A Year of Change

I guess there’s something like 3 or 4 feet of snow in parts of the northern Rockies. Glad it’s not down here. It’s nice outside with cooler but not cold temperatures. The colors are beautiful with the trees changing but it hasn’t peaked yet.

Yesterday we left for the Bronco game a little before 11 am. Luckily, depending on how you look at it, we were stopped at this side of the tunnel due to some accident or vehicle breakdown. After a few minutes it was clear we wouldn’t make it on time so I skirted the problem on the side of the road and went up and over the Dept. of Transportation road that goes above the tunnel and turned around and headed down I-70 back towards Vail. With the day open we decided to go to the Parade of Homes in Breckenridge and tour a bunch of new houses to get more ideas. It was fun and we found a bunch of things we liked. We made it home by half time with the Bronco’s leading 17 to 6 and then in the second half everything fell apart and we lost again partially due to another phantom roughing the passer call with a couple minutes to go, what a joke. Anyhow glad we didn’t have to sit through that!

It’s a bit after 7 am and we overslept. The kids will probably be late today which will then translate to us being late for our day too. There’s a meeting after school on college financial assistance we need to go to today also which will make for a long day.

Time to get moving. Hope you enjoyed the pictures from Homecoming. It was a fun weekend. Have a great day and week and God Bless.

Check out the custom made suit for Jag! Everyone was saying all night long how great he looked. The theme was the 70’s so he fit right in.

The day started off with soccer games which we lost but we were playing the number 2 team in the whole State which was a 4A school as well. Anyhow Jag played well and it was fun. Then a few hours later everyone was getting ready to go to homecoming.

First up was the 10th grade pre-party for Ty’s class. That was fun with all the kids and parents and then a bunch of us (parents with seniors and sophomores) all rushed over to the Stockton’s for the senior pre-party. Soon the kids left for school and most of us parents stayed until 8:30 or so. Lori then headed out to pick up Ty and a couple kids around 9:30. 30 minutes later she called asking where the car registration was as she had just been pulled over! She was doing 33 in a 25, come on man! Anyhow after getting a ticket and dropping off two boys she headed home. Jag made it home around 12:30 am.

Yesterday it was published in about every paper and news outlet there is that James, our rock star friend, had entered rehab and the band has cancelled their tour in Australia and New Zealand. We’ve known this for a few weeks but of course didn’t tell anyone as it’s a tough deal. The worst thing is with all the fame and fortune comes unbelievable scrutiny and such an invasion of privacy that you can’t imagine. We think of the family as just another family but the paparazzi and reporters from everywhere are looking to exploit the situation. We’re just trying to support the family. Hopefully he’ll get better soon.

We have the Bronco game today and are supposed to leave around 10. Not sure who is going with us, we need to ask the boys. Here’s some more pictures, have a good day, GB.

Jag and his best friend Lexi

Jag and Charlotte

Ty and Sammy, what a smile, ha!

Ty and some buddies

Jag and his close friends, enjoy!

This morning at 11 we have a soccer game, or I should say Jag has a soccer game. Then tonight is Homecoming. Both boys, being in different grades, go to different houses for pre-parties with their classmates. Lori will probably go to Ty’s and I’ll go to Jag’s. Jag’s suit is super cool. Hid designer works as a tailor part time for the 4 Seasons so that’s where I picked it up at 9 am yesterday morning. Wait until you see pictures. It looks like a suit David Bowie wore in the 70’s. It’s pants and a vest in black with a large white square pattern that Anthony custom made for Jagger. Pictures tomorrow.

