Happy New Year!

Ours was spent on the couch at home with a bowl of Edamame and a glass of wine. Cold in Colorado today! We drove to Denver and back to drop off Natalie's brothers at DIA, they had spent the last 4 days out here with us after driving back from IL, high temp was 10 degrees, low temp was -10 degrees with up to -50 degrees wind chill around the Frisco area!!!! COLD! Hope everyone had a fantastic 2010, and a just as good or better 2011!

Christmas Day 2010 - Merry Christmas To All!

Afrikaans	Gesëende Kersfees
Afrikander	Een Plesierige Kerfees
African/ Eritrean/ Tigrinja	Rehus-Beal-Ledeats
Albanian	Gezur Krislinjden
Arabic:	Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah
Argentine:	Feliz Navidad
Armenian:	Shenoraavor Nor Dari yev Pari Gaghand
Azeri:	Tezze Iliniz Yahsi Olsun
Bahasa Malaysia:	Selamat Hari Natal
Basque:	Zorionak eta Urte Berri On!
Bengali:	Shuvo Naba Barsha
Bohemian:	Vesele Vanoce
Brazilian:	Boas Festas e Feliz Ano Novo
Breton:	Nedeleg laouen na bloavezh mat
Bulgarian:	Tchestita Koleda; Tchestito Rojdestvo Hristovo
Catalan:	Bon Nadal i un Bon Any Nou!
Chile:	Feliz Navidad
Chinese: (Cantonese)	Gun Tso Sun Tan'Gung Haw Sun
Chinese: (Mandarin)	Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan
Choctaw:	Yukpa, Nitak Hollo Chito
Columbia:	Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo
Cornish:	Nadelik looan na looan blethen noweth
Corsian:	Pace e salute
Crazanian:	Rot Yikji Dol La Roo
Cree:	Mitho Makosi Kesikansi
Croatian:	Sretan Bozic
Czech:	Prejeme Vam Vesele Vanoce a stastny Novy Rok
Danish:	Glædelig Jul
Duri:	Christmas-e- Shoma Mobarak
Dutch:	Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar! or Zalig Kerstfeast
English:	MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Eskimo: (inupik)	Jutdlime pivdluarit ukiortame pivdluaritlo!
Esperanto:	Gajan Kristnaskon
Estonian:	Ruumsaid juulup|hi
Faeroese:	Gledhilig jol og eydnurikt nyggjar!
Farsi:	Cristmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad
Finnish:	Hyvaa joulua
Flemish:	Zalig Kerstfeest en Gelukkig nieuw jaar
French:	Joyeux Noel
Frisian:	Noflike Krystdagen en in protte Lok en Seine yn it Nije Jier!
Galician:	Bo Nada
Gaelic:	Nollaig chridheil agus Bliadhna mhath ùr!
German:	Froehliche Weihnachten
Greek:	Kala Christouyenna!
Hausa:	Barka da Kirsimatikuma Barka da Sabuwar Shekara!
Hawaiian:	Mele Kalikimaka
Hebrew:	Mo'adim Lesimkha. Chena tova
Hindi:	Shub Naya Baras
Hausa:	Barka da Kirsimatikuma Barka da Sabuwar Shekara!
Hawaian:	Mele Kalikimaka ame Hauoli Makahiki Hou!
Hungarian:	Kellemes Karacsonyi unnepeket
Icelandic:	Gledileg Jol
