A Year of Change

At least it feels that way. It was so warm today that we played baseball and basketball outside in shorts and bare feet, or at least the kiddos did. They say the snow will be back Wednesday but it’s been like in the 70’s or so. This morning we have Ty’s parent teacher conference and then are both back to work. Tuesday and Thursday Jag and I have baseball practice and Wednesday night we have something going but I can’t remember right now.

We also took a Sunday drive around Evergreen looking at houses. You sure don’t get very much for your money theses days. Prices just keep going up and up. We’re going to try to get some land with our next house if possible.

Valentines Day is later this week, I think on Saturday. We really don’t do much as it’s just another day and we pretty much try to celebrate being together every day. We’re lucky in that way. My calves are sore and Lori’s neck a little sore from hiking up to the ski races Saturday. It’s a good sore though.

Sorry about the typo’s in yesterdays post. I went back and fixed them!

That’s about it, hope everyone is well, take care and God Bless.

Well we were up early and off to the races. Thanks to our friends, we parked at some 6 million dollar home up the road from Beaver Creek but a good mile or more below the grandstands. Lori, Debra, Jagger and Ty decided to walk up the hill for exercise while Rik and I walked down a bit to catch one of the many buses that ferried fans up to the event. The course is known as the Birds of Prey and it’s a World famous downhill course. Most of the great downhill courses around the World have names to them.

Rik and I made our way through the gauntlet of fans and finally made our way onto a bus. About 3/4’s of the way up I looked out the window of the bus and saw Lori and Ty walking up in the snow. Jagger had gone ahead and beat everyone to the top. Debra made it up next while Lori and Ty arrived about 10 minutes after I got off the bus. Rik and Debra went off to the Silver Hospitality tent which cost $2000 per couple! I managed to talk the four of us into the grandstand level where we spent some time but the actual grandstands were full by 8am. This meant we had to hike up the actual ski slope and stand by a fence that runs along side the course to prevent racers and spectators from getting hurt in case one of them crashes. The difficult thing was that the slope was pretty darn steep. Once we found a spot where we could hang out and watch, we all had to use our feet to dig level spots in the steep slope so we could stand and not slide down the hill.

The slope was packed with fans from all over the World. The Norwegian fans were wearing viking helmets, the Swiss all waving Swiss flags, the French dressed like they were from the French Foreign Legion and blowing trumpets and on and on. While we were lamenting the hike up and not being down below in the grandstand, this turned out to be much more fun. A group of fans gave us 4 cowbells as the big thing in ski racing is to ring cowbells when the skiers go flying by. On top of this were fans blowing horns, trumpets and other noise makers. Right above us was a giant video screen where you could watch the racers from the time they took off at the starting gate all the way to the bottom. Right before the end of the 2 mile course they’d come flying over a ridge at about 80 miles and hour. As soon as they hit the snow again they’d fly over the final jump airborne before crossing the finish line. It was so amazing to see this in person. Ty now has decided he’s going to be a downhill racer! I had to lift him up when each racer came into view so he could see well.

There were 23 racers in all and after 20 we started to make our way down to the grandstands where we could watch the last few skiers on another giant video screen. Now if we thought hiking up was a chore, getting down off the steep slope was twice as hard. You’d slip and slide and lose you balance every few steps. I felt bad for the older people that were falling all around us. After the race was over we decided to walk down to our car instead of taking a bus. This too was a chore but good exercise. Finally 30 minutes or so later we were at the car and headed out. Next up was picking up some sandwiches and taking Mojo for a walk. After that we all decided to load up the car and head back to Denver to beat the traffic this morning. So, what an adventure. There were fans from all over, especially Europe as half of the people around you were speaking a foreign language. To Europeans this is as big as the Super Bowl and seeing it in person, we now know why. Ty used my phone to video some of the racers flying by and if we can figure out how to post them, we will.

Our French friends are in Denver next weekend spending the night before flying home to France so we might have dinner with them then. They almost medaled but were edged out and I think came in 5th and 7th.

Today is some cleaning and maybe going to see a house. Throw in a walk for Mojo and some laundry and I’m sure it’ll go fast. Hope you all are well, take care and God Bless.

We made it up to the mountains and Vail where the World Championships are by about 6:15 last night and were at the Marriott or as the French say, The Hotel Marriott, by 6:45. Claude, one of the French National Ski Team coaches who I know was waiting for us and we joined him and all the coaches and team for some champagne for about an hour. One of their team won a silver medal yesterday. They all speak english, some better than others,  but the way we pronounce certain words and places, especially in France, are much different. Anyhow we had fun and it was neat to hang out with them. We’ll join them tonight after the races again. I brought them up some italian wine to hold them over for the next week and they gave Lori and I some French Ski Team gear which was unexpected but very cool as you can’t buy it even if you wanted to!

