A Year of Change

Wow, what a whirlwind. We made it up and out the door by 3:45am and were at the airport by a little after 4. By the time we reached the main terminal on the train from the rental car place, we were joined by a thousand or two of fellow travelers. The TSA Pre-check line was so long, it was longer than the regular line. Jag headed to the regular line while Lori and I proceeded to the Clear line. Thank God we had Clear or we would have missed our flight. Jag still beat us through security though, ha.

We took off at 6am as scheduled and arrived around 8:15am in Denver. It was a short 75 minute flight with the time difference. We lugged ourselves and luggage to the truck and headed to Tommy’s to pick up Jagger’s car. We all then went to Whole Foods to load Jag up on some groceries before heading home.

We pulled into Vail around noon to pick up Harley. She tore up her bed into little pieces and wasn’t a very good girl for the vet. I guess she tried to bite the vet when they were going to cut her nails so they didn’t cut them, ugh. We’ll have to take her back and give her a shot to cut them.

We made it home and started organizing things around the house. James leaves today for some press and practice for two weeks in California before the tour so they had us over last night for dinner. We were super tired but went sine he was leaving. He’ll be back the 13th and then leave for Amsterdam on the 15th for two weeks. They have about 10 days of rehearsal’s with the new stage and production people before the first two shows of the 16 month long tour. They’re pretty good about spacing it out. After two weeks, he comes home for about 10 days and then is out for a month back in Europe. They then go on for about two weeks, and off for about two weeks for months. Addy bought Lori a gift in Miami where they went for a wedding for someone in her family and she also framed a picture of the four of us bowling a few months ago.

Finally we headed home a little before 8 and were in bed by 8:30. I fell asleep by 9. I’m still a little groggy this morning but will be at the gym by 8, while Lori is headed to Vail today for work. Hard to believe Saturday is April 1st! Here we go! Fun trip but good to be home, God Bless.

Yesterday was more sun time, maybe a little too much. We were only out from about 8:30 until 11 too. Then we headed down to Old Town to meet Robi and Robert for lunch. After that it was a stop to get Jag some work clothes. Then back to the hotel to try to grab the last bit of sun at the pool. Unfortunately when we arrived the sun was behind a cloud. I went back to the room to put a work fire out and then of course the sun came out!

We got up at 3 and are heading to the airport at 3:50. Our flight is at 6 and we should be in Denver a little after 8am. Fun trip with sun, family and good times. Lori’s phone still blew up with work calls as she can’t get away from her job. I told her she just needs to turn it off and leave it off!

That’s it, time to get moving, make it a great day and God Bless!

Yesterday was more fun in the sun. It was also a big day as Ty took his first flight solo home to Denver. He took an Uber to the airport, explained why he didn’t have an ID to TSA, made it through security and made his flight home. His flight was at 6 so by the time he made it home to his dorm, it was 10:30.

Jag, Lori and I went to dinner with Brian and Laura. The restaurant, Lure, was really good, and really close, probably 3 minutes down the road.

Today we’ll hit the pool for a few hours and then maybe run down to Old Town and meet Robi and Robert for lunch. We’ll call them this morning. After that, we need to get Jag some new clothes for his internship this summer. Scottsdale or Arizona in general, has nicer stores and clothes than we do in Denver. Especially summer clothes!

It’s been a fun trip. The weather has been great and we had a great time as a family. Too bad Ty has to miss today but school comes first. Good news is the temperatures in Colorado are warming up Tuesday for the foreseeable future, at least 50 degrees or more at home, so they say.

Time to go, hope all’s well, bring on Spring! God Bless.

What a day. We started out with a crappy breakfast at a place close by. It was Ty, Lori and I as Jagger slept in. Then we hit the pool from about 10 until 3. We all got some much needed sun! After that we hung out a bit before heading out to our anniversary dinner. I found this French bistro that was just like you were in France. It is owned by a couple from France and everything from the escargot to the sole was amazing. Lori and Jag had a cocktail before dinner and then we ordered a bottle of Montrachet for dinner. Ty, Lori and Jagger drank that although I had a sip as after all, it was Montrachet.

The cocktail hit Lori particularly hard. She had a great time as she was a little tipsy. It was super fun as when Mom has fun, we all have fun! We were home a little before 9 and that was the evening.

Today I think Ty is flying home as he has a quiz in Excel class he can’t miss tomorrow. I think we’ll put him on a plane around 2. He’ll have to talk his way through TSA as remember, he doesn’t have a physical drivers license. Meanwhile we have another daybed booked at the pool that I might switch to tomorrow as it’ll be warmer. That way we can hit Old Town after we drop Ty at the airport.