Lori and I drove down to the house for a meeting with Tom (our builder) yesterday afternoon to look at the layout of some walls and things like the size of the steam shower and windows. It’s coming along and the first wall was up when we arrived. It should start going fast now and be “dried in” meaning all walled up with a roof in about a month. Our 1000 pound safe gets delivered Monday and will be lifted down into the basement and then moved around with a pallet jack. I stopped at another hardwood place up here on the way home and picked up some more samples. Our kids go to school with a younger boy whose parents own a wood company that imports all kinds of specialty woods from Austria and Germany and other places. Surprisingly they’re are some that are no more expensive than the mass produced places in Denver. Lot’s of choices. Lori needs to start thinking about plumbing fixtures next like faucets, shower heads, toilets, etc. Turns out if you count my office and the media room in the basement as bedrooms, which we can as we put bathrooms with them, we’ll end up with 5 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms, all in 3500 square feet. Our architect did a really good job of maximizing the space as it’s not all that large. It just feels and lives large even though it’s 500 square feet smaller than Tom’s house. So far it’s a lot fun even though a bit overwhelming! Our main focus is to come in under budget which if nothing else, should keep us within budget.

Monday they start putting a new roof on our townhome. There’s a bunch of supplies staged on top of our building now waiting for the workers. Ours is the last building in the complex to get done. Should be done by next Friday.

Time to get moving so we can get to the gym. Have a good weekend, God Bless.

Floors are on, lumber delivered and walls start to go up today. Did you know there’s about $50,000 in labor to frame a house? Well there is. Tomorrow Lori and I are going down in the morning to make a few changes now that we can see things coming together. I think we’re making the shower larger and changing a wall or two. We picked fireplaces yesterday and have a new budget from Tom our builder. We cut about $25K yesterday and I think we can save another $15K or so on appliances. It doesn’t sound like much but you try to scrimp and save wherever you can.

I’m off to Denver to pick up Jag’s custom made outfit (bell bottoms and a vest) from the designer who offered to make it for him for homecoming. Hopefully I’ll be back by 11. Aspen was good and my hat buddy Ward sent me home with a couple hats, mine and one for Ty! Ty’s is really cool. Pics to come.

I need to leave as soon as I can and it’s 6:19 now so time to go. Have a good weekend, Go Bronco’s! God Bless.

Lots to pick for the house including the hardwood floors. We’ve been through a number of samples and think we’ve settled on the best ones for what we’re doing. Of course looking at a small sample piece of wood verses seeing it in the whole house are two different things. Oh well, you do the best you can.

After heading back up from Denver and stopping at the appliance place in Silverthorne, we ran down to the house to check on the progress. The floors are almost on and then the walls go up. There are a lot of things to pick, too many to list. Today we need to go select the four fireplaces. One in the master, one in my office, one in the living room and one outside on the back patio. That’s the most pressing item right now.

Time to get moving as I’m headed to Aspen and Lori has work. No clinic today as the boys are at NAS which is a conference. Here’s some pics of the floors going on, exciting! The second picture shows the views from our bedroom and back patio and the colors are changing while the third picture shows our closest neighbor. The bottom pic is the basement and vault before the floors went on. God Bless.

Snow, it’s on the way. Not here but just north of us. Looks like Montana, Idaho and parts of Wyoming are getting a blast of winter over the weekend. I think we’re safe for a while here but places like 11,000 feet high in Arizona have already seen the white stuff. We of course want it to hold off as late as possible so the house can get framed in. Walls are going up and roof joists have been delivered and should be going up soon. Then it won’t be long before it looks like a house.

Lori and I are headed to Denver today but should be back early. Jag scored a 32 on his ACT! This is an Ivy League entrance score. We’re still pushing for CU. Not sure if he’ll take it again as that score will get him into just about anywhere. I think I got a 24 or 25 when I took it, ha.

Yesterday was Western Day at school. Not sure what’s in store for today but it’s Spirit Week all week so something’s happening. Soccer was cold last night, especially when the sun went down. Fall is here. That’s it, time to go, GB.

Jag has a home soccer game tonight. In the last game he scored two goals that we missed as it was in Denver so we’ll be going tonight. Ty’s arm is getting better but he still needs to take it easy. Lori has clinic and I have to close out the month.

Yesterday I picked up some floor samples in Denver but there’s nothing that stands out to us. I also ordered a giant safe that will be delivered to the new house so Tom our builder can lift it down into the vault before the floor is put on. Otherwise there’s no way to get it in. I thought about getting two but opted for the largest one I could find. The vault itself is secure but the safe will further protect everything from fire or water should there ever be either at the house.