Lori and I were talking when we left how they’re just regular people like us who are trying to make a living, but they do it skiing. Most of the French and Europeans love America but have mixed feelings about Americans as they tend to see (some of us) as snobby or entitled which unfortunately is how some of us are. Anyhow I think we did a pretty good job of giving them another view of Americans. We left with invites to visit from team members who live all over France from Burgundy to Marseilles. One younger guy who was the “physio” or physical trainer, was from Burgundy where his family makes wine! That’d be a fun place to go see. So today we’ll be cheering for of course the U.S. Team and Team Francais!

My buddy Rik who won 4 medals in the Olympics in Trondheim Norway about 30 years ago is taking us up to the grandstands and getting us in to the V.I.P area so we need to be at his house by 8:30. The races start at 11 so you need to get their early. Time to run, watch for us on tv!

God Bless.

The weekend is here again, yea! Last night we had our first baseball practice and had a few new kids that were pretty good. Hopefully they’ll join the team. Today I have lots to do including a trip to the distributor. I think Jag is all caught up on his tests from being sick and Ty has a spelling test today. Lori had a hellacious day yesterday but received some unexpected praise from Dr. R as she had a remarkable year managing the practice. In short she raised sales about $300,000 but more importantly doubled net income from $270,000 to $556,000! After reviewing the numbers from the accountant I told her Target or some big chain should hire her. Numbers don’t lie. Guess I’ll run as it’s already 6:30. Hope you all are well, God Bless.

At least we hope so, (warming up) like as in today. Yesterday was cold and snowy and windy. I had to run up into the mountains and it was a miserable drive. Now by miserable, I mean just the conditions of the roads and the many drivers that drive like they’ve never seen wind and snow before. I don’t mind driving, in any condition, as I like driving or am just used to it. Anyhow I made it up to my doctor appointment on time and it appears after x-rays, I just have some tendonitis in my shoulder. I do need to go to PT (physical therapy) in Vail a few times (my prescription says 1 to 3 times a week for 6 weeks) to learn how to incorporate some new exercises into my workout routine. So basically I have a prescription for a new personal trainer, that worked out well!

I made it home by a bit before noon and then was on the phone until I had to go get the boys. Jag stayed after school to make up a test from being sick so Ty and I ran to the self serve car wash to wash all the snow and dirt off the truck from the drive into the hills. One good thing about washing your car when the temperature is in the 20’s, there’s no line!

We were supposed to go out to dinner with our good friends Libby and Carl (the doctors who went to Belize with us) but Libby’s Mom was in the hospital. Upon hearing this Ty suggested we go to Odyssey which is a great restaurant and account of ours. So we loaded up at 6pm after Lori arrived home and headed downtown. The owner and his son from Sicily just love me and told me they now want me to write their whole wine list with all our wines. They said they told the other supplier that they are through doing business with them. So starting tomorrow we’ll have all the wines at this great restaurant. Oh and the dinner was great, sicilian red snapper for Lori, osso buco for me and fettuccine alfredo for the boys. This was all topped off with fresh strawberries flambé table side. So good call by Mr. Ty! The timing couldn’t have been better.

Today Lori is slammed at work and I have some computer work. It’s also Dr. Rodgers birthday, whoo hoo. Tomorrow we’re headed to the World Ski Championships where 72 countries are represented. We’re meeting up with the French National Team tomorrow night and my buddy Rik is supposed to hook up with Franz Klammer. That name probably means nothing to any of you but he was THE top skier in the World years ago. Should be fun. Next week I think we’re in Aspen for the 4 day holiday weekend.

Time to run as we’re pretty tired. I’m writing this Wednesday night as I always run out of time in the morning. Hope everyone is well, take care and God Bless.

It’s 6am and snowing now. I have to be in Frisco (right in the heart of it) at 9:30 for a doctor appointment. Didn’t get much sleep again, you think I’d be used to it by now.

On another note, we’re seriously thinking of moving. We don’t really want to but it’s looking like a pretty good time to cash out our equity and pay off the rest of our debts. In short, for what we could get this Spring, we could pay off all our remaining bills and move into a larger, nicer home. The real upside would be then we would be able to save somewheres around $3000 a month at our current income levels. We’ve been looking around Evergreen which would add a good 20 minutes to Lori’s commute and we’d of course have to drive the kids to school and back each day but it’s looking like it’s the best decision for us, even though we love our house and neighborhood. We’ll see, nothing will happen for a couple of months at the earliest, if at all.

Disney posted higher than expected earnings yesterday which is good news for the kids E Trade accounts. On their birthdays I took a little cash and started buying some stock here and there for them. Their first choice was Disney, followed by Starbucks. They wanted Apple but the shares were too expensive!  Of course it went way up a few weeks ago.

