Annual Christmas Letter

I'm pretty sure most readers get a copy of this one way or another, but in case you don't, presenting Moore's (a.k.a. Travis') annual Christmas missive. In real life it's on pretty paper, but here you get hyperlinks to the footnotes!

Hello, Hello!

Let’s jump right in….  Finn loves 2^nd grade, and similar to probably most parents, I’m amazed at the level of work his class is doing. I think I’d have to up my game a bit if I were a modern-day second-grader, because my efforts from decades ago wouldn’t cut the mustard now. I know I didn’t have superficial or loquacious on my spelling test when I was 7. (In fact, loquacious didn’t enter my personal lexicon until sometime in high school.) Math is trickier, too.  Compare these:

o   Travis’ old-school 2^nd grade math:  If you have 5 apples, and you eat two, how many are left? (A likely answer of mine, using the Socratic method – or perhaps dodging the actual task at hand:  What kind of apples are they?)

o   Finn’s modern 2^nd grade math:  Mary goes to the park and sees only dogs and pigeons.  She sees 4 dogs, and a total of 32 animal legs.  How many pigeons does Mary see in the park?[1]

Our major family wing-ding this year was a ski trip to France that has been in the queue for several years.  Since Finn and I had never been to France we added a bit of sightseeing in Paris and Switzerland before heading to Tignes / Val d’Isere for a week on the snow with Ann and Eric and mutual friends the Rushers. 

o   Paris was great, and we saw the key tourist-district sites:  Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Pont Neuf[2] bridge, and Musée d’Orsay; and ate our fill of crepes and croque-monsieur.

o   The TGV train from Paris to Geneva was super-smooth, and super-fast, clocking in at almost 150mph. Check-in? Just walk on your train car. Snacks?  You bet -- Brie and a glass of wine.  We’re all fans of high-speed rail now!

o   We arrived in downtown Geneva mid-trip, so I set out to take care of some laundry while M and F did homework at the hotel.  The laundromats in Geneva are conveniently located in the red-light district[3], so laundry-doing has a bit different vibe than coin-ops elsewhere.

o   One rainy day in Geneva we rented a car and went to Gruyere to see where the famous cheese is made.  Even for factory-tour veterans, the cheese factory is pretty cool – they even have a cheese-turning robot that flips each wheel of cheese as it ages.  Finn campaigned to bring a wheel of cheese home with us, and after calculation I determined that it would be hard to fit 85lb of cheese into his suitcase.

o   The most dangerous thing on the road from Geneva to Tignes was not the narrow, winding, icy, road, chock-a-block with racing buses, but British tourists who are grappling with driving on the wrong side of the road![4] 

o   Tignes is high in the Alps, and is essentially treeless, so there are massive expanses of pure white.  Lifts and the network of groomed runs are there mostly to take you to off-piste[5] skiing.  The tail end of a hurricane made the first few days challenging[6] but when the sun shone it was world-class with cloudless skies and big fluffy powder.   

Finn was a Holly Park Shark again this summer and was a top competitor in his age group, especially in the breaststroke. The Sharks team swelled in size this summer to over 100 competitors and made a formidable sight as they sung the Park Shark Power! team cheer at the start of each meet

Trying to remedy the displacement of June camping by swim meets and the rapidly-shrinking feeling of our “4-man” tent, we adopted the logical approach and purchased a pop-up camper.  While extending our camping season and providing enough space to take refuge from regular afternoon hailstorms, the camper has had some interesting effects on our family and traveling:

o   Finn is enthralled by the whole scene, and turned instantly into a proto-camper salesman.  If you come within earshot, he will explain every feature in exacting detail, ad infinitum.

o   We became accustomed to some new facts of camper-life:  driving in the right-hand lane up big hills (wave as you scoot by in the left-lane, please…); the merits of “pull-throughs”; huge turning radius; choosing businesses that have way-out-there parking; and an eagle eye in the backseat commentating on all of the other campers on the road.

