Mas! Give me MAS!

Again, we're in reverse!Yo!  Here is Nick overlooking the sun up Bowl at Vail.  BOOYAH!
NEW SKI OUTFIT!
My gangsta cousins were out for New Year's!
Another Cousin with a honey baby.
Here is how we spent our cruise mornings!  They were pure joy!  Laura would want me to tell you all that she did win the aggregate cruise game.  Damn!

Photo Update

This posting is in reverse...the beginning is the end.  Isn't that fun?

Here are Grandpa and Grandma Manker.  They seem to set a great example for us to follow.  (Hint hint, Laura if I get cold, put your arm and coat around me!)
We were happy together even when our ship sank!
This was the great Captain's Cocktail on the cruise.  We snazzed it up and Laura dominated the contest of best looking on the ship!
The grandparents won the dance contest and later gave lessons.  Mom and Dad Manker are in the background strutting their stuff like Prince Henry (my former rooster).
Here is Momsy dominating the slippery, salty, humid, climbing wall.  She was awesome.  She also conquered the iceberg! (yes, we were permitted to climb an iceberg that we encountered).

For all you loyal readers, I apologize, it has been far too long.  Here are the photos I promised.  

Our tour of these United States!

Well, school is back on. We reluctantly returned yesterday to school and found that it is not so bad. We realized that we were incredibly fortunate to have had a brilliant Christmas break and that we can deal with a return to our normal lives. Here is a quick recap:

Laura, Guapa, and I drove to St. Louis the day that school let out and arrived around 1:00A.M. We had a wonderful day with the Hinksons and celebrated a slightly early Christmas chatting exchanging some presents, and playing backgammon. We had a delicious dinner prepared by Nancy. The next afternoon it was off to Tampa Bay to begin the cruise. Of course there was bad weather and both of our flights (yes, two different routes for us) were delayed. I was originally supposed to arrive at around 9:30 and ended up getting in at more like 12:30 in the A.M. Laura had beaten me by about an hour. We went to the hotel and slept.

The next day we greeted the Manker Clan and then jumped on the Grandeaur of the Seas! To sum up the cruise ship I'll use 3 words: Food, Family, Fun. It was great to see everyone. My favorite part was snorkeling in Cozumel. Laura taught me how to clear my ears and go deep so we eventually were able to dive 40 feet down and check out the coral reef! It was spectacular even if we saw a venomous sea snake and yucky eels!

After the cruise we returned to St. Louis for a brief visit again before heading to see Archie and the gang in Michigan. At the old homestead we had another brief but fun visit, and I guess it was inevitable, but Archie grew--a lot since I last saw him! He is much more interesting and alert than I remember.

Leaving Michigan was tough as always but this time we had the added bonus of taking Nick with us. Ol' MJ decided to come for New Year's and a visit in Colorado. We blasted through the whole day and on through the night and completed our journey after 18 hours and 1200 miles. We slept for the evening and then drove to the mountains for some skiing and New Year's festivities. Jess was wonderful in putting us up not only for the night, but about 3 days as we skiied and enjoyed ourselves. We went to Breckenridge and Vail.

Finally on the last day of our winter break we went snowshoeing (kind of) in the mountains near Idaho Springs. It was a lot of fun and I think Guapa loved being outside in her mountains again.

Well, I'll have to add all the pictures that we want to accompany this post later.

Christmas Time!

We had a wonderful Saturday yesterday.  It was simply fantastic.  We got up at 7:30 or so and packed the car for the mountains.  Of course that meant we brought snowboards, helmets, boots, gloves, snowpants, jackets, goggles, snow shoes, emergency equipment, backpacks, water, snacks...and you get the idea.  If Laura weren't here with her pre-packed bags and equipment ever ready then I'm sure I wouldn't have bothered with half of it and would have missed out on a wonderful day.  The above photo turned out to be our destination when we were snow shoeing.

This is from our first day at VAIL this year.  We went up last weekend as they opened two of their back bowls.  It was spectacularly soft snow and we were all falling quite a lot since the early conditions mean the snow isn't yet packed (hence the softness).
When we got back to Burke and Tiff's place we found that with the addition of Guapa the three dogs went crazy and tore apart the house (no lasting damage I'm told).  We found couch cushions strewn about, muddy footprints everywhere (including couch), and general disarray but not much biting we were thankful.
Here is our Family Photo for the Holidays.  At this point in the hike Guapa was pretty happy to be held.  She was pretty tired as she had to leap and bound through the snow all day.  

