Charlevoix Pt. 1 - Cold Water

A friend of Adrienne’s family generously gave us use of their lake house in Charlevoix, Michigan for a week in July. What a wonderful time it was! Don’t, however, be fooled by the photos; the water was freezing. Unfortunately, the water was way too cold for Jolee to take a dip. Nevertheless, June was one brave soul. She was a swimming fool.

Just arrived…

Time for some artwork on the beach…

At a beach on Lake Michigan. The wind was whipping and the water was in the 50s. Still a fun outing…

A beautiful scene. If you look closely, there’s a woman and her kids sitting in the surf. They must have been a family of Navy Seals. I don’t know how they could stand being splashed by ice water while simultaneously being battered by the wind…

Back into our happy little cove on Lake Charlevoix…

And back out…

Doesn’t she look toasty?…

music and dance update

Junie loves the song "30,000 Pounds of Bananas" by Harry Chapin. Every night for the past two months June has asked to listen to this song. She gets on the bed in the guest room and jumps around frantically as the song picks up speed. She tires herself out, takes a brief break, and then asks for me to play it again. I'm a bit tired of the song, but I'm certainly not tired of Junie squealing as she listens to it.

She also loves the song "Read My Mind" by the Killers and the "green thing" in the video. She also likes the lion in the Killers video for "Human" and the "working things" in the Kaiser Chiefs video for "Ruby."

I haven't noticed any particular favorites of Jolee, but she is really starting to bounce around while music is playing.

To really point June and Jolee's dancing in the right direction, I have them watching a steady diet of Billy Preston and Nicholas Brothers videos. Seriously though, watch these videos, especially the Nicholas Brothers one. Incredible...

light up the streets

A few weeks ago we had a really fun visit from my sister Katye and her fiancé, Tim. They arrived in town just in time for the lighting of Downtown Breckenridge.

Here we are with Ripperoo (he’s the mascot at the Breckenridge Ski School)…

Tim’s cousins live about thirty minutes away from us, so they came over for a visit. Jolee and their daughter, Lily, were fast friends…Katye and Junie trimming the tree…

Katye and Tim even watched the kids while Adrienne and I went out skiing together. Talk about a sweet deal.

Their stay was too short, just a weekend, but I think they'll be headed this way again before too long.

still running

Although I’m really enjoying skiing, it highlights one of the things I like most about running: the simplicity. Even for the casual skier there is a lot of gear involved. The necessary gear for running, on the other hand, is barely more than decent pair of shoes. Of course, runners can complicate things with heart-rate monitors and altimeters, but that still comes nowhere close to the gear and gadgetry extremes of the skiing world; there are skis for powder, skis for groomers, alpine touring skis, telemark skis, XC skis, skate skis, etc. etc. etc. And they all have their own boots. Gadzooks, talk about an expensive sport.

Anyways, I’m still running. In fact, I just registered for the Leadville 100 Mile Trail Race in late August. Since we’re living at altitude and we’re surrounded by incredible trails, I figure this could be my best shot to complete this race (the low point of the course is 9,200 feet). My official training schedule started about two weeks ago and I’m off to a good start. Running in sub-zero temperatures reminds me of training for my first marathon seven years ago in the dead of a brutal Michigan winter. Any time the temperature crosses above 20 it feels balmy.

Between now and August 21st, I’m planning on running a couple 50k's and 50 milers. I’m hopeful that I can get some friends together to run the Grand Canyon rim to rim to rim (about 40 miles round trip) in April or early May. If Adrienne’s up for it, I’m also hoping to run the Garden of the Gods 10 Mile Run with her in June. It’s supposed to be incredibly beautiful, so if you’re in the area, give us a shout and perhaps we can get a group together.

On a geeky gear related note, if you’re running on a lot of snowy trails, head to your local hardware store and pick up some 3/8 inch sheet metal screws. At about $1 per shoe, a “screw shoe” is much cheaper than both YakTrax ($30) and Kahtoola Microspikes ($60) and outperforms the YakTrax by a longshot (I’ve never used Microspikes).

