A Year of Change

Well, it’s here, Christmas Eve, a holy day in its own right. Today is like pre-game for Christmas. Time to make sure the stockings are hung “with care” (ha ha) and that all the presents are wrapped and under the tree and that you have all the things you need for your evening and morning feasts. We of course are headed down to Denver tomorrow to celebrate with Grandma Dix, Shelly, Tom and Ali. Listening to the news, we could run in to a little weather as we’re supposed to get upwards of 16 inches of snow tomorrow and they’re already warning up here that the pass could be closed. We’re exploring options including going down today and checking into a hotel but that’s not cheap or very practical. I think we’re just going to get up super early and take our chances.

It’s cold up here this morning with temperatures well below zero. The sky is blue and the sun is out and it appears to be the calm before the storm. We’re planning on going to church this afternoon at 2 but that could change if we need to leave today. In any case, we don’t think we’ll get back up tomorrow and could be in Denver until Tuesday. Church is out in a huge heated tent at 4 Eagles Ranch between Wolcott and Steamboat and is known as Cowboy Christmas. Hundreds of people show up and there’s a great cowboy band playing Christmas carols and Pastor Tommy gives a great sermon that fits the season. Robi and Robert would love it as they’re sort of honorary Colorado cowboys, ha.

Thankfully my truck has a block engine heater that’s plugged in to keep it warm. Lori’s poor car though is probably frozen. Tom and Ali gave us some windshield covers a couple years ago which are one of the best presents I ever received. They’re basically windshield blankets and are on both cars now and every time I expect snow. It sure helps when we get a bunch of snow.

We have a lot of cleaning to do and want to hit the gym so time to get moving. Hope everyone is prepared. Don’t know about you all but in our house, We Believe!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and God Bless.

Today we still have a lot to do. Yesterday after spending the whole day in Denver we made it home a bit after 8. Everyone was pretty tired and Lori’s back was sore from the drive. Lori and her Mom checked out a couple assisted living homes, with one near Belmar that Dixie liked better than the other. She might rent a unit for a couple weeks to see what she thinks.

The snow is supposed to start up here in a couple hours and keep going well into the night. We have a lot of things to wrap today and then I’m going to speed clean the house. Lori left her antibiotics at work and we need to get them as she’s still trying to kick her cold. Before that I think we’re headed to the gym. I still can’t believe I haven’t caught her cold, knock on wood.

Both boys are enjoying no school. They bought Mom a really nice present yesterday with a little help from me. They both agreed to do some work around here to help make up the difference in the cost from what they had. Mojo is in doggie daycare as we didn’t want to leave him home all day yesterday or over the next few days. He actually likes it and sprints up the stairs when we drop him off. I might go get him today though and take him back tomorrow, we’ll see how our day goes.

This will be a special Christmas with Mom gone so I’m glad that Shelly is coming over and that Grandma Dixie is here. Tom and Ali called yesterday to say they invited their friend who is all alone to come over too. We don’t really know him but no one should be alone on Christmas and it’s their house so their call. We laughed as Shelly said this guy was hitting on her at Mom’s service. Should be interesting. That’s it, time to go, hope all’s well, 48 hours until Christmas morning, whoo hoo, take care and God Bless.

Today we’re all off, sort of. Lori has the day off from work and the boys are off school, yet we’re up at 5:30 to get ready to go to Denver. Today Lori and her Mom have a couple assisted living places they’re checking out while Ty has a dermatologist appointment and then both boys are getting haircuts. Mojo goes to doggie daycare at 8 this morning and then we need to drop Jag’s birth certificate and copies of Lori’s and my passport at school for his China Visa. They sprung this on us yesterday, ugh.

Last night our friend Lisa who has two little girls and lives in the middle of nowhere east of Pueblo on a cattle ranch with her husband Eddie, called to say our package arrived. The Fed Ex man left it at the door when they were all out feeding the cattle. Lisa said they always put their presents out on Christmas Eve after the kids have gone to sleep, so when they arrived home and opened the Fed Ex box of wrapped presents, the girls started jumping up and down screaming “did Santa come” How cute is that? They have zero money and are the epitome of a hard working American family that our Country was built on. They’re great people and never complain about anything, so we decided to send them all gifts that they could never afford or if they could, would never buy for themselves. Hope they like them!

