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.