A Year of Change

Thanks to my brother Tom, here’s the blog. I rarely forget but today was one of those days. Jag had a orthodontist appointment and as a result, we’re now $6000 poorer! It is what it is as he needs his teeth fixed. He’ll get Invisalign which is like a clear retainer and he’ll be all done in like a year.

He also made the Varsity Team on the Battle Mountain High School baseball team, quite an accomplishment. That’s it for the day, Ty’s play starts tomorrow and runs for 3 nights and Jag has his first baseball game, GB

I dropped the boys at school and by the time I made it to the on ramp to the highway, they had just closed it. I had to sit for an hour and 15 minutes until the road opened which put me late to pick up Lori. We decided she should take a cab ($106, ugh) to my Mom’s as it’d save about 90 minutes off our day. We finally left Dever around 11 and had Lori to work by 1. The roads coming back up were nothing like going down. It wasn’t so much the snow but the wind that caused all the problems. A few times you couldn’t see in front of you due to the blowing snow. This morning I need to go back to Denver to drop some samples at the warehouse, drop Lori’s car to get fixed and then have lunch with my Mom.

Tonight Jag has baseball practice and then a banquet for basketball. Ty has some make-up tests and then theater practice again tonight. Last night he didn’t get out until 6:55!

Not sure what we’re doing for Spring Break, we’ll know soon after Grandma Dixie finds out if she can fly. Time to run, no rest for the weary or whatever they say. Hope all’s well, God Bless.

It’s 5am and while that may seem early, what I mean by “up early” is that Lori is up early. She should be getting in her rental car right about now and driving to the airport. You see it’s 4am in California and she had to get up at 3 to be ready to leave now. Of course I woke up at 4:23 to make sure she woke up!

Both boys did clean a bit yesterday. They could have done better but then again, they could have done much worse. I suppose I should be thankful for what they did do. Ty had theater practice from 12 until 5pm yesterday while Jag hung out at home with me.

It’s going to be really windy today and hopefully Lori’s flight arrives on time. I have a couple of stops and then should be up the hill by about noon if we’re lucky. Jag has baseball after school and Ty has theater all week as his performances start this Thursday. That’s it, time to load wine, feed Mojo, shower and get the boys moving, GB

Today the boys and I are cleaning up around here. I’ve got a little bit of work to do but both boys have a lot to do! We need to get back on track for the coming week and cleaning the house and their rooms is a big part of that.

Yesterday I took Jag to baseball as the coach scheduled an impromptu practice to take advantage of the nice weather which was about 28 degrees at 9am. Jag of course, as well as the other kids, were not thrilled as they all can sleep until noon on Saturdays. The coach said most were asleep on their feet for the first 30 minutes of practice. In any case, most showed up for the 2 hour 45 minute practice. I managed to get there with about 40 minutes remaining. Jag was in the outfield as he’s one of 3 freshman on the team which is made up of a couple sophomores and mostly seniors. Seeing the seniors pitch is quite different from 7th grade when Jag last played ball. Anyhow finally a ball was hit to Jag and it bounced 20 yards or so in front of him. He charged on the ball, bare handed it and threw into the shortstop who then relayed it to the 2nd baseman to get the hitter out. Next up was his first at bat. On the first pitch he made contact but fouled it off. Then after a couple of balls, Jag connected with a pitch and absolutely smashed it! It went over the coach’s head who was playing center field into right center field and he had a triple! It would have been a home run if it was to straight away right field. I could tell Jag felt good about it. After practice the coach said how all the guys welcomed Jag to the team right away and how he crushed that ball. He should know as he was the one chasing it! The other coach introduced himself to me and said how glad they were that Jag came out for the team. Now I’m sure he’ll play a lot of outfield with all the older kids ahead of him but you have to give him credit for joining a team at a different school with a bunch of kids he had never met.

Meanwhile Ty was studying and after we arrived home, both boys went to the mountain. Jag and his two friends took Ty with them as Ty didn’t have anyone to go with. Ty is quite the snowboarder going off cliffs and is probably the more aggressive one on the mountain. With the U.S. Open going on, the town and mountain was packed. We though, from living here, knew right where to go to drop them off and pick them up to avoid the crowds. After I dropped them off, I ran to Costco and then picked Ty up a little after 4. Jag went to Zach’s house to change and then they went back into town for the free concert and award ceremony. Shaun White won the thing which was pretty spectacular. I caught some of it on tv. Finally at 9:30pm, I went to pick Jag up in town. We then had to drive to Zach’s to get his computer and ski clothes along with 2 giant signs from the event. These are like 6 feet by 4 feet and lined the course and the boys snatched them after the event was over. They’re like sponsorship signs that they just throw away. Not sure what we’re doing with them other than putting them in the garage with some other signs that have been accumulated over the past two years.

