End of an Era

Bode finished school for the year on Friday, 15 December.  I finished up about the same time, and since Ashley is able to work from home, we decided to head up to Breckenridge.  The weather has been unseasonably warm in Colorado, and the mountains are no exception.  I remember skiing this time last year, and there were a lot of runs open--not all of them, but a decent amount.  This year, there were only 9/34 lifts open.  Nothing on Peak 10 was ready for action, and our favorite cut-through to Peak 8 was also closed.  Alas, the one good thing about the conditions was the temperature--highs in the 40's on both Monday and Wednesday (our ski days), with a beautiful sun.  The crowds hadn't quite made it to Breck just yet, but they were starting to get there.  We skied for only a few hours each day, as by 1130 or so, the lines were just too long, perhaps not so much due to the crowds, but the fact there just weren't enough runs open.

Ok, enough talk.  First, a very quick movie showing Bode starting off.  He's gotten quite good--not awesome by any means, but he's at the point where I've really had to tell him to slow down, especially in the areas where there are a lot of beginners.

Next is a nice shot of Bode; not sure what Ashley was doing down in the lower-left corner.

Next, a good one of Bode and Ashley.  He's getting so tall.

And one of Bode and me.

In this next video, Bode is doing some moguls.  He isn't going very fast, because they were quite big, and it's rather narrow (you can see him under the lift).  I do like the hockey stop at the end.

The dogs also seemed to enjoy the snow especially Barkley.  She'd never seen snow before, and after she got used to it, she'd bound through it like a deer.  Of course, we also had (have) reason to (still) be mad at Barkley, as she chewed up a nice piece of wicker furniture while we were gone, and at one point, Barkley and Joey must have been rough-housing and smashed into one of the closet doors that has a mirror on it.  Sadly, I must now categorize it as a "broken" mirror.  Lovely.  Still, she is our dog, and we take the good with the bad (unless anyone wants a 9-month old rottweiler...)

Today marks the end of an era.  We decided to sell the mountain estate, and 22 December was the closing date.  Thus, for the first time since June 2005, we don't own property in Summit County.  We are a little sad about this, but we all know there are some exciting things coming down the pipe in 2018.  We did take one final soak in the hot-tub.

Finally, Bode got a haircut.  Normally, this hasn't been blog-worthy news since 2008 when he got his first cut.  However, Ashley decided to take him to her stylist, Robert.  Bode has been growing his hair out since early November.  He told Ashley he wanted a mohawk.  Below is the result--he doesn't look half bad, and it's nice that school isn't in session :-)

Santa comes in two days, and I think we are done with our shopping--might still have some presents to wrap, but it is nice to know we don't have to head out to the stores any more!  Pleasant day to all.