Hike

Nice hike with Shawna today....

Green Mountain Reservoir

We had such a fun day with friends at their retreat in Heeney on Green Mountain Reservoir. We arrived during a rain storm that lasted an hour or so, so we played games, chatted, drank tea and had fun indoors. Then, as the sun came out, we had very yummy New Jersey sloppy joes and fruit outdoors at the picnic table.

After lunch we climbed into the speed boat for some water fun. Michele began by water skiing, followed by Sarah. Michele also did some great wake surfing behind the boat. Doug gave it a try, too, and was excellent, though he didn't feel comfortable enough with the wave to let go of the rope. Both Sarah and Kayley also were able to get up and have a good go on the surf board. Doug and Michele did it again, then Chris took his turn water skiing while Michele piloted the boat. Eddie and I had a great time riding in the boat and cheering for everyone. A fantastic treat was watching two bald eagles in a tree (and flying) on the shore.

We really enjoyed getting to know our friends better and seeing their compound over there. We decided it's like being at a hut, only it's on the water not on the trail system. We'd never been to Green Mountain Reservoir before, so it was a special day for us!

Here are some pictures...

XTerra

Today was Doug's XTerra race in Beaver Creek. He did well, and we had so much fun cheering him on. We also loved rooting for Claire, Kerry, Jen, Peter and all the competitors who came by. The race began with a one-mile swim in Nottingham Lake in Avon. This is two laps around the lake. We were able to find Doug when he came around for his first lap, so we yelled really loudly. We screamed some more when he came out of the water smiling after lap two. We ran up to the transition area to watch him peel off his wet suit, put on bike clothes and jump on his bike for the 25K bike ride up to the top of Arrowhead... 3000 vertical feet of climbing before he would descend down into Beaver Creek. He would then switch into running shoes to go out for an 8K run... up another 1000 vertical feet on the trails in Beaver Creek.

After he took off on his bike, Eddie and I packed up shop and drove up to BC to wait. We knew he'd be about 1 hour and 45 minutes on the bike, so we played a round of mini golf while we waited and screamed for the earlier bike finishers. What a fun round of golf! We climbed up the hill just a little way to find a place where we could cheer when Daddy finished the bike, then we could turn around and encourage him at the start of the run. He came speeding down the hill just a little after expected, so we were waiting. We saw him coming and yelled for him!

After Doug left for his run, we tootled over to the General Store in BC for drinks and a special treat because Eddie had been so good and patient. We found marbles, which proved to be perfectly entertaining for the next almost hour while Doug ran. We took them to a shady spot on the rocks about 100 yards before the finish line where we clapped and yelled for everyone who came in until we saw Daddy. When we spotted Doug, we ran up to the skiers' bridge to jump up and down, whoop it up for Daddy and cheer him into the finish.

I think it took Doug just about 3 hours and 30 minutes to finish. I am very proud of him, and I think Eddie is, too. I had a great time cheering for all our friends. It is truly inspiring to watch these fit people giving it their all. Boy, I really want to try to do it next year! So, thanks to all of you for the inspiration and the really fun day! Here are my photos. There are captions below each. Have a great night!

Doug getting ready for the start.

The start.

Doug's first lap.
Rounding the bouy.

Jen out of the water.

Claire out of the water.

Daddy out of the water!

Daddy getting ready for bike.

Doug out on bike!

Eddie getting positioned to cheer Daddy after the bike.

Claire out on the run.

Jen out on the run.

Daddy coming in on the bike.

Go Daddy!

Doug out on the run.

Daddy with 200 yards to go! Go Doug!!

Eddie enjoying the Lego Volvo in Beaver Creek.

Low Pressure Day!

Eddie and I visited with mom Holly, Ben and Evie this morning at their beautiful home in Eagle Ranch. Holly is one of those lovely, accepting people I am always so happy to be with. She is a super mom, with two adorable little ones. She has an easy style and grace that I admire. This was our first time to her newish home and it is very pretty and homey. There are two items in particular I covet: a basket she has on her kitchen counter and a ceramic piece in the powder room...both were wedding gifts for Eric and Holly. I think I will have to go to the Minturn Market again before the Summer is out to find a similar basket. There are three things she's made that I thought were so special. One is a chart for Ben - he earns stars for being good to his sister. The chart itself is a good idea, but it was also put together with such love. The next was a picture book for Father's Day for Holly's husband Eric. She created it on Shutterfly with photos of the family and it came out great. The third was a framed collage of Ben's early art work she's hung in his bedroom. It is colorful and meaningful. I remember how enthusiastically he jumped into the mess of art when he was less than a year old. This was a perfect way to display his creations! We had a really nice time this morning.

