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.