. Cliffs, super tall rock formations, a river winding by us the whole way... totally different almost alien scenery from what we're used to in Colorado and so beautiful we couldn't get over it. Park Rangers have the best advice.

We pulled up at our condo around 5:30 to find that homeaway once again made our vacation fabulous. Three bedrooms, two stories, 2,000 square feet of gorgeous brand new condo with sweeping red cliff views out every window. All for about $150 a night. This is why we never stay in hotels- I much prefer the space and spread out sleeping arrangements (a vacation is not a vacation if James and I have to sleep in the same room as the kids; I love them, but no), the comfort of returning "home" at the end of an adventurous day, and the budget saving ease of having my own kitchen. The fact that it has stairs and 4 TVs pretty much blew the kids' minds. Never mind the amazing scenery we saw all day- our Fort Worth house has 1 TV and 0 stairs. The Moab condo wins everything.

We settled in, ran to the grocery store, and ordered "the best pizza in Moab" according to all the yelp reviews to eat at home with wine or milk. Tomorrow we hit up Arches and I am SO EXCITED I'm not even sure I'll be able to sleep. I love this stuff you guys, and the only thing that makes it better is knowing the kids feel the same way.

Great American National Park Road Trip Spring Break Adventure, Days 1-2

The Great American National Park Road Trip Spring Break Adventure 2016 ("GANPRTSBA 2016") has begun! It really all began last July when I saw a facebook picture of a friend at Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah and decided that's where we needed to be. Two days of obsessive research later and we had an itinerary for our Spring Break trip- then, 8 months away, and ironically, no longer including Bryce Canyon (one day!), and I've been counting down the days since.

But first, we're in Denver.

Stop number 1 is my sister and Billy's new house north of Denver, a convenient 12 hours from Fort Worth. It's beautiful and very comfortable and a perfect start to the trip, particularly after we went a full calendar year last year without visiting Colorado, something I hope never happens again (we already have our 2017 Colorado trip planned- a January return to the ski slopes!). It was an easy 12 hour drive. We pack snacks and lunches, get the car loaded up the night before, and fill the kids' backpacks full of surprises (new coloring books, activity books, mad libs, markers, and books- it's like Christmas, only more sedentary) for them to find on their car seats in the morning and we're good to go. We stopped only twice- for gas, fresh water for the water bottles, and a round for all at the questionable gas station bathrooms, and arrived at Val's new house at 6:45 in time for a tour and delicious homemade dinner.

luxury accommodations

This morning we woke up right on time - switching to the Mountain Time Zone the night before daylight savings worked out great, since the switch just took us right back to Central Time - ate breakfast and then headed out to our most beloved hiking and exploring area: the stretch down Highway 6 through Clear Creek Canyon, west of Golden. Absolutely gorgeous and full of wide shoulders just made for you to pull over your car and get out so your kids can climb all over rocks and get their feet wet in freezing melted snow, we have many, many memories on this beautiful road.

Billy brought his gold mining equipment and the kids had a big time learning about panning for gold and using a sluice box.

Landon even has a small vial with gold flakes to take back with him!

Cora decided she is a HIKER and refused any and all direction on where to go and why you should NOT WALK OFF THE EDGE OF THE GIANT ROCK OMG. We put her in the pack almost immediately, for her safety and my blood pressure.

Real hikers wear tutus.

After James and Landon (and Cora!) hiked up a cliff that apparently you're supposed to do with ropes, we continued on to Idaho Springs, on of our favorite little mountain towns, and ate at Tommy Knocker, James's very favorite restaurant. Unfortunately service was kind of terrible, but we ended up with a highly discounted bill and weren't in any rush. Despite just having a giant plate of nachos, cowboy burger, two orders of garlic fries, and a root beer, James thought he needed ice cream and ordered this monstrosity, just to top it all off.

the "triple"

Val and Billy headed back home after lunch and then we meandered our way back, giving in to the call of those wide shoulders and giant rocks that just begged for our car to be parked and our feet to get out and climb. We re-found one of our favorite spots, attempting a 3-kid picture to duplicate this one I love so much from our first trip here in October 2012.

