A Year of Change

We left Vail around 9 am and headed for Denver. Around 11 we pulled into Elways in Cherry Creek for some lunch before the big game. Meanwhile Scott and Ty were playing away in the mountains. After lunch we drove to the stadium and walked over to our friends tailgate party. The boys were looking to meet up with two girls from their class but their dad wanted to go straight into the stadium. So bowing to kids hormones, us two dads took our boys in as well. Then we had to walk about as far away as we could from our seats to meet the girls as they were on the total opposite of the stadium. They visited for about 5 minutes and then we walked all the way back to the West Side and our seats.

The game was non stop action. There was a lot of purple in the stands meaning tons of Minnesota fans. In the end though, we made another great play in the 4th quarter to win the game. During the game there was lots of banter back and forth between Bronco and Minnesota fans. Inn particular we had 3 purple fans 3 rows ahead of us. The guys behind us are relentless and were razzing them all game long and the kids in purple kept pushing back and asking for it. One memorable line from Chris behind us to one guy was, now follow closely,

“I’m gonna make you kiss him (telling the guy on the right he’s going to have to kiss the guy in the middle) and you (meaning the 3rd guy) is gonna watch and you’re all gonna like it. Then I’m gonna take a picture and send it to your sister and she’s gonna break up with you!” No one could stop laughing for about 10 minutes including the kids from Minnesota.

Next up a girl in Bronco gear was walking up the aisle with her boyfriend in purple behind her. He told her “hey, I don’t know if you know it but there’s this creepy guy in purple following you”.

Stuff like this went on all game and not just from our rows but all around us as Bronco fans are pretty committed. In the end though everyone walked out of the stadium with no hard feelings, I think, hmm.

We then made it to the car pretty quick and by 6:10 were in West Denver stopping for some mexican food. At 6:30 we hit the highway and were home by 8 pm. That was it for the day.

This morning Lori has to be at work at 7 as she’s giving a tour of the research institute to some high rollers or something. This is where they do all kinds of advanced research including operating on cadavers to develop new techniques and procedures to cure certain maladies. Her goal is to solicit donations in the $100,000 and up range. So I’ll be taking the boys to school around 7:45 meaning time to get them up. We have a busy week with lots going on. That’s about it and oh yea, the Packers won too so my Mom is happy. God Bless.

It’a almost 7 and we need to leave by 8:30 for the game. I sure hope we win as there’s nothing worse than driving a few hours each way for a loss. I feel pretty good about it but you never know. Yesterday the boys cruised around town on their own, Ty and Scott together and Jag and a few friends. In the evening Jag went to another movie while Ty and Scott hiked around the house.

Soccer was fine although we played a really good team and I think lost 3 to 1. Everyone is still sleeping except Mojo. Scott’s sister’s last soccer game is at 11:30 this morning so they’ll probably leave around 1 or so for Denver. I sure wouldn’t want to be driving down at that time as it’ll take 4 or 5 hours to make the normally 1 and a half hour trip.

Lori cleaned both boys rooms yesterday and now we have bets on how long they’ll be able to keep it clean. Guess I’ll run so I can get Jag up to get ready. Remember to cheer for the Bronco’s today, and the Packers! God Bless.

Last night it started to rain shortly after we went to bed. The boys were in town at a movie at Solaris which is a theater that serves you food and drinks during the movie. Talk about over the top. They arrived home around 10:30 and we were almost asleep.

Today we have soccer at 9 am and it’s a lot cooler up here. You knew this was coming and here it is. I made it to Denver by 7:30 in the morning and left around 11 to head up the hill. Around Georgetown the traffic backed up and was moving at 2 or 3 miles an hour. I quickly merged to the right lane and backed down an on ramp and headed up Highway 6 (the old highway before the interstate) and missed most of it. I still had to sit in traffic for about 20 minutes but it was a lot better than 2 hours!