Indonesian:	Selamat Hari Natal
Iraqi:	Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah
Irish:	Nollaig Shona Dhuit or Nodlaig mhaith chugnat
Iroquois:	Ojenyunyat Sungwiyadeson honungradon nagwutut. Ojenyunyat osrasay.
Italian	Buone Feste Natalizie
Japanese:	Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto
Jiberish:	Mithag Crithagsigathmithags
Korean:	Sung Tan Chuk Ha
Latin:	Natale hilare et Annum Faustum!
Latvian:	Prieci'gus Ziemsve'tkus un Laimi'gu Jauno Gadu!
Lausitzian:	Wjesole hody a strowe nowe leto
Lettish:	Priecigus Ziemassvetkus
Lithuanian:	Linksmu Kaledu
Low Saxon:	Heughliche Winachten un 'n moi Nijaar
Macedonian:	Sreken Bozhik
Maltese:	IL-Milied It-tajjeb
Manx:	Nollick ghennal as blein vie noa
Maori:	Meri Kirihimete
Marathi:	Shub Naya Varsh
Navajo:	Merry Keshmish
Norwegian:	God Jul or Gledelig Jul
Occitan:	Pulit nadal e bona annado
Papiamento:	Bon Pasco
Papua New Guinea:	Bikpela hamamas blong dispela Krismas na Nupela yia i go long yu
Pennsylvania German:	En frehlicher Grischtdaag un en hallich Nei Yaahr!
Peru:	Feliz Navidad y un Venturoso Año Nuevo
Philipines:	Maligayan Pasko!
Polish:	Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia or Boze Narodzenie
Portuguese:	Feliz Natal
Pushto:	Christmas Aao Ne-way Kaal Mo Mobarak Sha
Rapa-Nui (Easter Island):	Mata-Ki-Te-Rangi. Te-Pito-O-Te-Henua
Rhetian:	Bellas festas da nadal e bun onn
Romanche (sursilvan dialect):	Legreivlas fiastas da Nadal e bien niev onn!
Rumanian:	Sarbatori vesele
Russian:	Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva is Novim Godom
Sami:	Buorrit Juovllat
Samoan:	La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou
Sardinian:	Bonu nadale e prosperu annu nou
Serbian:	Hristos se rodi
Slovakian:	Sretan Bozic or Vesele vianoce
Sami:	Buorrit Juovllat
Samoan:	La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou
Scots Gaelic:	Nollaig chridheil huibh
Serb-Croatian:	Sretam Bozic. Vesela Nova Godina
Serbian:	Hristos se rodi.
Singhalese:	Subha nath thalak Vewa. Subha Aluth Awrudhak Vewa
Slovak:	Vesele Vianoce. A stastlivy Novy Rok
Slovene:	Vesele Bozicne. Screcno Novo Leto
Spanish:	Feliz Navidad
Swedish:	God Jul and (Och) Ett Gott Nytt År
Tagalog:	Maligayamg Pasko. Masaganang Bagong Taon
Tami:	Nathar Puthu Varuda Valthukkal
Trukeese:	(Micronesian) Neekiriisimas annim oo iyer seefe feyiyeech!
Thai:	Sawadee Pee Mai
Turkish:	Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun
Ukrainian:	Srozhdestvom Kristovym
Urdu:	Naya Saal Mubarak Ho
Vietnamese:	Chung Mung Giang Sinh
Welsh:	Nadolig Llawen
Yugoslavian:	Cestitamo Bozic
Yoruba:	E ku odun, e ku iye'dun!

