A Colorado Fall

So, Ryley has a really bad rash on her rear-end. Isn't that a great way to start a blog??? But anyway, she's had it for about six months, and we finally made some progress this week after her appointment with a dermatologist, who confirmed it as Molluscum Contagiosum, which is apparently caught in swimming pools. The dermatologist also went on to treat the rash so that, in its healing phase, it now appears to look like chicken pox. It's itchy and painful, but there's little that we can do about it. I must say that Ryley has been very brave.

My mom was talking to Ryley on the phone this week and asked her if the rash bothers her while she's at school. Ryley's answer: "Yes, but I just have to deal with it."

When I heard her words, I cringed. Am I that heartless of a mother that my answer to my daughter is often "Just deal with it"? That is my phrase! I do! I tell her that (I had not realized how much!), but hearing her resign herself to that just breaks my heart. I've never been the kind of mom that uses a "wipe warmer;" I want my child to be flexible and to learn how to be a low-maintenance person who can deal with extreme hot, extreme cold, pain, and hard situations. Even so, my poor baby has a horrible rash in a sensitive place, and I fear that I have not been sympathetic enough. :-(

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All else is going well. Work is still hard (I had to be a part of firing someone this week), but it is getting better overall, and Ryan and I are both growing in our positions and becoming better people because of it. Funny how that happens.

I also have volunteered to be a co-classparent for Ryley's 1st grade class. I am probably overcommitting myself, but this is the kind of thing that needs to be a priority in my life, and I am glad and excited to do it. As part of my duties, I attended the PTA meeting on Tuesday night. Wow. Let me just say that it was a big eye-opener for me! The kind of parents who attend those meetings are very interesting...very Type A, very controlling, very argumentative. I was so close to telling the lady next to me to just shut up. I mean it. I was really very irritated with all the interrupting and the know-it-all attitude. I googled her later just to see if I could find out what she does for a living. Yep. Interesting....

Throughout the month of September, we are editing articles for the winter issue of the magazine, so any free time I have has been taken with that. But I enjoy it!

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So, Ryan has finally had a couple of Saturdays off (hooray!), and last weekend, we had a hankering to go to the mountains. We decided to go to Winter Park, and we had so much fun exploring the resort, hiking, experiencing the fall beauty, etc. It was rainy for some of the time, and we actually drove through clouds on the way down the mountain. It was breathlessly beautiful, but attempting to explain to Ryley that clouds are not tangible and cannot hold any weight was actually really frustrating. But that's what family days are all about. :-)







I kept making Ryan stop so we could take pictures! Sadly, these photos do not accurately portray how beautiful it was.





We took a skyway ride from our parking lot to the Winter Park Resort.



Ryan and Ryley went down the Alpine Slide.







Then we went for a hike out in the middle of nowhere. We need to do that more often!!!













Ryley was sad when we made her leave her walking stick behind. We promised her that other hikers would make good use of it. :-)











We loved how the clouds just played with the tops of the mountains...



Here, the clouds descend upon us....



We know we are so fortunate to live here. Maybe someday when we are wealthy authors, we will have a home up in the mountains somewhere....





We stopped in Idaho Springs on our way home for dinner at our favorite pizza place, Beau Jo's.



It was really a perfect family day. I love Ryan and Ryley so much!



Tomorrow, Ryan and I are going to the Broncos game with Christie and Jonathan, and we decided today that we are tail-gating in the parking lot before the game. We are so excited!

New experiences and memories await.