A Year of Change

Merry Christmas everyone! We were awaken by Ty at 5:53am saying “come on, come on, let’s go, it’s Christmas!” It was like a scene out of a movie. Lori and I, groggy from being instantly jarred awake, told him to go get his brother and we’d be right down. Five minutes later we were on the couch opening our Christmas stockings while the coffee was brewing and the snow falling outside the window.

For the first hour we opened some gifts and then saved a few for after we shower. The boys were super excited and loved everything, but first let’s get to last night.

We took off at 3pm and headed out to ranch country to the 4 Eagle Ranch for a Cowboy Christmas service. We arrived at the ranch which has about a dozen buildings initially built in the 1800’s but now refurbished, that had one big building that was  a giant horse arena that had chairs for hundreds of people. On the stage was a band with about 10 cowboys and cowgirls getting ready to play. They handed you candy canes as you walked in and had hot coffee and cocoa also as it was cold outside. There must have been 300 people from a month old to 90. Soon the band started playing a rockin version of Joy To The World and they had a big screen behind the band with the words on it. As soon as it started the entire crowd stood up and began singing along together. After a few songs, the pastor, in black cowboy hat and all, who I had met earlier in the bathroom, go figure, began his message from God. Now we’ve been to a lot of church services but this was the best. He was so funny and weaved God’s message into everyday examples of life everyone could relate to. Before you knew it, us and 300 of our closest friends said a prayer and the band began again. Afterwards, we headed outside by a fire pit where the kids were roasting marshmallows for s’mores. It was the best service we as a family had ever been to. Lori said, “who knew, all we needed was a cowboy church, a cowboy pastor and a cowboy band”. We (we were with our friends who works with Lori and whose son is in Jag’s class) all left and headed home for Christmas Eve. It was a great night that brought in the light of the Lord to our family. This may sound corny to you but it was one of those magical times when you felt closer to God. In any case, I won’t preach but it works for us as a family.

So back to the morning, it’s 7:12 am and we need to get cleaned up to head to Denver. It’s snowing and we’re supposed to get a foot today so we hope we can get over the pass, and more importantly, get back up later today. We’re off to Grandma’s house, over the hills and through the woods to Grandma’s house we go, literally!

In closing, we wish you all a Merry Christmas and wish we could be with each and every one of you. Know that we’re with you in spirit. Love and Joy to all and we’ll for sure talk to you later today, God Bless.

Well, it’s here, the big night. It sure came fast!

Yesterday we made it down just fine in the snow, even though there was a lot of it. By 3pm we were back up in the hills and the snow had started again. The mall wasn’t all that bad, nor were the roads. Today I have one more quick trip down to Denver for work as I need to go to the distributor. I should be back up here by 11am at the latest.

At 3 this afternoon we’re all going to the Cowboy Church out at a ranch and then after that on a sleigh ride. We’ll need to dress warm as it’ll be cold. Not sure the temperature up here but it has to be near zero.

Warner (Ty’s friend) spent the night and everyone is still sleeping. Lori has to get the boys haircuts today, somehow, somewhere. Guess I’ll run so I can get on the road. It may seem like a lot but really the drive isn’t too bad. It’s like working in New York and living in Connecticut which lots of people do, or working in L.A. and living in the valley. The difference is my drive is much prettier.

So have a great day, a wonderful night, count your blessings, don’t judge others and be happy for your health, family and friends as not much else matters. Merry Christmas and God Bless.

Ok, we do have snow but we’re loading up the truck and heading down to Denver. It’s almost 6am and I’d like to be on the road by 7 as the earlier we leave, the earlier we’ll get back. Lori is off for the rest of the week and we have some last minute shopping to do plus I need to get to the distributor to pick up some samples and drop off some gift cards to the girls there that help me out. We also have a dermatologist appointment at noon across town.

So time to run, Jag had nordic yesterday and is off until Saturday. Lori and I both worked late and wrapped up after 6 last night. The boys hung out and played on their computers and video games, bad parents! Oh well, it is their break and if that’s what they enjoy, so be it. Once we’re off though, it’ll be outside activity only!

2 days to go, ho ho ho. Get ready, here it comes and it’ll be gone in the blink of an eye!

Merry Christmas and God Bless.

The snow, a lot of it, is supposedly on the way, but right now we have a couple of inches which is normal just about every evening up here. We’ll have to wait and see if the weatherman is right. It’s usually a 50/50 chance.

