See Diemers Grow: January 2019

September was a very good month. It was a sandwich, in fact. A delicious sandwich that started and ended with two awesome events (the bread slices.) And we had quite a bit of memory-making and milestone-achieving in the middle of the month (that would be the filling part.)

Bread Slice #1

Matt and I returned to Dick's Sporting Goods for our 3rd Commerce City Phish experience. We've never had a bad time at Dick's! It's one of our favorite places to see the band. And just an hour drive down the road from our home.

It's an amazing venue. With amazing people. You get to camp right there on site. Beautiful lush green soccer fields. Hot showers. Easy access to food vendors. A busy jam-packed Shakedown street full of crafts and merch. Free cell phone charging stations. Pop up games, activities, and dance parties. And of course, Phish.

A one-stop shop for fun!

The grandparents watched the 3 Wild Thing (as I lovingly refer to them now.) And Matt and I headed off for some adult playtime.

We ran into lots of people we know and love.

Recently acquired friends, old acquaintances, and then some people from way back in history, from the old stomping grounds, who knew us when we were still youngens.

Our recently acquired friend was Dylan. A super nice and cool guy we met at the Drake Road Farmers Market, where he spent the summer vending directly across from us. We sold flowers. He sold wood crafts. And we really enjoyed being his market neighbor for the season. Now we had the chance to hang in a whole new environment.

Our old acquaintance was Mikey, who we randomly and accidentally just happened to pitch our tent directly next to. This is the exact same way we met at Phish 2 years prior. Random camping neighbors then. Random camping neighbors now! There are thousands of people camping at Dick's...what are the chances we would stake a spot next to the same person twice?! What a coincidence! Mikey had undergone a major haircut, but I recognized him anyhow.

And then there were the very awesome people from our past, Renae and Ivy. And this was a real treat for me. Renae accompanied me to some of my first live music experiences. She knew me when I was barely of legal drinking age. I remember the first time we met, spending the afternoon tie-dying in my historic downtown Bloomington apartment (for which I paid $400 a month to rent, by the way!) It was like time travel to have her there at the shows with me. Took me way back to the beginning of this whole live music thing.

We had our first Summer Camp Music Festival experience together back in 2005/2006. (The exact dates, I can't remember.) And our last show together was in 2010, the year I got married. My "honeymoon" show. We saw Phish in Noblesville, Indian. And now here we are after an 8 year gap. And 7 kids later.

(Ivy actually has 3 kids of her own. So that makes like...100 kids between this trio. )

The cool moms of Dick's. Here we are!

After the Phish shows each evening, another small campground band (The Higgs) would play via their makeshift RV stage. Free show. Free gear. (See the glow bracelets below.)

The Higgs were a lovely little nightcap to the festival experience!

The next morning it was time for Bloody Mary's and a bit of shopping. So much handcrafted art to browse. All of us parents had promised the offspring souvenirs from the weekend. We were all on the lookout for something perfect for our little loves back home.

This is exactly as it appears.

A giant slip n' slide.

And hippies.

On a couch.

The bubble wand is a "must have" piece of camping gear.

It certainly attracts a lot of compliments.

Good company. Good music. Perfect weather.

The only thing I would change about the experience was having to pump in a campground. Rowan was just shy of 1 year at the time. And I was still actively breastfeeding. (Still am, actually, as of the writing of this post in January of 2019).

I borrowed a battery pack for Spectra pump. But it was quite the "buzz kill" to sit alone in a tent - morning, afternoon, and especially late at night - every 3 or 4 hours to make a bottle. That was a tough chore to keep up with. And by the time I made it back home, I had almost stopped producing milk entirely. Those batteries just didn't have the power necessary. But Rowan quickly helped me get my supply back up.

And for this baby???

I would do just about anything!

Each one of my boys is so different. It's amazing how each one comes to Earth with their own little package of personality. Different likes and dislikes. Different ways of making me smile. And different ways of pushing my buttons.

So much variety between them three.

Kale is goofy, sweet, loud, snuggly, affectionate, imaginative, and chatty.

Kale has both an imaginary friend and an imaginary boss. (I love it!) When I tell him "no" to a request. He tells me his boss makes the rules and his boss said "yes."

He is a total people-pleaser and tend to conform to most of my rules and demands. But there are these random times when he explodes with emotion. He screams so loud he could break glass. And it comes without warning. So for that reason, I refer to him as my "volcano."

Did I also mention chatty? Kale is very chatty. If he knows you or not, you'll get an ear-full!

And Sage. My teenager in training.

The Zack Morris of Fort Collins.

(That's a Saved By the Bell reference for those of you too young or too old to know.)

He's way too cool for school. Constantly trying to weasel his way out of it. (In kindergarten! Who does that?!)

He always tell me, "I'm going to take sick day today."

I'm like, "Yeah, we don't do that."

This trio goes everywhere together.

They play together. Sleep together. Fight together. Sneak candy together. Everything. Rowan follows the older two around like a shadow. He idolizes them.

Rowan has sprouted teeth more fast and furious than I remember when any other child. He wakes up constantly in the middle of the night. Which means I don't get any consistent sleep. His vocabulary is quickly growing. He says mama, dada, bye, hi, and no. He gives amazing high-fives. He claps. He marches. He dances. He gives kisses. Every time he throws something or hits something he says "ga!" (I guess that's his battle cry.) He basically never stops moving except when he is nursing.

His favorite food is macaroni and cheese. He poops probably 8 times a day. He is a huge Wiggles fan. And he knows all the motions to his favorite Wiggles song "Rock-a-bye Bear."

