Heat Wave

It's expected to be almost 40 degrees again today! That's a heat wave for us. Jackie is taking advantage of the warm sun by sunbathing on the deck. She LOVES laying in the sun- her little black ears heat up.

I took advantage of the warmth by being like my father and going for a long run. It was pretty cold in the shade (20 degrees) but the sun beating down on my black running tights was wonderful. I found the trails that the city plows the snow from and went for it. I still can't believe we live here because it still feels like vacation! Here's part of the trail that ran alongside the stream. Crisp mountain air and the silence of running alone was peaceful.

Jesse is taking advantage of the warmth by riding his bike to Breckenridge and meeting Maximus and me for lunch and an ice sculpture contest. Aaaaand...pizza at Eric's! That place is sooooo good with their garlic whole wheat crust. He's looking forward to warmer riding closer to Denver tomorrow afternoon while Maximus and I shop!

The Adventures of "Key Rick"

I walked into the living room yesterday and ran into "Key Rick" (T Rex) enjoying a cheddar bunny. It was weird, I thought I shouldn't attempt to take a cracker from Key Rick with those epic teeth of his.

Lovers

"Birds and Fish" by Maximus

I was like, seriously? That's pretty exact for a 2 year old.

Jump!

HAHAHAHAHA!

Drive

This is mainly for my mom, so she can see how pretty it is here in winter!

Please Love Me?

"Work"

I have an extremely part time "job". I get to work maybe 45 minutes a day out of my own beautiful kitchen making food for hungry dudes. This is my first week doing it and I love it! I make a load of breakfast burritos the night before and Jesse sells them at his job site. Now, don't think these are the healthy burritos we would typically eat...no...they are made white flour tortillas, sausage, loads of hash browns and cheese. I buy in bulk and make them cheap. I find myself baking a pound of bacon each afternoon- yikes! Anyway, Jesse brought home my "paycheck" today and I was pleasantly surprised!

I was planning to work when Maximus starts school, but my availability would be 2, maybe 3 days a week only between the hours of 9am - 11:15am. After hiring 500+ employees for Hilton, I realized that availability would make employers laugh. So this works out great! It's not a "real" job by any means, but man, it feels good to be contributing a little more. I'm actually looking forward to working almost full time when Maximus is in school full time. I LOVE being a stay at home mom and we're fortunate that I don't have to work outside the home like so many mothers are forced to do. But it will feel great to get back into a different type of work eventually. After working in stressful (yet empowering) positions with different employers and after enjoying the true joy of being home with Maximus, I decided that when I do return to work I need to be doing something I love: working with disabled adults who need help finding employment, cooking for others, or with children. Or...at a resort so Jesse and I can ski/snowboard free...hmm...

On the staying home note, Maximus said something today that was epic. As I made him lunch, he hung on my legs and said, "I wuv you mom." The use of "I" in place of "me" is a huge development in his speech. Maximus has a delay with phonological processes backing and works with a speech pathologist. This is a major step forward. I was happy to be home making him lunch to hear him say this.

Dinosaurs and Other Random Things

Maximus is really, really into dinosaurs. He calls them all "key rick" (T Rex). He got 3 plastic dinosaurs yesterday. HE LOVES THEM! He's such a sweetie that he makes them kiss after they have a "dino war" and he puts them to night nights on the hutch in the entry. How cute is this?!



He was very proud of his trains this morning.



Maximus at Keystone...again. I love this picture- he looks like a teenager out for a day of boarding.



This is what happens after a day of snowboarding. Life is so rough. Notice: no dodo in his mouth! We've taken it away during the day. In the morning he gives me dodo (pacifier) and I put it to night nights high up in the pantry. Then it comes out at night for him.



I think I've lost my mind. I took this picture 2 days ago because I was impressed with the visibility. I think I actually said, "wow, this storm is really clearing up."

SNOW

Dude. We got a storm in last night that's dropped SO MUCH SNOW. The good thing is that it's not a cold storm- the temp is the upper 20's to lower 30's, so it feels nice. (my family in California is reading this and shivering and thinking I've lost my mind...) The picture above is our walkway. There's a fence somewhere.

Today Maximus and I went to the library for story time and got caught in a whiteout on the way home. We just had to pull over for a few minutes until there was more visibility. But hey, story time at the library was a blast! Two librarians put on a skit about frogs getting dressed to go snowboarding and then we made frog puppets. Maximus had a great time and I was happy to meet other parents. Everyone we meet here is so friendly! We will definitely be going there each week.