Christmas Eve

was always one of my favorite times growing up. Around 8pm we would go down for naps for a couple of hours. Around midnight we would all get dressed and head out to gram and gramps house to celebrate the birth of baby Jesus! The whole family would be there, and I could play with all my cousins from about midnight till about 2-3 am. We would all sing happy birthday to Jesus and eat lots of food, and play lots of games. It is one of my favorite memories from New Years and my childhood. This tradition stopped several years ago, but while it lasted was one of my favorites.
Natalie's family has a tradition of their own. Her mom along with her dad's sister and whatever siblings want to go head to the movie theater on Christmas Eve before church service to watch a movie together. This year Natalie and I participated in this tradition. We watched True Grit. It was a pretty good movie, but even better than the movie was the accompanying tradition. These are what makes family.

The Trip Is Wearing us Out!!!!

Bonfire Brewing

We went out in Eagle for my birthday last Wednesday Night. Mark's mom Mary came over and baby sat for us for the night, so we could go out for a bit. Bonfire Brewery has been open for about a month or so, but we had not yet been there. With my affection for good craft brews, this was somewhat of a travesty... Since Bonfire doesn't serve food, other than snacks and stuff, we asked if we could bring in Pizza and B-day cake. They said that was fine and dandy, so we were set! We met Jeff and Jess, T & A, Mark, James, Deb, and Tiffie-poo and Dr. Niles at the brewery. I have to say, I was very impressed with the setting and the beer! At the time we were there, they had 3 beers on tap. The IPA was ok, not my favorite, but still pretty good. The Nut Brown, which I am not a huge fan of, was FANTASTIC! I really enjoyed this one! I could have drank several more, but they ran out.... :( The wheat was also really good, but since it's winter, and I try to mainly drink seasonal beers, I only had one wheat. The alcohol content was also pretty good, since after a few of each drink, I was wearing the wig they have laying around. Jeff and I DOMINATED the shuffleboard table while we were there, eventually running out of competitors. Love that game, and it was actually a really nice table, so that helped a lot! It was a great birthday celebration with good friends in a fun and relaxing atmostphere! Thanks to by beautiful wife Natalie and Bonfire Brewery!

The girls and I cheesin on the snowboard bench
The shuffleboard table is really nice! I will be back again for sure!

The nut brown was fantastic! And I'm normally not a fan of nut brown ales.
Mark is having another beer and a Costco Pizza sammich while singing praises and cheering to the mermaid goddess above....Me with the wig on after a few brews... I thought it went good with my black beard!

30

I ended my 20's at approximately 5ish this am. What a great decade it was! Not sure I could list the top things that happened in the last decade... or that we really need to reminisce about many of them.... :)

Some basics between life at 20 and life at 30:
I weigh less than I did at 20, about 45 lbs less, that's a good thing
I only have slightly more money to my name...
I have a wonderful wife, and wittle boy...
I live in Colorado as opposed to Illinoiz
I have my own house... well mine and the banks anyway...
I have now been teaching for almost 7 years, at 20 I was on my way to being in school for close to 7 years....
I'm sure I could go on and on, but for your sake, I quit...

So how to sum up the last decade of my life?

I think at least I can say that I am much matured over my teen years.... or not really that much, but at least MAYBE a little bit.... (I think)

different perspectives

http://www.sj-r.com/breaking/x596328961/Latest-school-and-event-closings

Above is a link to the current school closings around Springfield, IL. Considering out here in Colorado, Eagle County Schools, the district has had ONE snow day in the last 29 years, might suggest there is a difference in perspective. In one day and night last year we had about 20" of the white stuff, and in the morning it was blowing, and school and life went on... Things just tend to slow down a little bit.

5 hours in Silverthorne

As part of the service plan on the Subaru, we have a 30,000 mile service where they check everything on the car. Takes about 5 hours. It's normally about an hour drive to the car dealer from the house, but this morning took closer to an hour and a half. Vail Pass was completely covered in snow, and traffic was moving fairly slowly due to a couple of semis that had gone off the road. Even with the nasty conditions, the snow and the wind, the subie did wonderful! The car has a few things missing (horsepower, 4 Low...:-), but one thing that's not missing is how well it handles on the snow and ice.Now I have 5 hours to kill in Silverthorne. On the agenda: x-country skiing, and a bit of shopping. Better get going!

Mountain Biking and Golf Courses???

What do mountain biking and golf courses have in common? Not much actually other than the fact that the cart path makes an awesome place to ride a bike. Rode around the course today after school for about an hour. Our golf course has 2 monster granny gear hills on it. They are freaking steep! It was a little like riding a roller coaster with all the whoops and ups and downs and twisty turnies.... Pretty awesome, and I will be doing it again barring any snow covering it up. I think Cayle liked it as well, seeing as how he slept the whole time in the Chariot!