Meanwhile Lori was visiting Grandma Dixie’s friends and then went to Marie Callender’s for dinner. She then visited a friend from school before watching tv with her Mom around 9:30 California time to wind up the night. We might all go to Hawaii for Spring Break if Grandma Dixie is strong enough. It’d be a great trip where I’m sure the boys and Grandma would have fun for Spring Break. We’ll have to make sure she’s up for it but she looks great in the picture from yesterday. We’ll need to decide on Hawaii quick though as tickets will be tough to get. That’s it, time to feed Mojo, shower and get cleaning. Lori lands at 9am tomorrow morning so she’ll be getting up early. There’s a surfer movie on tv right now which makes you miss Hawaii. Have a great day and God Bless.

We made it out of the house, barely on time, and managed to pick up Jag’s skis at the locker and drop him at school by 7:11am. We were so early, he was locked out for a few minutes while we were speeding up the pass to get Lori to the airport. We arrived there at a little after 9am and then Ty and I sprinted across town for my sales meeting. After loading 15 cases of wine, I went in and spoke to the team for about 20 minutes. Then it was off to the mall for 2 pair of pants, 4 shirts, a sweatshirt, a new belt, some socks and a new pair of shoes for Ty. Now we don’t shop at Nordstroms or anything but this load for Ty was still about $700! He too now is in grown up sizes so no more youth clothes for him, which means, they’re not cheap anymore! We then grabbed a quick bite to eat as we were exhausted and then had to rush up the hill to pick up Jag at the mountain and get him to baseball.

When we arrived in Vail we had to stop by school and get Jag’s computer and backpack at school and then drove to the transit center to pick him up. The town was packed more than we’ve ever seen it. Cars were parked on the frontage road without a spot to spare, all for the U.S. Open, which is still going on.

We rushed home and Jag quickly changed for baseball. His coach wants to have another practice this morning from 9 to 11 which Jag is not too excited about but we’ll get him there. After baseball last night, he was tired. Ty had slept in the car on the way back up from Denver. I too was tired and was laying down reading a book by 7pm. Lori called around 8 and she was also beat from grocery shopping and getting up so early. So, there you have it, a busy long day for all of us. Today will be more of the same I’m sure. I’ll be in Denver Monday (picking Lori up) and again on Wednesday dropping samples at the distributor. I’m a bit sore today, all over, from my workout. But it’s a good sore. Ty might snowboard today and I think both boys are going to town this afternoon for the free concert. Time to run, GB.

It’s 5:34 and we need to leave in an hour and 11 minutes. We need to stop in town and get Jags ski gear before we drop him at school. Ty had a great hut trip and was tired when he arrived back at school. Jag had his first baseball practice yesterday and will be back at it today after skiing. Ty and most of the other kids who were on the hut trip, are staying home today so he’s going to Denver with me. He needs to get his computer fixed so we’ll see if we can squeeze that in. So lots going on.

I had a full body, glute and hamstring workout yesterday that was grueling. Almost every muscle on my body from my neck to my calves are sore. There’s so much involved with proper posture and stretching it’s remarkable. Oh well, I know no one cares much about this but as you get older, balance and full body movement and strength are key to an active older life.

Lori was flying home Monday at 10am but now has to fly home at 5:40am. The airlines suggested moving the flight up as we’re expecting big winds Monday that will be up to 80 miles an hour. If she kept her original flight she probably wouldn’t have been able to get in. Of course, they still want us to pay the $200 change fee, ugh.

Ty needs new clothes too so we’ll try to handle that today as he’s grown so much his pants are all about 6 inches above his ankles. It was nice and warm up here yesterday and is supposed to be so through tomorrow. Hope everyone is well, lots more going on but too much to write in the little time we have left this morning. GB

Well we both need a break around here, but alas, that’s not going to happen. Lori is off to Sacramento tomorrow for like 4 days and I’ll be hanging with the boys. Ty should be waking up soon in a hut at about 12,000 feet and Jag has his first baseball practice today after school. Oh yea, I have a sales meeting tomorrow morning in Denver after dropping Lori at the airport. I’m driving her down and then picking her up Monday as the shuttle van was $194 round trip! Throw in her rental car and every time she goes to California, it’s a $1000!

