going low-tech

So our computer finally died a slow and painful death. We canceled internet service to our home, and I'm slowly but surely getting used to not having that form of contact at home... (but I use the computer at work, so you can still email me)
Some times I can use Gene's brother's computer to download pictures and put them on this blog, so stay tuned. And maybe in a long while we'll get a new computer to re-enter the "information age". But until then...

the big swings

taking full advantage of the last few warm...ish days.

WEEE!

Poppie walked Woofie almost the entire way to the playground. (a mile)

halloween parties

me learning to fly.

Ben learning to land.

Ben already knows how to fly.

This was the line to get into the Caraboo Club, a very fancy Aspen private club that is open to the public only on halloween. We waited in line for about a minute, then gave up and went dancing. What you can't see is that the line is stretched up a flight of stairs and bends around the block. I can only imagine what it's like on the inside.

corn maze and pumpkin patch

The corn maze was cool, but I was hearing the children of the corn music in my head the whole time. Spooky.

the first sled of the season

The first snowfall of the year is always sooo exciting. Even if it's not much more than a really heavy frost. Poppie, of course, was so thrilled to wear her blue flowered snow pants. Cody was just thrilled. And the tradition of coming in for hot chocolate is becoming a joke. Poppie says, "let's go outside and come back in for more hot chocolate!"

mini road trip

We went on a little get away to our favorite mountain town, Leadville. Every time we go through we love it more and talk about moving there. It's a lot more rugged than Aspen, and a lot higher and colder. The highest recorded temperature ever is just 85 degrees. That sounds good. The leaves along the drive were spectacular.

This is going up over independance pass. The road becomes one lane, which is pretty crazy to go around some of the corners. The drop off is sooo steeep!

little witches

The picture was much cuter. I think who ever made these for the magazine didn't have a three year old and a one year old helper.

new thrift store

There is a great new thrift store in Basalt. This morning we went and found all these goodies for just a few dollars.

Two hand made baskets, hard boiled egg slicer, screw nut cracker, real silver plate, tea party set that comes in it's own wicker suit case, unusual wooden things - whisk, hollow spoon, rake, spaghetti server, screw top glass jars - maybe salt and pepper shakers?, and a cowgirl hat for Poppie. Among the great finds we saw but didn't get, there was lots of funky vintage clothes and designer leather pants. Why are designer clothes always size 6?

this green pumpkin is the one from our garden. We harvested it early because jack frost has been coming around.

the golden leaf half marathon

All I can say is, YELLOW. well, that's not all I can say, and I will say a lot more, but I'll start with yellow. Parts of the trail were heavily blanketed with fallen aspen leaves, they were the cheeriest shade of bright yellow. The morning sun glowed through the leaves still on the trees, the scrub oaks were a deep orangy gold, and the sky was deep bright blue. A perfect day.

The race started at the bottom of Snowmass mountain, and the first mile was straight up the ski run. Boring, I walked. There were a bunch of insane people who ran up. There were 650 people entered. That's a lot! Especially once we got on the single track. I was waiting to hear a moo. The first maybe 2 or 3 miles of single track were so crowded. If somebody stopped to walk, we all had to stop. It was pretty annoying. I'm used to trail running with a few friends, and that has a whole other sense of peace and solitude. Mile 4 came quickly. Probably because I was so focused on not giving the runner in front of me a flat tire, or get one from the person behind me.

Somewhere around mile 5 things started to space out a bit. My friends Kristi and Kristina who I was running with stayed together, and that helped to have friends to talk to. It was during mile 6 that we ran through a big open meadow. I wished I had my camera. Grasshoppers were flying all over the place, everything was... well, yellow, and the air smelled like sweet grass and clouds. I was more than half done, and feeling pretty good.

I think I spaced out a bit then. The next thing I knew was we were all bunched up again in the herd, and pounding down steep switchbacks. Every once in a while you'd hear "oof", "shit", "wooow" or "aaagh". (those are the sounds a runner makes when they wipe out.) By then, mile 9 or 10, my knee was hurting, and my feet felt blistery, and I wasn't quite so peppy.

Then we came out of the woods and ran a short distance on the road. ouch. Luckily our friend Jim from work was there with big smiles and Gatorade. That helped. Than we crossed one of the most scenic foot bridges in Colorado, and were back on the dirt. We puttered through the open space outside town and eventually came to the 12 mile marker. One more mile to go. I could run one mile, right?

That last mile went quick, and before I knew it we were running down the sidewalk in town. That was kinda fun because there were people there cheering us on. When I got to the finish line, Gene, Poppie and Cody were there yahooing me through. I almost cried, but didn't.

Now I'm home, cleaned up and in my comfiest clothes, and really hoping both kids take good naps. Phew... that was a big accomplishment for me. I feel tired, and glad I survived

getting ready for the race

On Saturday I'm running in the Golden Leaf half marathon. I'm pretty excited, and starting to get a little nervous. If you want to read the course description (very interesting) google "golden leaf half marathon" you can read all about it. I just re-read it for the third time, and it still is interesting to me. but then again, I'll be living it in 2 days. Gene said he'll meet me at the finish line with the kids and a big cold drink. I'll let you know how it goes!

Like a good western gal, Poppie can nurse her baby (cowie) while riding her horse!

I made a kite but there just wasn't enough wind in the backyard.
So we hiked up the bluff across the street to see if we could fly our kite up there.

This is the view from up on the bluff. Do you see the dirt trough looking thing running down the mountain? That's the newly expanded super pipe at Buttermilk mountain (half pipe for skiing and snowboarding). I think it's the biggest in the state, and maybe in the country. The green apartments in the foreground that you can't really see because of the trees are ours.
And all the hiking around put little guy to sleep.

our new friend

Meet Scarecrow. We made her this morning to protect the one small pumpkin growing in the garden. Poppie and Scarecrow were instant friends. We took her to the grocery store (in her headless state) and she sat at the table with us while we ate lunch.
Here are some pictures of our garden. The plot next to ours is wicked mint... (if you're from Massachusetts you'll get that joke) Oh, and Cody is happy as can be to sit in the garden and eat dirt.