and then it really snowed

The Day We Tried to Go Back To Denver
Official Road Conditions:
I-70 Vail Pass WB
Existing Conditions: (blo sno)(sno)(icy)(snpk) Restrictions in Place: CLOSED from Floyd Hill to Vail. Comments: CLOSED from Floyd Hill to Vail.

I-70 Vail Pass EB
Existing Conditions: (blo sno)(sno)(icy)(snpk) Restrictions in Place: CLOSED from Vail to Georgetown. Comments: CLOSED from Vail to Georgetown.

Yeah, so we made it to Silverthorne (about halfway in the 100 mile trip for those of you not familiar with our drive) and stopped to feed Finn. When we pulled back on to the road I ended up behind Silverthorne police. When they started to turn onto the Interstate I knew the only reason police (and not State Patrol) would get on the Interstate would be to close it. Sure enough we were the first car to be not allowed on the highway.

So we turned around, hoping and hoping Vail Pass was still open (we drive over two 'passes' to get from the mountain house to Denver, Vail and then the one at Eisenhower Tunnel which is at Silverthorne). It was the worst weather I've driven in for years, a moderate amount of snow but extremely high winds. The pass closed while we were on it which meant we made it - they don't stop people once they are on the pass - and once on the pass there aren't really any other places that the road would be closed that we couldn't bypass on a side road to get home.

So, back by the fire to enjoy the snow (not so much the wind) and my mom will graciously meet the movers and check in our stuff.

Let it Snow

So a while back I decided I wanted a new pair of shoes for walking/hiking/trekking before we moved to Brisbane. I'd pretty much worn out the ones I had in Dublin so I just left them there planning to replace them pretty quickly upon return to Denver. Now for the past, oh say 15 years or so, I've bought hiking boots and used them summer for hiking and winter for snow boots. This time I went into REI and decided I wanted a shoe that would actually suit my new city walking style-a great bonus of the non-car-centric lifestyle easily found outside of the US.
Anyway, boring story made shorter, I ended up getting shoes, not boots. So suddenly I had no boots for winter wear. What to do? On a nearly 70 degree day in Denver on my way to live in Australia I decided to purchase a pair of SNOW BOOTS. I haven't had dedicated snow boots since I owned hot pink and purple Sorels in about 1989. Here I am wondering how I'm going to explain to my darling husband why I decided to buy TWO pairs of shoes, one of which I'll really only need if it snows a lot during the few weeks we are here in Colorado. I decided snow boots last forever, and I'd be miserable and cold if it did snow, so I got 'em.
Next day it snowed. A lot. And the day after that. And pretty much most days since then. Sure, we've had plenty of sunny days, it is Colorado after all, but holy moley (as Skylar would say) it's been plenty snowy! And I've worn those durn boots every single day. No joke. And not just because I feel like I should, I've actually needed them! Don't I feel smart now ;) Or like I cursed everyone who was hoping for good weather...or blessed all the skiers/snowboarders. Looking into the forecast we have a chance of snow every day for the next week. And it's snowing right now. There hasn't been tons of accumulation, it's just been a few inches here and there, but it's sure pretty.
Thanks to J and Lisa who snapped some shots while I was busy playing around in my new boots. Here's what the snow looked like right around Christmas day (Q, don't get too homesick, it's some classic MDV shots!).
That's the monster icicle that forms right by the front door. It's even bigger now and last night I knocked down one that formed just to the right that was about halfway to the deck. Travis is trying to figure out how we can make money charging people for ice-climbing vacations up here...

6 month update

Actually not much change.

We think that the nurse may have been a little off when she weighed Finn at 5 months, several times after that he weighed in at 22lbs so maybe the day appx a month ago when he weighed in at 23.5 he had a soggy diaper or full tummy or something...
Anyway, at his 6 month well baby check last week he was 23.5 lbs and 27.75"
Still in about the same size clothes, although some of the 12 month ones he was in about a month ago are a little small now.

