Colorado Trip Part II

We got up to Breckenridge on Monday. We decided to go skiing on Tuesday. We sent Bode to ski school (more on that later). Here's a picture of Ashley going up the lift. It was a beautiful day, but there was a slight wind. Nothing terrible near the base of the mountain, but at the peaks, it was rather biting.

We skied for a little more than an hour. Our Ohio conditioning didn't prove to be up for the altitude challenge, as we both suffered a bit of jellyness in our legs, not to mention I felt a bit winded just moving (and downhill at that!). We took a cocoa/tea break. Here are a couple pictures of the two of us.

Following our break, we headed back out. A passerby was kind enough to snap a picture of us at the top of Peak 9. As always, I love the views in the mountains, and the longer I'm away, the more I miss them. The most obvious question from this picture is, "Should a 40-year old really be wearing those pants?" :-)

I then decided to take some action photos of Ashley. Her break-neck speed doesn't translate into a still photo.

We skied until 12:30 or so, which was longer than we expected. We were wiped out that evening because as we were watching TV, I was sure the time was around 9:45 or so. In reality, it was 7:30. Getting old...

Ok, back to the Bode-man. We dropped him off at ski-school at 8 am. He was very excited about ski-school. But I think Bode envisioned all of us attending ski school because he had a bit of a melt-down when we left--screams of Mommy! Mommy! could be heard throughout the Arapahoe Basin. We didn't get a call, so most likely, he settled down shortly after we left. The teachers are great, and we imagine they've dealt with this before. Ski-school discourages parents from watching--evidently as soon as the youngsters seem Mom and Dad, they want to leave. We picked him up at 3:30, so it was sort of like an all-day baby sitter (but much more expensive). I didn't get any action photos of Bode, because they were done skiing when we got there. But here are some shots of him geared up. In the first one, Bode is the one in the middle in the light blue jacket sitting down.

His teachers said Bode was great, but he was a bit scared to let go of their hands when he tried to go down the mountain. This didn't surprise us, as he's not the most fearless child. But we think he enjoyed himself, although he did say, "Ski school is bad." We might have to rethink our future home of record :-) One more Colorado post to come...

Colorado Trip Part I

We made our annual trip to Colorado this past week. We had a 0615 flight out of Denver, which meant a very early wake up. Amazingly, Bode shot out of bed as soon as we mentioned the word, "Airplane." Here's a picture of Bode on the plane. Note he's not wearing a hat, although he does have hat-head. Ashley managed to get the hat off of him without Bode having a total meltdown.

He kept awake for most of the flight and then on the trip down to Colorado Springs to Grammy's house. Unfortunately, Grammy was running a quick errand when we arrived. Bode had to pee, so he ended up christening Grammy's front yard. We were so proud of our little urinator (no, we didn't snap a photo of this cherished event). After a nice lunch, he quickly ran out of steam and fell asleep on the couch. And yes, he's back in the hat.

On Sunday, Ashley, Bode, and I went to lunch with the Larson family. I knew Craig from my AFIT days. They moved to Colorado Springs about a year ago, so it was nice to see them. Sadly, I left the camera at home (which was the theme for the day). That night, Grammy, Jim, Ashley, Bode, and I went to dinner and met up with Ashley's boss, Vern. Again, no camera so no shots, just words. Use your imagination like people had to do during radio shows in the 1930's. We had a nice BBQ meal--too much food, which was another theme for the day. Prior to dinner, we drove around Colorado Springs looking at potential home locations, as Ashley and I expect to be back in C-Springs in the summer of 2012.

We headed up to Breckenridge on Monday morning. Fortunately, we managed to snap a quick picture of Bode with Ashley and Grammy sitting by the stairs.

Note the omnipresent hat again. We made it safe and sound to the mountains and met with the architect that is designing our future mountain home. It's very exciting, as the design is ~90% complete. The floor plan is finished, and the basic feel of the house is decided (ask Ashley, as I've no ability to correctly describe the motif). The final phase is the creation of construction documents. After that, we can start to solicit bids, but we don't plan on breaking ground until 2015 or so.