So after snowshoeing we went to the Georgetown Christmas Fair and heard some caroling and ate some delicious X-mas delights.  We were all a bit tired and cold so we ventured into the town's tavern for a brew and some more snacks.  It was so much fun that we stayed for a few hours.  Burke and I performed our rendition of many Christmas Carols and turned out to be a hit.  While the girls rolled their eyes we got a rousing applause!  It was quite a nice day.

Back in the LEW!(?)

Laura and I left school on Tuesday and drove straight on through to St. Louis.  We arrived no worse for wear at about 5:30 local time (in the A.M.).  On our journey we saw the beautiful starry night and listened to a book on CD (Ken Follett's sequel--something about time not ending was the title).

We now get to begin learning and sharing family traditions as our parents get to meet and we all enjoy Thanksgiving together.  So far this morning we ran in the Turkey Trot of Kirkwood--Laura won the race, I was 49th in my division (it is the toughest division after all).  I guess Laura has set a tough precedent for herself if she's looking to uphold the tradition.  Now we are making preparations as people begin to arrive.  We made some pies last night, the turkey is getting ready, the kitchen is immaculate, and a cornicopia of food is on the counter.  

In our Annual game of Pre-Turkey Backgammon, I am a little nervous (in a warm up game I was BAckgammoned last night), but I'm sure I can keep it close.

In other traditions and news, Guapa has vanquished all of the squirrels and bunnies from the yard and has also defeated the new and improved (taller) fences!  She chased one squirrel right out of the yard into a neighboring yard jumping through, and later over the new gate--damn!  

I guess I'll sign off with a HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALLISON!

From Weddings to Archie!

We were witnesses to a wonderful union--Ali and Adam tied the knot on A-train's Birthday.  We got to see some great stars in the planetarium and then watched the nuptials.  The two were extremely laid back and enjoyable at the reception--a true marvel and inspiration.
Adam and Ali inspired some excitement on our part also!  We've only got 7 months until our big day!  Laura couldn't keep her hands off of me!  On the way back to Kim's place where we stayed (thank you friend!) we got lost and ended up walking through a dry creekbed!
Here is Kate with little Archie Bernard!  We were so happy to see him and of course his great parents.  Laura and I went for a short visit but it was well worth it.  Kate and Ben are wonderful parents who already seem like seasoned veterans and it is obvious that they have support and love all around them.  Congrats to all three of you!  

First Ski Trip

Our first trip of the season was back in October.  I never posted the pics and am utterly embarrassed.  Kim accompanied us to A-basin when Allison was here.  I took one great run and then decided to retire until better snow arrived.  Kim and Laura took two.
What did I do while my fair lady was shredding the slopes without me?  I had a Bloody Mary of course with my new sis!  I had to search high and low but found her studying (yes, studying) in the A-framed lodge at the Basin.  It didn't take much coaxing to get her to come and have a drink with me.  

A Perfect Saturday

We began our Saturday this week with a hike in the mountains.  After waking up fairly early and packing the hiking gear and our snowboarding stuff we joined Guapa in the car and left for the bucks.

We went on a gorgeous hike and found some good back-country snowboarding spots and even some camping areas.  

After hiking we hit up the LEGEND (A-Basin)

The snow was not perfect but it was better and more plentiful than a couple of weeks ago.  Laura was sporting her vintage vest (think Marty McFly) and her new snow pantaloons.  It was obvious that she hadn't missed a step or forgotten skillz gained last year.   

I also got to try out my new snowboard (newly dubbed ROCO--and it certainly did) which performed beautifully.  I no longer experience the 'chatter' as I carve down the slopes, rather I can gently glide back and forth with the utmost ease.

  

TallyHO! It's a Pumpkin Patchin' we GO!

But FIRST--here is the latest update in Laura's night terrors!

A few mornings ago I got up and I was getting out of bed when Laura suddenly snapped out of her slumber and warned--"Uh...you might not be able to get out that way."  Surprised and quite sure that I would be able to, I said "I know it's a tight squeeze, but I'll manage".  

