From 70 to Stormy

It has been a very strange late fall for us. Our temperatures have been warmer than Texas and Florida and extraordinarily dry. Yesterday was a record high of 70 degrees and all the days before that were topping out between 55 and 65. Not that we are complaining. The mountains have had some pretty incredible early-season snow while we have had some extremely dry months. Funny thing...water runs downhill so an ordinary state would be fearing a drought...but not us! We get the spring runoff that fills our water tables so as long as the mountains keep getting pounded with feet of snow, our summer will be just fine.

That being said, I had a couple of vacation days that I needed to use or lose before the end of the year. A month ago we planned to make our first trek to Summit County and hit the slopes of Breckenridge. And as of yesterday they are 83% open with an incredible 51 inch base (which is great for mid-December!). And with the weather we've been having it should be a great day. Maybe even sweatshirt skiing! Yeah. Not so much.

Sometime between lunch and 4:00 pm yesterday, our forecast for Thursday went from sunny and seasonal (mid to upper 40's) to this: From Record Heat to Snow Advisory Yes, that's right. We are under a winter weather advisory for 3-7 inches of snow tonight and tomorrow morning. Which doesn't sound like much until you factor in the idea that the drive from here to Breckenridge traverses nearly 6,000 vertical feet in elevation, and that's just to the Eisenhower Tunnel.

We have decided to go for it, but reserving the right to change our minds at the last minute after a little research on road conditions along I-70 first thing in the morning. And as a precaution, we will be taking the dogs to Camp Bow Wow for doggy day care with the option to stay overnight, just in case!

I think I could be OK getting stuck here! We'll pack the essentials, just in case (keeping fingers crossed! I'll let you guess in which direction!)


Merry Ski Wooley!

Bittersweet

It was so wonderful having Mom and Dad here. I wish they lived closer. When they left this morning, it was very bitter sweet...more on the bitter side I guess. We had so much fun and enjoyed each others company so much that it was sad to see them leave knowing that I probably won't see them again until Christmastime. There were a few tears shed. But at the same time, it's good to get back to some sort of routine, even if it is only for a day before I leave for Cleveland.

Here are some of the highlights of the long weekend. By the way, Mom knows about this post, but Dad doesn't and I'd like to keep it that way. Giggle with me, but please don't share or embarrass Dad by telling him you saw this!

1. Dad burned his toast on day one. That's actually become his signature trademark in every place I have ever lived. When I moved to Dallas, he burned it so badly (at 6:00 am on a Saturday) that it set off the smoke alarm and woke my neighbors (they never did like me!). It happens in every house/apartment. And it's been the same toaster for 5 years. You'd think he'd figure it out eventually

2. I made a short timer's calendar for Dad's retirement. When Mom and I went to pick it up at Staples, we saw living irony:
That's right! It's a Salvation Army Donation-pick-up truck that reads "Give. Shop. Help Others" on the side. It was in a strip mall parking lot (shop) getting towed (help others). We had to laugh a little and take a picture.

3. We had some amazing meals. I mean REALLY amazing meals. I am still full. And I have the urge to eat every two hours and rinse it down with a nice glass of wine. That will pass!

4. The theme for most of the weekend was "who has a cooler app for that?" Between our iPhones and Dad's Droid, we had some fun with this. Dad has an app that will show you the star constellations overhead based on your current location. It was pretty cool...Here's Dad showing Mom on our way home from our wonderful (and indulgent) dinner out:

Aren't they the cutest couple ever!

5. We laughed A LOT! I mean all out giggle fest. On Saturday we cooked a turkey on the Weber grill and it was fantastic. We had perfect weather and our deck is in the shade. We went to Home Depot almost every day. Mom and Dad bought us a fire extinguisher for our kitchen. While we were cooking outside (boys) and baking inside (girls) Dad had some peanuts and a glass of wine and unpacked the fire extinguishers for us. Here's what we got:

I am sure none of you are surprised that he did that! I haven't laughed that hard in a long time! This is the picture I would ask that you please not mention to Dad... I'd hate for him to revoke my dad-blogging privileges!


6. We took a cog train to the summit of Pikes Peak (14,110) feet. It was amazing. And here's something that I'll bet you didn't know (or at least I didn't know!). The woman who wrote "America the Beautiful" wrote it after her awe-inspiring stagecoach ride to Pikes Peak. Here are a few of the photos we took.





You think that view's pretty fantastic, but here's my favorite!