Today we get a break from the snow but not the cold. Tomorrow we’re planning on going back down to Denver but if the weatherman is right, that’ll never happen. Yesterday afternoon the boys and I met up with Jag’s basketball coach to give him some wine for Christmas. We met him at Battle Mountain which is Jag’s old school for about 3 weeks earlier this year where his coach is a physics teacher. When he came out to the car to meet us he said that he and the biology teacher, who had Jag for those short three weeks, were talking about Jag for the past 20 minutes. He said that Jag reminded them both of a student from last year who went on to MIT. He said they know Jag is so smart and has this gifted way of thinking  just like the kid they both taught last year. Jag was in the car hearing this and just said thanks, but this was quite the compliment.

Both boys were playing together on some game downstairs when Lori and I fell asleep. Hope it won’t be too hard to get them up, ha. The news just said Loveland Pass is closed meaning they have 20 minute stops at the tunnel at the top of every hour so we’ll need to time it just right so we’re not sitting at 12,000 feet on the highway waiting to get through.

It’s 6:32 now and we need to leave in exactly one hour and 8 minutes so time to go. Have a great day, only a couple of days to go until Christmas! Enjoy these last 72 hours and God Bless.

Tonight around 7 pm Grandma Dixie arrives! The snow up here is not very bad and it looks actually a little worse in the city. We’re not sure how much is on the pass but tomorrow is the one day we’re not supposed to get much snow, so traveling down to Denver should be ok. We still have shopping to do, can you believe it? We’ve sent out boxes and boxes across the Country to friends and family. This year we picked a few friends who are less fortunate than us and bought presents for them and their kids as a surprise. Hope they like their presents!

Today is Ty’s last day of school and Jag has one more final at 12:30 and then he’s done. I think he’s going to skip tomorrow so we can all head down to Denver. He’ll miss the gift exchange and the last basketball practice of the year, but that’s ok.

Lori is off tomorrow, so she (meaning me) needs to take in some wine or get some gifts today for the girls. We’re way behind as a family as you can probably tell. I do have all the shopping done for Lori and the boys though.

As I said, not much snow here, only an inch or two which is nice as it’ll take next to nothing to clean off the cars. We need to wrap a bunch of presents today and see if we can squeeze Mojo into doggie daycare for a couple of days so he’s not alone in the house all day tomorrow. Lori just came down so time to go so we can plan out the next few days. Not long until Christmas!

Hooray for the tax bill! Did you see that companies from AT&T to Comcast to Boeing and more pledged to give employees raises and bonuses and invest billions of dollars into the economy because the tax bill passed? Wonder how the dems will spin that? Even Trumps staunchest critics are being forced to admit he’s done some good things and the economy is booming due to his leadership. The dems and the media must just hate that, wow. Now I’m not a big fan of his uncontrollable tweets but if you actually look objectively at what he has accomplished in year one, it’s pretty darn amazing and good for our Country.

Time to go, have a great day and Merry Christmas and God Bless you and your loved ones. Here’s a fun fact about today in history!

On December 21, 1620, William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims landed on what is now known as Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Remember?????

Tonight the cold and snow will arrive, so they say. Not sure how much snow we’ll get, (they say 5 to 10 inches) but I’m pretty confident we’ll see temperatures in the single digits and ultimately below zero. I have an engine block heater on my truck I didn’t know about that the dealer told me about yesterday. It’s like an extension cord I plug into an outlet to keep the engine warm, nice. After I get home from Aspen I’m making chicken soup which is always good when it’s cold out.

I had a successful meeting in Denver yesterday and was back up in time to pick up Jag at 3 from his finals. Ty stayed after school to make up a science test.