This summer Finn convinced across-the-greenbelt BFF Emma that camping is awesome, and the two laid plans for a backyard summer camp out.  The tent was pitched and stocked with the absolute bare essentials necessary for an authentic suburban wilderness experience:  sleeping bags and pads, stuffed animals, numerous flashlights, pillows, books, headlamps, glowsticks, jammies, spare clothes, and two kiddos.  Marshmallows were roasted before bedtime on a disposable charcoal grill to make some s’mores, and two relatively sticky campers hit the sack.  Finn and Emma elected to spend the night in the tent without any parents, which is pretty plucky for recently-graduated 1^st and 2^nd graders. I left the back door open that night and slept on the couch with an ear open for any bumps in the road.  All was quiet until about 5:45 the next morning when both came bounding gleefully into the house campaigning for breakfast.

Maggie’s paternal grandfather turned 90 this year, and there was a big family party to celebrate.  Bill is a WWII veteran, and was in the infantry at the Battle of Normandy.  After listening to tales of a family member’s recent trip to France, Bill didn’t miss a beat and quipped “Last time I was in France, I had to wade onto the beach…”.   He’s happy and in good spirits, and makes us all smile.

Maggie and Finn made several trips to KS this year to visit Maggie’s maternal grandparents, and Cousin Katie[7] and her parents.  Katie turned 2 in November, and Finn is smitten.  They both have huge personalities, and it’s hard not to smile when they get into their rhythm together.

Grannie Annie’s birthday gift to Finn this year was a ride on the Royal Gorge Train near Canon City.  Finn was thrilled at getting to ride the train. In the dome car! Through a canyon!  The train ride is an out-and-back through an exceptionally deep, narrow, and spectacular canyon.  The canyon is so skinny that there is a section if the track that is suspended by girders attached to each side of the canyon.  Apparently a train long ago was a bit too big to fit under the suspension beams and crashed into the support structure, leaving various dents and bent things in the process.  Now, as you would reasonably expect, the train stops at the scene of the incident so everyone can more closely inspect the structural damage to the very items that are holding up the train above the icy river. 

Gardening was relatively good this year, with some adjustments to the garden makeup.  I inadvertently discovered a way to expedite the gardening by bypassing the harvest of a portion of the crop:  (1) Hastily construct a bean trellis out of scrap bits of dodgy lumber and make it about seven feet tall just in case you have some of Jack’s beans. (2) Be sure there are a few well-placed knots toward the bottom of the trellis supports. (3) Install the trellis upwind of a bunch of small and delicate crops. (4) Plant beans that will entirely envelop the trellis with 80 lbs or so of biomass. (5) Wait for a big wind, and (6) Voila!  In one cataclysmic event the knots on the structurally-deficient trellis will snap and the trellis will crash into the veggies below, efficiently doing away with a mass of beans, a few bell peppers, some edamame, and baby tomatoes.  Gardening made easy!

We hope you have a joyous and satisfying 2015 –

  

Photos – clockwise from top-left:  sunrise at the Eiffel Tower; M&F at the top of Mt. Evans (CO); Chihuly glass + F at the Denver Botanic Gardens; Louvre in Paris; awesome day at Tignes; off to the Broncos AFC Championship[8]; Hooray for the Camper!

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[1] Mary sees 8 pigeons in the park. 

[2] Finn thought it was hilarious that the “New Bridge” is the oldest one in the city.

[3] Working-girls have laundry, too, I bet.

[4] As a matter of interest, the French and Swiss drive on our accustomed side of the road – the right-hand side.

[5] Oxford Dictionary definition: ADJECTIVE&ADVERB, Skiing 1.Away from prepared ski runs:[AS ADJECTIVE]:challenging expanses of off-piste skiing

[6] Visibility was zero, with no non-white trees or rocks for reference, and the howling wind blew Finn over a few times.

[7] Technically a second cousin, but who’s counting?

