Mickey Mouse

Bode is a big fan of the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. A big fan. If he's ever slow to get out of bed, all we have to do is ask if he wants to watch Mickey Mouse and he bolts right up. He sings along with the songs, which is very cute. Here is a video of Bode singing along with Mickey during the opening song.

The weather has slowly been warming up. Ashley even talked about working outside in the yard, so it must not be cold if she's willing to brave the elements. All of us still miss Auburn. Sometimes Bode will ask about her, looking for his "sweet girl." Other times, Ashley and I find ourselves starting to do something as if she were still here (give her some scrap meat, fill up her water bowl, etc.) We've talked about getting a new dog--a "new Auburn from the store" as Bode says. Maybe sometime in June. Pleasant weekend.

Awful Weekend

I'm sad to say we had to put Auburn down. It wasn't the cancer, at least not directly. Her back hips no longer worked and she couldn't move. It was time.

We loved you, Auburn. You were the best dog you could be. Be in peace, buddy. 10 Feb 2000 - 6 Mar 2011

Waste of Time

Ashley and I have started doing yoga again. We had a class we went to before Bode was born, but haven't really done it since. We bought some DVDs and are giving it a go. Bode had the camera while we were practicing today (yes, we even use the right lingo). They certainly aren't going to make yoga cards out of our poses, as our upward-dog probably could use some work.

For Christmas, Ashley received the video game, Donkey Kong Country Returns for the Wii. Sadly, I have spent way too much time on this little adventure. I managed to clear all the levels (there are something like 80 of them). Now, I realize for each level, there is a Time Attack mode, where you try to complete the level as fast as possible. I've done ONE level where I achieved a Shiny Gold Medal. Sadly, I chose to video tape the replay and post to the web, much like many Kongophiles have done on youtube (yes, I am a loser). I've no idea how many tries it took me to get this time. Maybe more than 100? If Bode feels neglected, blame the Kong...

Ashley has started us on a new diet. Yes, yoga and healthy eating. Don't you wish you were coming to visit??? :-) Pleasant week to all.

Colorado Trip Part III

We had a nice relaxing time with the Rankins (both the Florida version and the Denver one). The little guys got to hang out, which is something they seemed to enjoy. Here is a picture of Bode and Teddy. It was hard to get them to sit still for this short period of time (well, maybe not hard--we could always get them to stop moving by throwing in a movie).

Next is a picture of Bode and Charlie (and yes, Bode is still in the hat, albeit the new one)

Here's a nice shot of Bode, Papa, and Mommy.

All that playing wore someone out...unfortunately it wasn't Bode :-)

Ashley and Nana spent some time on the computer.

Finally, here's a cute photo of Bode eating peanuts.

We had a lovely time in Colorado. Today is Friday, and I'm at home. I took the day off because I needed to rest (play Donkey Kong). It is snowing and cold. The base is on a 3-hour delay. Brrr. Pleasant week to all.

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.