Looks like the tax bill will pass! No matter what the dems and talking heads on tv tell you, this is really great news! Starting in February we will all see less taxes (actual money!) taken out from our checks, and our overall tax bill that we file each year, will be lower too. The U.S. has the highest corporate rate in the industrial World, by far. This will not only help all Americans but also spur growth for our Country. Do not listen to the democrats who voted of course, all by party lines, as all they want to do is make sure Trump has no success. I’m so sick of this shit, excuse my language. For what it’s worth, I DID personally read all 1097 pages of the tax bill! (yes it was boring at times but I’m a pretty good speed reader) I wonder how many of these people who make these blatantly false statements to us Americans can say the same. I’d suspect not many as I don’t think (hope) if they did, they could stand up there with a straight face and say what they say. Think about it, both sides can’t be telling the truth, so I decided to read it for myself and I can tell you, the democrats are flat out lying, period. They’re “wordsmithing” by picking out pieces and using those out of context to manipulate the truth to try to tell us this is no good for us. Don’t fall for this shit. Anyhow, as they say, the proof is in the pudding so if you don’t believe me,  just wait 90 days and then we’ll see.

Lori is off to the gym. I can’t believe I didn’t catch her cold yet, knock on wood. Robi, a box of wine is on the way for Friday am delivery at your office for you to take to Auntie Dee’s. I’ll send another one next week for you or you can split this one with her.

I need to get moving as I need to take Jagger’s Visa application for China to school this morning. Ty has late start and Jag doesn’t need to show up until 12:30 but he’s going to have to go around 9 or 9:30 as we both need to be at work and are unable to take him later. His China trip is coming up fast, in like 6 weeks, wow! Ty’s last day is tomorrow while Jag has a Mandarin final today and a Coding final (computer programming) tomorrow and then is pretty much done. Jag does have basketball practice from 4:30 until 6 tonight and again on Friday from 12:30 until I think 2.

So (Mom always told me I say “so” a lot, ha) lot’s going on! We still have more shopping to do too, ugh. Have a great day and God Bless and Merry Christmas!

Today is my “little” brothers birthday. When we’re together, people always say, “your little brother?” as he’s taller than I am. Anyhow today is his day. Both of us, and dad, always were sort of cheated as our birthdays are all 10 days apart in December. Dad’s was the 9th, Tom’s today (the 19th) and mine is on the 29th. In any case, we wish him a great birthday. Not to get to personal, but Tom’s one of those really good guys. He’s honest, kind and cares about others and was always there for Mom and Dad, basically taking care of any need they might have had for decades. We should all be so lucky to have others say the same of us. While we’re all set in our ways and have our own lives, there’s not anything I can think of that he wouldn’t do for any of us. I’m proud to call him my brother.

Now back to the week. Jag’s two finals went pretty well, so he thinks. Today he has Algebra II/ Trig and English. These are pretty tough too but he seems at ease and prepared. He told Mom just now he didn’t sleep much. Hope they go well. All finals are in the gym at tables set up with large screens on each side of the individual desk so no one can see anyone’s work. The gym is also always cold so Jag wore a hoodie. He said he thinks they do that on purpose to help keep the kids awake.

Ty has a makeup test in science and then is pretty much done, except for one small quiz in another subject today. He’s done a good job in getting all his grades to B’s or higher. Science is currently at a C+ but after the test he plans on it raising to at least a B.

I have a meeting at the distributor at 10 this morning an appointment at 11:30 at the dermatologist and then at 12:30 to get a haircut. Then I should be headed up the hill just in time to get the boys. We need to fill out a Visa application for Jag to go to China and get it turned in. We went to get his pictures yesterday after school. It’s coming up fast as two months from yesterday, they’ll be home!

The cold weather is coming, and it’s going to be really cold, even for Colorado. In two days it’ll be at or below zero in Denver for the lows and in the teens for the highs. Up here, I think on Friday or Saturday, it’s supposed to be 15 or 20 below! Lori is supposed to go down and look at assisted living places with her Mom but they say snow is here Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It’s fine to drive in the cold but if the pass is closed, nothing you can do about that. In any case, we need the snow and are glad it’s coming. Both boys and I love the cold too, Lori, not so much, ha. I did buy her an early Christmas present at Costco yesterday, an electric blanket! She loves it and is snuggled in bed fast asleep.

