Crash

I did a bad thing. This Saturday we went snowboarding at Keystone and I crashed into a skier. Actually, a skier crashed into me, but it was my fault. The skier was going kinda slow through this narrow run and I didn't want to slow down for him. I tried to pass him, a little too close, and he turned into me. I got slammed into the snow and now I have whiplash. It was just like on Pointbreak (my favorite movie) when the local surfer gets mad at Keanu Reeves for crashing into him on the wave (except we didn't get into a fist fight). So all day I've been whining to Drew and laying in bed with a heating pad. The injury was totally worth it though because we had so much fun on the mountain. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on who's reading this) we didn't get any pictures of my crash, but we did get some nice pictures of Drew and Hunter modeling their new snowboards.

Drew's fun fact: Keanu means 'cool breeze over the mountains.'

Winter Wonderland

We had our first snow this week! The only time I've ever seen snow was on vacation so this whole week has felt like vacation, especially since we get to go snowboarding again tomorrow! It's so strange to be able to hop in the car and drive to the ski resorts- Drew's done it about 4 or 5 times since the mountains opened. We woke up to a blanket of snow on the ground yesterday, and, of course, we were unprepared (we went through 2 hurricane seasons in Fort Lauderdale without owning a flashlight, why should we start being prepared now?). We had no snow shovel or windshield scraper. Drew went out in his underwear to sweep the snow off my windshield with a broom- now that's love.

My job is still going really well. Last week a 93 year old man pointed to the stethoscope around my neck and said "that makes you look important." Another 91 year old man said "what's up doc" then asked me to give him something to "put him down". And today an 80-something year old lady did "the itsy bitsy spider" up and down my arm. Old people are so cute.

The only other thing to report is that the city of Longmont built an ice-skating rink in the park down the street from our house- how awesome is that!?! And Drew's parents and my brother-in-law Devon are coming for Thanksgiving, can't wait to see some family...

Drew's fun fact: A single snowstorm can drop 40 million tons of snow, carrying the energy equivalent to 120 atom bombs.

Slacking Off

Today I got home from work 2 hours early (love my job!) so Drew and I went to the park in our neighborhood to play frisbee, slack-line, and enjoy the beautiful fall day. It quickly became apparent that Drew has had some free time lately because all of a sudden he's really good at slack-lining. He can walk across the whole line without falling, while I can't even get up without almost choking Drew to death while he helps me up. After watching this I'm pretty sure he'll never have a problem passing a field sobriety test (not that he would ever have a problem anyway).

After that we let Bogey embrace his wild side. We let him off the leash to chase some squirrels, but he just ended up playing hard to get with Drew.

Drew's fun fact: In Fruita, CO, the town folk celebrate 'Mike the Headless Chicken Day'. Seems that a farmer named L.A. Olsen cut off Mike's head on September 10, 1945 in anticipation of a chicken dinner - and Mike lived for another 4 years without a head.

Big Break

So I think we had a major break through on Sunday. Ever since we moved to Longmont Drew and I have been trying to make friends. We find ourselves being extra friendly to strangers and are often tempted to follow/stalk anyone we see that's our age. We've also been struggling to find a church that we like. This is all a new experience for us because we've always had such great community everywhere we've lived. But hey, new experiences are what we moved here for. So on Sunday we met and had coffee with a lady who is trying to get Young Life started in Longmont. She knows some people that will be great contacts for us as far as making friends and getting to know people in the area. She invited us to the next Young Life committee meeting and to go stay at Crooked Creek (a YL camp near Winter Park) for the weekend in early December. She also told us about a couple good churches in the area. It was so great to sit and talk with her, now I have some hope that we will make some friends that actually live in Longmont (right now all our friends live in Denver or Colorado Springs which means that we have been driving 30+ miles to hang out with people).

Also of note, we're having a Halloween party this weekend. We bought a fog machine and a black light so I'm pretty sure it will be awesome. We've also been watching a lot of scary movies lately (thanks for the free Netflix Dad!). Then, every night after we finish watching the scary movie Drew dares me to go to the basement in the dark. The one time I was brave enough to do it he hid in the corner and scared the crap out of me. So now I won't do it. It's really scary down there, especially with the lights off, which is exactly why the Halloween party is going to take place there. I'm going to be Carrie (from the scary movie, not from Sex and The City) and Drew is going to be a toilet. I'll be sure to post pictures.