Christmas Crawl

We had a fantastically fun day today with Jess, Jeff, Torrey and Alana. Today had been dubbed the "Christmas Crawl" and was an all-day celebration in preparation for Christmas. We started out at Jeff and Jess' house about 830 this morning for a breakfast of cinnamon rolls, eggs, bacon, bagels, coffee and juice. It was amazing!

The 7 of us headed up toward Yeomen about 945. We parked at the same place we did last year and headed out into the forest to find some trees. Nick and I had snowshoes, so we had a slightly easier time breaking trails (like in open meadows!). I came across a nice tree for T & A, which they promptly cut down and hauled back to the cars. Jeff & Jess decided on a tree they had found, which left Nick & I to pick out a tree for Cayle's 1st Christmas. After much perseverance, we found the perfect tree.
After all the trees we cut down and loaded on the Subis, we headed back to town. First stop was our house. We had tortilla soup (amazing!) and spiced apple cider. Both hit the spot! The boys got our tree trimmed and set in the tree stand so that it is all ready to decorate. Next we hit T & A's house for some hot pasta salad (with broccoli and rolls) and to have the boys get their tree set up. Finally, we made it to Jeff & Jess' house for dessert. Jess had an amazing pudding cup, cookies, hot chocolate - a whole lot of awesomeness! Once their tree was set up, we all headed down to the Christmas on Broadway celebration in downtown Eagle.Apparently it was freezing at last year's parade (everyone but me remembers this). Tonight was awesome weather - mid 40's - for Cayle's 1st Christmas parade. He ended up sleeping through most of the parade!On our walk home from the parade, we stopped in someone's yard for pictures. We did this last year too. The people have a ton of lights that look really nice and seems like a good photo op.
Cayle was such a trooper today. He didn't get his normal naps, and I'm not sure he enjoyed his hours (literally) spent in the backpack looking for the tree, but he was still such a good boy :)

It's DECEMBER!

I am turning the big 3-0 this month... That's scary, not sure I'm ready to say good bye to my 20's yet, but I guess I don't really have too much choice in the matter. When we were talking about this the other day at school, an 8th grade student asked if you can legally change your birth date, like you can change your name...... hmmm.... let's think about that a second.... NO..... you cannot change the date you were born!

Christmas Break is only 12 school days away! We will be heading back to the Midwest for a few days to visit with our families. As much as we hate leaving Colorado at any time of the year, we are looking forward to spending some time with our families, and letting Cayle celebrate his first Christmas with them.

Cayle got his first tooth in today! We are super excited about it, not sure how he feels about it?

Now that it's December, I am well on my way to doing 100 pushups/day for a year. Not really sure why I set this goal, just kind of random, and since I usually go way over the top with every goal I set, this just kind of seemed logical in some sort of demented kind of way. I have over a month so far, as I began on October 23rd. I believe I started as an easy way to build some functional upper body strength to go along with my core work, and all the leg work I get on the bike over the course of a season. Some days it's really easy to do 100 pushups, and some days I am squeezing them in right before I hop in bed. :-)

Such a Happy Boy

Cayle loves hanging upside down, and is such a happy boy! He is constantly smiling and laughing. He is a such a bundle of joy for us! We are so blessed! Thank you Lord!