Ty’s friend Scott from Denver is up here for the weekend as his sister is playing in a soccer tournament so Scotty will be spending the night with us tonight. Tomorrow am at 9 Jag and I and his friend and friends dad are heading down for the football game. We’re supposed to hook up with Lexi and Tali who are two girls in Jag’s class whose parents go to every game too. You might remember we had dinner a week or so ago and Lexi’s parents were there. He’s the one who knew Brett Farve. Tali was the girl who had the bah mitzvah Jag went to. Both girls are ski racers up here which leads me to the next subject. The Junior Prep Team for the Olympic Nordic Team is willing to take on Jag as he wants to join the nordic or cross country skiing program. His main goal is to get into biathlon where you cross country ski race and then stop and shoot at targets. Typically the Scandinavian countries excel in this sport as they all grow up cross country skiing. Dry land training is going on right now meaning the kids are training in the gym and on skis with roller skates or wheels on the bottom. Of course the fee is like $2000 so I have that going for me, uggh. Oh well, it’s only money, right. We’ll figure it out somehow but I told him if we do this, he needs to be 100% committed, no skipping a single practice for any party or anything. He says he’s all in. I should start a Go Fund Me Page, ha ha.

We have an open house today from 2 until 4pm if any of you in Denver see activity at our house. We’re not lowering the price anymore as it’s at a good deal right now. We just need the right person. Say a prayer it sells. Guess I’ll run now as we leave in an hour. Hope all’s well and as usual, God Bless.

I hope to leave in about 30 minutes which will be a little after 5:30 am so I can be back up by 11 at the latest. With a little luck I’ll get through the construction before it starts. With that said, I have no time to write much this morning. Ty did get an A or 93% on his math test yesterday which is a big deal as the classes up here are for real. Today he has a science test and we’re hoping for the same. Jag went into town after soccer with some friends as it was one of their friends birthday. Lori had a late meeting and was home around 7 pm. My Mom had a flat tire on her car and that’s about it, gotta run, God Bless.

Well here we go, 92 days left in the year, hold on as it’ll go fast! Today I’m in Big D for an industry tasting until 2pm and then back up and then tomorrow morning back down until 10am and then back up and then back down on Sunday for the game. Hopefully then up for the week. Jag does have a game against Colorado Academy next Wednesday but they take a bus down. I think next Friday Lori has a hair appointment in town so lot of back and forth.

It’s getting cooler up here and will probably rain a bit over the next few days but we had no hail like Denver did a few days ago. Not sure when it’ll snow but trust me, it’s coming. Guess I’ll run as it’s 6:20 and Ty has two tests today, Lori has clinic and I need to take the boys to school. Hope all’s well, God Bless.

After I made it home and with my Mom’s help, I made some home made chicken soup last night that turned out pretty good. The only thing was I used too much rice and it sucked up all my liquid. I had to add a bunch of water but that was fine. Ty said it was really good but next time I could should use less rice and leave out all the veggies. In other words, he’d be fine with just chicken broth and chicken and a little bit of rice.

Meanwhile Lori was at a deposition from 6 to 8 last night with an attorney from Denver who came up to depose Dr. C on a case. He did tell the Doc what a great Practice Manager (meaning Lori) he had which really was nice. We joke that Lori is almost like a doctor and I guess now almost like a lawyer too!

We need to get to school early today as Ty has something going on from 8 to 8:15. Yesterday Jag’s soccer coach walked up and said what a great game he had last week. I told him that Jag told me that he said that and he appreciated it. He then said, “well, I let the boys know when they don’t have a good game, so I make sure that when they do, I let them know then too”!

Looks like some weather is coming in this weekend, hope it’s dry at the Bronco game. I did get my car tuned up and the tires rotated. I still have some work to do to get her (my truck is a woman!) ready for winter but it’s coming along. I might need brakes and tires for Lori’s car but am hoping not. Like I say, it never stops! I also might need to rip out my driveway and pour new concrete to help sell our house but will probably just have to sit tight as I think it’s too much money which isn’t in the budget. Oh well, we’ll keep praying, take care and God Bless.

This morning I’m headed down to get the truck serviced. It’s 6:17 now and I need to be on the road by 7 at the latest. There’s lots of construction so I’m not sure how long it’ll take. I hope to get through it before it starts this morning.

