CHAMP

At the end of swim season (way back in February) we attended a banquet.  To be honest, it was on one of those weeks that we seemed to be back and forth to Fort Collins more than I care for and to top it off the weather wasn't great. I debated about whether to just convince Bailee to bag it and stay home, but ultimately decided it was important enough to her that we should attend. As we were making our  25 min drive to the school it began to snow pretty good and I questioned my decision. Mark was already in FoCo for an AFS meeting so he was just going to try and meet us at the school for a short while. The night was laid out with dinner, a slideshow and then the head coach planned to recognize/spotlight each girl. Mark had to get back to his meeting and left right after dinner was served. I was so so bummed (after the fact) that he had to go right then because before they started the slideshow, the coach turned some time over to a special guest from CHAMP (CHaracter in Athletics Make it a Priority).  This nonprofit organization focuses its efforts on promoting positive character as an integral component of student-athletes’ success, both on the athletic field and in life.  Each month they select one MS or HS athlete from the Fort Collins area who has been nominated by their coach for exemplifying outstanding character in the athletic world. Well lo and behold, she got up and announced the recipient of this award was our girl!! None of us had any idea and Bailee had to be shaken out of her state of shock. I actually had to tell her that she needed to go up front as they stood there waiting for her;)

 I was so beyond proud as I watched my baby with tears in my eyes and attempted to get a decent photo :/

 Here is the write up they did on her including what her coach said in his nomination:

Congrats!!

February High School CAM for 2015: Bailee Smith

1.Age: 15
2.Sport: Swimming
3.School: Poudre High School
4.Parents: Kim and Mark Smith
5.Siblings/Age: Karsyn 12 and Emmrey 8
6.Interests/Hobbies/Activities: Hiking, Camping, anything outdoors, reading, photography
7.Favorite Athlete they admire: Khari Stocchetti . She is a special Olympic swimmer and she inspires me to keep doing what I love ESPECIALLY when the times get rough.
8. Quote from Coach Rob Breshears- Bailee Smith leads by example. Although she is more quiet than some of her teammates, she speaks loudly with her work ethic, attitude, and constant smile. As a new student to Poudre this year, Bailee joined the team and her contributions were instantly felt. Bailee often swims events that other athletes dread and she does it with a smile because she wants to help her team. She has consistently stepped up when her team needed her and always chooses to do it with a smile. Bailee motivates and encourages her teammates and competitors alike with quiet can-do attitude. She makes everyone around her better. I am proud to nominate Bailee Smith as a very deserving Character Athlete of the Month.

Bay with her coaches Kristen Moss and Rob Breshears

When her coach recognized the girls he told a little something about them that had stood out to him and he gave them each a "nickname" of sorts. He shared how on the first practice Bailee had missed her ride from the school to the pool (story for another time) and how when she showed up having missed over half the practice she came, suited up and tried to make up for what she had missed. Here he was feeling terrible about the miscommunication error and she comes in and apologizes for being late. He said he really admired that about her and it showed her dedication to her team. He also couldn't help but notice that huge smile of hers. He gave her the nickname of "Sweet 16"". At one meet she took off 16 seconds in her 500 (pretty huge deal).  At the next meet half joking he said, "I want to see you take off 16 seconds again" .. ..  .. and she did!

ecstatic about taking off time in her 500

A few of my favorite photos in the slideshow

 

Backstroke in lane 3

Team photos unfortunately before all the team suits arrived

maybe one of my all time favorites

I am so grateful that I didn't give in to my weakness about driving over to the school that night. I would have never forgiven myself and I would have missed out on the opportunity to see this amazing girl be recognized for the CHAMP that she truly is:)

Arches National Park

The week after my Austin trip, the girls were on Spring Break.  The idea of taking off again seemed a little crazy, but we also didn't feel right about sacrificing some fun on their break for the sake of my trip and we all suffer from a case of cabin fever by this time of year.  So with just a day at home to regroup, we loaded up the car and headed southwest to Arches National Park.

Check out those impressive Arches

We camped at the only campground in the park. The Devils Garden is a gorgeous setting.

 

We were surrounded by red rock that was easily accessible. We spent lots of our free time climbing around just above our campsite. These girls had a ball!

 

 It was also the perfect spot to sit and watch the sunset in the evening.

Our first morning we set off for a 3 mile hike to Delicate Arch. 

 Lots of cairns along the rock to mark the path.  Hikers seem to enjoy creating their own to leave behind.

