A Year of Change

Last night both boys went to see End Game which is the name of the new Avengers movie. One finished up in town at 9:50 and the other in Edwards at 11 pm. So good old dad drove to both theaters and picked them up. I guess it was really good.

It rained hard last night from about 5 until 10. They say snow in Denver Monday, really? May 1st is Wednesday. Looks like we’re finally closing on our loan on Monday morning at 10 am. This is a big deal and a long time coming, well over a year now. Our builder still thinks we should be done by Christmas which is hard to believe but we’ve known him and his family for over 15 years so it’s not like some guy just telling us what we want to hear, we hope!

On the house, things are going to start moving fast with us needing to pick everything from light fixtures to bathroom faucets to floors, paint, siding, doors, tile, and just about anything else you could imagine. I already went through the appliance quote and paired that down from over $50K to about $36K. Our goal is to save and cut corners in the right places. We are splurging in a few areas like heated floors in the bathrooms and I have a vault being built in the basement that’ll be like a bank vault! Looks like 3 fireplaces and a long rally cool fire pit outside. Next Friday we go see the house corners staked out and it’s our last chance to change the position of the house.

Here’s a cell phone picture from my computer file of the architects rendering to give you an idea. There’s a lot of reclaimed wood, steel and stone. This is an older picture as the chimney is now all steel. There’s a few other changes too but this is the general shape.

The backside of the house is the nicest as it’s designed for spending a lot of time outside. Everything from positioning the house correctly to get sun and not get sun, is important. The inside is really cool too, especially the Master Suite, our walk in closet, which is basically a big room, and the shower and bathrooms. That’s right, there’s his and hers bathrooms. Our end of the house is really its own wing.

The kitchen and the living room is really cool too. We’re putting in a wood fired pizza oven so you can actually have a wood fire going in the kitchen where you can cook just about anything. I ordered a commercial oven like you’d find in a restaurant and they actually aren’t that expensive, only about $5000. So the next step of the journey begins. This should (we hope) be the fun part. Everything up to now has been a lot of banking and accounting work. The design part was fun but now seeing it come together should be better.

We’ve actually been working on this for years. We started looking at lots before we even moved up here and bought a lot 3 years ago that we then sold 2 years ago, (and thankfully made money on) before we bought our current lot last May. This one has much better views and sun exposure. We didn’t know how to really choose the right lot when we bought our first one.

That’s it, time to get to the gym. We’ll have lots of room for people to come visit so make your plans now as we’re booking up fast! Have a good weekend, God Bless.

Yesterday was a busy day but it seemed like it took forever for 6 pm to arrive. Right about 5:20 Lori called and let me know that I needed to run Ty’s lacrosse shorts to him at school. Of course this was about 15 minutes before the draft began. Reluctantly I grabbed them and headed to school. Of course when I arrived he had already borrowed some and didn’t need them, ha. Once there I had to stay and watch the game so Tommy texted me updates. I did make it home a few picks before we were picking. Then of course, we traded out of our spot and moved down, ha. So another hour or more would pass until we picked. Tonight at 5 it starts again.

Both boys are going to separate theaters tonight to see The Avengers. I guess it’s the new hot movie that is doing really well. Ty should be home around 9 and Jagger at 11.

I went to Carbondale and Basalt up by Aspen yesterday for work and was back at 2:30. Today I have a few things to do around here. Lori made salmon on the grill last night after I made chicken and the oil from the fish started on fire. I had to douse it with water and the heat from the fire burned my wrist. It’ll be a mess to clean up today.

Time to go, have a great day and God Bless.

Ok, only Tom and I probably care about this but today at 5 pm our time is the NFL Draft. For us it’s the official start of the football season. Should be a fun time for the next three days.

Yesterday I made it down and up in good time while Lori hung out at home. Today she has a deposition after work meaning she’ll get home around 7. The boys have lacrosse but Ty might be sitting out due to the hit he took the other night. Not sure if Jag is going to play or not as he’s in full on study mode.

It rained last night and is getting warm up here. I think it’ll be in the 70’s this weekend. We’re still waiting to close on our construction loan as the company had a computer glitch and extended our lock for 7 days at no charge. I think now we close on Tuesday, ugh.

That’s about it, time to get moving. Lori is making some good smelling espresso this morning. Have a great day and God Bless.

it’s finally nice out, like 70 degrees and everything is turning green, whoo hoo. This morning I’m off to Denver to pick up some samples. Yesterday I made a trip to the storage units and took down a bunch of boxes. There’s so much down there that needs to go. Old toys, clothes, furniture and more. We’re wondering why we kept some of the stuff we did.

Ty had a lacrosse game and took a pretty big hit that knocked him down. He was a little dizzy last night so we’ll see how he is this morning. Lori is taking most of the day off. She’s technically off today but I think is planning on going in to the office. Time to get moving, the draft is tomorrow, whoo hoo! God Bless.

Hard to believe April is almost over. The next month is a tough one for both boys with finals coming up. I’m going to try to get down to the storage units today and make some room for some stuff that needs to get out of the house. Some things just have to go. I have lots of furniture from Mom’s I just don’t know what to do with.

Lori needs to leave early today for work and I’ll take the boys. We should be close to closing our construction loan. It has to happen by Thursday so it’ll be soon. The boys do have a lacrosse game tonight and I think Ty is playing but am not sure about Jag. He might have too much homework.

That’s it, time to get moving, have a great day, GB.