Updated! Same jacket, different kid.

Classic.

Cora fell asleep in the car on the way back, and because she is a magic third baby, she fell right back asleep for another hour after we transferred her to the pack 'n play when we got home. The big kids went in the hot tub (or hot pool, as Claire calls it) and then, as Val and Billy lay exhausted on the couch, we decided we had time for another adventure before dinner and drove to downtown Golden after Cora woke up. The kids ran amok through the park, two-story slide, and basically all over the downtown sidewalks where they climbed on every statute they could find.

We love Golden.

When not throwing herself down boulders- and actually, while doing that too- Cora has had a BLAST. Anything the kids can do, she can do, and you can hear her mutter under her breath, "I DO it" as she swings her chubby legs up onto the ledges the kids are balancing along. She calls out, "Wait!" as she chugs after them and they get SO excited when she catches up and manages to do whatever they're doing. It's been so fun to see and fulfills exactly what I saw in my head when we decided to have a third baby 3 years ago. Basically everything I wrote here is exactly true- I even called out Colorado and we can pretend like Utah is the Grand Canyon. We have a chubby toddler chasing after a Claire who is chasing after a Landon while James and I follow behind, hand in hand, cracking up and occasionally yelling out, "Careful!"

It's just everything I hoped it would be and so much more, and I love that we're spending this week doing our very favorite thing in the world- driving around with our party pack, looking at spectacular scenery and climbing on stuff. And tomorrow we're off to Moab for a few days of Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Dead Horse Point State Park, and a few National Monuments and a stop in Grand Junction along the way! If you have any favorite hikes or restaurants in any of those places, let me know!

HIIT Fit Fun

One of my 2016 Resolutions was to increase my workouts and to more formally mix up my regime. For two years I did barre and only barre 5 times a week. This was immensely effective, in no small part because I simply fell in love with barre and finally found an exercise I simply wanted to do all the time. And it did make me stronger, leaner, and more flexible than I'd ever been before. I weighed roughly the same, but 6 months after having Cora I'd lost inches all over my body and was a pants size smaller than before I got pregnant with her. All because of barre.

But now I think I need to mix it up. I started running last year and while I still don't enjoy it, I can do it, something that has yet to not surprise me each time I step on a treadmill and bang out 3.5 miles at a 9:15 pace. Before last year I'd never run more than a mile before. Again, I think it's mostly due to barre and just being much stronger and lighter than I've been in the past, though I think teaching has increased my cardiovascular health because I have to talk the entire way through my 75 minute class and that definitely gets my heart pumping. Barre also made me interested in yoga and I've flirted with passes at different studios over the past 2.5 years, ultimately really connecting with the dynamic vinyasa flow classes and bikram hot yoga classes. I want a work out and while I believe in the power of yin and restorative yoga, at the end of the day, if I've carved an hour out of my day and the $15-20 out of my pocket, I want to be challenged. I want to shake and sweat and walk out with my endorphins soaring.

In January I decided that my ideal was barre 3x a week (teaching 1-2x and being a student 1-2x, depending on my teaching schedule), yoga 1x, and running 1x. I've settled on a Sunday 8 a.m. Bikram class that I just love. It's the same flow every week, which I think would get old if it was my regular workout, but for a once a week "check in" it's perfect. I slip out of the house before anyone is awake and spending 80 sweaty minutes in a 105 degree room with pounding music and then come home to a happy house just finishing up breakfast with everyone ready to jump into whatever we're doing next that day. It's become a sacred part of my week.

Running was my hang up. I could go run at the Y, and I did, but it's boring and it's more of a mental exercise than a physical one to get myself to finish all 3.5 miles. I ran in the wild once and decided that is definitely not for me- I need a treadmill telling me precisely how far I've gone and how far I have yet to go; running around our neighborhood was a million times harder and I came home after half the distance, totally annoyed at my lack of commitment.

