A Year of Change

Jag’s under the weather today with a little bug but hopefully not the one I had. He was up on and off from midnight on. We’ll let him stay home today. Ty has Ski Friday so he’ll head to the mountain around noon with his buddies and a teacher to ski for the afternoon. We had snow yesterday but it was an icy snow so not sure how the slopes are.

We’re ready for Spring up here. We have a good month of winter left but it will start to warm up. It’s been a snowy, colder than normal winter. Spring is great as the flowers all start to bloom, the rivers fill up (good fishing) and the hills dry out which then means good mountain biking.

We have to purge some more around here. It’s tough living in such a small space and can really get to you. It’s almost like living in a large hotel room so we have to de-clutter often. With the cleaners coming tomorrow, we’ll take another shot at filling up 3 or 4 trash bags with unused clothes or other stuff that’s just taking up space. It’s a good feeling when you get rid of some junk and create even a few feet more of open space. It’s funny as you spend a lot of your life trying to accumulate stuff and then as you get older, you spend time trying to get rid of it. I’d better run as I need to get Ty moving. Have a good weekend, GB

It’s not so easy to come from the sun, fun and relaxation back to work, school and snow. Yet we are all managing to do just that, as like I always say, you just do what you have to do. It’s hard to explain how the sun regenerates your soul, especially when you’ve spent a number of months in the snow and cold. I’ve determined that if you live in Vail, which we love, you absolutely must have a mid-winter break in warm weather. It was so fulfilling that we’re thinking of a 3 day weekend in Arizona or someplace close that we can drive to. In any case, it’s good to be home but there’s something about the sun, and especially the ocean, that provides a sense of calm and peace in this fast paced, always late, crazy World.

Yesterday I was down and up from big D to pick up samples at the airport. I had hoped to stop at my Mom’s but due to having to wait on customs to clear my shipment from Italy, I ran out of time and barely made it back to pick up the boys. Both boys are doing well and getting ready for big activities up here. This weekend is the Burton Open, which is a snowboard event that stops here once a year on the Pro Tour. All the big names will be here and the boys will both be on the mountain. Next week Ty has a two day hut trip with his class and a week from Saturday Jag has basketball tryouts for the Eagle Valley Eagles Spring and Summer League.

I’m feeling better and holding steady at 216 pounds. I’m going to start working with a new trainer and hope to step it up over the next 60 days. Lori had the Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at the Clinic last night. She was at work until about 7 pm giving tours to donors and other VIP’s. Her doc just returned from 2 weeks in Japan with the U.S. Ski Team and yesterday was his first day back too.

Today I have a bunch of calls and we’re all busy. Our house cleaners that we really need, are coming Saturday. We had to cancel Monday as I was sick. That’s about it, hope you all are well, take care and GB.

Today Lori has a ribbon cutting ceremony at the office after work while I need to run to the airport in Denver to pick up a pallet of wine. I’m feeling a bit better but not all the way back. It was a nasty bug. Thankfully my body kicked it out pretty quick. It’s already after 7 so we’re running late.

I managed to get a fair amount of work done yesterday but have lots to still do. Lori is back in the saddle as are the boys. Our school varsity basketball team has a 2nd Round Playoff game at 5;30 tonight which should be pretty exciting. That’s about it, time to get moving, have a great day and God Bless.

It’s 7:15 and we overslept big time. Yesterday I was really sick and couldn’t keep any fluids in at all. In fact, Lori had to skip her trip to Denver to take me to the doctor. She wanted me to go to ER but I told her we’d wait for the regular doc to open. Turns out I saw an ER doc anyhow at the regular clinic who had had back surgery by Dr.C. On top of it all, I woke up with a black tongue which was a little freaky. That had never happened to me before! Turns out that was from Pepto Bismol. Anyhow I had no sleep for days leading up to last night and apparently neither did the rest of the family. It’ll probably take a few more days for us to get back in our normal groove. Obviously I’m not going to Dallas today on advice from the doctor.

Not much else to report as I was in bed all day with Pedialyte and finally a few saltine crackers and a banana. Time to run, I think I’m getting better but we’ll see as I’m still a bit weak. I did lose 7 pounds so that’s the upside! Now I just need to keep it off. I’m now down to about 212. I’m sure that’s from eating fish for a week plus my little bout with whatever it’s called. God Bless.

Uggh, here we go again, another Monday and another week. Lori is off at 6am this morning for a derm appointment in Denver at 8, and tomorrow I’m off to the airport at 5am for a day trip (lunch) in Dallas. The boys are back at school and Lori’s doc arrives today at 4pm from China.

Mojo is home but really had a good time at Doggie Daycare. He has a bunch of friends he plays with most of each day he stays there. He looked happy when we picked him up.

Jag slept until noon and Ty went to a movie with his friend Rachael. Of course I drove both ways. Lori and I did get a lot done even though it’s hard to tell. My stomach was upset all day but will hopefully be better today. That’s it, have a great day and GB.

We made it home about 3:30. Everyone was tired and exhausted. It must have been really warm while we were gone as a lot of the snow melted. Lori and I were, and still are, both cold due to our sunburns. I think I slept a good 10 hours and Lori, who at first couldn’t sleep, finally was in la la land by midnight or so. This morning we’ll pick up Mojo who I’m sure is anxious to come home.

Today we’ll spend the day cleaning as we have house cleaners coming tomorrow which is like a once a year event for us. We need to clean so they can clean, that’s how messy it is.

