Sniff, Sniff.... We'll Miss You

Marshall and I have been married 9 years and 1 month. About 9 years ago, Marshall had Dish Network install a satellite at our condo and also fell for the old "up-sell". When I arrived home, we were also the proud owners of the new "pause live TV" technology. I wasn't too happy, but later that night we were watching TV and I missed something they said on the show we were watching. So, I asked Marshall what they said. He so cleverly replied, "let me show you", and proceeded to rewind so I could hear it again. Since then, I have never looked back. That is, until yesterday.

Yesterday, we said to good by to our DVR and pause live TV. Sniff, sniff.

After evaluating the costs as well as our need for all the channels, we determined we really don't need to pay for TV until the fall (when football starts of course). But, until then, we can watch shows on the computer, we can get by with local stations, we can watch less TV. The boys actually don't know how to watch TV without the pause live TV function. We forward through commercials during shows we tape for them, we pause the TV during commercials when watching live TV so they don't watch the commercials, we pause the shows when the go to the bathroom. It really is great. But, for now, we'll get along without it. 

I'm pretty sure we won't miss the actual programming - we primarily watch over the air stations - but I certainly am going to miss the days when I can say "What did they say?" and have my question answered with the click of a button.

Quotes to Remember

A few quotes from recent days.......

D-man - "I like school lunches." And yes, I have been told that the mashed potatoes at school are better than mine. And since eating school lunches, Drake is definitely a more adventurous eater.


T-man - "This is my butt. That is a new word."

D-man - "I'm tired. I hate Daylight Saving Time."

I was having a bad day and T-man came up and said "I am your best friend." Made my day. 

D-man was home with pink eye on Monday. After taking his brother to school, we stopped by Starbucks and I got a coffee and he got a HUGE cup of whipped cream. D-man asked "Do you always get coffee in the morning Mom?" (The answer is NO.)


T-man was screaming from his bed the other night. I went up there and he informed me, "Ernie is not my friend anymore. My little doggie is my friend." And he proceeded to request the removal of Ernie from his bed and cry some more for his little doggie (which was at school). We substituted a little moose in the doggie's place. And if you are interested, Ernie was welcomed back to bed the next night.

Disney's Greatest Hits

The boys and I have enjoyed listening to the Disney's Greatest Hits CD for quite some time. We now have started to order the various movies from the library. We recently rented "Mulan", "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", and "The Little Mermaid". "Tarzan" is next on the list.

And now, the boys are enjoying the songs even more. They know the context for the songs and are definitely requesting those songs from the movies we have rented recently.  I'm also enjoying watching these Disney movies - many of which I have never seen. And given that many Disney movies have a "princess" theme, it is nice that the boys are more interested in the music and just enjoying the story and not turned off by "princesses".

Our First School Auction

Saturday night, we attended the auction for Highline Academy. Both Marshall and I weren't sure what to expect, but we ended up having a pretty nice time and getting some good deals on the items we picked up at the auction.

Highline Academy - Building our Future Brick by Brick

The auction really gets you thinking about how sad it is that we need to have an auction to support our public school. We don't have a problem supporting our school, we actually expect to donate our time and money. However, it is hard to imagine that the money from the auction is counted on in the annual budget. And with anticipated budget cuts coming, the money is even more important. 

The other thing that makes it sad, is that you start to see the same parents at the events supporting the school.  It is a shame that not every family in the school can see the value of parental involvement in student and school success.  Obviously, not every family can donate money to the school, but there are so many other ways that families can be involved and help the school. We learned that the goal for family involvement is 10% for each event. Can you imagine if the other 90% got involved?

The Neighborhood Part II

Well, the good news about last week is that the city finally came and cleared the street. At least the neighbors and I made their job a bit easier.

The city clearing the street

And to further confirm we don't "fit" in this neighborhood, I received the following flier on my door this week. 

In the upper left hand corner, you'll notice that this is for "retirees and pre-retirees 55+. Lovely. Nothing like being targeted based on your neighborhood and being 20 years too young for the event.