Time to get moving, I did make it to Fed Ex yesterday so Robins box will arrive tomorrow and Tasha’s on Thursday. Be watching for them. We still have some shopping to do which means we’ll be one of those that will still be shopping on December 23rd. That’s it, have a great day and again, Happy Birthday Tom! God Bless you all.

Today Jagger’s finals start. He has AP World History and Science. Hope all goes well. I have a conference call and need to continue getting in about $2 Million worth of purchase orders and also run down to Fed Ex to mail some packages. Tomorrow I’m in Denver and Wednesday in Aspen. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and for the foreseeable future, it’s supposed to be in the single digits up here and well below zero at night. Denver will be really cold too. Looks like there will be a white Christmas. Mom would have liked that.

Tomorrow is Tom’s birthday. I think he’ll be 57. He’s so young, ha. I’m trying not to get Lori’s cold but have had a headache for the past 24 hours. She still seems pretty sick but hopefully is getting better. Ty needs to be at school early and so does Jag.

He had a nice birthday but studied all day long. Lori and I did drive down to Denver for some more shopping and we’re still not done, but are much closer. Mojo ate a blue ink pen yesterday (chewed it up), while we were gone, but thankfully ink didn’t get everywhere. After seeing the pen I though he’d have a blue mustache! He’s been chewing stuff up lately, hope he doesn’t get into our presents.

One week until Christmas. Deb Rubin emailed yesterday and her daughter Taylor is getting engaged in January and she has a single solitaire diamond Mom gave her years ago that she wants to use in her engagement ring. She asked her Mom if she thought Aunt Lois would be ok with that and Deb said of course she would. Her email said the diamond had incredible clarity, just like Mom. I know Mom would be touched and this would make her happy. Things are starting to pop up or happen that make me think of Mom. It’s natural that this happens more during the holidays but when you think of it, it’s so sad she’s not here. My only consolation is that I know she’s at peace and watching our every move from heaven. Keep that in mind people, especially Tom, Robi and Shelly, Mom is watching you, (and me), ha!

Take time to stop and think about Christmas, this year and especially in years past, and remember when you were a kid. I told Lori it’s much more fun these days to “give than get”. I guess you are old when that happens. We (Lori and I) don’t feel old but when we’re honest about it, there’s no denying we are, it’s hard to say, “old”. Life is so precious and each day should be cherished. Please don’t dwell on the negative or petty little things that in the grand scheme of things, don’t really matter. Daily I catch myself starting to make an issue out of something that doesn’t matter. At least now I recognize it and let it go. Lori is great at helping here as she seems to be pretty level headed most of the time. A dirty room or dishes, or a coat on the floor, is nothing to get upset about. Christmas is the one holiday most of us remember that we can look back on and reflect on our own childhood and pretty much see a chronology of our life through the years. Lori and I both remember most years pretty vividly and the boys, well they remember better than us. Of course they have less years to remember, ha. I told her yesterday, let’s make it a really fun week and really celebrate the spirit of Christmas as in a few days, it’ll all be gone for 2017, and never return. So, Merry Christmas (I say that to everyone, people in stores, waiters, anyone I talk to) and enjoy the season. God Bless you and Merry Christmas!

It’s so hard to believe, almost surreal, that 16 years ago today, our oldest son was born. As days go by everyone has ups and downs but when you sit back and reflect on a longer period of time, you’re sometimes in awe of life. Both boys in their own special way are amazing but today we celebrate Jagger turning 16 years old. Unfortunately he’ll be studying all day long as he has two finals tomorrow, two on Tuesday, one Wednesday and one Thursday. He hit the books all day yesterday as well. We’re so proud of him as he’s turned into a special young man who is smart, kind, considerate of others and truly makes the World a better place. I told Lori that we’re pretty darn good parents, ha.

Last night Lori cooked a prime rib and my buddies at Whole Foods gave us some lobster meat that we had as well. We managed to clean off our table which was full of wrapping paper and bows to have a nice family meal. Earlier in the day Ty went bowling in Eagle with about 10 kids for a break from studying.