We came home and decorated Jesse's "bike cave" with swag from the bike shop. We came upstairs and looked through the windows and yep, we are in a snow globe. We're going to go shovel the driveway (again) to get some exercise and to just be outside. I LOVE how the snow here is very easy to be in. Last year in Lincoln, it was so bitter cold and windy that we couldn't even breathe outside. But here, it's nice. My arthritic hands rarely hurt from the cold because the air is so dry.

Part of our front yard. Snow up to the windows. We're not worried about that icicle because it's impossible to even get to.




These are the icicles we watch. They grow each day and now they touch the ground. They're really pretty, but need to be knocked down. There's a dog in the neighborhood that likes to visit Jackie by sitting on the other side of the window and I don't want them to fall on her. These icicles are taller than me! And I'm six feet tall!


Here's a cute little video of Maximus loving the snow:

Waiting...

Monday - Friday from 4:30 - 5:30pm you can find Googoo sitting here waiting for Jesse to come home.

Green Juice Anyone?

Our Day

It was BEAUTIFUL today. Mid 30's (zip it, Southern California) and sunny! For once my fingers and toes didn't get cold while we were at the ski resort.

Before we went to Keystone Resort, we went for a drive in this epic neighborhood we are fortunate to live in. Our house is at the base of mountain and from it you can see these gigantic homes waaaaay up in the mountains. Yesterday we drove a little, but I really wanted to see more today. When some of these homes were built, very little tree removal was done to the property, so they are surrounded by thick pine and aspen trees. It is SO us. Here's a shot from one of the small roads toward the top where there weren't any more homes: (I got all these photos from my stupid cell phone, so they aren't great)


I came across this tiny place and couldn't believe no one lived in it. If that was my vacation home, I'd be on vacation permanently.


Now THIS is my dream home. It was at the very top road in the middle of the woods. The view was breathtaking. I love it because it sits down from the road, it's dark and earthy, there isn't a neighbor's house 10 feet away, it's surrounded by thick trees (and I'm sure bears), the deck out back was the entire length of the house and the home is more spread out than it is tall. The kitchen faces the amazing view and of course, there is a hot tub. I'm sure it's a few million bucks, but I can't shake this house from my mind. I love where we live and our house is amazing, but I'm just saying.


So we went to Keystone Resort. Here's Lake Dillon frozen over. I can't wait to see it in summer.


Maximus being epic on his snowboard. I can't believe how good he's getting. This kid is such an athlete and I'll keep giving him the opportunities as long as he's having fun. His new thing is to jump as he boards. He can't stop when he's going fast, but he wants to jump.


We came home and it was still warm(ish) and I was dying to stay outside. We ended up taking Jackie for a walk on the bikes. We realized his snowboarding helmet/goggles is perfect for cold weather riding.


We came in and noticed our neighbors dog. She always comes over and plays through the window and it's adorable! She's 10 months and crazy. Everyone up here has a large dog and they're rarely on leashes.

So, just an average day but I have to stop and catch myself- it feels like we're on vacation! It's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to and we're so lucky to be here! The vast, wild beauty here almost brings me to tears.

More "Sowburning" by 2HaffEpic

Preschool!

What? Seriously? Yep.

Maximus and I toured Silverthorne Elementary today and it was such a relief. I can't imagine a better place for that little boy. His teacher, "Miss Kathy" was so pleasant and so was her assistant, "Miss Candice". Each classroom has a 10 student limit. The students in the class were such sweeties! A little girl named Sarah was proud to show Maximus around the room.

Maximus will be in speech therapy each day he goes to preschool. The therapist rocked! She races mountain bikes, is full of energy and fell in love with Maximus. She's partial to redheads and was stunned at how social and friendly he is. She said his articulation will improve faster because he's so social. He'll be working with one other boy who also has a delay with phonological processes and the therapy consists of singing, dancing, outdoor adventures and learning about dinosaurs. What could be better?

I was impressed with the classroom because it wasn't loud and the kids were very calm while they played. The classroom wasn't full of mindless toys either. This teacher uses things found in nature as part of the curriculum. The kids get bundled up EVERY DAY (unless the temperature is below 5 degrees) and spend an hour outside exploring. And get this- they eat REAL food! No chicken nuggets, frozen pizza or sugary drinks! I looked in the fridge and found white milk (no chocolate or strawberry! Score!), soy milk, yogurt, fresh fruit and water. The snack for today was fresh fruit, wheat crackers and milk. This made me relieved.

