Park City Day 1

We have been in Park City, Utah, for the past few days.  Since we now live in Florida, we needed a ski-fix for the year.  We'd never been skiing in Utah, and our passes were good for Park City.  Plus, Ashley found an awesome rate at the Doubletree hotel.  The only issue was Bode's spring break and my spring break did not align.  Bode was gracious enough to volunteer to skip a week of school--he's so magnanimous.  We flew out early Friday morning.

We arrived safely, but sadly, our skis did not make the trip from Atlanta.  We were worried we'd be without skis on Saturday, but fortunately, our ski bags were located and they were delivered to the hotel at 0109 in the AM on Saturday morning.  Thus, we were ready to ski.  We hit the slopes first thing on Saturday morning.  We probably got there too early--lifts in Breckenridge opened at 0830; here, not til 0900.  Thus, we had time for some pictures at the base.

The weather wasn't perfect on Day 1, but we were able to get out ski legs back.  Here's Ashley and Bode before our first big run on the day.

Here's one from a little later in the morning--Bode was psyched that we were going to try this particular black diamond.

We only skied for a couple hours on the first day--we didn't want to overdo things.  Plus, it was a Saturday, and it was starting to get packed.  So we called it a day and headed over to Main St for some lunch.  We were able to watch Auburn beat Tennessee in its final regular season game.  Afterwards, Bode found a friend.

Day 1 was a great success.  Total vertical feet:  8,700.

The Garden Project

As you may recall, when we lived in Colorado, I built a nice little garden in the backyard.  Actually, I did this twice in Colorado--when we first lived there from 2000 - 2006 and then from 2012 - 2018.  I really enjoyed it, and the only reason we didn't do a garden in Ohio was our time was focused on the little dude (good times).  Now, every time I throw out old fruit, I feel like I'm simply throwing away good fertilizer.  Thus, I've decided to start growing some crops.

However, I can't plant quite yet.  We don't have a lot of sun in our backyard--all these d*mn trees :-)  We did have some trees taken out in the front yard before Christmas, and Ashley and I realized we could put some planter boxes.  This will be a bit of a process--need to move some dirt around, and then probably reroute the sprinkler system.  But I'm hoping in a couple months, Bode and I will be planting some seeds. 

Here are some "before" pictures...although it's not quite "before" since I have moved some of the dirt around.

The mounds of dirt are the future locations of the boxes.  We hope to put some sod down on the "paths" and then maybe a rock path down the left side that leads to the side of the house.  Hopefully a year from now we'll be harvesting the winter crop and readying for the summer :-) 

All is well here.  We played some tennis yesterday and Bode had orchestra.  We received the "enrollment in middle school" packet this week from Bode's school.  It is hard to believe in less than three months, Bode will be ready for junior high.  The dogs were elated.

Pleasant week to all.

Bode's Swimming Picture

I know I usually post the professional photos at the end of the year, but we just got Bode's swimming picture.  He looks great--he had a hair cut a couple days before, so he's neatly trimmed and looking handsome.

He likes the little lines in his hair on the side of his head--I guess it's better than some other weird things he could have done, so we'll tolerate his desires ;-)  Pleasant day to all.

Spring

Technically, it is still winter, but the flowers are really blooming on our bushes.

Ashley was in Raleigh all week.  She got back yesterday after a cancelled flight forced her to spend an extra night in Charlotte.  She was happy to be back where it is warm; the dogs were also quite happy to see her.

The dogs were also very interested in a pelican that was swimming near the dock.

Bode is wearing a wet suit.  We got him one because Ashley has one when she paddle boards in the winter, and Bode said he wanted one.  He likes to see if he can stand getting in the water.

Bode then decided he wanted to take the paddle board out.  Here are some action photos.

Finally, here's a movie of Bode in action--it's not quite as exciting as watching someone kite surf now is it?

Ashley and I watched Auburn get destroyed by Kentucky in basketball.  Otherwise, it is a pretty dull day--maybe some yard work, but otherwise, we plan to relax.  Pleasant weekend to all.

