Ski Trip Part 2

 Bode and Ashley spent Sunday through Thursday morning in Breckenridge.  They stayed at a little condo, and they skied, swam/hot-tubbed, and ate (probably too much :-) Here's a picture at the top of Peak 10.

In a crazy coincidence, Tim Tobik and his son, Carter, happened to be in Breckenridge, also doing some skiing.  Here is a picture of Bode and Carter.

And here is one of the four of them warming up at the top of Quicksilver lift.

Here is a shot of the four of them on the mountain.

The four of them skied together for a few days.  Wednesday was a very pretty day, so much so that they all went up Imperial Lift to the top of Peak 9.  The views from there are wonderful.

The group went to dinner at Breckenridge Brewery, and they also played some games in the condo.  Ashley said it was a wonderful time.  On their way back through Denver, they stopped at Dave's office for lunch.  Dave has an avionics company, and he rents his space from a famous landlord, John Elway.  John's private plane is shown below--note the tail-number.

The two of them had a wonderful trip, and they plan to do it again next year.  The dogs were thrilled when they got home (as was I :-)  Pleasant week to all.

Ski Trip Part 1

 Ashley and Bode spent a week up in Colorado.  I had to work because Bode's and my spring breaks do not overlap.  Ashley said it was some awesome mother-son time.  They arrived on Thursday night to some snow in Denver.

They spent Thursday and Friday at Dave's house.  Here is a nice picture of Ashley and her brother, and an old friend, Nathan.

One night, they went to an arcade with Teddy and Charlie.  Here are Bode and Teddy playing some games.

And here is a nice picture of Bode and Charlie.

Bode also played pool for the first time.

One night, they all went out to Korean barbecue.

On Saturday, they all went up to Frisco to do some tubing.

Ashley took a movie of one ride down with the boys.

Ashley and Bode took a nice selfie.

On Sunday, they all skied at Arapahoe Basin.  This is a nice picture of Bode.

The four days with David and the cousins was a great start to their vacation.  Next up, Bode and Ashley go to Breckenridge :-)

Best Time

The first middle school swim meet of the season was on Saturday.  This was a very small meet.  Bode swam the 50-free and the 100-free, winning both events.  First, here he is swimming the 50.

In the 100, Bode swam the fastest he had ever swum coming in at 58.1 seconds.

Ashley and I did some garden prep this weekend.  We put a large bird net over the berries; hopefully this will let us eat the fruit as opposed to the birds.

I also put some chicken wire around the other two beds.  I have beans and peas growing, and I think I also planted some cucumbers.  We'll see what kind of harvest we get this year.

Nothing else too exciting is going on.  I got a touch of the flu on Sunday, and I had to miss work today (Monday).  I hope to be better by tomorrow.  Pleasant week to all.

Buddies

Barkley and Rowdy have become the best of friends.  They play most of the day together, although I'm sure Barkley gets a little worn out.

She is rather sweet to let Rowdy climb all over her like that.  Rowdy had a visit to the vet today; he is now just under 21 pounds and healthy.  He is getting better going to the door when he needs to go outside, but there is still plenty of room for improvement :-)

The Meigs band has their Music Performance Assessment concert next Wednesday.  Apparently this is a very big deal for the music programs, so they had a dry run last night.  I recorded the introduction from Ms Tordi, the band director, explaining a little bit about the MPA.  And before you say anything, I don't know why the movies are so blurry; all but the last one is like this.

Next, we have their first performance of a piece called Crosswinds March.  You can't see Bode in the videos, as he is near the middle; I should have chosen my seat better.

The second piece is a little more musical and is called Maesong.

Finally, they brought the house down with a great rendition of the Sea Song Trilogy.

We have no major plans for the weekend.  I think Bode has a swim meet, but it is a very small one, so it should be quick.  I might try to get some pickleball in, but we'll see what the weather does--it might be too hot :-)  Pleasant weekend to all.

Ezinma

 Through Bode's involvement with Sinfonia Gulf Coast, he had the wonderful opportunity this weekend to play with Ezinma, a fairly famous American violinist that has brought some hip-hop to the four strings.  You can check out her own webpage at ezinma.com.  She has played with some big names--Beyonce, Stevie Wonder, and some other newer artists that I didn't recognize.  She was here as one of the performers for Sinfonia's Mardi Gras celebration.  Yesterday, she spent 45 minutes with some of the kids having fun on the violin.  Afterwards, Bode got a picture with her.  Little man is going to have to start dressing up if he is going to impress the ladies.

She was extremely personable and a very positive person.  She even told the kids they could messenger her whenever they wanted--and I really think she'd answer them.  I'm trying to get Bode to send her an IM just to thank her, but I don't know if I will be successful.  

Today was the big performance day.  I don't think Bode realized the magnitude of the event at which he would be playing.  It was $175 per plate to get a seat at a table, so we did not attend.  Ezinma played for about an hour, while the kids joined her for one song.  Before the concert, she was gracious enough to take a lot of pictures.

She also took some selfies with the group, and I think she posted to her Instagram account.

Ashley took the video--I apologize in advance for the quality.  You can't see much of Ezinma until the end.  Afterwards, even Bode admitted that it was cool to play with a professional.

It is another start of the work week; oh joy :-) Pleasant week to all.

Powerlifting

 Bode has been doing weight-lifting at school all year.  All the middle schools in the area had a weight-lifting competition.  Bode competed and did great...sort of.  He had benched 155 lbs a couple weeks before the meet.  However, I don't think he was prepared for the competition format in that you had to bring the bar down, stop, and then press.  Still, the little man (big man) came oh-so-close.

He also did the clean-and-jerk.  He was more successful, and he felt he could do more weight.  Here he is getting a good lift of 135 lbs.

Rowdy and Barkley have become the best of friends.  They play together all the time.

Here is a cute movie of them playing.

My mother has been in town visiting.  Obviously, the dogs are terrified of her.

Here is one move video of more of the same.

Finally, here is a nice picture of Bode and Grammy.

Nothing too exciting going on here this week.  Bode is very busy with band, orchestra, swimming, and weight lifting; he probably should study every now and then as well :-)  Ashley and I are just trying to stay awake--these puppies are a lot of work!  Pleasant week to all.

Rowdy

 We welcomed Rowdy, a wonderful 8-week old, 12-pound boxer puppy, into McGuirk family on Friday.  He's a little cutie.

He spent some time getting used to things, but he quickly settled in despite the presence of the 100-pound rottie.

He's a feisty little guy.  When he first met Barkley, he chased her all around the house, and she was not pleased.  She was actually afraid of the little guy.  However, Barkley seems to have figured out he again has a playmate in the house, albeit a rather small one.

Here is a cute one of the two of them playing outside.

Finally, here is a sweet one of the little fellow zonked out.

I'm sure we will have many more videos of Barkley and Rowdy playing as he grows into the family.  We will probably have a couple months of house-breaking, but that goes with having a puppy.  I look forward to a few weeks when he's big enough where he can't escape from the backyard. Pleasant week to all.