Sigh........ Yet another indicator of how we really don't fit in this neighborhood......

D-man Skiing

Here is a video I compiled from a few videos we took on Saturday. D-man loved leading us down the trails (especially the one over the bridges and between the buildings). He was so confident and so proud.



If you can't see the video, you can click here.

This Ain't "NebraSKI"

My first ski experience was when I was around thirteen years old. I went to a 4H Ski Camp and skied for the first time in my life at "NebraSKI" (between Omaha and Lincoln). We stayed at the 4H lodge where they gave us lessons (yes, the lessons were indoors with no snow around) and then took us to the slopes for a little night skiing. I remember quite a few things about this night.

1. My pink gloves were not water proof and did not work very well. 
2. Night skiing is cold. 
3. I had no clue how to get down the hill or up the tow rope (apparently, the lessons in the lodge didn't do much).
4. I was not having any fun, but I made myself try to get down the hill. 
5. Time in the lodge never felt so good.

Fortunately, my next ski memory from my junior year of high school was much better. Dad, Jaima, and I went with a large group of friends to Breckenridge and took real lessons (where yes, I did run my Dad into a big hole by a tree).  Jaima and I actually enjoyed the skiing enough that we went back the next year (Dad decided to skip this trip and sent us with friends). There were lots of good memories from this trip.

The last two weekends, we have had the privilege to have stayed in the Vail Valley with two different sets of friends. D-man took lessons both weekends and has really made some great strides. Needless to say, his experience at Beaver Creek was quite different than my initial ski experience at "NebraSKI". 

  

on the gondola 

T-man was also able to get on skis this weekend and although it is very basic, he was excited to get "blue skis" and do the things his brother gets to do. 

 

T-man showing off his gear

And Marshall and I enjoyed a beautiful day on the slopes as well this weekend with our friends. What a great way to enjoy all that Colorado has to offer. 

Taking out time for lunch (yes, we got lots of comments about our hats). 

  

The gang (minus me) on the slopes 

The Love/Hate Relationship with the Neighborhood

Our neighborhood is nothing special. And yet, there are several things I can find about it to like. We have nice neighbors - even though very few neighbors are "like us".  They are friendly and will help out if needed. However, most folks aren't people we hang out with on a regular basis. I actually just got done "chopping ice" with two of my neighbors which was actually quite fun (and we were all pretty happy with the fruits of our labor - see picture).

Our street today

I love the fact that we are centrally located and can get to the lightrail, downtown, the park, and bike paths very easily (and Marshall's commute is not very long).  Being centrally located also means that we have several good restaurants near by.   And the school Drake is attending is located very close to our house which is a huge plus.

Our house is definitely nothing fancy, but it has more than enough room for us and has a private backyard which we enjoy. This modest house has afforded me the luxury of enjoying my unemployment - no worrying about having to pay the mortgage thankfully.

However, I am really longing for a "neighborhood". One where there are "folks like us" so we can swap babysitting, have impromptu happy hours, and all the kids go to the neighborhood school. Another downside to our neighborhood - our school is an under-performing school so all the people that actually have kids send them to the private Catholic school near us, other Denver Public Schools, or Charter Schools like us. (If people in the neighborhood actually sent their kids to our school, I think it might be a decent school.) But, we are past that point -  parents don't want to be "pioneers" when it comes to their child's education.

Overall, we have been happy with our school, but going to a Charter School means it is very hard to develop a sense of community because the population comes from across the metro area.

I think the icing on the cake with this love/hate relationship was news that my neighbor 2 houses down, across the street passed away a month ago. This man lives on my street and I didn't even know he had passed away - he was 62 years old (also emphasizes the fact that our neighbors are not similar to us). Talk about not being part of a neighborhood.

Having grown up in a small town, and as the boys get older, this desire for a community only gets stronger. We know this is not the house we will be in forever, now we only need to get serious about where we can find what we need in a neighborhood and our home. I don't want to be a nosy neighbor, but if something monumental happens to one of my neighbors, I hope to be able to celebrate, mourn, or help out when needed.