[8] We later avoided the misery of Super Bowl XLVIII with a Serendipitously-scheduled trip to Paris.

Lighting Up the Season #2 + Two Shoes and a Puppy

You know just one visit to see Christmas lights isn't enough, right? Moores saw not one, not two, but THREE sets of light displays.

#1 Trails of Lights with Emma and her Mom

#2 Denver's Parade of Lights with Suzie and Audrey

For any non-Denver readers, the Parade of Lights' claim to fame is that all the floats, marching bands, and balloons are lit up. The advent of LED lights with battery packs have made it pretty spectacular. With my bum foot we opted for grandstand seats this year, an excellent choice. The Denver City and County building gets all lit up, too, and our view over the parade route included top spot viewing of the building (above).
Back in his college days my brother's fraternity volunteered to walk one of the balloons, Underdog. Since the parade winds through the city the balloons have to go under stop lights and such. Underdog didn't make it under his first stop light and sadly fell to the earth. Travis and I were just barely dating and sat patiently toward the end of the parade route and Underdog never showed up. "Oh no, we killed Underdog!"

#3 Blossoms of Light, just us! It was a bit pared back this year, we think due to the Chihuly exhibit that just closed down. Most of the area where the glass sculptures were was closed off and unlit this year. Good thing we had two previous doses of holiday light cheer.

Last weekend I managed to squeeze a shoe onto my right foot! Hooray! It's been nearly a month since I wore a shoe on that foot. I still have to wear the boot some during the day, but now in the evenings I'm wearing shoes or slippers around the house. Freedom! Healing is slightly ahead of schedule and Dr. and I are both excited about how well it's going.

 The puppy is here, the puppy is here! Not our puppy, but our puppy to borrow. Granny Annie and Eric picked up Teddy on Saturday. Sunday Travis and I went to the Bronco game and F got to hang all day with super mellow Teddy. We'll have plenty of chances to visit and dog sit, even better than having a dog of our own!

Lighting Up the Season

The countdown to Moore's Christmas started as we ate our turkey dinner a couple weeks ago. Travis spent the unseasonably warm day trimming the outside of the house while FFM and I did the inside. We wrapped up the weekend with some fun with friends.

We kicked off the post-Thanksgiving pre-Christmas fun with our now annual Casa Bonita Christmas with Emma. While I have nicer pictures of the two of them I like this one the best because it's exactly what they are like in real life.

 After dinner we headed to the Trail of Lights at Chatfield, which is a historic farm/ranch. It was the first time Emma and her Mom had used the refractive glasses and they ooohhhed and aaaaaahhhhed appropriately. Emma's Mom, Travis, and the kids in pic below.

 Class F+E. Two peas in a pod.

 About halfway through the walk we tried refractive glasses over phone cameras. The camera free kids got bored while we all fooled around with exposures and filters. Fun! Snowflake glasses over phone camera...

 King of the Christmas Lights!

Fall

The last few weeks have whizzed by, here are some highlights.

We visited the Denver Botanic Gardens one last time before it moves on, this time at night for the illuminated experience. We loved it. I was glad FFM and I know the paths well, between sculptures it was pretty dark.

 Travis had a business trip so we asked Granny Annie to come with us to our symphony season opener, Spooktacular! F's costume this year was a mad scientist. The dangley bits on his hat lit up and flashed and his test tube full of "molecules" glowed.

 The symphony runs a low key costume contest, winners get to go on stage during the performance. See our little mad scientist on the right side of the photo. He was not shy at all and had plenty to say about his costume and molecules.

under the green arrow

 Trick or treating with old and new friends was extra fun this year. I couldn't keep up and ended up taking a short cut home.

We went to a bowling birthday party, got there half an hour early, and killed time in a photo booth.

 I had surprise surgery on my foot in early November. It required 2 weeks of zero weight bearing. That's HARD. I switched couches periodically for a change of scenery. I'm starting to walk this week, should be out of the boot in about two more weeks.