More Swimming

Bode had another swim meet a couple weeks ago (I've been remiss with my posting).  The meets are usually broken up into sessions.  There is a session Friday evening, two on Saturday, and then two on Sunday.  We like to attend for only one session--there is only so much time Ashley and I can spend on the pool deck.  The Saturday morning session worked best for our schedules, but the events were not Bode's favorites.  However, he still swam exceptionally well.  First, he swam the 200-yard freestyle.  I don't think he has swum that in a couple years, so he shaved 40+ seconds off his best recorded time.  Bode is now swimming in the 11-12 year old group, so he's not going to be near the top of the finishing lists.  However, there were not a lot of 11-year olds that did the 200, so I told him he might want to start thinking about doing it more often...not sure if he responded or was zoning out :-)  He also swam the 50-yard back, the 50-yard free, and the 100-yard breast stroke (he hates this stroke).  He swam PRs in the 200, the 50 free, and the 100-breast (he'd never swum in a meet before); he was right on his best time for back stroke, so he was quite pleased with his results.  Here are some pictures.  First, Bode getting ready to swim.

Next, is Bode swimming in the 200.

You can sort of see Bode's arm in this next one--he's doing the back stroke.

Here's Bode doing the breast stroke.  This is probably the best stroke for pictures.

Finally, here's Bode getting ready for his final race of the day.  He swam the 50 in 35 seconds, which is great.  Keep in mind, Bode is certainly not the best swimmer or anything like that, but he's working very hard and is improving.  Plus, he's in pretty good shape :-)

After the meet, we grabbed a quick photo with Mommy, I mean, Mom, and headed to Subway for some lunch.

At some point, Bode is going to be taller than Ashley...perhaps not this year, but I think it will happen before he's a teenager.  Pleasant day to everyone.

Swimming

Bode continues to improve with his swimming.  We also think he's starting to like it.  A few months ago, he kept asking about soccer.  When I went to register him for soccer this week, he said, "I want to focus on my swimming."  Thus, we'll stick with the swimming thing for a bit.  He had a meet last weekend.  He swam the 50-back, 50-fly, the 100-free, and was the backstroke leg of the medley relay.  He had personal bests in each event.  Here's a picture of Bode getting ready--laser focus.

Next, we have some movies of his events.  I had to reduce the quality of the second movie because it was just a bit too big.

Here's Bode at the end of the meet--he said he was exhausted.

Bode received his report card for the second quarter.  We were very impressed that he got all A's--pretty awesome for a kid that spends an inordinate amount of time on his phone.  Still, he's doing well with swimming, school, and violin.  I guess we should just let him do what's he's doing because it seems to be working (although we are going to ask him to read just a bit more...)  Bode and I have started doing 100 push-ups and 100 sit-ups three or four times a week.  He'll be a hulk before you know it.

Nothing too exciting going on.  I started running a lot again, and am trying to get back into good shape.  At 45, I still think I should be able to run like I could when I was 35, but father time seems to have something to say about it.  However, the nice thing about being in Fort Walton is there are far fewer good runners compared to Colorado Springs, so it is easier to place well in my age group.  I ran a 5k this morning, and earned 10th overall (out of ~300 racers) and 2nd in the 45-49 year group.  My time was 20:33, which is good...but not like I used to be able to do.  I guess the worst part of getting older is not the aging itself, but the memories of what one used to be able to do.  Oh well--I guess it beats the alternatives (an early death or some type of inability to remember, neither of which appeals to me :-)  Pleasant week to all.

"Polar" Plunge

We decided to start a new tradition.  Well, I decided, and I convinced Bode to join in, but Ashley was having nothing of it, apart from being the videographer.  Since we live on the water, I thought what better way to ring in the new year than to jump into the water--a symbolic cleansing as the new year kicks off.  Ashley said no, but after some prodding and convincing (I bought him a new video game), Bode was up for it.  Thus, we headed down to the dock.  The weather doesn't look great, but the temperature was in the low 70's.  I'm not sure about the water temperature, but I do know it's not close to 40 degrees or whatever the temperature is in places they do a real polar plunge.  Bode and I were very excited to jump right in.

We figured the water wasn't getting any warmer, so we stopped clowning around and went for it.

The water was chilly, but not awful.  In fact, Bode got out and then got back in.  I must say I cheated just a little--I went running before we jumped in the water, so I was a bit sweaty and warm.  Still, it was a nice way to start the year, so much so that Joey decided to join us.

Happy 2019 to all!