Last week a friend posted about her Orangetheory workout on facebook. I was intrigued by the idea of a group class involving high intensity cardio intervals and weights. It offered a free first class, so I decided to join her on Sunday at 1:00, even though I'd just done my hot yoga that morning and had never done HIIT and the thought of anything boot-campish makes me freeze indecisively between wanting to both curl up in the fetal position and run very fast the other way. But I went and OMG I LOVED it. I love group classes- they're so motivating for me and I push myself so much harder and have so much fun when I'm in them. And OTF gave me the opportunity to do that while lifting heavier weights- something I never do- and pushing my cardio- something I have to force myself to do- in a fun, fast, seriously effective way. Plus, you wear a heart rate monitor the whole class that tracks your heart rate (duh) and calories burned on a big screen overhead that flashes whatever color "zone" you're in- reminding you to pick it up, or warning you that you should maybe back off. And at the end, you get this wonderful little chart and you KNOW how I feel about a good chart.

I want to go back just to get more (and I did, on Tuesday night).

Orangetheory did two things- it let me know that barre has done a really good job of getting me in good overall shape, which was affirming as someone who both loves and teaches it. I was able to keep up on all the cardio and my strength work was solid, though I definitely found some holes (like the chest flies with heavy weights; I only use 1 lb. weights in my barre class and we don't have a bench so WHOAH were those hard for me; I was shaking and had to keep taking breaks for water/breathing) and I got to use equipment we just don't have in the studio (like bosus, TRX bands, benches, ab rollers, and more). We didn't run as far overall as I usually do, but oh my goodness, we ran so much harder. Intervals at high inclines, alternating speeds between your base pace, push pace, and all-out pace. I've never set my treadmill on a 9.5 before and holy crap I thought my legs might fall off and I had some real concerns about what would happen if my legs turned to jelly and I flew off to hit the rowers behind me, but then the 30 seconds was up and we were back to base pace for 2 more minutes and I felt amazing. OTF also affirmed that classes like barre really have something unique to offer. The ab and core work in barre is second to none, as is the strengthening of the supporting muscles and the stretching, but seriously, the core work- the 2 minute plank "challenge" at the end of OTF was like a cool down from the various (much longer and much harder) plank series I do in my class every week.

So it was really fun. I'm hoping to go every week, eliminating my plodding treadmill runs and vastly increasing my cardio and strength work. On Saturday it will be my one year anniversary of teaching my first barre class. It's been an incredible opportunity and journey and I'm so glad I spent the last year really focusing on increasing my barre skills and learning various moves to mix up my classes (I write a whole new class every time I teach). But it's time to branch out a bit and I'm excited to have found something new to do that I think will compliment my barre work and yoga release.

Have any of you tried it? Anyone have any other favorite workouts they're doing now? Group or home options? I also have a friend obsessed with Zyn22 (not sure that's a chain, but apparently it's like SoulCycle)- has anyone done that? I did a spin class once, in 2005, and I hated it so much it's the only group class I have ever up and left before it was done. As a people pleaser who always feels like people are watching her- when intellectually I know of course they are not- the idea of up and leaving a group class is insane and shows a level of desperation I have never reached since. I mean, I nearly passed out in my first barre class and didn't even consider backing out. But I also wasn't in as good of shape then and it's entirely possible I was doing it all wrong, so I suppose I could give it another try. I never thought I'd do yoga, run, or ballet either and that's pretty much my athletic life now.

Also, I'm branching out my athletic apparel because the support tanks I adore for barre don't work so well to hold my 32D chest in place while running all out on a treadmill at Orangetheory. I'm really liking layering looser tanks over a sports bra, and having an excuse to buy more workout clothes. The GapFit line is a new favorite, particularly since it's 40% off right now, but any other faves beyond Athleta and Lululemon. Nothing at Athleta fits me as well as I want it to and while Lulu's prices are worth it for me for my barre teaching gear, I'm looking to branch out for my alternative fitness wear.

