Christmas catch up

Back in Denver and I've unpacked the camera again and plugged it into the computer for a photo dump. BUT, before we get to that-one last weather update from the sunny, uh, snowy state of CO. We boogied out of Silverton on Friday night earlier than planned as I kept hearing stories of a massive snow storm coming our way. Being caught in nothing but bad driving conditions all this trip AND knowing that a road closed in that part of the state could stay closed for days, we headed to Grand Junction for the night. The next day Travis' mom reported about a foot of snow, and checking Silverton Mountains' snow report they've had a HUGE amount of snow, 50" http://www.silvertonmountain.com/snowreport.php . That's over 4 feet for those of you too lazy to do the math. The newspaper in Denver has run several stories about all the snow down there, including one about the fact that all the roads are closed (so I'm guessing only the locals are enjoying the fat powder at Silverton Mountain).

On to some photos from around Christmas. FFM in his snowsuit that reminds us of Max from 'Where the Wild Things Are.' Not quite the same, but he's durn cute and so cuddly in all that fleece.

Visiting aunt Suzie and uncle James.
James captured some really great shots of FFM in action. Note we are sitting up pretty much on our own now (whee hee!).
In Silverton before our mad dash to avoid road closures.
And a little live footage of our first Christmas. At just shy of six months FFM wasn't able to open his own gifts, but he sure LOVED the paper and ribbon. especially the paper...

Final Countdown

When you have the skill to spend a truly obscene amount of money at Target (in less than 30 minutes no less) on really boring things like toothpaste and stick deodorant you know you're ready to move overseas. Yes, we are moving to a developed country but Travis is quite fond of Crest, which seems to be only available in the US, and we Americans are also funny in that we seem to be the only creatures on the planet that use stick deodorant instead of spray or roll on. I'd probably be OK with roll on, but sticks take up so little space in a suitcase we just take along a few to keep us smelling fresh.
Our wayward shipment of household goods finally arrived in Denver. It made it to the US from Irelahd fairly quickly but was delayed getting to us here in Denver by a special x-ray customs check, several storms on the east coast and in the midwest, and then of course the holidays. This week we turn it around replace all the winter clothes with summer, add a pile of baby gear, get it requoted, and send it onward to Australia. We go a week from tomorrow. Also more doctor visits next week for all of us, the Aussies are pretty particular about who they'll let in to stay and work, after our physicals we still have to submit chest x-rays for Travis' work permit.
Want to make a store clerk laugh? Try finding summer clothes in Colorado in January for your baby while it's below freezing and snowing like mad. It's pretty funny. Although Carter's has their summer stuff out now and Gymboree said it's coming Wednesday. So Finn's not going to melt into a pile of baby butter after all (and his jet lagged parents aren't going to have to go shopping immediately upon landing in Brisbane). phew.

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.