We were going to go to Denver but with the impending forecast, the boys and I ran down yesterday. We hit the mall and then stopped by my Mom’s for a quick visit before heading back up the hill. We made it back in about 90 minutes which is pretty normal. We do have a dermatologist appointment today in Denver but will have to cancel.

Lori has a small crew at work as some are off and more leaving after work today. Tomorrow though is full of patients and then more on Thursday. I might try to get the boys on the mountain today if we get a bunch of new snow. Jag has nordic at 10am so we’ll see after that. Guess I’ll run, hope all’s well, God Bless.

The countdown begins, 4 days now until Christmas. If we had 4 weeks, we’d still be running late. On top of that, we’re supposed to get a foot or more of snow up here tomorrow. Lori is super busy at work as 3 people are off and it doesn’t get any easier as people are going on vacation as the week progresses. Our house is about the cleanest though that it’s ever been! Lori did a great job on the kitchen and family room while I finally kicked this cold, I think. I found some Cipro and began a 3 day regimen yesterday. Hopefully that’ll do it.

Guess I’ll run as we need to start our Christmas shopping. Throw in some purchase orders I still need to get to close out the year, and the pressure is on. Take care and God Bless and please bring back Peyton Manning!

Man, is it taking a long time to kick this cold. The coughing and runny nose are the worst part. I don’t drink alcohol anymore so that has nothing to do with it. It’s just taking that long for me to get better. I think today I’ll have one of the PA’s from Lori’s office call me in a Z Pak.

Yesterday I pretty much lounged around the house thinking that’d get me all better. Ty’s friend Warner stayed until about 2pm and all three boys went sledding. Jag wants me to take him up on the mountain today but I just can’t do it. I went and slept in Ty’s room and sent him in with Lori so I wouldn’t bother them. Just one of those darn colds.

Not sure what we’re doing today. Lots of cleaning for sure but other than that, maybe just watch some football. It’s 5:31 am now and everyone including Mojo are still in bed. Coffee maker just beeped so I’m going to go, have a great day and Go Broncos! GB

Yesterday was the last day of school for 2015. The boys were out around noon and then went to Harmon and Warner’s house which is a stones throw from the school. I was off to Denver and Lori to work. I made it back up by about 1:30 to pick them up and then we headed home. Ty wanted to stay and play with Warner some more so I left him at the Cohen’s. Turns out they went to a movie!

Jag and I then did some work around the house until about 4:15 when I went back to get Ty. The boys decided to have a sleep over so I came home with two kids in tow. Now my cold is still hanging on in full force so I tried to rest for a bit before Lori’s Christmas Party. Finally around 6pm she arrived home and we headed back into town (Vail) to a great restaurant where we’d join the 200 plus employees of the clinic for the party. Now being the top orthopedic clinic in the World, they spared no expense. As soon as we arrived the misses was bombarded by hello’s and hugs from lots of people I didn’t know. I’ll bet she introduced me to 30 or 40 people last night, some that I had briefly met before and others I didn’t know. From the CEO and his wife, who commented to Lori, “I’ve heard about you!” to various PA’s and other people, it was clear Lori is doing a great job. Now those of us that know her know everyone likes her (yadda yadda yadda) but it was also obvious she was quite respected. It’s one thing to be liked, but you have to earn respect. In any case, she’s made great strides in the 4 months and 6 days she’s been at the helm of Dr. C’s team, not only for her little group but for the entire clinic. Well enough said, most of us know this but I had to share it anyhow.

We all ate with our groups and all the doctors sat in the middle of the room together. Dr. C was a bit late as he had 4 surgeries yesterday which made about 58 between Thanksgiving and yesterday. He’s now off on a Caribbean cruise until the 2nd of January for a much needed rest. He was obviously very tired and physically spent from all the work over the past few weeks, but this is always a busy time as people are trying to get in at year end before their deductible kicks over on January 1st.

We made it home around 10pm and were one of the first couples to leave. They had a dance floor set up after dinner with a DJ but we headed out. Today we’ll start cleaning after we (or she) sleeps in. I already cleaned up the dishes from 3 boys grazing all night and started the dishwasher. I woke up at 5:30 as I couldn’t sleep with my cold. All three boys are still sleeping too, with Jagger in his clothes on top of our bed where he collapsed last night. I didn’t notice him until about 3am when I briefly woke up. The doctor’s office is still open but things will calm way down next week with Don (Dr. C) gone. Ty’s report card was posted on line with all A’s and B’s and Jag’s will post next week as he had to finish up a project yesterday from being sick last week. My damn nose won’t stop running so I’m going to go.