The other big break is that a couple ski slopes opened up yesterday and today...

I haven't taken any pictures recently and since a blog with no pictures is no blog at all- here are a few from Drew's trip to Moab with the GE Johnson boys a few weeks ago.

Drew's fun fact: A watermelon is a vegetable not a fruit.

The Altitutes

This past week has been a lot of fun. Last weekend Drew, Sean, Hunter and I hiked Mount Democrat. We all met Friday night at this hole-in-the-wall bar in Alma, CO called Alma's Only Bar. We had a couple beers and talked to some of the locals, who definitely seemed like they didn't get to the big city very often. There was a lady camped out in the single stall bathroom the whole night crying in the corner. She wouldn't leave or accept any help from us, so I had no choice but to use the bathroom with her sitting right there. She didn't seem to even notice, and I'm still not sure if that was a good or bad thing. Anyway we camped that night at the trailhead which was at 12,000 feet. It wasn't a very restful night since it got down into the 20s and I was sleeping in a tent with 3 boys with the "altitutes" (apparently being at altitude gives some people gas). The hike the next day was very cold but very beautiful. It was completely different from the other 14ers we've done because the trailhead was above treeline which made it feel like we started half way through. It was still pretty difficult and took about 5 hours total, but as always the views were worth the effort.

Last night we had a girls' night which turned into a slumber party. Mindy, Brett, and I spent the night at my new friend Danielle's house. I've known Brett and Mindy forever because we went to preschool and did Girl Scouts together back home. I lost touch with both of them after high school, but since we all randomly moved here we've been reunited. Last night we drank wine, talked about boys, and painted. It was just like when we were younger except we got to drink wine instead of milk. We all painted some pretty awesome paintings, especially my Day of the Dead skull. We even froze Mindy's underwear (because she was still wearing her bra) when she fell asleep first during the truth or dare portion of our party.

The other big event of this week was that Drew and I bought season snowboard passes. We're getting so excited! There's been a lot of snow on the mountains in the distance the past couple days which is beautiful but causes me to be a very bad driver (I can't not look at it).

Now if I could only figure out what to be for Halloween...

Drew's fun fact: The movie "Halloween" was shot in the spring and used fake autumn leaves.

Fall!

It's definitely starting to look and feel like fall here, and it's so exciting to have seasons! Last weekend we went to Rocky Mountain National Park with a few friends who had never been. All the aspen trees had yellow and orange leaves, something I've always wanted to see in person. I was not disappointed. We had a great time driving around and taking pictures. It was kind of a random group of people, but as you can see we all got a long pretty well (except for that one creepy guy in the back).

It's supposed to start snowing in about a month, which means snowboarding season is almost here! Drew and I went to REI over the weekend and I had to decide between climbing shoes and snowboards boots. Looks like I'll be climbing at the gym in my sneakers for a few more weeks. The pictures of snow-capped mountains on the walls in the store tipped me over the edge. Everyday when I look over at the mountains I can see a little more snow in the distance, I wonder if I'll ever be this excited about snow again. We'll see what a season of driveway-shoveling and windshield-scraping does to my enthusiasm.

This weekend we're planning another 14er, well one for me and four for Drew, Sean, and Hunter. There's a route that takes you across 4 peaks which the boys are going to do, but I plan to just do the first one since I'm slow and my left knee hates hiking. Hopefully the weather and my knee will cooperate, especially since 14er hiking season is just about over.

I still love my job and Drew's still looking for a job that he will love. He stays busy planning our adventures and scheming up different business ideas. So many exciting things around the corner...

Drew's fun fact: Denver's earliest recorded snow was September 3, 1961.

Home, home on the front range

After four months of transition, we finally have a home again. We moved into our new house on Sept 1st and have loved living here so far. We live in "Leave it to Beaver" neighborhood- the first day we moved in our next door neighbors brought us homemade apple bread. There are two big parks within three blocks and on Friday nights we can hear the high school football game from our house. I love my new job so far. Doing house calls is a lot of fun and very laid-back. Drew is still looking for a job and enjoying being a stay-at-home Dad for Bogey. We've been to a couple Rockies games and have been watching the Gator games at the Rocky Mountain Gator Club in Denver. I can't say enough how great it is to have a home, especially one right next to the mountains.

Drew's fun fact: The "naked recreation and travel" industry has grown by 233% in the past decade.