Sweet 16

It is both wonderful and with a bit of sadness to wish our youngest happy 16th birthday this week. It’s exciting because it is a special birthday and he is less than 10 days away from having his driver’s license! It’s a bit sad, as it is hard to believe he is already 16 and growing up so quickly. He is still such a sweet and empathic young man and has put up with me and Marshall so well the past few months. It is also sad because his birthday falls during finals week which makes the day not as much fun. 

We tried to make it a little special at least with doughnuts and Ziggy’s for breakfast. We stayed in for dinner so he could get some more studying in. He requested steak and D-man made him a cake. He was happy to get new AirPods and a few small gifts. 

The Wrights brought over a gift and he got in a few gaels of pool and we all enjoyed the cake. 

I still tuck him in every night and his birthday was no different. And yet, he seems just a bit bigger today. 

Breakfast! 

A game of birthday pool

Steak for dinner! 

Presents for the birthday boy 

Making frosting for the birthday cake

May your year ahead be full of many happy days son 

2nd Verse…..

Same as the first….another great day in Winter Park to wrap up the birthday weekend. The one thing that was better - shorter lines! 

We wrapped up a bit earlier today due to finals and just being done for the day. Traffic had a bit of stop and go, but overall, the drive was okay. We are very spoiled to be able to book last minute trips to partake in world class skiing. 

Warm boots - YES!

Always love this view 

WP Baby

We are fortunate to have decent snow for December skiing and a discount on lodging close to the slopes so we booked a last minute trip to celebrate T-man’s 16th birthday. D-man joined us for Friday night, but left Saturday morning for his girlfriend’s formal. 

We watched a bit of soccer and had breakfast before heading out on a bluebird day. The lines were a bit long, but we made our way around the mountain and got in some great runs. We headed in around 3:00 as it gets chillier with the sun going down. 

We got some snacks and relaxed before we headed to the hot tub for a bit. It will be a quiet night after a great day with our youngest. 

Before D-man headed out 

I think their photos need to be updated 

So beautiful today 

Birthday boy 

The guys 

WaffleCabin! 

A great day 

Good to be Home

We are back to being a family of four for a few weeks this holiday season. Marshall picked up D-man at the airport (D-man was pleasantly surprised that he didn’t have to ride the bus). We’ve had a couple meals at home together this week and we’re in Winter Park tonight. Earlier this week, D-man brought home Crumbl Cookies for us which was really nice and the message on the box made me smile. 

It still is an adjustment, but it is nice to have him home and he seems to be happy to be here too. 

Doing the online advent calendar from Gramma 

Crumbl cookies

Winter Park with the moon above 

Euchre 

It’s the Holiday Season

This weekend the holiday season moved into high gear with LizAnn’s party kicking off the season. 

We reinstated our pre-party cocktails downtown with the Wrights and the Sagers before heading to the party. As usual, LizAnn’s party was a lovely time enjoying the signature cocktail and yummy nibbles. It is nice to have these parties again to celebrate with friends and just be together - especially after the year this community had. 

A Real Tree

Well…… the benefits of online shopping are convenience, but sometimes it is also a pain in the butt. I purchased a new Christmas tree from Hime Depot that looked great online. However, when I went to put it up this weekend, it was not nearly as full as I was expecting. I would say it looked downright naked. (Unfortunately, I never took any pictures). So- T-man and I traveled to Home Depot to return the tree. In what should have been an easy return, we waited a good 30 minutes while they handled our return. 

Apparently, they sent me the wrong tree (so there was a reason it didn’t look right). But, because I bought the tree online and I wasn’t returning the tree on my receipt, it was quite the ordeal to get my refund (which I eventually did). This also meant we did not have a tree and all the ones I have seen in the store are not ones that I want. So, we could roll the dice and wait for a week…… OR, we could get a real tree! 

I wasn’t sure where to go or how much they would cost, but, our friends told us that Whole Foods had some nice ones so we headed there and found a nice tree for $75. 

I had some lights we never use in the our outdoor light box and they worked out great. I’m really happy with our tree and it smells really nice. 

Bringing in the tree

But first! Cut off the bottom (no clue you were supposed to do this) 

We got a tree stand from our friends 

Securing the tree 

Ready for the decorations (and so happy we have them). 

World Cup at Brick Street

D-man missed the USA/Iran game qualifying game because he had a final presentation for his business courses. His friend’s attended and had a great time, and D-man was very bummed to have missed such a big event. A video of the bar celebrating the USA’s goal went viral and Fox News asked if they could record at the bar in Saturday. 

In order to get into the bar on Saturday morning, you had to be in before 5:00 am. Because there was a chance of rain, he and his friends brought a tent and hung out and were able to get into the bar! 

He’s a video from inside the bar. And the video I took of the bar while watching the pre-game. They actually showed scenes from the bar twice before the march started. What an experience to remember - he said it was totally worth it - even with the loss. 

The picture we received at 1:00 MT 



In the tent 




A picture someone posted outside the bar with people still waiting to get in (which they wouldn’t be getting in) 

10 Year Anniversary

We continued our tradition of attending the Louisville Parade of lights with friends. Going over to the

Bivrell’s before the parade is also becoming a tradition. We enjoyed some Swedish Glogg and time with friends. It is our 10th parade of lights and the anniversary of meeting my friend Suzie. 

We were watching the parade in front of the Waterloo who was serving drinks to patrons which was fun. It was chilly, but the parade was nice and had some good entries. And regardless of the parade, it is a community experience and a reminder of all the reasons we moved here. And this year, the parade means even more. Several fire trucks started off the parade and I got teary eyed as I thought about how we have a home because of these first responders. We have much ti be thankful for, but even more so this year. 

Swedish Glogg 

Always a fun time 

Going to the “Office”

Some members of my team got together on Thursday at a WeWork space in downtown Denver. It was nice to have some 1:1s in person and just have some time to catch up, go to lunch and be together. 

I also went to a different WeWork Space on Friday morning to meet with the Data Science team to hear about our product strategy and provide some feedback from the customer perspective. When I was getting ready to leave on Friday morning, Marshall mentioned that I seemed frazzled and I told him - two days going to an office - I’m out of practice! 

Decorated for the holidays 

Downtown! 


WeWork lobby #2

Lunch with the World Cup

Marshall and spent our lunch break watching the USA World Cup game on Tuesday. We almost got through all of it, but I had a meeting at the end so we had to watch the last minutes after work. A fun little break in our day.