I had a nice talk with Shelly and am so glad she’s joining us for Christmas. We’ll only be missing Robi and Robert! Maybe next year we can all be together. Thanks in advance to Tom and Ali for hosting, it’d make Mom so happy.

Right now Lori has the door off our microwave as it’s been broken for a while. She says we need a rivet gun and then she can fix it. For those of you that don’t know, Lori can fix just about anything! She’s our resident handyman!

Time to run so Lori and I can hit the gym. She’s been sick but wants to go. Then I think I’ll run down to Denver to join the mad rush at Cherry Creek for a few last minute things. I’m all done except for Grandma Dix, Shelly and Matt and Serena. Take care, have a great day and may God Bless you.

Every day we’re another day closer to Christmas! Lots going on for all of us. Lori was not feeling well yesterday and ended up coming home from work around noon. I made it back from Aspen around 2. A few hours later Jag and his friends went to dinner at 5 and had a great time. This morning he has practice from 9 to 11. He has a lot of studying for his finals next week and would prefer not to go but we’re going to try to get him there. They have one more practice, a shoot around, next Wednesday from 4:30 until 6 and then are off until next year.

Ty has to study for his Newtons Law test in Science and also is planning on going bowling with about a dozen friends around noon down in Eagle. We managed to get a bunch of presents wrapped yesterday including one for Tommy that Mojo chewed the corner off of! No worries though as he just chewed a little cardboard on the box, ha. We still have more to wrap and more to buy. We need to get Shelly a few more things as well as Grandma. The boys have a few ideas for her. Tomorrow is Jag’s official birthday but we let him open a present yesterday. I somehow managed to get him a pair of the Adidas Yeezy shoes which are virtually impossible to secure. I ended up getting them straight from China where they are made. They sell for over $1000 here on the secondary market but through some detective work and bobbing and weaving, I somehow was able to buy a pair at normal price. He was thrilled, smiling from ear to ear like a little kid. All his friends at school were also amazed as no one can find these anywhere. You might remember from a few weeks ago they sell out Worldwide in a matter of seconds when they “drop” (meaning when they’re released) and are all bought up by computer programs. I lucked out. Anyhow tomorrow we’ll celebrate Jag being 16! Hard to believe he is 16, wow.

Time to run so I can get to the gym before taking Jag to practice. Have a great weekend and God Bless. Robi, you’re birthday card for Jag came yesterday, thanks, he’s so excited and has been checking the mail every day! God Bless.

Well, of course the Bronco’s won last night. If we would have lost, we would have the 4th pick in next years draft, but no, we won, ugh. Oh well, it was fun to see them play well, I guess.

Lori is sick, Ty came home early sick and Jag thankfully is getting all caught up on his work. I’m glad he didn’t go to his b ball game. I’m off to Aspen today after dropping the kids. On the way I need to see a few accounts.

Tonight at 5 pm Jag and three friends are going to Matsuhisa for sushi. It’s our best sushi restaurant in town and last year Jag went with some buddies too. When we were kids, Mom and Dad would always let us chose wherever we wanted to go for dinner on our birthday, so we’re sort of keeping the tradition alive but letting him take friends instead of going with the family. One day soon I’m sure he’ll switch from friends to a girl, ha.

Lori is shipping Robi and Roberts package today via Fed Ex so it should arrive in Arizona on Tuesday. Tasha, your box will go out Monday for Wednesday delivery.

It’s 6:17 now so we’d better get moving. It’s supposed to be nice today but maybe snow tomorrow. I’m cooking a prime rib tonight, hope I don’t screw it up! Yesterday I picked up grandpa’s old 25-20 rifle from my gunsmith. This was hanging on Mom’s wall for over 50 years and is so beat up it’s not functional but is an heirloom. The gunsmith told me it was an honor to work on it. I had them really oil it up good knowing I’ll just hang it on the wall. I’m going to have a shadow box (glassed in frame) built for it to hang it up. It’s a cool old Winchester from the early 1900’s. I had to wait three months for it to get fixed up. My smith said it had a ton of silt in the barrel meaning it probably spent some time in a river! Oh the stories it could tell.

That’s it, Merry Christmas to all, have a great day and GB.