 

 The day of travel before, had been sunny and actually pretty hot. The time we spent in Arches was mainly cloudy and a little cooler than we had hoped. It did make for nicer hiking since you are completely exposed.

200 yards of rock ledge before the Arch comes into view around the corner

This iconic arch is really something in person.  It's difficult for a photo to do it justice. As you stand there with it towering over you, it becomes apparent just how massive and awe inspiring this natural wonder is.

We had some lunch and then relaxed around camp before heading out for another hike. This time we did the Devils Garden loop. The entire loop is 7+ miles. The longest maintained trail in the park with 8 arches to see. We made it as far as Double O Arch which is 4 miles. Near the beginning of the trail, you are greeted with this sand hill pouring out from between massive red rocks. Kars and Emm could not resist .. ... they ran up and down that thing! 

 Beyond Landscape Arch the trail gets a bit more challenging, with sandstone slabs, rocky footing and narrow ledges.

Once we made it to Double O we saw that it was possible to climb up on top of the arch. Of course, Bay was all over this idea and so Kars and  I hesitantly joined her:)  Getting on top of the arch was by far the most treacherous hiking we did. It was really awesome to be up there, but a little (lot) freaky as well.

  I was glad we made the choice to have Emm sit this one out, despite her resistance. It was all good .. .. she got to have a little snack break with Dad!

 It was a lot of hiking for one day. But just look at that beauty we got to view. On our way back Mark and Bailee stopped at a few other little arches off the path. Me and the other two were pretty much hiked out, so we headed back to rest on the bench.
 

 

 Believe it or not, after dinner Mark wanted to go on yet another "little hike" around the campground. Emmrey was not having any of that (and honestly her feet were done for). She and I stayed at camp and Mark took Bay and Kars to explore a bit more.

Skyline Arch

Our last morning we planned to stop at the visitor center and then hit the road. Because Mark really likes to push it when it comes to hiking, he had plans check out The Windows. We all started out on the trail, and after a few steps I knew this was not going to go well with Emmrey. So we sat it out and they got some pretty neat photos for us.

Turret Arch

North Window

We did all walk the short trail to see Courthouse Wash Rock Art before heading into Moab .

Emmrey could wear her comfy shoes so it worked out well.

Petroglyphs from Wolfe Ranch

I think the last time I was in Moab was when Mark and I were engaged or newlyweds? It has changed quite a bit. It has grown for sure, although it still has that charm of a quaint little town. We ate some lunch and walked around for a while. Having everyone agree on where to eat is nearly impossible. All our girls have different ideas of what sounds good, so I told Mark he was just going to have to pick this time and we would all go with it (without whining;)

 He must have been paying attention to my talk of food trucks in Austin because he chose this Quesadilla truck on the corner.

To be honest, I wasn't all that thrilled with the choice but I kept it to myself. I gotta say .. .. he made the perfect choice. This was no ordinary Quesadilla. I shared an Identity Crisis with Bailee and it was to die for.  New Mexico Green Chile chicken with cheddar/jack cheese, sauteed artichoke hearts, fresh spinach, and black olives .... delicioso!!

That was the end of our time in red rock country.  We headed toward home with an overnight stay in Grand Junction so the girls could experience the "thrill of a hotel pool":) I am so glad that Mark convinced me it was a good idea to take this little Spring Break getaway to the desert.

Austin and a wedding

A couple of weeks ago, my baby brother got married. I was able to fly to Austin TX for the big day. Their original plan was to get married in Puerto Rico on some little remote island .. .. just the two of them. However, I feel they were somewhat "guilted" into having a small family ceremony in Austin. They still went to Puerto Rico the following day for a vow exchange/honeymoon. I flew out of Denver and my family had a layover from Salt Lake in Denver, so we got to fly out together which was nice. I ended up sitting by my sister Shana and we are both kinda nervous flyers {her more than me}. It got a little bumpy, so it was a good thing we only had a 2 hour flight.

 We flew into San Antonio since the flights were quite a bit more to fly directly into Austin. We were all tired, hungry and getting "hangry" so we were anxious to get our rental car and drive the 80 miles to the house.

 We rented this really modern "Butterfly House".  It was actually roomier inside than it looked and a perfect set up for my mom to get around easily which was nice.

Once we got some food in us, we were ready to go! We stayed up late playing games nearly every night. I loved it!!

 The first day there we drove around the downtown area to check things out. We came across the Bates Motel.  They were doing something with a film crew for the SXSW Festival that was going on while we were there.  I don't watch the show, but some of my sisters do so it was pretty cool.

That same day was our nephew Payton's 14th birthday. He wanted tacos for lunch, so .. .. Tacos it was!!

