A Year of Change

I started to write the blog this morning at 4am but was running short on time. By 4:45 I was driving to the airport in Denver for my 8am flight to Seattle. Obviously from the title, I’m on the plane now. Poor Lori always gets woken up by me when I have early flights. Hopefully she went back to sleep.

I dropped Jag at the rugby field to meet Harmon and Zach yesterday morning. About 7, I took him some clothes as he spent the night at Zach’s and could be there all week from what we gather, until all three boys fly to D.C. on Saturday. G’ma Dix is off on her drive to Oklahoma today and should arrive late this afternoon. Ty, I think, is biking to town and Lori, with it being a Tuesday, has clinic.

I joined Facebook this morning, (which I hate) as I need to stay up with Andrea and Veronica (Bocelli). I also need to follow them on Twitter, ugh. Lori is my only friend and I think I’ll keep it that way, ha. I have a day and a half of meetings in Seattle to cover a bunch of things with my 3 Partners. It’s a quick, but hopefully productive trip. That’s it, hope all’s well, GB.

It’s Monday although it doesn’t feel like it as we didn’t have anytime off over the weekend. Two trips to Denver kept us pretty busy. Yesterday morning we headed out to drop Lori off to visit her mom and then I ran some errands for a few hours before I picked her back up. On the way up the hill we stopped to see Tasha, Derrick and the girls at Tom and Ali’s for a couple minutes. After stopping at the grocery store, we were home by 5 or so. Mojo was glad to be home too!

On the way up, the highway going down to Denver was at a stand still. People were all out of their cars standing on the highway due to heavy traffic and a crash. I sure don’t miss those trips back down the mountain on Sunday afternoons.

Today we have lots going on and I have an 8am flight tomorrow to Seattle. I’ll either drive down at 4:30 in the morning or go late tonight and grab a hotel for a few hours sleep. I’ll see how the day goes. It’s nice up here as usual. The sky is a little hazy due to fires in a bunch of States but it’s nothing like in Denver. Time to run so have a great day and enjoy the last week of June. GB

Yesterday we went down to Denver to see Dix and my Mom and then drove home arriving around 9pm last night. Looks like today will be a repeat of yesterday although we’ll head home earlier than yesterday. We made it to Greg and Jay’s (Lori’s cousins) where Dixie is staying, a little after noon. We visited for a few minutes and then all headed to my Mom’s. We arrived there around 1:30, visited for an hour and a half and then headed back to Greg and Jays for dinner. We visited some more and finally around 7:15, left for home. Mojo is still in doggie daycare and I was planning on getting him today but we’ll see how early Lori and I leave for Denver.

Tasha and her husband and the two girls arrived yesterday and are staying at my Mom’s. They’re having a bbq around 4 or 5 tonight but we’ll be headed up the hill for home before then. Lori and I will probably leave around 9:30 this morning to drive back down. I’ll drop her to visit her Mom and then go run some errands on my own. I’ll then pick her up around 2:30 to head home so we’ll probably miss Tasha this trip. We’re leaving the boys at home rather than drag them along. They did pretty well yesterday.

Lots to do up here but Dix is headed to Oklahoma probably Monday or Tuesday so Lori needs to go back down to visit her. Enjoy the day, hope all’s well, take care and GB.

Today we’re off to Denver to see G’ma Dix. We’re rushing around to get moving so we can get to her by noon. Mojo is in daycare until tomorrow as we couldn’t leave him alone all day. We had to take him yesterday and will pick him up tomorrow as you can only pick your dog up at 9am or 5pm on weekends and we need to leave before that and won’t be home until after that tonight. Getting out of town for even a full day as a family takes some work.

Finally the basement is dry. We don’t have the bill yet and will get it sometime next week. We are going on a full spending moratorium until August 15th which will allow us to get back on track expense wise. It’s only about 50 days but it’ll be 50 days without spending a cent on anything but absolute necessities. Wish us luck.

Time to get moving so have a good day. GB

Well, we’re down to two large fans running 24 hours a day as most of the basement is now dry. We have one stubborn spot that was still showing 60% moisture (they use an electronic meter) that needs to come down. The day before we had places that were 100%! In Colorado, you need to be below 16% for mold not to grow so that’s our goal. Everything else in the basement is 0% except for a few spots that are around 8-10% that will dry out on their own.

Today we’re taking Mojo to doggie daycare and will head down to Big D late tonight after work. Tomorrow, and maybe tonight, we’ll see G’ma Dix and have dinner with her, Greg and J (Dixie’s cousins or nephew or something) and then drive back home late tomorrow night. We have a big week next week and I have to go to Seattle so lots going on.

Here we are below on our last day in Hawaii and even though it looks like Jag is taller than me, I’m leaning on one hip doing my “picture pose” so he’s really not! Lori says he definitely is, but I keep telling myself he’s not, ha. One things for sure, Lori is now officially the shortest one in the family as Ty is taller than her even if this photo doesn’t quite show it, so ha!