Today I’m going to get some cleaning done, promise. It seems every day I have a plan to do so but something comes up. Hopefully today I can stick to the plan. That’s it folks. Time to go, have a good day, live life and enjoy, God Bless.

It’s Spirit Week, which has something to do with Homecoming this coming this coming Saturday. Not sure what all is going on but something is every day this week.

Yesterday was sort of a wasted day. I did make it to Costco while Lori and Francesca had lunch. She’s dealing with some family issues and Lori and her are pretty close. Ty worked on and off on his paper for school and then went to the movies at 6 last night. Jag hung out with us all day. I thought he was going somewhere but he just stayed home and did some homework.

Yes it’s cool outside but not bad. I did swing by the house on the way home from Costco to see how things are going. The 2 x 8’s are bolted down on the foundation and I think today or tomorrow the walls will start to go up. Lori and I need to pick fireplaces this week and we’re working on appliances and floors. We’re going to start to explore selling Minturn and maybe renting it back. Lori is going to check with the clinic as they sometimes buy rental properties. That’d be a great thing if we could make that happen as then we’d avoid paying any real estate commission which is way over priced as it is. We’re obviously in no hurry as we still have a good 5 months but time to check out what we can do.

Time to get moving, hope all is well. I ate like shit yesterday so it’s time to get back on the program as I call it. Two weeks from this past weekend I’ll be hunting again so time to get it together. Take care, God Bless.

Saturday was filled with food, friends and fun. From sunup to way past sundown (around midnight to be exact), we had fun. The day started off with us meeting Jeff and Tina after our morning workout. We met at Kemo Sabe where Jeff had his boots remeasured and bought a new pair and I ended up with a new Stetson since I don’t own a brown cowboy hat! Then it was off to lunch at a usually good spot where the food unfortunately disappointed. Then back to Kemo Sabe to pick up our loot before heading home for a few hours before going to Gerry and Marcie’s for dinner.

We arrived a few minutes after 6:30 and some people were there while a few others were arriving with us. There were about 12 of us and it was a blast. The food was really good as everyone brought a dish of something. Marcie made Tuscan ribs that were pork ribs with some kind of Italian sauce on them that were great. There was a corn and serrano pepper salad or dish that was really good too. Anyhow the whole evening was super fun where we spent time with some old friends and met some new people who are now new friends.

We made it home a little after midnight which is late for us and Jag was 20 minutes or so behind us. Ty was just going to sleep. This morning Lori is going to breakfast with Francesca and I’ll probably hit Costco. Then it’s football and cleaning for the rest of the day. That’s it people. Time for more coffee, take care, be safe and God Bless.

Wow, 7:30, that’s the latest we’ve slept in a long long time. Doesn’t seem that late but it’s better than 5:30. Jag made it home around 11 after scoring two goals in our 4 to 1 soccer win in Denver. Ty hung out at home with us and wants to race in his mountain bike race tomorrow as he thinks he’s all better but the doctors say no, no no.

Jeff and Tina are coming up today and we’re meeting them at Kemo Sabe around 11:30 as Jeff’s custom made Luchesse Boots he ordered at Aspen Food and Wine don’t fit. Surprise surprise. We’ll have lunch with them in the village somewhere before they head back to Denver. Tonight we have a bbq at our friends in Lake Creek.

Lori is taking the dogs up the hill before we go to the gym while I write the blog. I’m thinking of putting together a trip to Alaska next year for us. Lori wants to go to Bora Bora or someplace warm so we’ll see. Not sure though what a guy can hunt in Bora Bora.

Ok, it’s cold this morning, yea! It’s amazing how quick the colors change up here. It can literally happen in 24 hours as all it takes is one good cold night to get the trees going.

Yesterday was a climate change strike at I think all the schools across the Country. Looks like most all the kids joined in except ours, ha. That’s ok as they don’t go to school to protest, they go to learn. Time to get moving, have a great day, God Bless.