Margaritas for Humanity

I hosted a small Cards Against Humanity party last night. Inspired by my birthday, I invited adults over to my house to have fun sans-children, with alcohol and delicious foods, and it was everything I hoped it would be. Since I was planning to make my favorite appetizer (my mom's Mexican cheesecake, of course), my favorite cake, and two pitchers of new drinks (mojitos and this ridiculous good pomegranate margarita recipe)- and I knew my friends were bringing more- I decided to take my lunch break at the Y to squeeze in a run. And as I ran, I watched the swimmers in the pool, noticing that one was quite a bit faster than the others. Hotter too.

Hello there stranger

Apparently James never checks out the women on the treadmills because he had no idea I was there until thirty minutes later when I kicked his feet mid-flip-turn. He was so excited to see me, and then after a cursory 30 seconds of small talk, asked me to take some videos of his strokes. I felt so used.

I finished work and party prepped. We had the kids in bed at 7:45 and friends arrived moments later. Our kids are super sound sleepers and they're always exhausted on Fridays so we didn't even hear a peep out of them, which was good, because we were not quiet and our discussions and incognito google searches were decidedly not kid-friendly.

I wore a new shirt randomly bought from Express while running through the mall to return something from Children's Place. It just jumped out and grabbed me and I had just stuck my snail mail Express coupon in my purse that very morning.

The party was so much fun. It was five of my favorite people, good food, good drinks (seriously make those margaritas), and I really love Cards Against Humanity. It's so educational. I feel like we all learned a lot.

Hiding from some new urban dictionary knowledge

We wrapped up a little after 11, which is pretty late for a group of people with small children, babysitters, and homes an hour away in Dallas. I felt very loved. And my face was red from laughing. And pink margaritas. And mostly laughing. Now that I know my kids can sleep through anything, we need to have get-togethers more often. It's like reclaiming a piece of our life that has been missing for years and years-- and then loving waking up to Cora pounding across the floor of the TV room chanting "Mama Mama MAMAAAAAAAA!". And finding 7 a.m. on Saturday a perfectly reasonable time to be awake. It's a beautiful blend of the before kids and after.

Speaking of blends, I taught my barre class today and since I'm missing the next two for our Great National Park Road Trip of 2016, I spent some time this morning practicing some new moves and series, including a bunch of plank work. Cora saw me and squealed from across the house, and as she does every Saturday when I practice my class, she climbed aboard. This time I finally got James to take a picture.

After 3 years of barre and nearly a year of teaching, I can hold plank for a good 15 minutes, but adding a toddler to your back who is trying to ride you like a horsey definitely kicks things up a notch, though I did not add this move to class.

Following class, Landon had his Texas Nature Club at the Zoo which remains adorable and awesome and man do I love living so close to opportunities like that. We picked him up at 4 and went straight to the movie theater for Cora's first ever movie experience- and the first movie we've taken the kids to in at least a year. Zootopia! Cora won't watch TV, so we weren't sure how well it would go over, but she's also usually game for anything and intimidated by nothing, so we took our 50-50 odds and ran with them. Tickets at this old theater were $3.50 each and my beer was only $4. Expectations were low and Cora blew them away.

I adore this picture. Never attended a movie, never had popcorn-- TOTALLY an expert at both.

The movie was super cute. Cora ate all of my popcorn, all her m&m's, and then got annoyed in the last 15 minutes because were out of both. James took her out to the lobby while the big kids and I finished the show and we returned home with three kiddos high on sugar. Whoah. It was a little intense. Luckily we put them in bed a few minutes before 8 and everyone seemed to immediately pass out in a well timed sugar crash.

And now James and I are 3 episodes in on Season 4 of House of Cards and trying to decide if 11:53 p.m. is too late to press play on the next one...