Stay tuned, as in the next episode, Jeff and Ashley (and even Bode) go skiing!

Colorado Trip Sneak Peak

We've been in Breckenridge the past few days. We are having a great time, and I'll be sure to post lots of pictures of the entire clan. However, because the public wants it, I felt it necessary to post the following action photo of me on the slopes.

We also got the clan together for a group photograph. It was tough finding one where everyone looked somewhat decent, but for the most part, we all look normal in the picture below.

Finally, here is a shot of Ashley, Bode, and me.

Note Bode is in a different hat. Ashley picked him up a new one at a local store. We probably should wash his other hat :-) We are having a wonderful time, and are not anxious to return home to Ohio (although we do miss Auburn). Pleasant week to all.

Bounce U

No, the title isn't a nice way of telling someone off. Rather, "Bounce U" is this amazing playland filled with all sorts of wonderful bouncy contraptions. One of Bode's teacher's (Teresa) son, Brady, was having his 3rd birthday party. We were invited, and had a wonderful time.

When we got there, Bode was pleased to see two of his best friends, Evie and Tyler. Here's a picture of Bode and Evie. I didn't get the actual shot, but Bode gave Evie a hug. I ensured we could see daylight between them when they hugged...it's never to early to start policing these behaviors :-)

After a quick safety video which NONE of the children watched or paid any attention, we were off and running. First up was this big slide. We didn't think Bode would do it, as in the past he's been a little afraid of these things. Today, he went right up (with an assist from Mommy). Here's Ashley and Bode getting ready for some speed.

Next up was the big bouncy room. Most of the pictures were blurry because it was constant motion. However, here are some of the better ones. First we have Bode in a moment of stillness.

Here's a shot of Bode and Daddy falling down.

Finally, here are Bode, Tyler, and Evie having a wonderful time.

Here's a movie of some of the action. It was a good workout for all of us, bouncing around.

Here's a shot of Mommy and Bode climbing the final wall of the obstacle course.

The reward for clearing the wall is the slide down. Bode loved it.

The cats (kids) were herded up for a group photo. You'd think Bode would have smiled.

Finally, it was time for punch, pizza, cake, and ice cream. Bode sat by his boy Tyler.

As I look at this photo, I can picture 14 years from now, and these two studs kicking back, drinking a soda (hopefully...I certainly never had beer before 21) and hanging out. Time goes by too fast. Pleasant week to all.

Best of Times, Worst of Times

Today is the first day in awhile that temperatures are above the freezing point. I even went running, and felt warm in the sun. Well, maybe not warm. The wind wasn't biting, and my face didn't hurt due to cold, so we should consider this a positive.

We've had some ups and downs. First, the ups. Bode continues to develop into a talking machine. The kid always has something to say--usually good, but he has picked up some terms. Not bad, but it is funny to hear Bode say, "Dang it!" when something goes wrong (blame Ashley for this one). The little fellow still loves his trucks. Probably the only thing he loves more is his hat, which he'd shower in if we let him.

Bode is cute when we take his picture. He really knows to say, "Cheese" whenever someone is pointing the camera his way.

Bode is now sleeping in a big-boy bed. And the operative word is big. Here are a couple of shots with Mommy and Bode reading (yes, Bode is in there under the pile of sheets).

Obviously we went the bunk-bed route. Notice there is no ladder in the pictures. Two hours after we finished putting together this behemoth, Bode fell off the ladder. He wasn't very high, but he landed on his back and whacked his head pretty hard. It's a good thing those wood floors are so forgiving. He wasn't himself for awhile, and even the next day at preschool, he kept telling the teachers he hurt his head. Fortunately, little boys heal quickly, and he's back to himself.