It’s Tuesday meaning it’s clinic day. Lori needs some new clothes bad but I’m not sure what to get her plus we really can’t afford any right now. Green Bay won their game last night which was pretty much a given but you never know. I think it’s raining a bit in Denver and you can feel the humidity in the air up here. Time to run so I can get moving, hope all’s well, God Bless.

After a quick trip to Aspen, we came home to get ready for the Bronco’s game. By the time it was over, both our defense and offense had played great and we won the game. We also had a great view of the Blood Moon last night as it really stood out up here in the mountains.

Today I have a few calls and lots of work and tomorrow I’m off to Denver to have the truck worked on. The boys are well and so is Lori and Mojo. It has to start getting cold up here pretty soon but you wonder when as it sure has been nice. You just know it’s coming. Guess I’ll run as lots to do as it’s Monday morning. Now all we need is for Green Bay to beat Kansas City tonight. Finally we have a Monday Night Football game worth watching. God Bless.

First up was the weekly soccer game where a few minutes in, the sprinklers went on over about half of the field. This was a shock but only stopped the game for a few minutes as the boys played anyhow with sprinklers going full force. Every few minutes the kids would run right through them chasing the ball. They just had to ignore them and play on. There were a few missed kicks when the ball would go into a puddle.

After that Lori and I and Mojo took a long hike up the mountain to Lionshead. This was pretty steep and was a good workout. Next up was getting Jag ready for the 3pm bar mitzvah. All the kids had to be at the church in Vail by 2:45 and then after the 2 hour service, a bus took them all to the Hyatt in Beaver Creek where they ate and partied until a bit after 10pm. Ethan’s parents drove him home around 10:30.

After we dropped him off, the three of us went down valley to Costco. Today we’re running over to Aspen to go to lunch with Billie and Greg, I think up at the Mountain Club which is on top of Aspen Mountain. That’s about it, it’s 8:20 in the morning as we decided to sleep in. It sure is beautiful up here with all the trees turning colors. I’m sure we’ll see more spectacular scenery while driving over to Aspen.

That’s about it, hope all’s well, take care and God Bless.

Yesterday after Field Day the boys decided they wanted to go into town to meet up with some friends who I think were all girls. Ty went along as the only 6th grader. First they had to come home and take showers to try to get all the silver glitter out of their hair as they were the silver team. This didn’t really work as glitter is still all over them and now their sheets.

They were going to stay in town and Kelly (Ethan’s Mom) and Dad were coming in around 6:30 for the Leukemia Walk through the town. After that they were going to go to a restaurant for dinner before coming home.

Meanwhile in Eagle Vail, a few miles west, Lori and I were headed off to the Harvest Festival which is an annual benefit another school. I’ve worked this event for a number of years pouring wine but this year the distributors salesman poured for me so we decided to just get some tickets and go to support my wines and the school. I picked up 4 tickets and we took Mike and Sue with us. We arrived around 6:30 and instantly knew lots of people. All the top restaurants in town were serving small plates and then there were about 20 tables all serving a bunch of different wines. They had a band and you walked around trying all the wines and food. Lori actually knew more people than I did from work. They had a raffle and I bought 3 tickets as I’m pretty lucky at those type of things. Well wouldn’t you know it, when they started drawing tickets, I won! I won a $50 gift certificate to a mexican restaurant in Beaver Creek. By 8 pm we decided to leave for home as we don’t really drink all that much anymore. We made it home 10 minutes later, as everything up here is so close, and watched a little tv until the boys were dropped off at 9:30.

Today we have soccer at 9 am and then Jag is going to a bar mitzvah at the Grand Hyatt from 3 until 10pm. I think I’m taking the boys paddle boarding after soccer but we’ll see. We thought Ty’s friend was coming up for the weekend but found out that’s next weekend. We’d love to bomb down to Denver today for Lori to get her hair done but didn’t plan it as we thought Ty’s friend was up here. We’ll see, hope all’s well, take care and God Bless.