Vurp!

Happy 2nd Birthday Landon I woke in the middle of the night after a nasty vurp (vomit-burp). A product of the pepperoni pizza, no doubt. The vurp, burned my throat. A few slugs of water didn’t cure it either. It kept me awake, tossing and turning for the next hour or so. I finally mustered enough energy to get up and take a Zantac. That took care of the trouble fast. I finally got back to sleep. Next thing I knew it was 7:30am and the kids were up. Mindy graciously got up to deal with the kids and closed the door behind her. I got to sleep in for a little while. The next time I looked at the clock it was 8:30am. I got up and headed downstairs. I was still feeling a bit out of sorts. I was slow getting my exercises underway, too, but eventually did. While sipping coffee in the living room, Mindy reminded me of Noah’s birthday party and the need to drop off Jacob around 10:30am. She headed off for a shower around 9:20am. She came back down around 9:50am asking me to get my run going so she could take Jacob at 10:30am. I quickly got into my running clothes and headed out the door. It was much colder than Friday’s run. Instead of 50, it was more like 25 degrees. I ran along Trabue. Despite the cold the sunshine felt great. Mindy left with Jacob soon after I returned. She was originally going to go directly to the grocery but instead opted to stop back home after dropping Jacob, in part to put two beef roasts in the crock pot for tonight’s dinner (Landon’s b-day party). I did my best to keep the kids in line until she got back. Mindy was back after a brief absence tending to the pot roast. But very soon she was off again, only this time for a couple of hours. My job, like always, was to peel the remaining Styrofoam bottom off the frozen roasts and then add seasoning once they began to cook. I fed the kids lunch around 12:15pm. Mindy was back home by 1pm, and after getting the groceries put away she put Landon down for his usual afternoon nap. Later, we’d be having a houseful. All the girls were coming over, as was Tommy and Dad. We planned to fetch Lindsey an hour earlier so that Mindy & I could talk with her about the kids. I went to take a brief nap around 1:30pm while Mindy did some house cleaning. After my nap and a shower I left to get Lindsey. I went by myself. Kelly’s monstrous dogs tried leaping through her screen door to get after the mailman. Good grief! Put ‘em down. Lindsey & Kelly carried two packages to the Honda from the back of Kelly’s Nissan. Soon Lindsey & I were on our way. I couldn’t resist the opportunity. When Lindsey & I got to talking about why we wanted her over early I told her that Mindy & I had a family announcement to make. I told her that we were moving to Oregon! I thought Lindsey was going to cry. She asked how we could do such a thing – leaving the larger family behind and all. Easy, was my reply! Since she bought it, I played along all the way back to the house. I never did tell her differently. In fact, once inside, I told Mindy that I’d already let her know that we were moving. Mindy played along, at least for a while. Finally, after toying with her long enough, we came clean. The real reason we wanted to talk was about the plan for the kids. Bottom line, the conversation went pretty much no where. And there’s definitely no action plan in place, at least not one we think makes any sense. She sees nothing but roadblocks and has no idea how to proceed. Realistically, she’s no closer to having her life together than she was two weeks into this experience. So here we are 90 days later… We ended the sobering conversation when brother Tommy showed up. The others soon followed. By 4pm, everyone expected had arrived. The roasts were slower to cook than usual. We re-estimated dinner to be 5:30pm, or even a bit later. We spent the time visiting/talking. Meanwhile, the kids were having a ball. Olivia was a hoot. Very loud! Meanwhile, dad was fresh back from Florida and sporting a facial tan. We finally got to eating around 6pm. Ashley & Courtney left soon after eating. Both had plans. I asked if we could keep Olivia overnight. Mindy & Ashley agreed. Wahoo! Dad & Tommy were there through the birthday event but left somewhere near 7:30pm. Mindy took Lindsey home around 8:00pm. I hoped she be able to talk with her more. I lazed on the sofa with the kids. When Mindy arrived home we got all the kids ready for bed. Much easier said than done. The plan called for Olivia to sleep with Bella. It was already almost 9:30pm but she didn’t want any part of going to bed. But Mindy never lets the kids dictate bedtime. She fetched a baby gate to keep her in and let her scream a little while. She eventually calmed and laid in bed with Bella. Once all the kids were down I poured myself a Jack & Fresca. Neither of us lasted too long. We were in bed by 10:30pm. Mindy joked that Sunday AM was my turn to get up. She said it jokingly but I knew she was serious. I already planned to do the deed anyhow.