Time to run. On the way home we stopped at the grocery store and realized we hadn’t eaten any meat for a week. Lots of fish and more fish. Today we’re grilling up a fresh red snapper so even more fish. That’s it, back to the grind, God Bless.

Here we are at 30,000 feet on our way from L.A. to Denver. Our flight was a little over an hour late taking off due to one thing or another. On top of that, our flight from Maui to L.A. was also an hour late taking off due to a late arriving aircraft. Going west to east is never easy due to the time zones. The Maui flight was no exception. We dozed on and off for the 4 hours and 28 minutes but didn’t get much sleep. Everyone is pretty tired.

Our last day was a full one with surfing, boogie boarding, swimming and too much sun. I’m as bright as a red lobster, or at least that’s what Lori says. She too is pretty red, especially on her backside, ha.

Not sure what the weather is back home, but we don’t really care. It’ll just be nice to get home. We’ll need to try to stay up as late as possible so we don’t wake up in the middle of the night. We have a big week ahead of us, Lori at work and I’m in Dallas for lunch on Tuesday. That’s it, take care, too bumpy to type much more, GB.

Tonight around 11pm or 2am Denver time, we’ll take off for Los Angeles. Then about 8am we’ll leave L.A. for Denver arriving around 11 in the morning. Even though you have to check out about noon, the hotel is giving us a smaller room to use for the day at no charge. This is a big deal as otherwise you have to be all packed and have all your stuff ready to go before lunch.

A bellman at the front is bringing in two surfboards for the boys to use today. Yesterday while boogie boarding, Jag lost one of my watches in the surf. It was a watch from Kauai I got years ago that was really cool. He ran out of the water to grab his goggles and was headed back into the surf to search for it, but I stopped him telling him he’d never find it. He’s really bummed as I let him wear it for his 2 week trip and he’d been in and out of the water for two weeks with it on. I’m bummed too as I really liked it and it was over $1000 but you can’t get mad at him, it is what it is, and in the end, is just a thing.

We had a great dinner in Kihei that Jeffrey hooked us up for. The place has the largest wine cellar on the island and is now a new great new account. It was nice and we made it home by about 8. That’s it, we had a fun trip with a few ups and downs that’s just part of being a family, but we’re all good and healthy and happy and together. GB

We all rose early and went for a hike along the coastline for about an hour. The waves were incredible and we saw the blows of whales (water shooting straight up in the air from their blow holes) everywhere. The Humpbacks which travel from Alaska every year, all the way down to Maui, were here! It takes them about 4 to 6 weeks to make the journey and we’d been seeing them from a distance for days. You see this side of the island of Maui is their breeding ground. Maui and Molokai are connected under the water so picture a giant shelf between the two islands. The water here is only about 300 feet deep where if you go off the the other side of the island, it drops to 15,000 feet deep! A perfect place for Moms to calf and be with their newborn babies.

So anyhow, about 11 we headed down to meet the other people in our small 12 person group. One Mom and her 8 year old daughter, believe it or not, are from Vail and she goes to the same school with the boys! What a small World.

We all jumped in a van and drove to the boat to head out. Soon after leaving, we were spotting whales everywhere. For about 90 minutes, we’d see them and then motor on over to where we thought they’d surface, and then watch and wait. They were big, beautiful and amazing.

After the trip, Lori and I headed into town to hook up with my buddy Jeffrey. Today we met at a music store, just about like the one he and I ran 35 years ago. It was great to see him again and he’s still the same guy he was then. He told Lori one of the only people he missed in his life, was me when we moved away. We picked up right where we left off since a day or so ago when we first connected and will now stay in touch and see each other often. He even has a condo next to his that a couple from California own, that we can rent for about $100 a night whenever we want. He has the keys, wow!

Today I think the boys are surfing, we’ll let you know more tomorrow, So have a great day, take care and God Bless, Aloha!

Here’s a few pics, more later as we have better ones on the video camera but need to download them! Amazing in person!

REMEMBER, CLICK ON THE PICTURE WITH YOUR MOUSE!

Yesterday we ended up in Pa’ia which is known as the coolest little town in Hawaii. It’s a haven for everyone from old hippies to stoners to aging musicians to artists to Hollywood actors and last but not least, big wave surfers. You see right down the road from this little hamlet is Jaws which is one of the biggest, baddest surf spots in the World. After arriving and grabbing some grub to fuel up, we headed to the beach to take the boys boogie boarding. The waves here were bigger than they looked from the shore and I told the boys, never turn your back on the ocean. Unafraid, they headed in with me watching from the beach ready to sprint into the surf if anyone was crushed by thousands of pounds of blue water. Both boys soon found out the waves, when in the water, are larger than they look from the shore. After an hour or so, they were beat, so we loaded up and headed home.

We also connected with a life long buddy of mine from 40 years ago. He is a pretty famous guitar player within the industry as he did lots of studio work and moved here 5 years ago to ditch the Mainland and live life. Lots of musicians from my era live here too and tons are in town hanging out. We’ll hook up later today to reminisce some more on the good old days. Guess I am old if I can have good old days, ha.

First up though is Whale Watching. We leave at 11am with the Jacques Cousteau people (I think his son) to go see the whales breach which means jump out of the water. We’ll also hear them through specially designed microphones in the water.

Last night at 8:30 we went to Star Noodle for dinner. This is a cult place that’s hard to get into but Jag wanted to make reservations the other day when we picked up Malasadas (a type of Portuguese donut) for dessert. It was really really good and worth the late night start time.

That’s it, time to get moving, Aloha

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