Thanksgiving Celebration and x-country skiing

What a great weekend! Lots of relaxing time with friends and Cayle :) The first picture is Natalie planted in front of the tv with her coffee, waiting patiently for her cousin Delaney to perform the opening act of the parade. Unfortunately, we weren't able to find Delaney in the crowd, but the parade was fun to watch anyway!We had an awesome spread of food for Thanksgiving lunch. All this food below, in addition to the table of appetizers we had in the other room. Lots and lots of amazing food!
Cayle's first Thanksgiving. He wore his Thanksgiving bib to celebrate the event. He had started solids a few days before and had enjoyed rice cereal, bananas and avocado. Thanksgiving was his first attempt at sweet potatoes! He really enjoyed them...and his fingers, of course!
Family photo on Thanksgiving. Too bad Cayle wasn't interested in the photo!
Delicious, scrumptious mini cheesecakes made by Jess. Unfortunately, there were a few left over at the end of the day and she had to leave them with us. Pretty sure they were consumed for breakfast on Friday...
This next picture is hilarious. It was Cayle's first time to help decorate for Christmas. So, here he is holding on to Santa for mommy. Cayle looks so serious!
The next photos are from cross-country skiing we did on Saturday. We went up Valley Road to find some nice snow. It was Natalie's first time on the skis, and she only face-planted once!
Cayle at the end of our cross-country skiing session. He clearly enjoys his time in the Chariot. He was super-bundled up and stayed nice and warm :)
Only three weeks of school until Christmas Break!

Happy Thanksgiving!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

We had a fantastic turkey day complete with the best turkey I've ever had, and the best sweet potatoes I've ever had, all while hanging out with great friends!

Thanks to my lovely wife for the feast, and for being with me, and providing me with the best son ever! Thanks to mine and my wife's families for all your love and support! Thanks to all of our friends for hanging with us and helping us out when needed! Thanks to God for giving us this wonderful place to live, and all of the fantastic food to celebrate this wonderful day! We are so blessed to be able to live where we do and work where we do and enjoy the activities that we enjoy with our baby son!

This really is a holiday to be celebrated with family and friends around a good meal! The food is a means to bring everyone together for good camaraderie. THANKS ALL!

Fantastic Day Off

Started my day with hanging out with Cayle and Natalie and having coffee. Wish everyday started with just a bit of lounging around like this. Swam at the rec center this morning for the first time in a while. It actually went really well! I remember this time last year, I was just teaching myself how to swim and breathe properly, and I SUCKED! It was super hard to get into any kind of rhythm. It's so nice now to just be able to go to the pool, swim 500+ yards, and get a good workout!
Cayle has started in on the avocodo... in case you can't tell from the green stuff all over his face...

After swimming we set up the house for the Thanksgiving feast tomorrow. We cleaned and arranged furniture, and Natalie slaved away in the kitchen preparing food for tomorrow.

At 3 I went and picked up Mark, and we headed up Valley road for some x-country skiing and snowshoeing. He snowshoed and I skied. It was fantastic! I got to explore a new side road. There was about a foot of powder that was completely untouched by human feet. Just the two of us surrounded by nature and silence. It was about 5 degrees up there, but we were soon taking off hats and gloves in an effort to keep from sweating too much. About 45 minutes up, and about 20 minutes back down for an awesome workout! I'm loving the skis, an excellent purchase it seems!Mark looking down over Valley Road down below us.
Is this picture senior picturesque enough???

ILL- INI

Lots of good college bball on the tube tonight. Saw a bunch of good games, a few blowouts, one HUGE upset in Mich. State, and also got to watch the ILLINI game. They played Yale, so the competition wasn't that great but they looked good! The look like they are finally starting to play together as a team a bit better, and may be buying into the motion offense. Unfortunately Cayle didn't get to watch it with me, as he was sleeping in preparation for Thanksgiving celebrations....

Doctor and Sunrise

We had Cayle's 6 month checkup tonight. He grew about an inch, but lost about a pound... :( Despite his weight loss, Doc said he seems very healthy! His energy levels are great, and he is eating well. We have to try to boost his calorie and fat intake a bit in order to try to get him to gain some weight. I wish I had that problem... Although it was nice when I stood on the scale with him yesterday to try and get a weight estimate for him. I was fully clothed with shoes and all, and holding Cayle weighed in at 198 lbs. Last year at about this time I was that same weight without clothes, and without Cayle....
I caught this sunrise on camera the other day. The pictures don't really do it justice, but you get the general idea. Now all I need is a nice camera to be able to shoot these kinds of pictures and do them justice....
Red sky in the morning, Sailors take warning......