Tonight we’re going to dinner with Laura and Brian right by the hotel at Lure, a fish house. It’s 6:30 now as I wake up around 5:30 every morning which is 6:30 Colorado time. Lori looked especially beautiful last night. She always looks great but last night looked like she was out of a movie.

That’s it! A couple more days of fun in the sun! We love it! God Bless.

Happy Anniversary to the love of my life! Today is the 23rd anniversary of the day our lives changed forever. Fittingly, we are back in Scottsdale where it all started. It’s been a great journey and it only gets better every day. I’m a lucky guy!

Yesterday we did the town. Early in the morning Ty and I ran down past Mom’s old place to Thomas and Hayden to drop of some laundry. Then we picked up Lori and Jagger and headed to Fashion Square for some fun shopping. After that we stopped in to see our life long family friend who owns the jewelry store Mom and Dad shopped at for decades and who we’ve been dealing with for 30 years as well. Then it was back to the hotel before heading out to Robi and Robert’s.

We arrived there around 5:10 and hung out for about an hour before heading out to dinner. We had a blast and it was so good to get together with them. We’re so happy they’re so happy. That’s the way life should be. Dinner was really good and we had a great time catching up. Wish they were closer. We’re going to make a point of seeing them more often. We’re going to all get together for lunch on Monday hopefully, to see them one more time.

Today besides our anniversary is Shelly’s birthday! 70 years old! Happy Birthday Sis! Hope she has a great day. We can’t really get her on the phone these days and I think she’s still in memory care. Hard to tell as there’s little communication with Tasha.

We have a daybed booked at the pool today. The high will be 70 or so which is just fine by us. Tonight we’re going to a great French restaurant at 6:15. Robert said he’s read about the guy and saw him on tv. We can’t wait.

It’s beautiful outside again this morning. I went and picked up a couple Americano’s for Lori and I at the coffee shop. I had to wait a few minutes as it didn’t open until 6am. It’s 6:30 Arizona time (7:30 at home) right now and we’ll head over to the fitness center for a workout soon.

Make it a great day and thanks for the anniversary wishes. Wish everyone was here with us, Tommy….God Bless.

Where to start, the roads were not as bad as we thought as we made it to Tom’s in a little over 2 hours. Jagger was 15 minutes late meeting us there, which we expected so no surprise. Ty though, didn’t answer his phone from 7:30 until 8:40 when we were outside his building. Can you say major stress! Lori and Jagger went in and had the dorm people knock on his door, still no answer. Finally two minutes before we were leaving him in Denver, he answered. Apparently he slept through the alarm which also is no surprise. So, around 8:50, we were all off to the airport.

Upon arrival at the airport, I headed to valet parking only to find out there is no more valet parking! So with the new airport traffic patterns, I had to drive out of the airport to get back in. Lori and I had pre-check but since the boys passports expired they didn’t. We went through our lanes and they headed to the other end of the airport where the lines were shorter. A few minutes later we got a call saying they wouldn’t let Ty through as he didn’t have an id! His wallet was stolen a month or two ago and his new license hasn’t yet arrived. He does have the Colorado App on his phone which is a picture of his drivers license so that helped a bit. He finally managed to get through with that and his school id and insurance card, whew. We all met up and made it to the gate only to have them move the gate. I can hear Tommy saying this is why I don’t go anywhere, ha! The flight was fine as we upgraded to First Class.

We landed, took the train to our rental car and headed out to Scottsdale. We stopped at AJ’s Fine Foods on Lincoln where Mom and Dad always shopped. The same Sinclair station was in the parking lot where I took their car many a time. Finally we made it to the hotel. We had to wait an hour or so for our room to be ready and then once in, unpacked and settled in.

The hotel grounds are nice and the weather is awesome but the rooms are a bit dated for what they charge. Still, we’re really happy to be here together as a family.

At 6am this morning we were jarred awake by the intercom throughout the whole hotel saying, PLEASE PROCEED TO THE NEAREST EXIT. It was some sort of fire alarm that went off and everyone was in the hall. I called the front desk as soon as it went off not really believing it and it turned out to be a false alarm. Lori met Jagger in the hall and I asked if Ty slept through it! Guess that woke him up too as it was loud. Ok, Tommy, stop laughing!

We’re drinking coffee now and headed to the gym. Robi, I’ll be calling soon wondering if we can do a load of laundry this morning as Ty I think packed all dirty clothes, ha. If not, we’ll find a laundry mat somewhere t as the hotel doesn’t have one.

