The first married friends

There were a few people that were harder to tell about our current situation than the rest. Hardest of all, for some reason, was telling the couple we met on our honeymoon in Costa Rica ... the couple we've since been pregnant with and taken vacations with ... our oldest boys are only weeks apart. We started our married lives together. Wendy posted this beautifully-written memoir of our friendship on her blog today:

Just Add Water 

I can't write around this any more

To many of you, this won't come as news ... to some, it may be a shock.

Scott moved out at the beginning of September. In recent weeks, he left Grand County, moved closer to Denver and is again job hunting. Our marriage is over, although there's surely a bumpy road ahead to make that official. We are resolved to make this process as easy on ourselves and our children as possible.

While I intend to respect his privacy, I plan to continue writing about my own life and talking all about the kids, of course. Even though you may not hear about him here, Scott will always play a big role in the kid's lives. He will have them every other weekend and alternating holidays. He's a great father. They adore him. And, because everyone asks, the kids seem to be taking it all in stride. Children are resilient creatures.

As for me, I hate to think that I've become another statistic ... another slash in the column of failed marriages. In the weeks, months, maybe years to come, I will struggle — financially and emotionally. But, I have hope. Falling apart simply isn't an option — there are kids to raise, mouths to feed, a job to maintain. And, I'm 36. Hell. There's a whole life to live, and I have a blank slate again.

My preschool mom friend, who was widowed several years ago when a tree tragically fell on her husband, shared with me some words of wisdom she received in her darkest hours: "You need to put on your big girl bra and get on with it." Talk about putting life into perspective.

I don't want pity. I have so many things to be thankful for ... my family, my friends, my children, our health.

I couldn't survive without my troops. From my friends Steve and Kate who came up over Christmas and replaced about 30 burnt light bulbs in my house, to Sarah Q who secretly sent a Christmas list of things I really needed to all my family... to my family who filled that list on short notice and traveled out here for the holiday... to my coworker who made sure my New Years was one of the most Rockin' EVER .... even my landlord who knocked $250 bucks off my rent and let me divide it into two payments ... to the NNK friends Lisa, Susan, Elizabeth, Catherine who had my back and supported me these past few years, even when I inexplicably decided to rip up my life and move across country ... and my Colorado buddies Dara, Sarahgirl and Alison who gave me an instant family when I moved back to here ...  to my new family of friends here in Grand County ... even to all you Internet buddies who lift me up when you don't realize it ... THANK YOU!

Life is only starting to get interesting ...

Day of Fun

Already Making Candy Canes For Next Year!

As a little celebration of Arden's birthday, I took the kids to Denver Saturday. Sawyer wanted to see dinosaur bones, Arden wanted to see butterflies, and I'd heard the Hammond's Candy Factory was a great FREE tour.

We started the day at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Sawyer got to see his bones and Arden got her butterflies. (Next time we'll do live flutterbys the butterfly pavillion.) Even more exciting in some ways was the wildlife exhibit. Great interactive space exhibit and discovery room to boot.

After that we explored City Park. It reminded me of one particular soccer field from my youth. Every last square inch of the park was christened with goose poop.

Watching candy made ... the same way they made it in the 1920s .... was so cool ... and I ended up getting the kids two big coiled lollipops before we left ... free tour turns out to be a big cash cow for the Candy Shop.

We met up with my friend Kate who took us to a little Italian restaurant in The Highlands where the kids ate pasta and salami sandwiches. For dessert, she ordered them little bowls of real homemade gellato to celebrate Arden's birthday.

We finished the day off with a princess movie that Arden had never seen — Beauty and the Beast — back at Kate's house.

Sawyer official coined it "The Day We Did All The Fun Things."

Ski bunny

Sawyer (in the green jacket) heads off for his first day of ski class with his preschool teacher Miss MJ. He and three other boys showed Miss MJ that they could ski to a stop on the bunny slope and so she took them up the chairlift ... twice. BIG DEAL. She paired them with other grown ups for the ride. It was the first time Sawyer skied the big hill without a tether. He had a slight meltdown when he saw me mid-session. But at the end of the two hours he was just glowing. "Skiing today was FUN!" he said.

Arden turns 3

Arden Birthday 3 from Reid Armstrong on Vimeo.

And then Santa came ...

The best Christmas present opening expression EVER.

New duds from Aunt Niki

Santa even remembered me!

Working that Candy Cane.

Brother love.

Sawyer's new duds.

Justin's famous dimples.

Xmas 2010, Part 3

This is my favorite photo from the whole trip. Got the family out for a walk on the Fraser trail. 

Xmas 2010, Part 2

We took the family cross-country skiing at Devil's Thumb Ranch. 

 Cousins. I think Kieran looks like a warrior from Braveheart with that stick. 

 Helping Arden down a steep section. 

The sun came out and warmed us all up. 40 degrees here is practically summer. 

 Mom making good use of the company SWAG (Stuff We All Get). 

 Kieran. 

 Dad contemplates the hill he has to climb.

 Niki with Kieran in a Chariot.

 Ross with Kingston on board.

 Sawyer tries to make a parallel turn on his skinny skis. 

 But without the metal edges it doesn't go so well. 

Arden gave up halfway back to the lodge. I put her in the sled with her skis and when I turned around a few minutes later I found this.

Xmas 2010, Part 1

My sister-in-law took many of these fantastic photos. The whole family came to Winter Park to visit for the holidays. I'm going to break it up into several posts. 

No winter trip is complete without a visit to the  Hideaway Park sledding hill. My brother and I ran up and down the hill with the tireless kids. Even Aunt Niki and baby Kingston made a few runs.

It hasn't exactly been warm here lately. 

Standing at the bottom of the sledding hill was like being pins at a bowling alley. 

Cousins become speeding bullets. 

 The Armstrongs