I guess it’s raining in Denver but it’s nice up here, a bit cooler today, but still blue sky and nice. I’ve been on the phone all morning and Tommy reminded me to write the blog. I need to run though as I have a doctor appointment in about 45 minutes. I might not go though as Lori called and asked if she could take my appointment for a patient who needs cardio clearance before surgery on Monday. I was going in just for an annual check up so no big. Not sure if she still needs it or not.

That’s about it for the day, hope everyone is well, take care, be safe and God Bless.

Yesterday after a quick trip to Denver (the boys stayed home and slept) I took Jag to the orthodontist. While he was there, I went across the parking lot and worked out with our trainer. Man am I sore! It was one of the tougher workouts I’ve ever had in my life, no exaggeration. Next up was a drive down to Eagle to FedEx and then home. After I pulled in, the Flood Manager showed up to take readings on our walls and carpets with some electronic meter. We’re making progress but still had some wet spots. He brought in two more fans (at $27 a day each) and set them up. He’ll be back today around 5 to check the progress. I think we’re going to get away without ripping walls apart, if we’re lucky. Same with the carpet.

Today Lori has clinic, she has 33 hours in so far this week with 2 days to go! Tasha my niece arrives in Denver Saturday and Tommy is having a bbq Sunday but I don’t think we’ll make it as we’re going down Friday to see G’ma Dixie and staying until Saturday. It’s cool up here again this morning which is nice. I’d like to just hang out with Lori for the day and rest but that’s not going to happen. No break in sight for us until at least a week from this weekend. Life is busy. Time to go! GB

Yesterday after Jag and I made it home from Denver we called a company to come in and handle our flood. They brought in extractors to suck up water, meters to measure the moisture levels in various places and 4 big fans that they left running overnight to try to dry things out. Good news is they think we won’t have to tear out any walls. Bad news is this isn’t going to be cheap! Today after lunch someone ( a flood manager) will come back and check on it. Oh well, like I always say, if you’re not going to remember it in six months, it’s not that big of a deal. Not sure if I’ll remember this one in six months or not, I’ll wait until I get the final bill, ha.

Today Jag goes to the orthodontist at 2, Lori works out this morning at 7, I work out at 2:30 and Ty has to start getting things gathered up for camp. He and Sonny were going to skateboard into town yesterday but called me from the Ranger Station to pick them up as it was too hot. I guess in Denver, or even worse, California or Arizona, it’s really hot, like above 110 degrees! With it only being June 21st, (the first day of summer) look out as we’re probably in for a long hot summer.

We just finished paying off some more of Lori’s medical bills from her shoulder operation last December. We’re down to two bills left, ugh. Jag, Ty and I will run down to Denver today to put a check in the bank at 9am when they open. Then we’ll head right back up the hill but might stop at grandma’s to say hi. Time to run, hope all’s well and stay cool, wherever you are, and drink lots of water! GB

Yesterday afternoon I asked Jag to clean his bathroom which turned out to be a big mistake. He started to clean and filled his bathtub with water and some cleaner and then went into the other room where he was playing on a game. I’m sure you can guess what happened next. I went down to check on my 5th load of laundry and found the bathtub overflowing and about 2 inches of water on the bathroom floor. The water had seeped under the wall into the furnace room and under the carpet out into the main room too. We cleaned up what we could but the carpet is still really wet. I think we’re going to have to replace it all but will wait a few days to see if by some small chance, it’ll dry out. Other than that, it was a pretty normal day.

Lori worked until 8pm and I had the phone glued to my ear for most of the day. I have to run to Denver at 6:30 this morning and hope to be back up here before 11am. Ty had Sonny spend the night and I told them to go to sleep at 2 but when I woke up at 5:30, they were still up. I don’t think they slept at all and if they did, it wasn’t much.

That’s about it up here, not much else to say, what a mess. Oh, I did get Ty some new hiking boots for his upcoming trip. There’s a big list of stuff he needs that we’ll have to work through over the next 10 days before he goes. Time to run, GB

Yesterday after the gym, we all headed out to Aspen and had a nice visit with some friends. The only thing that was bad, really bad, was our lunch. It was so bad, the new restaurant took the entrees off the bill. I won’t go into it anymore but we’ll never go there again!

The boys picked out a couple Father’s Day cards for me and Ty’s was pretty funny. It had Scooby Doo on the front of the card and it said “Sniffing, Snooping and Searching for the perfect Grandpa”. Inside it said “Hey, looks like I found him”, and then Ty signed it, “Happy Fathers Day Old Man”! Too funny. I asked him if there was something he wanted to tell me as if I was a grandpa, I must have a grandkid. He just laughed. Jags card was really nice and thoughtful. Overall, except for the food at lunch, we had a great day.

Lori and I are both back at it today. Dixie leaves this Thursday for Oklahoma for 3 months! She’s coming through Denver and staying for the weekend so we’ll head down probably Friday night and go to dinner with her and then do something on Saturday with her too. I guess she has an open ended ticket so she can come home whenever she wants. We hope it’s all she wants it to be in Oklahoma.