What I didn't realize was that in an effort to protect us from the charging snakes, squirrels, and ticks while we were sleeping, Laura had ingeniously erected some defenses.  The cushion from the chair near the bed was now blocking off all possible entrance to my side of the bed!  

This is the trip we took to the Pumpkin patch on Sunday.  It was a cloudy and rainy fall day and we decided that it was the perfect day to get some pumpkins to carve up.  We got three, one to carve that day and 2 to carve at Burke's house on Friday.  'Twill be fun.

Here is Laura eating (but not thoroughly enjoying) the lentil soup that we made after pumpkin patching.  She is quite the food snob and said of my cooking "it is just too bland" (by the way I made curry for her tonight and I got the same complaint).  I think she's just got a cold.

Frolicking in the Fall

We took a hike in Vail last Saturday.  it was pretty spectac.  I love to see the golden trails of Aspens cascading down the mountainside.  The weather on this particular adventure was perfect--about 60 degrees and sunny enough with some intermittent cloud cover.

Laura and I went with Burke, Tiffany, and Burke's sister, Ana (and of course Guapa, and Burke's two dogs).  

The hike we estimate at around 6 to 12 miles total.

Burke and I decided to go a little farther than the rest of the group and we parted ways after about 3-4 miles.  We headed straight up a mountain in search of Gore Lake.  The gals decided that they had gone far enough when we reached two graves with rocks piled over the bodies.  Alas, these were not wayward hikers, it seemed that they lived in this valley and died just before WWI.  

Burke and I continued to climb and ascended 600 vertical feet in about half a mile (15 minutes).  We were both drenched with sweat when we arrived at the lake after another hour of hiking.  

This is a picture that we took just before parting ways with the girls.  All the kids at school think this is how we spend every weekend!

Well, we made it up to the lake and did some fly fishing.

We saw a lot of huge (I'm talking probably 18 inches) Brown Trout but we coudn't get them to bite.  Maybe we were using the wrong bait!  Or it could have been my spastic casting; whenever a fish was near my fly--I tended to jerk the fly out of the water and launch it as fast as I could back at the fish in a dive bombing fashion.  Those fish probably were wondering if it was the apocalypse with all of the thrashing of the water I was doing.  We'll go with WRONG BAIT.

Nonetheless it was a beautiful day and wonderful hike.  Burke and I had to run the 6 miles to the car through forests and boulder fields in order to make it on time.  We went old school--I'm talking Pre Cell Phones-- and decided on a time to meet up (because we had both left our phones in the car!).  Since we were going to be late we had to jog most of it.  The dogs loved it but our feet hated it.  Burke ended up limping all week long.  

Adios Nancy!

Laura's mom and Marty  came for a visit and we're sad to see them go.  We spent a lot of time with Nancy who was a lot of fun and immensely helpful in sifting through the details of planning the wedding (She cooked and cleaned too, I almost felt like Zachis for a couple of days!).  We went hiking, we went out for sushi, we went to see the Rapids, and spent some time hanging out at home.  We truly had a great time--thanks again for everything!
This is a picture we took at Summit Lake on the side of Mount Evans; just a little dusting we got overnight!  We saw some polar bear clubbers and Guapa joined them while Marty took Pictures!
Zachis should recognize these guys--we drank down an Orn'ry Amber for you Hermano.  

Planning a wedding is hard!

I don't want to give you the wrong impression--I'm NOT doing much to plan my wedding (bernie writing)--but I've noticed that it takes a certain toll on everyone near the decisions/non-decisions.  Laura and I have of course reverted to the things we enjoy doing i.e. hiking and having fun.  Every once in a while we talk about what our ideal weddings would be and after Laura convinces me that we can't just slaughter a goat in a field and call it good, we discuss realistic ideas again until it bores us both.  Oh well, we'll come to some decisions soon!

Meanwhile we're having great times hiking and enjoying the beginnings of the fall in Colorado. Leaves aren't really changing yet but we're planning on taking the color tour at the end of the month.  