Yesterday my Mom opined how this holiday season was sort of a funk. This is true for us too vas we’ve been so busy moving and starting new lives that we haven’t had a chance to breathe. So starting today, we’re all in for Christmas! Not sure what my Mom’s excuse is, ha ha.

Last and not least, today is my little brothers birthday, Happy Birthday Tom! He’s I think 55 today, wow. Hope you have a good day. Let us know what you’re doing.

Remember, click on a picture to blow it up.

That’s all, Merry Christmas and God Bless.

Yesterday Jag was sort of in a funk for turning 14. From the time he woke up he was sort of feeling sorry for himself or as he put it, kind of being a bitch. (he did apologize for his language) After school I picked up both boys and we headed home. Now unbeknownst to him,  soon we’d be heading to his surprise party. You see 72 hours earlier when I was asking him for the 100th time what he wanted to do for his birthday, I made the off hand comment, “you’d better watch out or I’ll throw you a surprise party”, to which he replied, “oh you’re good at that” meaning I had just told him and couldn’t possibly pull that off. At that point neither of us had any idea he’d have a surprise party until I had an epiphany 5 minutes later a and thought to myself, game on!

So I tracked down two of his buddies in the parking lot after school and solicited their help. Later that evening (Monday) I had a list with emails of 12 of his parents friends and sent them all an email. While his friends were putting together the list, I contacted Bol, which is our upscale bowling ally. This place is like nothing you’ve ever seen for a bowling ally. Soon after I sent the emails, responses started coming in and within 36 hours, all 12 invited were coming. Lori emailed back, “what, no girls” as I didn’t invite any. One of his friends said whenever girls are around, all the guys act different, so we decided no girls. Plus the 2 ally’s I rented only held up to 12 people.

So after school we came home to feed Mojo and then I said we were meeting Mom in town. Ty did a great job keeping the secret as did all the boys. One Mom rsvp’d for her son but said she wasn’t telling him about the party until she dropped him off as he’d spill the beans for sure! We arrived in Vail, parked the truck and walked toward Bol. Jag wondered why we were going inside to meet Mom but that was easy to overcome as I said “because it’s 3 below zero outside”! We walked in and no Mom so we made our way through the restaurant towards the back where you bowl. When he came around the corner, you should have seen his face, he was truly surprised as 12 of his buddies were there waiting for him! For the next 90 minutes, the boys bowled, ate chicken wings, ribs, pizza’s and then had cake, along with like 20 gallons of Coke. Meanwhile a few of us parents went out front and had some appetizers and drinks while they partied on. After it was over, Jag couldn’t stop thanking us and apologizing for his attitude earlier in the day. We told him no need to apologize and we were glad he had a good time, he really was surprised, and the call on no girls was a good one.

It’s 14 degrees in Denver meaning it’s below zero up here at 5am as I write today’s blog. I’m headed down for a quick trip to Denver and should be in town by 8 and out by 11. It’s the last day of school and the kids are out at noon but they’ll walk home with their friends until I make it back up. We also have Lori’s work party at 6:30 tonight and we decided to just stop in for a drink. It’s a sit down dinner but we just can’t do the whole thing. You see I’m still sick and Lori is just worn out. So that’s it, one week until Christmas, whoo hoo. Hope everyone is well and enjoying the season, God Bless.

Hard to believe Jag is 14 years old today. Soon he’ll be driving! This is a perfect reminder of the fact that you need to cherish each and every day as they go so fast.

I made it to Denver and was back just in time to pick up the boys at school as I came down the pass. In the middle of the afternoon, my throat became so sore I couldn’t talk or swallow. I did everything I could from eating raw garlic, spoons of honey and taking vitamin C with lots of fluids to try to fight it off but I’m afraid I picked up whatever Jag had earlier this week. Maybe I got it from my Mom who was saying she had a sore throat yesterday when we had lunch. Anyhow I’m a bit better this morning but didn’t sleep much.

Ty now has braces and I guess handled it pretty well. I never really like the orthodontist when I was a kid. Lots to do today so time to run, plus I feel like crap. Hope all’s well, God Bless.

No time this morning as I’m off to Big D. Jag is going back to school and Ty is getting braces. Lori and I had a stomach bug yesterday and are hoping it’s gone today. The snow has stopped but the roads are still icy. Our truck was smelling like the emergency brake was stuck on so it’ll get checked out this morning. It’s also pajama day at school and Mojo got sick at 3 am in our bedroom. That’s about it, short and sweet. God Bless