On a final note, I especially like the message at the bottom of the Leadville Trail 100 registration form:

You’re better than you think you are. And you can do more than you think you can.

on breck and skiing

Adrienne and I both agree, living in Breckenridge has far exceeded our expectations. We thought we’d enjoy it, but we’re really having a blast. We knew we’d like the summer months here, but we weren’t so sure about the winter months. Adrienne hadn’t skied in 15 years and I hadn’t skied in 20, so we were a bit apprehensive about hitting the slopes. Well, with unlimited season passes and unlimited lessons to our names, the apprehension vanished within a few days of the mountain opening for the season (the unlimited lesson package is a ridiculously good deal for locals. For the price of two group lessons, we get unlimited lessons for the entire season). Furthermore, a free bus comes by the end of our street every half hour and drops us off a few minutes later at the gondola; we can be up on the mountain skiing within 30 minutes of walking out of our house (not quite ski-in, ski-out, but pretty damn good). Adrienne and I also happen to ski at the same level, so we’re able to take classes together and enjoy the same terrain when we’re on our own. It has been so much fun, and the season is still very young.

Junie will likely be starting her quest for Olympic glory in the next few weeks. Trust me, she’s ready to go…

Mt. Quandary

A week and half ago my friend Mike and I climbed to the summit of Mt. Quandary. Mike is a very experienced climber and had previously done the route several times. It’s considered one of easiest “14ers” (14,265 feet), but it was a much tougher and longer workout than I expected. We got on our way a little after 7am. It was a balmy six degrees below zero at the outset. Despite the frigid temperature, it was an absolutely beautiful day. Mike skinned up and skied down the mountain on alpine touring skis, while I split time between YakTrax and snowshoes. Unfortunately, both of our camera’s batteries died before a single shot was snapped, and my cell phone managed but a single photo before it called it quits (I guess rechargeable batteries aren’t too fond of sub-zero temperatures). Hopefully we’ll get out for more adventures this winter.

Here’s the only bit of evidence of our climb: Mike posing for a shot on the way up…

crossing guard

June looks out for her little sister. If they’re upstairs and Jolee comes within five feet of the stairs, June will put her in a bear hug and exclaim, “I saved Jolee!” She also does the same thing when Jolee gets near the cat food, although she was a little bit late this time…

the newest saint

      On All Saints' Day, November 1st, Jolee was baptized at St. Mary Catholic Church in Breckenridge. Molly and Phil are Jolee’s Godparents, and they made the early drive up from Broomfield for the Christening. Deacon Jim Doyle performed a beautiful ceremony. We never found a parish in Denver that we really liked, so we feel especially blessed that our only local option, St. Mary, is such a nice church community.

first day of (pre) school

Before heading to class on a late August morning...

back from school and feeling great...

4th of July

The Fourth was a blast. June had quite a time with her Aunt Molly and Uncle Phil in Broomfield…

three scoops and a bunny

Not much commentary needed. We had a fine Halloween…

A scoop of chocolate with syrup and a cherry on top along with a vanilla cone, sprinkles, and a cherry…

Junie playing foosball with neighbors…

the funniest costume of the day. Any guesses? Yep, a piñata…

Junie enjoying the first fruits of her trick-or-treating labors…

let the deluge begin

I promised a bunch of posts by year’s end and I’m not going to disappoint. By tomorrow night, you’ll be up-to-date. Given the size of the backlog, the commentary on each post will be a bit thin. The pictures are what you want anyways.

To get things rolling, tonight Junie was sporting an amazing steamer-basket/ strainer warrior costume…

in the deep end

Yes, we’re alive. Deepest apologies for the ridiculously long posting hiatus. I promise by year’s end that I’ll bombard you with pictures and stories of the kids. Here’s the first installment…

Until today, when Junie was taking a bath Jolee could only look longingly from the sidelines. Today they had their first bath together. It took a little while for June to warm up to the idea, but once Jolee was in the tub, they were like peas and carrots.

on the sidelines…

happy as clams…

administration of the shampoo…

toy demonstration…

Junie usually makes herself into a “bubblehead,” so this was an exciting opportunity for her to give someone else a bubble-themed makeover…

Jolee was also shown how to give Rover (June’s stuffed dog) a proper bath…

More posts to come. I promise!