 A good friend kindly loaned me her knee scooter. I would have gone crazy without it. Crutches work OK but it's hard to carry much when your hands are full of handles. I scooted my tiny path and only spilled a couple glasses of water.

 Our most recent symphony was Symphonic ComicCon. We've been before and knew that wearing a costume was encouraged. Darth Vader was thrilled to walk in to the lobby to find his troops waiting for him. They asked for some time off and raise.

Now we're in the throes of a very low key Thanksgiving week. Being hobbled makes it easy to justify doing little to no prep. When I explained to F that we were having a traditional dinner this year he got upset and told us quite clearly he wanted fondue again. Fondue is now on the menu for Wednesday night with turkey to follow on Thursday. We also had to explain why people camp out in front of Best Buy and he remarked that he still didn't get it, why anyone would want to buy something that badly. Hard to argue with that.

Sharing Neighborhood Thanks

We live in an established neighborhood, most houses are +/- 30 years old. However, a couple years ago the one stray empty lot sold and a new house was built. While a huge surprise to our entire neighborhood and HOA, the new house was built as an assisted living home. It looks just like a regular house on the outside, complete with garage doors, and the main area looks just like a regular kitchen, dining, and family room, but instead of huge bedrooms there are lots of small ones.

This was the first Halloween for trick or treating at the new house, and the kids ended up with bountiful treats, some lovingly hand decorated and wrapped by the residents. The kids asked if they could visit again and we parental units thought that was a great idea.

With a few days off from school, F and Emma both had large chunks of free time, at the same time, and we made today a craft day. The kids made Thanksgiving goodies to hand deliver to the "new house" residents (we also had several discussions about how they should not refer to them as such).

Emma's handprint turkey cards in progress

F's cards, also in progress

It takes 2 to stir a batch of pumpkin muffins

 The staff and residents were a little confused why we were there at first. I kept explaining, emphasizing we were neighbors, and the kids just started handing out stuff. It suddenly clicked, smiles all around, and invitations to come back soon. I warned the staff the kids would likely be back before Christmas.

The Greats

I have been blessed to have all four grandparents for most of my life. My paternal grandma passed away shortly after we moved back to Denver and the other three have continued to be a big part of our lives.  FFM is particularly close to his great-grandparents, or greats, and we try to see them as often as our schedule allows. We recently celebrated Great Grandpa Moore's 90th birthday.

My Uncle captured this picture, I love that they are deep in conversation and not paying any attention to the rest of us at the table.

 Soon after the party we heard my Great Grandpa Minnick wasn't as sprightly as he usually is. FFM and I both had a couple of days off mid-October and took advantage of some frequent flier miles to fly out to Kansas to visit my maternal grandparents.

The flight out and back was on a good sized prop plane. We walked on the tarmac once (a huge thrill), sat next to the propeller once (explodes your mind kind of thrill), and directly in front of it once (a tiny let down after sitting right next to it). I never knew a window seat could be so entertaining.

The Greats with FFM. He's so excited to be nearly as tall as Great Ma. It was a nice quiet visit, he taught them all about Lego Technic and Perler beads.

 Another highlight of the visit was staying with Katie and her parents. These two kiddos both have SO much personality and love each other SO much that it's like electrifying the room when they are together. Trying to take this picture FFM would squat down to be closer to Katie's height, Katie would immediately squat down, too. F would stand up to get her to stand, and she'd stand up, too. It was a comic scene with lots of photographic outtakes. FFM was busy watching Katie, Katie was busy watching FFM and I finally had to ask them to point at the camera to get their attention.

When you are nearly two you call people by their name and identifier. Thus "Cousin Finn." Although it very quickly got shortened to "CuFinn" or "CuzFinn." And never just once, always multiple times in rapid succession. You can tell exactly what she means by the way she changes the emphasis!