Both boys are still not 100% but are better than they were a few days ago. Jagger needs to go in early again today to make up some tests from being sick so time to run. Hope all’s well, take care and God Bless.

Yesterday about an hour into my conference call the doctor called and said Jagger’s throat culture came back positive for strep throat. This was kind of a shock as they told us at his appointment Friday that he didn’t have it, hmmm. Anyhow they said to get him out of school asap and they’d call in some antibiotics. Meanwhile Ty was already home not feeling well with a rash kind of like excema or hives which he gets when sick so the doctor called in a prescription for him too without us even going in.

Jag sounds horrible this morning but doesn’t have a fever. I think he should stay home again but I think he doesn’t want to miss another day. Not sure about Ty who is still sleeping.

Lori is having fun at work. That’s a joke. Lot’s of drama going on as usual. Hopefully things will settle down. I have a lot of paperwork to do on the computer and need to run to the warehouse. That’s about it, didn’t get anything done on the basement with both boys home yesterday but I did get to the grocery store and manage to do the laundry and clean the kitchen. Maybe today, we’ll see. God Bless.

Wonder if the ground hog will see his shadow today? I can’t remember if he sees his shadow whether that means 6 more weeks or not. I’m sure the news will let us know in a few minutes.

Quite the football game yesterday. The Seattle coach should be fired as he had the game won but made the bone head call of all time with 20 seconds to go, unbelievable. I don’t feel so bad about our coaching now.

Lori and I managed to finish cleaning out one side of the basement. I told I’d take it from here and everything else will be downhill from here on out.

I have a bit of a headache as I’m cutting way back on coffee and am going through caffeine withdrawals, ouch.

So we’re all back to work and school today as usual. Before you know it, it’ll be Spring. But don’t blink or you’ll miss Summer and end up in Fall!

God Bless

It snowed again which is ok as I think we’re behind on moisture. Yesterday we all went to lunch with my Mom for her birthday and then it was off to home. Next up Ty had a couple of friends over for his birthday (as he didn’t have a party) to go to Jump Street and then spend the night thanks to Lori. I was against the whole spend the night thing which had it’s own issues we won’t go into here. So we celebrated two birthdays.

Today is the Super Bowl. It should be a good game but I hate how they keep pushing the start time back. Here in Colorado it doesn’t start until 4:30! They want to squeeze as much out of the day as possible. Hard to believe it’s February 1st. Some friends from Aspen are flying to Pennsylvania to see if the groundhog sees his shadow tomorrow and then are off to Vegas for a Parkinsons conference with the best experts in the World as Greg (our friend) has had Parkinsons for years. I just thought of that since tomorrow is the 2nd!

There’s a good 5 or 6 inches of snow outside. Mojo just came up and woke us, or should I say me, up. He was excited to get outside and have his breakfast and get to playing in the snow. Guess that’s it, time to run. Hope your team wins whoever you’re cheering for, we really don’t care. First time that’s happened I think. Have a great day, God Bless.

Today’s my Mom’s birthday. Not sure how old she is (like 72 or something) but she’s doing great. I don’t know what’s going on, if anything. She pretty much likes to hang out at her house with Popcorn (her dog) or we’d take her to dinner. I’m sure Tommy will bake her a cake which he always does. She’s hard to shop for as she has everything. I mean I’m hard to shop for so imagine me 25 years from now! So Happy Birthday Mom!

Yesterday Jagger was home sick. I took him to the doctor who said he didn’t have strep or anything and that what he had was what everyone has and it’d be a week or so, and he just needs to ride it out. So he needs to lay low, take Advil, eat his chicken soup and drink lots of fluids.

Meanwhile Ty went to school and then he and his crew (him, Vinny and Jude) went to Kids Night Out again at the rec center. This week they decided to swim for a couple hours which turned out to be a big mistake as there was so much chlorine and other chemicals in the pool it gave him a real bad rash. By the time he made it home he was in such pain he started to cry. I could tell he was holding back tears and fighting off the pain when they dropped him off. We threw him right in the shower and then covered him in lotion to relieve the pain. He said through his tears he’s never swimming anywhere again! I’m sure this will change this summer.

Lori had her usual fun day at work as did I. I also managed to get to the gym from 3 to 4 and the grocery store. Mojo is still sleeping on the couch which is fine except when he’s muddy which he was last night. Oh well, nothing the vacuum won’t clean up.

I think today we’re back at it cleaning up around here. I gave my trash guy a $20 bill this week as I literally had 25 big bags or boxes of stuff (I counted them) that I threw out Thursday morning. I’ll bet we can do that at least 5 or 6 more times.

So time to run. I need to run to Longmont (40 minutes north) at 8:30 and it’s 7:30 now. Everyone else is still sleeping. So have a good day and God Bless.