Scottsdale is great! We drove to Paradise Valley, like Tatum and Shea as my sweet wife found me some rare cigars at a cool cigar place for our anniversary. They also had a Whole Foods there we stopped at. Meanwhile Jagger was taking is final from 6 to 8 pm. It’s so beautiful out our window right now with the morning haze above the mountains in the distance. We do have a great view and nice balcony. We were thinking of buying a winter place in Florida but might just have to get one here instead. Florida is too crowded and too far and has the ocean, while this is closer, but has water issues and no ocean. We’re getting something somewhere as we’re over the long snowy winters. Looks like we’re turning into our parents after all.

Today is shopping, laundry somewhere, and then dinner and fun with Robi and Robert! Can’t wait to hang with them. That’s another big plus for Arizona, they are here, plus I think I could get Tommy to come down if we had a place. You’d love it Tom, we could golf in our senior years, ha!

Time to go, have a great day, on to the adventure! Seems like we’ve been here a week already! God Bless.

Wednesday the floors were all finished up. They look good, just like they should have since the beginning. After Carlos was done we took Harley to the vet for her six day vacation. She wasn’t very happy, poor girl. Snow lasted most of the day and then the sun came out around 6pm. 15 minutes later though, the wind picked up to 40 or 50 miles an hour and along with it was another round of snow. It’s supposed to stop at 8 or 9 and then be all clear.

If you’re paying attention, I’m writing this Wednesday night as we need to leave around 5am Thursday morning just to be safe. We’ll meet Jagger at Tommy’s at 8 and then go pick up Ty and head to the airport. Our flight is at 11:20 and we land, with the time difference, at 12:30.

After Wednesday, we really need some nice weather. I guess it’s been raining and cold in Arizona but is shaping up for our arrival. We’re pretty busy with three dinners and some other fun things. We also have some pool time scheduled as 70 is like a heat wave for us.

Dixie is well but had a little stomach ache. Nothing to worry about, just normal stuff. I’m sure the weather will be nice at home while we’re gone. We have our neighbors watching over things. The Sheriffs office called today letting us know that our permits we had renewed were ready. That didn’t take long as we went in on March 9th for photos and fingerprints. I told them we’d be gone so they said they would check on things for me as well.

That’s it, next post will be from sunny Arizona! God Bless.

Our floors are in and this morning Brian and Carlos will finish up and glue them down. They put them in without glue so we could see how they’d fit and look. We picked which boards go where to get the best color match. They look 100% better.

Snow this morning, maybe 2 or 3 inches. It’s supposed to stop mid afternoon. We’ll decide later whether to drive down tonight or in the morning. We’re looking forward to some warmer temperatures.

Work is going well, our new products are really taking off. Lori is slammed as usual, and Dixie is doing well. We’ll go see her again today (daily occurrence) since we’ll be gone for five days. Lori took her to get her nails done and out to lunch. She had a good day. She’ll be fine as she doesn’t usually remember we see her daily. Her birthday is coming up two weeks from Saturday and we’re having a big party! Jag thinks he’s getting a cold as he’s been studying and stressed wrapping up his mid-terms. There’s only about a month of school after he gets back, and then he’ll be a senior in college!

7am now so time to get moving. Have a great day and God Bless.

Heading down in about 45 minutes to meet my buddy Toby. I should be back my 10am if lucky. Yesterday they started on our floors. Hardwood floors are a bitch to take out if they were installed properly. They glue them down so they come out in pieces. Hopefully they’ll finish up getting them out today. Not sure if they’ll finish putting the new ones in or not as they need to cut them to fit.

Lori will work from home as Dr. B. is in Ireland speaking at a conference. He’s kind of a celebrity Worldwide. He really is that good. Snow tonight and tomorrow ending in the evening. We had a little last night and I’ll see how the roads are in about an hour. Time to get moving, be well and stay safe, God Bless.

Today and tomorrow we’re having three rows of the floor replaced as I mentioned yesterday. Hope they wrap it up by tomorrow. Of course snow is coming Wednesday and Thursday since we need to drive down to Denver. If it gets bad, we’ll go down Wednesday.

We’re up early as Lori needs to go to the Hyatt for a presentation at 8am and then will head home.

Nuggets won yesterday in New York. It was a good game. The boys are well and we’re all excited to get out of town. Can’t wait for a change of scenery, even if it’s not 80!

6:06 now so time to go. Make it a great day and do something fun for yourself, you deserve it! God Bless