13

Emily Bronte said it perfectly,

     Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same

So the traditional and modern gifts for the 13th anniversary are lace and "textile furs." Try as I might I just couldn't find anything for Travis this year. Next year is animals or gold jewelry. I'm hoping I do better next year.

Pawnee National Grasslands

The final camping trip of the summer is behind us. We waved farewell to our new toy and this weekend Travis hauled it to the camper store for winterizing and warranty work. We made our last trip to the hot part of the state, AKA the eastern plains.

It turned out to be a glorious time of year to be there, the days were warm but not hot and the nights were comfortable. On the way to the campground we watched a massive lightening storm light up the east and in our rear view mirror we watched the sun set over the purple mountains.

Pawnee National Grasslands are a haven for birders, and I think we were the only ones in the campground that 1) Slept past dawn and 2) Didn't walk around with binoculars and a camera around our neck all day.  We opted for some light duty hiking instead.

The Pawnee Buttes. The Pawnee Indians were present in this area of the state as were some of our earliest settlers.

Very comfortable campsite with a dry stream bed / hiking trail just behind us.

We went on an evening hike through the grass land and watched the sun set behind the grasses.

F remarked that the grass was taller than him, and Travis remarked that some of the grass was just as tall as him!

Camping often lures me to bed early, but fall camping means night falls sooner so I could stay up to enjoy a twilight camp fire.

SAHM?

I'm back to work again and for the last few weeks I've felt like I just can't catch up. Laundry, chores, errands, and cleaning (hah!) all seem to be extra hard to get done. It finally dawned on me that I'm trying to maintain our family's stay at home mom lifestyle without actually really being a SAHM.
I work a few, very few, more hours this year than I did last year and the hours I work shifted a little in the day.  Those two things in conjunction have altered my daily schedule enough that my efforts to preserve the family SAHM lifestyle are slipping. So, I'm letting it slip. Dinners are simpler so I'm not in the kitchen all night and FFM can get to bed in time. Travis is pitching in on laundry duty and FFM has picked up a few extra chores, too. The house is perpetually dusty and I'm working on letting that not bother me so much.
If you've seen me lately and are thinking all this work has made me a little grayer you'd be part right. Mid summer, after nearly twenty years, I decided to stop coloring my hair. I'll try going gray for a few months with a few low lights tossed in to help things blend. So far I'm much happier, for the last couple of years my hair has shown roots about ten days after my monthly coloring. If all else fails and the gray drives me nuts I'll go back to full color, but for now I'm sticking with it!

Fall and Fibers

It seems like summer is almost over, the light is shifting to the south, the days are getting shorter, and it SNOWED! Early, it seems, and not very much, but in between our 80F days we had two days of near freezing temperatures and a little flurry.

Having a camper has extended our camping season. When it dips down into chilly temperatures at night at 10,000' in elevation we can hangout somewhere warmer than around the (legal this year!) campfire. Last weekend we headed to the back side of Pike's Peak and camped at a State Park full of great hiking trails. The view from our campsite was breathtaking. We had some unsettled weather and watching the peak change with the clouds and light was mesmerizing.

The garden and yard are slowing down, tomatoes are almost done producing and with the shorter days and near freeze last week most of our veggie plants are shutting down. That means more time for knitting! FFM loves home made stuff. This spring he picked out some blue chenille yarn that I thought would make great snuggley mittens.

 And on the way back from an earlier camping trip we had a lunch stop that included a parking spot right in front of a yarn store having a sidewalk sale. I picked up some soft red yarn with reflective tape wound into it for half price. The request this time, a soft fuzzy hat with flaps and a pom pom on top.

This weekend was the 3rd Annual Yarn Along the Rockies yarn crawl. I picked up some good additions to my stash and will have to get knitting more!

End of Summer Round Up

It's back to school and back to work season for FFM and me. We started mid-August and spent the last few weeks of summer vacation relaxing and fitting in a few last adventures and field trips.

We went to see the Chihuly exhibit at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Twice. In one week. We'd probably have gone a few more times if school hadn't gotten in the way.

