Colorado Holiday Symphony

We loaded up kids (and Mike) in our friend's SUV (Keenan's and parents) and headed downtown to listen to the Colorado Symphony's holiday show. The kids were a bit bored during the first half since it really wasn't music they were familiar with but the second half went much better. We went out to dinner afterward and had a very nice time. Great to put you in the holiday spirit!

Ski Trip

Okay, this is a week late but LAST weekend Mike's family came into town and we rented a condo in Keystone. It started snowing Thursday and didn't stop until Sunday. We all skied Breckenridge on Friday. I took my very first ski lesson here back in 2000 but we never went back after that. I think I liked the mountain but it was hard to find our way around and it had more chairlifts that any place I have ever been. Ben was cranky for about the first hour or so until I pointed out that maybe he should try and run over all the little tree tops that we sticking up out of the ground. Well, from then on he was a happy as a clam. They weren't on a run this steep but you get the idea!

Warren headed out after lunch with the boys so Mike, Steve and I headed off to ski for a while. I'm not quite sure why but Steve and I decided to be adventurous and try our first Double Black run. It was steep, had bumps, trees and lots of hidden rocks. We got down with a lot of effort and lots of scraped skies. We did dinner on Keystone lake.

Saturday Donna & Ben hung out while the rest of us skied Keystone. We headed up to ski the back of the mountain and ended up getting in the line for the Gondola that goes from the first mountain to the next. It ended up being a total free-for-all when everyone started pushing their way on. We lost Mike and Steve and I had to shove some guy out of the way to grab Michael's coat and shove him on the Gondola ahead of me. It went a bit smoother after that but Michael was bit horrified! Unfortunately Mike and Steve did not get to ski on Sunday since Steve got another case of food poising and was down and out. We did manage to get him back to our house where he rested until he could manage a flight out the next day. I don't think Steve will ever eat out again in Summit county.

Thanksgiving

We decided to ski again over Thanksgiving this year. We headed up to ski Wednesday after dropping the dogs off at the kennel. It had snowed over night and was still snowing a bit when we left at 10:00. The roads weren't horrible but they were snowpacked. I'm not sure how we managed it but we came up on (and avoided) at least 3 MAJOR accidents, 1 just after it had occurred. This last major one had a smoshed Yukon in the center of our lanes, lots of trucks all over and an upside down truck in the other side of the highway. We all just went around (including the Semi's) and kept on going. We did manage to make it up to ski Keystone around 1:00pm. It was crowded, only 2 runs open, and we had to run interference for Ben (ski behind him and take any hits from the other idiot skiers). We did last until 4:00 with our fingers starting to freeze but the boys made it down the mountain without too much complaining since they had just turned the night skiing lights on and they were totally enthralled with those.

Here is a picture of Ben on the Gondola with his new poles:

Thanksgiving Mike woke up not feeling well so I took the boys off to ski again. Well, yes I know...maybe not the smartest move but what else was I to do with them? One can only swim so long. We did get on the slopes about 9:30 after I had to go back and get my purse, figure out how to get the ski racks open and then walk FOREVER to the base of River Run. I do remember vaguely thinking that I sure did have to park a long way away....and gee, there seems to be A LOT of people getting on the Gondola. Well, the boys and I did 2 runs and left. We were on our second run trying not to get run over yet again. Ben and I had stopped on the run to take a break when some idiot boarder came so close to me his board ran over the back of my skis. I yelled after him and called him something not so nice (which Ben had to chime in and tell Mike when I was retelling our day). Of course, that plus the 30 minute lift line wait finished it off for us.

Lift line at Keystone:

Although Mike was feeling better this morning he still wasn't up to skiing. So, I took Michael and skied A-Basin for a few hours before heading home (Michael and Ben went to Walmart and Burger King). The day was much better, not nearly as crowded and we had a good couple of hours.

Here is a picture of Michael standing at the top of the resort.

Weekend

Okay...again no pictures. This time they are on my phone and I don't know how to get them off and onto my computer. Friday Mike and I went to A-Basin and skied. This time they had 3 runs open....one all the way to the top. That run was a bit of a hazard since you have this really narrow
chute (it was fenced in) that ALL the skiers/boarders had to go through after you got off the lift. Between the narrow run, icy snow and crazy people I was done with it after a few runs.
Saturday we went to the Convention center downtown to the Ski/Snowboard show. The boys were totally board until they realized the booths were giving away free stuff! Then they found stickers, posters, terrain maps and even a couple of free T-shirts. Mike bought a new ski jacket...kinda of a burnt orange/black. Hopefully it's bright enough to find him on the slopes! After that we headed out east of town to visit Katie in her new house. They bought right on the Aurora reservoir. It's a very nice area and the soil is kinda of sandy so it reminds me of the shore. Weird since it's in Colorado! They have a beautiful house although half of their furniture is still at their other house "staging" it. We went out to dinner but had to wait 1/2 for our pizza...and well, with little kids it's really hard to wait that long! It was good to catch up, her girls are getting so big.
Sunday was spent cleaning, laundry, food shopping. I'm in class all next week out in Longmont so Mike has the boys before and after school. Wish him well......

Weekend

I didn't take any pictures this weekend since it was fairly quiet. Saturday morning Michael and I spend a few hours over at the Conifer Newcomer's & Neighbors Christmas auction. It has been around for about 20 years and this was the first year I went. They had about 90 different artisans and Michael helped me pick out some nice Christmas gifts. That afternoon we took a walk up the mountain at a park down the road. It was about 4 miles. I was worried we were never going to make it as Ben would stop about every 10 minutes or so complaining he was tired or had something in his shoe. He ran or skipped down the entire mountain on the way down.
Sunday was a beautiful day so Mike got the gutters cleaned and I cleaned out the garage a bit. I had to head out in the afternoon to help some foster moms with the kittens--again, getting big help from Michael as he played with the rambunctious kittens so they wouldn't jump on me so much.
Mike and I will be heading up to Keystone tomorrow if all goes as planned. Michael is bummed he can't come.

Trick or Treat

STAR WARS BOYS
Our annual trick or treat "drive" through the neighborhood!
We hit a few more houses this year but it still takes time
to drive down the road, drive down the driveways (hope
you can back out of them) and hope they are home.
Mike said he gave away 1 candy bar (and it was yummy!).

Halloween Symphony

My friend Liz and I took our boys to the Denver symphony
Halloween show. Ben stayed home with Mike since he is
not fond of loud noises/music. The plan was to meet after
school and leave about 4:15 when they got off the bus. Of
course, when you have plans is when the kids are late.
It seems a semi truck jack knifed on North Turkey Creek
road (the VERY narrow windy road that the bus takes to
school). The bus came upon the accident and got stuck.
My friend Liz was coming to meet me and was stuck
behind the bus so she got Michael off the bus and went
all the way back around to pick me up and off we went to
the concert. The bus had to back up about 1 mile until it
could turn around. Ben didn't get home until 5:30.
We barely had time to grab a bite to eat before the concert.
The entire orchestra was in costume and it was a pirate
themed event.
Okay-not a great picture of me as "medusa". It's what
you get when you are putting on your wig while running
down the streets of Denver trying to get to the show on time.