We enjoyed Red Velvet cake later.

We walked around the South Congress area. It has a neat vibe with lots of eclectic shops, restaurants and art. The environment really promotes the slogan to Keep Austin Weird .. ..it was pretty fun.

There were food trucks everywhere!! There was one corner that literally had 10 trucks. I was so wishing we would have taken advantage .. .. I like that kind of thing and they typically have pretty yummy food.

Thursday evening we had a "rehearsal dinner" with both families at The Oasis.

Shana and I on the back of the shuttle to the restaurant

The grounds were pretty cool

The view overlooking Lake Travis was amazing

The company was unbeatable!

Another look at that view at sunset:)

Friday afternoon while Kristy was getting hair and makeup done, Sean wanted to take us all to The Salt Lick in Driftwood. I think he was starting to feel a little anxious, despite how low key they were keeping the ceremony. It was a good way to take his mind off things for a few hours.

This little out of the way place had such a cool atmosphere and even cooler was that it has been featured on "Diners Drive-ins and Dives"

I had to get a shot of the pit for Mark. Normally I could take or leave BBQ, but he LOVES it!!
 I think he was kinda jealous.

I have to say .. .. it was the best BBQ I have had. So good!

 We had a few minutes to relax by the pool before getting ready for the ceremony. Payton flirted with the idea of jumping in, but it was ice cold! 

I loved that they kept things very simple and sweet and intimate. 

The cake was very pretty.

My dad and Kristy's mom both got ordained to perform the marriage .. .. not too often that happens:)

The new Mr. and Mrs. Fortie

My mom with Kristy's childhood nanny, Maria. 

She is the sweetest lady:)

Most of the girls with our new sister. We missed Jami and Leslie and Jenn:(

Pic of the boys that were at the wedding. Lori and Jill brought their families, but the rest of us came alone so we were missing some bro-in-laws. My brother Ryan couldn't make it either, which was too bad.

Payton, Gene, Rick (Kristy's bro), Dave (Kristy's uncle), Sean, mi Papa, Neal

Me with my baby brother. When Mark and I met at the ripe old age of 15, Sean was just a toddler. So both of us have really watched him grow up and it's hard to believe he is a married man.

Saturday, the newlyweds left for Puerto Rico and we decided to hang out at the house. The pool is heated by sun and temperature and it was a little early in the season to have had too many hot days. We had discovered from simple toe dips that it was not welcoming, but it was enticing us the whole trip. We decided to put our sanity aside and take one for the team (Payton;) 

 Don't let the smiles fool ya. This was long after our limbs were numb and we couldn't feel anything. No joking that it was like jumping in a pool of ice cubes.

Gene joined in the fun. Yeah .. .. it was all fun until he jumped in (then it was that heart stopping hyper ventilating kind of fun).

Later we picked up some dinner at Lucy's Fried Chicken and went for a picnic at Bull Creek.

We wanted to try and see the Congress Avenue Bridge bats, although it wasn't considered the prime months. March through April thousands of mostly female, pregnant Mexican free-tailed bats migrate North to give birth and they stay through the spring, summer, and early fall. Downtown Austin is the spring and summer home for up to 1.5 million bats at the peak of the bat-watching season. It's the largest urban bat colony in North America. ...very cool.

 

 Before sunset tons of people gather on the bridge and wait. All the kayaks and river boats pull in close for a look as well.

 At sunset, the bats start to trickle out from underneath the bridge. First a few here and there until there is a black cloud of bats overhead.  I could not for the life of me get a decent still shot of the bats, so I stole one from the internet that captures the scene beautifully. 

 It's such a big deal, they even have a bat statue at the corner of one of the intersections

Sunday morning it was time to head for the airport. I enjoyed 5 days of pure relaxation and time with my family. I loved every minute of it!!

 

My parents and sisters flew out on a different flight 4 hours earlier than mine. We all had to go to the airport together a couple of hours before their flight. The airline would not let me check my bag until a certain amount of time before my flight, which meant I could not go past security until then :/ 

My sweet family hung out in the little cafe and waiting area with me so that I wouldn't have to wait all alone (they are nice like that). Once I could check my bag, we all met up at our gates which were right across from each other.

I said my goodbyes and sent them on their way. I had 3+ hours of feeling sad and lonely before I boarded my flight. Lots of time for reading my book and some quality people watching;)

I am so happy I got to go to Austin! It was great to visit a new place, spend time with people I love and to be a part of a very special event for 

Sean and Kristy!!