Back at it, school, work and other responsibilities that come with life are front and center. It’s sunny out but raining in Denver, so they say. We’re all still getting our groove back meaning catching up on our sleep. Even though Hawaii isn’t that far away, there is a four hour time difference. Throw in an overnight flight and it’s hard to get back on schedule.

It’s Earth Day today and even though we’re not vocal environmentalists, we do care about the Earth. Nothings special planned here but we could do a better job of recycling. Maybe we should start that.

I need to take Harley to daycare at 7 which is in about 30 minutes and then rush back to get the boys to school and then get down to Denver. I hope to be back by 1 or 2 at the latest. More to come but for now, time to run. Have a great day, there’s something like 5 weeks of school left and then it’s summer. Lots of coordinated attacks around the World on churches yesterday, nice. May God Bless us all.

We were all tired for most of the day. I was feeling pretty sick with a bad cough and stuffy nose but this morning am coughing stuff up and am doing better. We slept in until 9 and will soon head to the gym. Lori and I are both up 3 pounds which honestly isn’t bad at all. We should be back at our fighting weights in no time.

Today we have lots of cleaning to do and will pick up the dogs. Both boys have some school work to do before going back tomorrow.

Happy Easter, He is Risen! It’s a glorious day if you believe in God. I hope you do. We didn’t get a chance to dye any Easter eggs this year. The Easter bunny did leave some chocolates for the boys though. We talked about going to brunch but we’ve been eating so much for the past week I think we’ll pass.

Spring is here and most of the snow has melted. It’s amazing just how much is gone in a week. Hopefully this is it until next Winter. Time to get moving. Hope you have a Happy Easter and a great day. Soon it will be May! Remember, the good looking ones birthday is May 4th! I think you all know who I mean, ha. God Bless.

Well we landed around 6:20 am and headed for baggage. Once we gathered all our things it was off to valet for our car. Then a quick trip through the car wash and a trip to Whole Foods. After that it was time for breakfast. Finally around 9 we were headed home. We pulled in a few hours later and unloaded the car.

Everyone is tired except for Ty who is in town with friends at the movies. Jag is sound asleep and has been for hours and so is Lori now that I left the room. The other day when we were zip lining my allergies kicked in and I’ve had a stuffy nose and cough for a couple days. I took a Benedryl on the plane which helped. I feel fine and am not sick so I’m sure it’s everything blooming everywhere that’s getting to me.

It was a really great trip and we all had fun. Emma fit right in like she’s been part of the family forever. She’s a sweet girl who just goes with the flow. It was sunny up here when we arrived but is now a little cloudy and we’re supposed to get rain for most of the day tomorrow. Time to get back to cleaning and laundry. Have a great day, GB.

It’s been a great trip with too much food, too much sun, especially yesterday for the two girls, and too expensive but that’s what it’s all about. We had a blast and all kinds of new experiences. Tomorrow we’ll be home to face reality only when we get there we’ll all have great sun tans!

Yesterday morning at 8 we met Captain Woody and his first mate MJ. She was all of about 5 feet or maybe a little taller but was on her game. She’s a free diver that can dive down like 100 feet just holding her breath. We snorkeled and saw tons of turtles, eels, all kinds of fish and even sharks. Then we sped off for another island where we saw the last remaining whales playing before they head up to Alaska. Amazing that they travel 3500 miles each way twice a year. We also did a little fishing.

After our day on the boat we ended up at Jepenga for dinner. Lori and I had been there the night before and Courtney the GM took care of us. They’ll be a great new account for us. Today we’ll get a little sun, or should I say Ty and I and maybe Jag will get a little sun while Lori and Emma will be in the shade. They both had their fair share and then some, of sun yesterday. Us boys are pretty much just tan.

Our flight is at 8 tonight and we’re flying non-stop to Denver and get in like 6 in the morning. Ty, Lori and I are in the sleeper beds up front in First Class while Jag and Emma are a few rows back as they didn’t have enough seats when we booked it. They were both fine with it though. We should be home before noon with a little luck.

Everyone would like to stay longer but we all have commitments back home. The week went fast and I’m sure we’ll be back soon, maybe in June for the wine festival we do every year which is only about 6 weeks away, we’ll see.

Hope everyone is doing well. Work is going well and the kids only have like 5 weeks of school left. Summer will be here soon and then it’s game on as we have Aspen Food and Wine, the Bocelli concert in Denver, Emma’s birthday early July, Ty going to camp, Jagger working at the Steadman Clinic and on and on. Have a great day and God Bless.

This morning at 8 we’re meeting Captain Woody at the Mala Ramp in Lahaina. We’re going snorkeling, fishing, swimming and anything else you want to do in or on the water. Should be fun.

Yesterday the kids and I went zip lining. Lori was going to go until the guy downstairs at the Maui Jim store told us how rough it can be on your neck and back. She would have probably done ok but the drive up the bumpy dirt road would not have been good for her. My back is a little sore probably from hanging upside down zipping through the jungle. Anyhow we had fun.

For dinner Lori and I went to a great Japanese restaurant in the Hyatt that is now going to be one of our top accounts, bam. We’re taking everyone back there tonight. Jag and Emma went to another place and Ty wanted to hang in the room.

We need to leave in 90 minutes so time to get moving. A week from today is the NFL Draft! Tom and I are looking forward to it a bunch. So, have a great day and weekend. We leave tomorrow night and Sunday is Easter. Time is flying, God Bless.