Thanksgiving

So, Steve and I decided to road trip to California for the Thanksgiving holiday.

I asked Steve along the way if there was anything he wanted for Christmas. He responded "a plane ticket home on Saturday."

I guess not everyone is cut out for road tripping.

October Wedding

Close your eyes for a moment. (wait, now you can’t read this can you?). Okay, never mind. Relax for a moment and imagine if you will, a sound - a musical sound. Ominous at first and then… catchy. Like the Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s island, you wonder why they are there – but then start to enjoy it so much you don’t mind the lapse in plot and eventual demise of our castaway formula. So too this sound will be tasteless at first, but then it will propel you into the past (doollooloo loo – dooloolooloo) the image in front of you becomes wavy and BAM! You are back at the beginning of October.

It’s a cold winter’s day. El Nino (or is it la Nina this year?) – has created a winter snowstorm at the beginning of October. The sky is overcast and heavy – bulging with a heavy cold that weighs it down like a wet blanket on the sky, a slanket that wraps its arms all the way around the mountains and plains. It’s the kind of day you want to stay in bed to enjoy. Today however, is Kirsten’s wedding day. You’re at an age now where the week, the month, the year is broken down not into mile stones (I lost my first tooth, I started school, I turn 16) but rather into events to coordinate a wardrobe or dinner around. Today is such an event. You’ve bought a pretty blue dress and actually (gasp) curled your hair. The wedding is at a little church just on the outskirts of Boulder. The church is old – old enough to have a black furnace in the middle and candles as the only artificial light source. The wood floors creek and the puritan-eque pews moan with each shifting body. The ceremony is lovely (as ceremonies tend to be), and the bride is beautiful (as brides tend to be). And you know that it is more than just love radiating throughout the church – it is the joy of a crowd ready to celebrate – the kind of celebration that can only be consummated with rich food and plentiful alcohol.

And so you tip toe out the church and through the crispy snow in your dangerously high heeled shoes and drive with your friends to the Greenbrier. A restaurant that could be centuries old – that could be resting on the top of a mountain, all wood and rich warmth. It reminds you of being inside a fireplace, or walking through the country bear jamboree. It is nestled on the side of the foothills – but feels secluded and quaint. The Greenbrier also creeks like the pew and the church, but not in respectful silence, but in a creaky chatter, adding to the conversations among guests. Wine and Beer, along with pate and bruchetta are passed around and cheers erupt as Kirsten and James signal the parties’ official commencement with their arrival. The evening flows into scattered images. New York strip steak with blue cheese – a cake that looks like Boston’s Fenway Park – Aunt Kathy, who, a little too inebriated for her own good tries to cut in during the first dance! - The most interesting man in the world “Steve”, with friends laughing around him. Photos, cigars, - Dancing, always Dancing.

And as the evening wears on – and your feet start to ache and the music slows to a stop… you have already begun to reminisce and look forward to the next wedding – and hope it will be as good as this one.

Michelle, AJ, Rachelle and Sarah

Aunt Kathy - we ♥ Aunt Kathy.

Dancing... dancing....

AJ and Kirsten.

The most interesting Man in the World.

Murray the Murano

So, I’ve been stalling the blog updates because our month has been so full of fun and excitement, and I was hoping to update things chronologically. However, due to Kirsten’s wedding photos not being up yet… we’ll skip that big celebration and go to through the rest of our busy month… but one blog post at a time…

First and foremost, we did replace poor Eddie Bauer. He was a good car… a kind car, but he wasn’t as reliable as he should have been and thus we bit the financial bullet and traded him in (once we got him back and before he could go on another jaunt). We sent Eddie to greener pastures and invited a younger, gentler soul to come live with us – introducing MURRAY, a gorgeous crossover with (gasp) Air Conditioning and HEAT!. He’s a navy blue 2006 all wheel drive Nissan Murano. We can’t wait to trek to the mountains to go snowboarding in the luxury of heated seats and amazing traction control!

Murray! Oh Murray you handsome little devil you. We’re so glad you decided to come to our family and live with us. We’ll keep you clean and well gassed. And never you mind about that other car Eddie. Sure, we loved him… and got him back… but we knew that he was on his last leg. He’s now at a car farm somewhere, revving his engine and doing donuts for eternity.

(and yes, we name our cars... ever since I was little. .. anyone remember Jenny? The bullet? Lewie?)