It's been cloudy and rainy for a few days here, which is so unusual and is such a treat! We need the moisture badly. Last night we opened the windows wide just to smell the rain. Since I didn't take the camera to Holly's, here are some pictures of our back garden today.

Tomorrow is Doug's Xterra in Beaver Creek. He's worked hard for this and I hope he has a fun time and a fast race. I will try to cheer for him with Eddie, especially at transition area two, when he'll be feeling the pain! Good luck, husband! I hope you do so well!

The Denver Zoo and Just Between Friends

Shawna and I took Holly and Eddie to the Denver Zoo this morning, then we went on to drop off about 200 items of gently-loved children's clothing to the Just Between Friends sale that will happen this weekend. At the Zoo, we visited the lions, a leopard, a jaguar, the zebras, giraffes, seals, polar bears, and the gorillas. The leopard and jaguar paced in their cages, but everyone else seemed relaxed and happy enough. I could have watched the gorillas all day. There are two large ones and a very young one. One (at least) of them is a silver back and so majestic. He sat up tall watching over his territory. I could not see the other large one well. The young, small one was right in front of us munching leaves she'd grabbed from our side of the fence. I really could have watched them for much longer.

And the carousel was a highlight again...big smiles from the little ones.

The clothes we took to the JBF sale are a number of Summer items that didn't sell at our May WiggleWear sale. We hope they will sell there... there will be probably 1500 people coming to buy at this sale. If they do sell, we will get 65% of the sales price, a good percentage for consignment. It's a very good concept - the consignor does all the pricing, tagging, and hanging and so makes a larger percentage than in a usual consignment shop. I love all the things we brought. It was almost hard to leave them there... much harder than putting them up for sale at our store.

Finally, we also went to the Cherry Creek Mall to kill some time. I am proud to say that Eddie asked, when we walked into the mall, if it was the airport. My child is more familiar with airports than with the mall!! As he would say, "wooo hooo!"

Have a great night!

Recent Etsy Purchases

I've been shopping at a website called Etsy, where independent artists and crafters sell their homemade wares. Here are some of the artists I've bought from and some pictures of their work:

This cow is from Woodmouse Loves Wood. I bought a little gift for a new mom from her. It came beautifully packed in a little organic sack with a few sweet informational cards. Here is Woodmouse's blog.

These polar bears are one of Creative Thursday's creations. Marisa is Creative Thursday and her blog is listed in my blog list to the right of this post.

This print is by Hadley Hutton. Her prints were my first purchases on Etsy and I am very happy with them.

This pillow is by Felted Style. I am really liking felt lately, and applique (though this is embroidered). I bought two similar ones to go in our Denver home on our bed.

I love the Etsy site, but I usually rely on the design blogs I visit to direct me to some good artists, because wading through everything to find nice stuff is just too much. Holly Becker of Decor8 always finds fun things and highlights them in a weekly column, and in a sidebar, on her fantastic design blog. Have a great night!

Last Week's County Fair

Eddie and I went to the Eagle County Fair last Thursday with Shawna, Holly and Lindsey. We had a grand time! Eddie's favorite part was riding the train at the carnival. Mine was dancing to the country band music at noon! Here are some pictures of Eddie and Holly on the train. Have a great night!!

Dunk and Dash

Well... just dunk, really. And I only swam one lap of it instead of two.

Doug watched Eddie so that I could do the Avon Dunk and Dash tonight. The race consists of a 1/2 mile swim or a mile swim in Avon's Nottingham Lake and then a three mile run. I haven't done a multi sport race in six years or so... and I didn't tonight either! I swam the first loop (1/2 mile) and called it quits... which is unlike me, but that was a HARD swim for me! I need to get in the pool more. But, in hindsight, it was really fun to be out there with Eddie and Doug cheering me on from the shore. And I saw my friend Claire, who did the whole thing. She's a very strong woman and I applaud her! I'll try to keep up the swimming and head out there again next week (or if not next week, then next Summer, as next week is the last of that series).

For a picture, since I don't have one of the dunk, here is the orchid we received as a wedding gift five years ago. It's still so beautiful and going strong! Have a great night...

My First Post

This is my first post on my new blog! I'll keep it like a journal of life here in Colorado.

We spent the weekend in Denver at our place in Riverfront Park. We love our little apartment there. We made it very contemporary and clean, so that we get away from the clutter of daily life. I'll post pictures another time. On the way down to Denver, we stopped at Tiny Town for a quick tour and train ride. Then a visit to Golden on Saturday. We had ice cream both nights at Little Man Ice Cream. A visit with Grandma and Grandpa was an unexpected, special treat.