Guess the little big guy is finally slowing down.

Catching up on December

To make up for being remiss in blogging I'll post lots of pictures of what we've been doing the past couple of weeks. Which is not much :) Except for all the visiting of relatives, that's been lots of fun. Other than that we finished up a lot of annoying errands and pre-move medical stuff that we needed to get wrapped up before the holidays (since we weren't exactly sure when we were shipping out).

Looks like we'll be headed out mid January...we'll keep you posted. Our shipment from Ireland has been delayed due to storms on the east coast/midwest (it's here, just stuck) and we are going to stick around until it comes to make sure it actually comes and then goes out to the right continent.

On to pictures! First up, playing baby in the laundry basket. Granny Annie remembered this trick when we were staying at her house. Finn loves this, he can see what's going on all around him while playing with his toys which don't get lost (flung on the floor). New first time moms should take note, this is a great trick. Classic Finn blank stare that he always does for the camera.
So here we are trimming the Christmas tree up at the house in the mtns. See how hard we are working.And Christmas lights are COOL. No, we do not let Finn eat lights OR Christmas trees, no matter what this picture looks like. It's just a trick of the angle. We are GOOD parentsAnd here we are playing with our toes. We like to suck on them but as soon as the camera comes out we're so interested in that we forget about our toes.Today we went to Christmas Eve service at the Beaver Creek Chapel. This is a special place for Travis and me, it's the chapel where were were married. I've been going to Christmas Eve services here for nearly 20 years. It's hard to beat. Finn watched the skiers come down off the hill as we all sang carols and enjoyed the snow in the trees. Finn really enjoyed the special music.Finally, Travis and I would like to send out warm thoughts and extra special holiday wishes to our friends and past neighbors at York St. who were recently affected by a fire in the condominium building we used to live in. We've heard from one of our friends and saw all of them on the news story (yikes!) and they are all OK but they are essentially homeless for the holidays. We hear their homes should be OK but that there is extensive smoke damage. My cousin who also lives in the building was thankfully home in Kansas and while her belongings may need some work we're happy she and her dog are both OK.

Special holiday greeting to all our friends and family that we can't be with this season, we think of you all as we enjoy this wonderful time of year.

Sun and Snow

Here's how things are in our little family these days:

This is what Travis is doing (when he's not at work) down in Brisbane:

Street Beach at South Bank Park in Brisbane, Australia.

This is what Finn and I are doing (we don't work, we just play):

Blossoms of Light, Denver Botanic Gardens, Colorado USA

Hmmm....you probably can't tell but that's snow in our picture. It's pretty easy to pick out the shorts in Travis' picture. Have to admit I'm pretty stoked about both, how lucky are we? Life is good.

Nearly Famous

Finn's professional photo:
Scroll down a few pix in the photographer's blog entry to see him, he's the baby on the red blanket. The pictures we had done were amazing, especially since he was 4.5 months old and really not doing anything (at about 6 months babies get a little more expressive for the camera we hear).
http://www.megganjacks.com/blog/?p=93

If you are ever in need of a professional photographer in the Phoenix area I can highly recommend Meggan Jacks. Stellar to work with and although we were pretty sure Finn fussed the whole time she got a pile of great shots that really capture him.

Visit with Santa

Our first visit to Santa. Finn was so busy looking at all the pretty lights that he forgot to give Santa his wish list. He enjoyed his visit, no crying or upset at all. Just the traditional Finn gaze :) Santa has a real beard, it was quite cool.

Return of photos coming soon

Camera not lost, just buried in all the mess in the basement (our guest suite)! Travis found it. Although I got my Christmas present early...a NEW IMPROVED SUPER AWESOME camera! Maybe I'll get it all figured out and you'll notice some super awesome pictures. Travis is taking the old camera to Brisbane tomorrow...he'll be gone for about three weeks :( Finn and I are getting sad already, hopefully the time will go super fast.