Jag’s sleeping still and Lori wants to go the the gym in 5 minutes. It’s 5:55 right now so I’d better get moving. I also need to go to the storage unit today to get Jag’s other baseball gear. I did get him a new bat and shoes and other assorted gear yesterday( as he’s grown so much) so he can play starting today. First though, I do need to go by the high school and pay the registration fee too, it’s always something.

Time to go, have a great day, GB

Ty leaves this morning for his hut trip. This is where he and his classmates use skis with skins (fur on the bottom so they can walk up snowy mountains) to hike into a hut high up in the mountains. They’ll spend the night and return tomorrow, taking off their skins and skiing or snowboarding down. Jag and I went to meet the high school baseball coach at Battle Mountain High School yesterday afternoon. They want Jag bad to play baseball on the high school team. He can do this as his school doesn’t offer baseball which allows him to join another schools team. The first game is a week from tomorrow! This means I’m off to Denver today to buy some new shoes, a new bat and other assorted gear so he can start practice tomorrow. His glove and other gear are in the storage unit down in Eagle so I’ll have to get down there too. There are two boys, a sophomore and senior, from his school on the team already, so he can ride with the senior from VMS to practice. They practice from 3:45 until 6pm 5 days a week! It’ll probably cost us close to $700 we don’t really have to spend after we pay the registration fee and get his new gear but it’s super important, especially for college, if he plays baseball and basketball. I told him if there are two kids, both with good grades, but one plays two sports and the other doesn’t, colleges will choose the one who plays sports. Anyhow he’s good at it to and it looks like he’ll be playing Varsity baseball meaning against upperclassmen, like juniors ans seniors which will be a good experience.

Meanwhile Lori is off to Denver too in 30 minutes at 5;45am for a doctor appointment. She’s seeing the girl she used to manage for some derm work and having a scaley part on her ear checked out. She needs to be in Denver by 8am and should be back up at work by 11 this morning. Mojo appears to be all better, thank God. Lots going on at work and Lori is getting ready to go see Dixie this Friday. She worked until 7:30 last night. So, we’re busy busy as you can see. Time to run, have a great day and GB. Hopefully Spring is coming soon!

Looking outside this morning, we have 5 or 6 fresh inches of new powder on the deck. Mojo apparently is getting better as he wasn’t sick last night and ate his normal food. Hopefully he’s turned the corner.

We need to pack Ty’s gear this morning and Jagger isn’t feeling well. I think it’s cause he ate a bunch of queso and chocolate milk last night. He is going to Battle Mountain High School this afternoon to meet with their baseball coach, although he was sleeping when the coach called last night. They really want him to play but he’s not sure he wants to put in the time. We wish he would as he’s really good at it and it’s good to be a two sport athlete, especially for college.

I have a bunch of computer work to do and being the last day of February, property taxes are due, uggh. Our house is still pretty clean which is a shocker. Today we’re making chicken enchilada’s as we didn’t get it together last night. I need to run as Lori is chasing around the house with Ty’s list of things to pack. This of course should have been done on the weekend, ha. Take care and God Bless.

Don’t blink, as it’ll be Springtime soon. Yes we’re supposed to get more snow today or tomorrow but then it’s going to warm up. Ty has his hut trip on Wednesday and Lori leaves on Friday but with March arriving soon, so will the sun and warm weather.

Mojo woke us up again throwing up so he’s going to need to go to the vet today. Lori thinks it might be because we had to switch up his food but I still think it’s one of those rawhide bones. The U.S. Open (snowboard) is here all week long in Vail. You should see how big the jumps are on the mountain. These kids must fly hundreds of feet into the air. It’ll be a big week for Vail.

Lori and I are up and headed to the gym in about 15 minutes so time to wrap it up. It was Roberts (aka Gus, my sisters great best friend and husband) birthday yesterday, Happy Birthday buddy!  He’s a great guy and one of my favorites in the family as he’s older than me, ha. They went to an Arizona Colorado baseball game. We briefly talked with him to wish him a great day. I’ll bet it’s warm down there. So, time to run, I guess the Oscars were full of sermons for us common folk. We turned it on for the last 5 minutes just in time to see them give the Best Picture award to the wrong movie! After the acceptance speeches, someone noticed and they took it away from one group and gave it to another, ha, karma. God Bless.