Ok, now for the bad. Again, I must point out the bunk-bed. The reason we bought a bunk-bed is Ashley was pregnant. Unfortunately, at the 12-week point, she had a miscarriage. This was hard on us both, but sometimes this is how things work out. The sad irony was we got the call that Bode's bed was in the day she had a procedure :-(

Now, back to finish with some good. Auburn is still with us. It has been 10 months since her leg was removed. She isn't the most active dog, but she never was much of a working pup. Her favorite thing continues to be lying on the green couch. If only we'd feed her there...

Pleasant day to all.

The Big Game

From the title, you might think I'm referring to the Auburn Tigers victory in the 2010 BCS National Championship on 10 January. Sure, this was A-U-some, but it's not really the point of this post. I will say that yes, we watched the game (stayed up to 0100--damn this east coast time zone) and were terrified when Cam fumbled. But in the end, the sure-footedness of Wes Byrum (not to mention the deity-like balance of Michael Dyer) won the game. Wareagle! Who's up for a repeat?

The big game to which I refer is this past weekend's gridiron match between the Steelers and Ravens. My Aunt Marnie (or as she likes to be called, Bode's "Great" Aunt) and her husband Dave, have season tickets. As luck would have it, the weather was particularly cold. Dave has some thin blood so he offered me the opportunity to go. I, of course, had to accept. Ashley, Bode, and I drove to Pittsburgh Saturday morning and got there by lunch. The game was at 4:30, so we headed for the stadium around 2:00. Did we take the Beamer to the game? Heck no. We went in a classy car. And what's more classy than a limousine. That was the way to travel, away from the masses of (drunk) people. It's hard to not think of them as peasants when you're in a limo, driving by nice and warm while they're walking many blocks in the cold. Here's a picture of Marnie in me in our plush surroundings.

The weather wasn't all that bad, with the temp being a balmy 25 or so. Fortunately there wasn't much of a wind. I stayed warm for most of the game. The playoff atmosphere was amazing. Everyone was pumped up, and I was surprised that everyone was wearing a black-and-gold jersey. Throughout the game, I snapped some photos. Here are some of the better ones. First, we have the pregame introduction of the players. Before the National Anthem, two Marines were awarded Purple Hearts, which was pretty neat to see.

Right before kickoff, Marnie and I snapped a quick photo--we wanted to be sure we were smiling in case the Steelers lost!

The game started off great, with a quick Steeler touchdown. The team then fell asleep, committed some awful turnovers, and we found ourselves down 21-7 at halftime. We were sad, but thought we had a chance. I was quick to point out Auburn's 24-7 halftime deficit versus Alabama. Fortune was shining down on the Steelers because they scored 17 unanswered points and went up 24-21. The Ravens tied it 24-24, but Pittsburgh scored a TD with about 1:00 left in the game. A solid defensive stopped sealed the victory! Here are a couple game-photos. In no way am I SI-ready :-) Here's the opening kickoff.

Here is a shot of the offense in the second half getting ready to run a play. I've no idea how this play ended.

After the game, we headed home. Bode was zonked out. Evidently he spent the day going up and down the stairs bringing Ashley and Dave (Marnie's husband) imaginary scoops of ice-cream. It's funny what goes on in the little fellows'minds...

Sunday was a lazy day. We lounged and relaxed and ate. Bode's other "great" aunt, Geri, had driven in from Johnstown on Saturday. Here's a picture of Bode showing her how to play video games.

Finally, here's a picture of me and Dewey, Marnie and Dave's yellow lab. It's an awful picture of me, but it's the only decent one of Dewey.

We had a wonderful trip to Pittsburgh and look forward to seeing everyone again. Pleasant week to all.

Fun Movie

One of Bode's favorite toys from Christmas is this little truck track. A battery-powered car drives around this circuit and becomes various types of trucks by picking up the skeleton of a bulldozer, front-loader, and dump-truck. The trucks moves these little balls around the track. Bode loves watching the truck go round and round.

Some big football games today. Happy New Year to all!