This week the boys are cleaning out their closets as we’re in the middle of spring/summer cleaning around here. We have so much stuff we just don’t use. In two weeks Ty goes to camp and Jag goes to Washington D.C.

Lori and I are going to Aspen for the 4th as she has a gift certificate for a nice hotel and it’s close. We like Aspen more than Vail and could retire somewhere close to town, like Basalt, in 3 to 5 years. Living in Aspen proper is just too expensive but it has that town feeling more than Vail. Who knows where we’ll end up but time to start thinking about it I guess since I’m such an old man!

Time to run, have a good week and be safe. GB

Today is Father’s Day and while just another day, as a father, or dad, I can say it’s one, if not the most important and rewarding jobs I have. The thing about being a father is even when you’re not parenting or being a dad, your actions, or who you are, and what you do, are being watched by your kids. It’s the old story, if you’re a bad dad or bad parent, chances are your kids will end up the same. We all know the line about, the guy who abused his wife or kids had a dad who did the same. Hence, I know in some sense, I’m always being watched as kids, just like animals, learn from their parents 24 hours a day. Hopefully I’m doing a good job and setting a good example for my boys. Before I had kids, other people with kids would say things like “I’d die for my kids”. Being one who questions almost everything, I always thought about this and wondered if it came down to it, would I really “die” for my kids? Well, the instant each of my sons was born, that became a stupid question as of course I would do anything for my boys, including taking a bullet for them, so to speak. I’m sure every parent here reading this understands what I’m talking about. So, one of my greatest joys in life is being a dad and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the World. Luckily I have a great wife who helps make my job easier and I think, we have two great boys.

Yesterday Lori and I took off for Denver around 9:30 for her mini spa day. I dropped her off at our friends spa after we made a quick stop and then I headed to Neiman Marcus to return two shirts. I then rushed back to pick her up and we headed over to the hair salon where she had her eye lashes tinted. While there, our friend who owns the salon, threw me in the chair and trimmed me up too! Next up it was off to our friends house who own the spa and went to Italy with us last year, Jeff and Tina’s. We hung out for a few hours as we’re pretty close friends. At one point Tina choked up and told us, one of the reasons she loves me so much is for how much I love my wife! This was unexpected and caught me off guard. We think Tina is struggling with a few things in her her life or relationship. Jeff’s a great guy but it sometimes seems like he’s not as supportive of her as he should be. I think he’s threatened by her success as a spa owner and an attractive woman and is worried she might not be totally happy with him so he kind of subconsciously tries to keep her down or “in her place”, if you know what I mean. I’m the opposite as I always try to build Lori up, oh well, every relationship has things to deal with from time to time. We all grow as we age but the great thing about a relationship, or actually what a real relationship is, is the memories you build over time. Every one of us will see things different at some point over a long period of time, but you have to support each other, no matter what. Luckily for us, the good has always outweighed the bad. Tina then said she is heading to Canyon Ranch in Tucson for a week of R&R or basically rehab. We were very happy for her as they flat out are hard core party people. Lori and I are always amazed at how some people our age can still drink and party like they were in their 20’s. Well Tina finally recognized it was time for her to stop too. We’re thrilled for her as you just cannot do things when you’re 50 that you could get away with when you were 20! As I said, we’ve been really close friends for well over 10 years so we’re pretty real and open with each other, and we could tell she was dying to open up and tell us.

Next up we stopped by my Mom’s. The highlight there was she’s had this great old wood box that’s been locked and sitting on a chair in the corner forever that she couldn’t open. I guess they even took it to a locksmith and he couldn’t open it. I told her let’s break it open and see what’s in it but she didn’t want to break the box and then of course, my amazing wife said, “give it to me, I’ll pick the lock”. Well less than 10 minutes later, Lori had it open. Apparently it has been sealed since 1971 as that’s when most things inside were dated, 1971 or earlier. There were anniversary cards from my mom to my dad and vice versa. Also there were letters from my Grandma to my mom, programs from various high school reunions, pictures from when us kids were really young, like under 10, and best of all, a letter to me from my Grandma when I was 14 in 1971. i’m going to try to write the whole thing out one day in the blog as it’s pretty insightful. We left my mom with her time capsule full of stuff from 46 years ago for her to sift through. What fun to find all that stuff.

Today it looks like we’re headed to Aspen for lunch. We’ll head out round 10 and be back around 4 or so. We wanted to get some new outdoor chairs but think we’ll hold off a bit to save the money. Time to get moving so Lori and I can get to the gym. Hope everyone is well, it’s cool up here with the river running strong outside with all the runoff from the winter snow. It’s really nice and therapeutic hearing the sound of rushing water outside your window. One thing though before I go, I would be remiss if I didn’t say, it’s a lot easier to be a better or good father when your kids have a great mother. In other words, it’s a two person full time job to raise kids and I and the boys are lucky Lori is such a good Mom! GB