I confess, it's January right now. I'm so behind in my blog posts, it's nauseating. But it's fun to look back on these pictures of the backyard.

It's shocking! How quickly we get used to something. But then it's gone, and you just can't believe it ever existed.

It's like a jungle back there!! What a stark change from September to January. From botanical oasis to barren wasteland. Then back again.

The boys get bored easily. They move from activity to activity at a rapid pace. They like to go big, or go home. They are always up to something. Building makeshift forts, digging holes to the other side of the world, designing robots out of garbage, catching bugs, catching Rowans. If you take your eye off them for one second, you will no doubt have a giant mess on your hands. And while you're cleaning that mess up, they'll make two more. And then you'll need a cocktail.

During the month of September, Sage's school had a big fun run fundraiser. Matt was able to go and cheer the kids on, and record the event for me.

Sage ran 35 laps and raised $35 for his school.

Hot and sweaty above.

But cool and refreshed below!

So now, let's get to the filling.

(You didn't forget my sandwich metaphor already, did you?)

In the middle of the month, we had a double birthday party for the September babies.

Kale turned 4. And Rowan turned 1!

We skipped the traditional birthday cake, and designed our own cupcakes in-house.

Kale selected the theme for this year's event.

Pokemon.

We played just one party game. Red balloons were filled with chocolate coins. Sage and Kale were each given a tack. And well...you get the idea. :)

September is always a gorgeous month in Colorado. We finally inch away from the 90 degree temperatures. But frost is still far off in the distance. (Could be my official favorite month.)

I loved knowing that Matt and the kids were off having park adventures while I was away at work. No better daycare than daddy daycare.

We attended the Bacon Elementary School harvest festival as a family. I remember it being crowded with long lines. I remember really wanting to go home and have some dinner and a drink. But the kids remember having the time of their life.

They visited an ice cream truck.

Did (and won) a "cake walk"

Got their faces painted

Dunked Sage's gym teacher

Met Cam the Ram (CSU's mascot) and some cheerleaders

Tossed whipped cream pies at Sage's Kindergarten teacher

And jumped in several bounce houses.

So I guess for them it was a win.

Will I go back next year???

That's to be determined!

School festivals are all fun and games. But I like the serenity of the back yard. Rowan agrees.

Oh here's a big one...

I made the kids a puppet theater in less than 10 minutes.

Check it out! It even has a curtain that actually closes and opens.

Sometimes I impress myself. :)

Ok, so let's talk about that last slice of bread.

(Sandwich metaphor...remember?)

The flower farm was really booming in September. This is dahlia season. The biggest and best blooms, rapidly producing week to week. A rainbow of color in the backyard. I had so much fun arranging bouquets and mason jars. It was a creative outlet for me. Matt has always loved flowers. But this was the season I finally GOT it. I fell in love!

Samples of our work are below. Not bad for two newbie farmer-florists.

With "Flowers 101" going well, we started to think about next year. And how we'd need, and want, to expand operations. And Matt, who has been following some well-known flower personalities online for years, told me about one of his idols - Erin Benzakein of Floret. I like to think of her as the Oprah of the flower world. She is BIG. (Big in the realm of instagram popularity and industry influence, not in acreage.) Every year she hosts a workshop to teach people the art and science of flower farming. And every years she awards a few selected individuals a scholarship to her workshop (a $2000 value.)

And so we applied. Knowing it was nothing more than a fun exercise and rather silly waste of time. If anything, maybe we could use some of the text on Matt's future website. We did work very hard on it, and tell a very compelling story. It was a great summation of everything that had occurred up to this point. A good effort in history preservation.

But then, the most unbelievable thing happened.

The. Most. Unbelievable. Thing.

He won!

Here is the email we stumbled across late at night. (Note the time on the phone of 1:38am.) The feeling of winning that scholarship was quite similar to the feeling of giving birth. One of the highest highs a person can experience in life. It was exhilarating.

The news was to be announced publicly by Floret on October 1st. We prepared a statement for the Bighorn Blooms instagram page. And we did a photo shoot with Matt and the boys, so we'd have a nice image to share alongside our words.

And here is what we posted:

It is with overwhelming joy and gratitude that I share some amazing news! I have been chosen as a 2019 Floret Scholarship winner! I am buzzing with happiness and excitement! Words are not enough to express my appreciation to Erin and her team for believing in me, and providing the opportunity of a lifetime!

I am quickly wrapping up my first season as a newly-minted flower farmer. Being selected as 1 of 8 scholarship winners (from a pool of more than 3000 applicants!) is so encouraging and inspiring. Six months ago I quit my desk job and became a full-time stay-at-home dad to my 3 young sons. I wanted to spend more time with my children, but also to show them what it means to be your authentic self. Finally, at age 36, I would pursue my passion for flowers. There have been plenty of doubts and fears along the way. Being selected for this amazing opportunity quiets that voice of skepticism and propels me forward with so much positive energy.

During Floret’s 6-week workshop, I’ll be paying very close attention as Erin imparts her wisdom to us eager students. Sharing years of trial and error, failures and successes - to give us a running start and a big push in the right direction. I’m so grateful to have @floretflower as a mentor!

One of my favorite Buddhist proverbs affirms that, “If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.” For me this is true on so many levels. As I strive to be a role model for my children, to reconnect with my community, to serve as a steward of the environment, and to seek happiness, health, and balance over the allure of the dollar.

There is no doubt that so much good will come from this!