 Cousin Katie came to visit and kindly brought her lovely parents along with her. FFM is so in love with Katie that he almost can't stand it. As she grows up she just gets to be more and more fun. These two kiddos have an abundance of personality on their own, you can imagine what it's like when they team up.

 We spent a few days up in the mountains and got to see the super moon rise over the peaks.

 I refinished a crummy old dresser that's been sitting in a closet for years with my newly acquired decoupage skills. You can fall asleep dreaming of Beaver Creek and Vail trails you'll ski the next morning.

 Granny Annie drove us up to the top of Mt. Evans (highest paved road in North America you guys!) with our pals the Rushers. The weather was perfect and I stood at 14,265 feet and there wasn't a lick of wind. You could see a hundred miles in each direction, it was a postcard perfect day.

 Travis mentioned we'd been in our house for nearly 5 years and I realized that the rug under the dining table that I bought at a consignment shop as a stop gap measure had been on the floor for nearly 5 years. I never liked the rug very much, so set forth to find a replacement. My mom recently put carpet squares in her basement and we liked the idea of being able to replace a square when it gets dirty/stained/worn out. Travis flexed his design muscles and came up with a layout we really like. Putting it down was trickier than we expected, one of the color/pile choices we made wasn't the best for beginners.

 The first day of school came and went. I'm back in my role in the office and FFM started 2nd grade. He's got a great teacher with a teaching style that suits him very well. Two weeks in and it's already a totally different year than last year. He requested a giant laundry list of activities but after lots of family and parent discussion we're sticking with piano and swimming for the most part. We agreed he could add in 4-6 week classes periodically, and right now he's taking a hip hop dance class that makes him so happy his smile looks like it's going to swallow his head.

 We did some camping this summer and realized our tent wasn't going to fit all three of us for much longer. We have a pretty good sized tent and Travis just fits lengthwise. Our strategy was to pile all our gear below F's feet since there wasn't really any room by my feet or T's feet. Not only is F's gear getting bigger, but the space below his feet is getting smaller! We looked briefly at giant 6+ man tents and then spent an afternoon looking at campers. We were unimpressed until we found our perfect camping solution. The size, beds, and floor plan sang to all of us and the next thing we knew we were the proud owners of a brand new pop up camper.

 Turns out we all still like to feel like we're in a tent, the hard side campers didn't hold any appeal for us. It's awfully nice to be able to stand up to get dressed and to have amenities like cubbies for clothes instead of giant piles at F's feet. We took it up to a campground about an hour away and did a test run. FFM is so enamored that he'll rope you in and tell you all about the finer points of our camper just like a mini salesperson. Our neighbors all deserve medals for their gallantry while listening to his running narrative.

It's finally FOOTBALL SEASON! We kept all our preseason tickets this year and took FFM to the games. He's turned into a rabid fan and has a good grasp of basic rules and the flow of the game. He hollered more than anyone in our section and is campaigning to go to some regular season games, too.

Go Broncos!

 Our neighbor's peach tree survived the last frosts this spring and is producing some of the best peaches ever. Travis has been eating them and canning them as fast as he can. He remarked that they are so big this year he's getting about 1 peach per jar.

 After a successful and better than expected GI procedure I was cleared for activity just in time for Labor Day weekend. We joined my Mom and Eric at Dinosaur National Monument. My Mom and I were the only ones that had been before long, long ago. After sleeping most of two days I was feeling good and we did lots of hiking. Normally this time of year we'd expect high 90-100F days. Our temps hovered in the low to mid 70s. Such luck!

Hiking to petroglyphs.

 Hiking the box canyons.

 Sunset from our campsite.

 Travis asked about scenic trips nearby and we spent half a day at Fantasy Canyon. Strange and bizarre rock weathering so far off the beaten path you can still walk right up and touch them.

It's back to work and school for all of us tomorrow. Tuesday is hip hop dance class day!