“First” Day of School

I’m hopeful this is the last first day of school with fall decorations on the porch..... T-man started on Thursday and goes two days a week. D-man goes only in on Fridays. And a fresh start for me as well with the new job starting on Tuesday - so far, so good. 

The house certainly was quieter. A new normal for now - hopefully it will continue. 

Ready! 

Only one more of these left to take...... 

Lads and Ladies of Leisure

At Marshall’s suggestion, we booked a last minute trip to Vail before my new job starts and in-person school starts for the boys. Mud season is great for two reasons: cheaper rates and an empty hotel. 

We headed up early Saturday afternoon after watching the Huskies lose. It was in the 50s when we arrived and the boys headed straight for the pool. We then enjoyed happy hour in front of the fire. Marshall and I also participated in the champagne sabering and we took advantage of the free cookies at 5:00. The evening contoured with various binge watching of shows and games and the hot tub for D-man and me. 

We expected to wake to snow on Sunday, but it held off until  early afternoon. We snagged a spot by the conference rooms where there is NO ONE and played a board game over breakfast. Marshall and I snuck away for a massage and some time in the relaxation room (where there was no one) and then hit the pool and hot tub with T-man. 

We snagged another spot in the hotel with no one and had snacks and played cards while the snow came down outside. We wrapped up the evening with room service and the boys doing a nighttime swim. 

Monday morning saw work, homework, sleeping and some hot tubbing before getting back to Louisville around 3:00. Such a nice time away in a beautiful place. As T-man said, we should do this every year! 

Poolside 

Ready for a swim 

Champagne toast 

Happy hour time 

Beautiful evening 

Saturday Sunset 

Games 

Relaxation room 

After our spa treatments (yes, masks went on after the picture)

Quality time in the room 

The snow! 

More games 

Sitting on the chairlift because he can 

Trudging through the snow 

Brrrrrrr....... 

The Monday morning office 

What a difference a day makes 

Monday morning hot tub 

Handsome fella 

A great trip! 

Some Time Off

It has been nice to get a few days off between jobs and get ready for my next professional adventure. On Wednesday, I enjoyed a lazy morning reading my book before a walk with T-man over lunch. And then, I joined Alana and Paul for a round of golf on their anniversary. It was the last nice day before fall officially set in. 

On Thursday, it was much cooler and I spent the day doing “administrative tasks.” While not enjoyable, it was good to get some things completed. T-man and I took a break dining lunch and watched an episode of “Once Upon A Time.”  Both nights, we had some yummy dinners that Marshall cooked and I assisted. 

On Friday, T-man and I were able to wrap up season three of our show: one episode after breakfast, one at lunch and one after school. I ended up over at Alana’s for morning coffee and then ran errands. T-man and I also got in a nice walk before we headed to the Wrights for dinner and euchre. 

Glad to be able to enjoy these days with a variety of different activities. 

A frog on the golf course 

A beautiful fall day on the course 

Brrrr........ time for hats! 

Happy Plants

I’m a bit torn that our outdoor plants are still blooming, but they have brought me a good deal of joy this year while at home. My efforts in September paid off and we have been able to enjoy the flowers for another month. All that will come to an end this weekend. So, I will enjoy them this week while I’m off from work. 

I don’t know what I’m doing with this plant, but it blooms a few times around this time of year so I’m not changing anything! 

The orange flowers just bloomed this month from random seeds to at started in July. So fun to see them actually bloom before a freeze. 


Some flowers in the light pole box hanging on 


While the wild flowers seeds didn’t really materialize, we got a couple blooms like the red one in the middle. Still love my cow. 



Ready for fall 

This plant has come back from the dead several times! 



New decorations! 

Ready for a relaxing morning on the porch 

That’s a Wrap

Today I wrapped up my tenure at KPA. I tied up a few loose ends, had a couple meetings and turned in my laptop around 3:30. I then met two of my coworkers for coffee. Well, one of them brought manhattans to share as a celebratory send-off. After that, I met Marshall and the Wrights for happy hour to toast my final day at KPA and the new chapter I am starting. 

The best part of my day were the sweet messages my employee had the team (and others across the company) put together for me. After several months of feeling like I haven’t been making a difference, it was quite flattering to hear the difference I have made to the people on my team. I certainly have learned a great deal about myself throughout this past year and grown in ways I didn’t know I could. Cheers to continual learning and growing as I embark on a new adventure! 

All packed up - two small boxes 

Well not a good picture of me -  but cheers to new beginnings! 

 A gift from one of my teammates to celebrate the new gig. 

Sushi 🍣

What a treat to have homemade sushi on Sunday night. Marshall did a great job preparing us all such a delicious meal. We also enjoyed patio dining with friends Friday and Saturday night. The rest of the weekend was occupied by various activities....I walked to downtown Louisville for coffee with an old coworker on Saturday morning, D-man worked and went to a haunted house, T-man built an blow dart gun, Marshall went for a run.  Fall is definitely in the air  - we need more cooler weather to help with the fires. But, thankful we are still able to spend a good deal of time outside. 

Sushi! 

Smoke from the wild fire outside of Boulder 

Pretty sunset tonight 

Self Care

Best Places to Live

Pretty lucky to call Colorado home. 

#FauxCo

We ended up having a beautiful day for #FauxCo 2020 for D-man and friends. I was happy to give the kids something to look forward to and I enjoyed having something to plan for as well. We had a bit of a rush with the food as it was supposed to come with salad and it didn’t and we didn’t have enough ice, but we pulled it off and after the kids walked to a neighbor’s house after dinner, Marshall and I enjoyed the dinner under the lights. 

#FauxCo 2020 was a success! I heard D-man say to his friend when he was leaving that it was a solid homecoming. I’ll take that. 

Getting ready 

The flower exchange 

The crew 

Good friends 

Gorgeous sunset 

Looking good 

Light up and dry ice drinks 

Cheers!