Happiness

Hello everyone this is Laura.  Thank you all for your emails, text messages, and voicemails, you have to love technology.  We are very excited out here.  I have to say I had a hard time enjoying the beauty of our 14er today because I kept looking looking at my hand.  Bernie is wonderful, last night as we were getting ready for our hike we both ended up in the closet.  If any of you have seen our closet, it is very small.  I cannot remember any of the conversation before he said, "This is as good of time as any,....." you know the rest.  It was perfect because I was SO SURPRISED.  Love you all.  I promise we will share details once we know them.  So far we know we are GETTING MARRIED!! but that is about all.  No idea where or when.  Love you all again and we will update soon.

MOTORCYCLE SHOPPING!

Oh my God, who is that STUD on the Suzuki?

Yes, I decided to buy a bike.  And no one can tell me otherwise!  NOT.

Laura was not so taken with the idea!!!!

She threatened to make weird faces!

So I got her a RING!

And SHE SAID YES!

THE END

 (OR IS IT THE BEGINNING!?)

In the Spirit of Election Season, we decided to do this Barack Obama Style!

Guapa's got UPS!

Watch in amazement!  This is what Guapa learned to do in St. Louis.  Thanks Nancy and David for teaching her such cool skillz.

Frisbee Golf

Burke, Laura, and I have recently become quite avid enthusiasts of the sport of Disc Golf.  Matthew Fennimore turned us on to the whole thing last spring, but it really took off over the summer and, well, we haven't really gotten that good yet, but we decided that one day we might be decent enough to form a Pro Tour and thus we have created trading cards with our favorite poses (soon to be found in all the local gas stations!)  There plenty of ways in which to propel the discs; the forehand and backhand of course, then there is the pizza toss, and finally, my personal favorite, the Tomahawk.  Here are some of our Trading Cards!  

Laura is about to STRIKE!

Burke is about to dominate the first hole!

First, I'd like to point out that we've mastered Zachis' technique of placing photos in the stream of bloggage.

Second, this is a photo from our beauty hike in the mountains this weekend.  Brian (with Guapa), next to them we find Laura and then Danielle.  

Guapa doesn't like SCHOOL!

For Laura and I it was indeed difficult to get back into the routine of school--alas we are not quite there yet!  But Guapa took it personally and as a dangerous threat to the cohesion of her herd.  She went from hiking, traveling, playing, and making merry all summer long to seeing her two favorite herd members abandon her for 8 hours a day!  Don't worry, she entertained herself--to our dismay.

This weekend we had a great time hiking the Herman Lake Trail and then playing in Washington Park.  It may have been the last good park day of the summer season--but I'm sure we'll continue going.  Enjoy the Pics!

 

Snakes and Ticks in Bed!

I love seeing Laura jump up in the middle of the night and stomp around in bed fully believing that the walls are covered with ticks or my favorite recent instance--that she was being attacked by snakes.  Laura actually jumped to her feet in bed and was stomping around as if she were crushing grapes!  I woke up (fairly quickly I'd like to think) and grabbed her legs as she complained that "they were going to get" her.  She did eventually wake up and I had a good chuckle--it's now one of my favorite memories of her.

School has been going pretty well for the most part.  We've had a lot of meetings which were seemingly scheduled in order to keep us out of our rooms.  Why? you may ask...well because the school is completely under construction still.  They say we'll have our Parents' Night tomorrow and that everything will be clean--I think it may actually happen and the only ones who will seem unprepared will be the teachers after not being able to work on our classrooms at all!

The beginning of school means that our wonderful summer is coming to an end.  I do look forward to the school year and seeing everyone again, but this summer has been wonderful.  Hopefully we'll continue to enjoy ourselves as fully as we have for the past few months!

School's EVE--Oh NO!

Just kidding.  We're actually looking forward to the oddities, difficulties, and fun that will accompany the upcoming year.  Especially at the beginning we expect a lot of chaos (new remodeling efforts at school!) but we hope to embrace it.

For the past week we didn't update, sorry, I was at an AP Spanish Institute and can now teach an AP Spanish course--but alas, maybe next year (it wasn't on the docket for this year).  Laura was busy entertaining all week!  First Anna Y. came with her fam and then Erin Carrol Van Dyke came for a visit.  We had some great times playing disc golf, touring the Coors Brewing Company, and generally making merriment.  

  

Tomorrow we are off to school and we've begun to devise a schedule to continue to do the fun stuff our summer has offered us.  We'll update more on that later.  In the mean time, enjoy the PICS.