Picking Off the Pepperoni

I was out of bed just before 5:30am but didn’t really sleep that well. Like I have a few other times this week, I woke numerous times finding myself overtly thirsty and needing to pee. Meanwhile, the spring tease was expected to evaporate today and quickly. The day started out warm but was expected to end chilly. It was right around 50 degrees when I headed out with Ykraps, but it was also raining. I did my best to keep dry during our walk, but the rain was coming in sideways rendering my umbrella nearly useless. I checked the radar after making a cup of coffee. It looked like it might be gone by 6:30am. I was happy to see that. I eventually delivered Mindy’s coffee and returned downstairs for more of my usual pre-run activity. I made a concerted effort to get out of the house on time to avoid holding Mindy up. I headed out at 6:35am. Immediately to the north I could see clearing skies, however, it was still drizzling ever so lightly. The drizzle didn’t last, however. Soon, wet streets were my only hurdle. But that’s rarely, if ever, a problem. Mindy apologized for not having a towel waiting by the door. I explained that the rain stopped at the outset, and that the water dripping from my face was simply sweat. It wasn’t long before Mindy & the wee ones headed off for school. I organized a quick lunch; a can of tuna, fruit, and nuts. I was off to the shower at 7:35am. Jacob and I were out the door for the bus stop at 7:56am. And because of the lovely morning weather, we tossed the football until the bus arrived. I left for work at 8:10am. Gas was up $.22 overnight to $1.84. I was frustrated with myself for not filling up on my way home last night. I had about a 1/3 of a tank, still. Damn! Work was busy from the outset and got busier as the day went along. But I knew heading in that it would most likely be that way. I was pretty much on my own, although Ken was in until noon. The day flew by faster than never. The afternoon was a total blur given the volume of issues finding their way to my desk. Somehow I managed. I always do. I saw online that Timberline (Mt Hood) got hammered with snow this week. They received 67 inches over the past 72 hours and 22 inches over night. I sent a teaser email to Glenn & Bob I. I could still go for a week in Govy Camp. I managed to get out of the office about ten minutes early. I don’t recall making any stops. I walked Ykraps as soon as I was home. The kids attacked me assuming I brought home pizza. This was family pizza night but I didn’t order on my drive home. I figured we’d order after getting settled. Mindy seemed in a much better frame of mind. I ordered two large pepperoni pizzas, and left to fetch them after waiting around 10 minutes or so. It felt very good to have a regular weekend ahead. The pizzas were ready when I got there. I was home in a jiffy. Both Jacob & Bella pitched one about me getting two pepperoni pizzas. Their preference was cheese. I always contend that they can simply pick off the pepperoni. Jacob saw the logic but not Bella, at least not initially. In no mood for whining, I advised her to stop. She soon did, and picked the pepperonis off of her pizza. Mindy allowed Jacob to head over to neighbor Jake’s to play until 8:40pm. The rest of the family watched a movie. We let the kids stay up fairly late – about 9pm. We hoped that would translate into a late start Saturday morning, but unfortunately, it doesn’t typically work like that. But one can still try – right? Mindy & I each drank a beer. In fact, I had two, one of which was a HopSlam. I published the past several blog entries I’d been sitting on for a while, too. We didn’t stay up too late. Both of us were beat.