Several times Maximus told me to go home and he'll stay in the classroom. Then he'd walk toward the kids waving and saying, "gye mom, gye!" I wanted to cry.

This growing up thing is getting to be too much. He got a haircut (and now looks like a 9 year old), will be starting preschool and gave up his dodo (pacifier) except at night. I'm going to lose it. I will be that mom bawling her eyes out and peering through the windows during the first week of school.

Wiped

4 days of snowboarding in one week will do this to a 2 year old.

Maximus and mama have a little routine each day we go to Keystone Resort:

• pack yogurt with frozen berries mixed in (Keystone charges $7 for a sugary parfait)
• pack V8 for Maximus and water for mama
• pack extra gloves
• always, always pack lip balm
• make sure we are wearing great socks and 9 layers of clothing (slightly exaggerating)
• find the secret free parking lot that's very close to the lifts
• try not to laugh when noticing the odor of marijuana coming from certain cars as we walk through the lot
  
• do about 8 runs
• eat and defrost in the lodge- pick frozen snot off Maximus' cheeks
  
• Maximus socializes with other snowboarders in the lodge telling them he's "two half epic" and that he "sowburns dowm big moungers"
• get another 5 runs in...while pointing at the people who fall and yell, "mom oh no guy fall! Get up guy! GET UP!"
• socialize with the lift operators and give them lots of high-fives
• blow kisses to the mountains, ski lifts and magic carpets
• have mom push Maximus on his snowboard through the village and halfway to the parking lot so he doesn't have to walk. (He likes to wave at everyone and do jumps so they laugh) This is also a great ab workout for mom
  
• Get buckled in the carseat and pass out before exiting the parking lot
  

Moose!

I literally had a conversation with my mom today about the moose in our neighborhood. Then, I get a text message from our cool landlord telling me there was one in the cul-de-sac and about 3 doors down. Maximus and I drove (for safety) 75 feet away and SAW A MOOSE.

This thing was seriously the size of a Jeep Cherokee. I've seen moose before, but not this size. He even had a huge rack on his head. This picture is awful because it's from my cell phone and I didn't want to get close, but you can see his dark body and white legs behind the trees.
He was eating some kind of plant over there. A small child came running out of her house while yelling, "moose mom!" before her mother could catch her and the moose looked over his shoulder at the girl and then looked away. Maximus and I watched him for a good 20 minutes and then he went behind some homes into the field where Maximus first learned to snowboard. It was stunning to see. Earlier today as Maximus and I drove to Keystone Ski Resort, I was in awe of the beauty here. Dozens of steep rocky mountains, blue sky, blinding white snow, a huge frozen lake, the wind blowing snow off the mountain peaks. Everything here is nature at it's very best. Maximus and I cuddled in bed this morning and looked out our bedroom window to see this:

And here's a sunset from a few weeks ago. I took this on the back deck.

A Video to Follow the Previous Post...

Dishwasher Dogs, Dancing and Train Track Engineering from Stacey Barch on Vimeo.

Visit From Our Lincolnites!

We had the pleasure of having our close friends from Lincoln visit us for New Years. We moved here less than a month ago and we've missed them, so having them around was a great way to celebrate the New Year!

I took a zillion pictures of different things and here they are in complete random order:


Whenever Jason sat on the sofa, Maximus snuggled with him. He was really attached to Jas during their visit. One day we spent a few hours at the outlets and Maximus was with Jason the entire time.


Sarah and me after killing the guys in a board game. I've missed this gal so much!


Maximus' crazy parents.


This was the temperature on New Years Eve. -15 with a windchill of -45. Awesome, eh?


Now Maximus and Deb were something else. That boy was so clingy with her. They must have spent hours cuddled in bed with books, stuffed animals and blankies.


Believe it or not, Maximus and Deb are under all these blankets. Playing with flashlights. (Thanks for the bedding Vicki!)


Scout and Jackie. Don't they belong on the cover of LL Bean?


Deb teaching Maximus how to make some amazing buckwheat oatmeal pancakes.


The dog line up: Stella (boss), Googoo (the crazy old lady) and Scout (the youngin').


Shocker- Maximus and Jason snuggled on the couch working on bike stuff.


Scout cleaning the dishes in the dishwasher for me.


When they left Sunday, we took down all the Christmas decorations and then the house was REALLY empty. I sort of wigged out. If any of our family or friends who are reading this want to come visit, we would be thrilled to have you! We miss everyone so much!