Sperm Whales

For whatever the reason, I was still really tired even after 7.5 hours of luxurious sleep. Even the calisthenics didn’t snap me out of it. It was already 50 degrees when I headed out with Ykraps. It actually smelt like spring. Plus, lots of different birds were singing, many I hadn’t heard the likes of for months. But even the promise of spring didn’t shake me out of the funk. I hoped my coffee would do the trick, and by and large it did, at least temporarily. I did my usual pre-run routine, and ended up out the door at 6:35am – right on schedule. Aside from feeling tired, I felt great. My legs and groin were loose, and so was my back. I need to thank Mindy for the awesome back rub the night before. That, and the four Advil I took. :) I dressed down considerably given the warm temps, but even then I ran up one heck of a sweat. I was sweating profusely. I didn’t have my usual energy level either. I worried that I might be coming down with something. Hopefully not. By the time I made it back home my wicking shirt was completely soaked in sweat. I practically had to peel it off. Yuck! Mindy wasn’t in the best of moods. I picked up on that right away. Having four kids is wearing on her, I know. It’s admittedly more impacting to her day than my own. She and the wee ones departed at 7:30am like normal. I finished my breakfast then dashed off for a shower. I was ready to go by 7:50am. Once again this morning, I tidied up the kitchen with the few my extra minutes. Jacob and I left for the bus stop at 7:56am. Our wait seemed excruciatingly long. Jake & Jacob read the neighborhood newspaper left on the neighbor’s driveway. They were mostly interested in an article pertaining to their school. I was impressed with Jake’s ability to read so fluidly and with all the proper emphasis. Kudos! The bus finally arrived. The boys put the paper back in the plastic bag it was delivered in and boarded the bus. I returned home and eventually left for work. I arrived at work by 8:22am. I made a fresh pot of Folgers coffee and shared it with my peeps. The morning moved swiftly. Soon it was afternoon. I didn’t take a lunch. I worked straight through. I did make a can of soup for lunch. I called daughter Ashley mid-afternoon to invite her and Olivia over to celebrate Landon’s 2nd birthday on Saturday. I didn’t know the time so I committed to calling her back. I didn’t leave for home until 5:35pm. In the parking lot I talked to a fellow Isuzu owner, who had nothing but praise for his 1998 Rodeo. That was encouraging to hear. I’m happy with my Trooper, too. I was home by 6pm. Mindy was busy making dinner and had the three wee ones playing in the basement. She apparently told them that they had to play down there until dinner was ready. Even then, Rocky tried everything to get access to the upstairs, including wanting to give me a welcome home hug. I went to him instead. After walking Ykraps in the rain I returned to the kitchen. I could still sense tension in Mindy’s body language. She asked Landon numerous times to go down the basement stairs on his bottom (safely) but he told her no. Young ones don’t tell Mindy no with out repercussion. She went after him, putting him in time out (in the big family room chair). He wasn’t pleased. Eventually, dinner was ready (chicken wings) and it was time to eat. Mindy went to Landon and asked several times that he apologize for telling both of us no. He repeatedly refused. Ok, longer time out. His stubbornness reminds me much of his uncle Charles who was much the same way as a very young boy. I thought for sure he’d cave and apologize. He’s done it before. But this time, for whatever reason, he continued to refuse all the while crying for me and Rocky. He cried pretty much through our entire dinner, which he wasn’t permitted to be part of. The crying was getting to me and the others. Eventually Mindy took him to his room to cry. This went on for about 20-25 minutes total. I was bothered that he was missing dinner. Plus, I hadn’t really had a chance to bond with him yet tonight. I excused myself from the dinner table and went to retrieve him. He was still crying. I gave him a reprieve despite his unwillingness to say he was sorry. The thing was, he didn’t tell Mindy no to be mean. He did it so nonchalantly. I felt that he had paid his dues and likely had no idea what he was in trouble for. He’s only two. I also knew that Mindy wouldn’t be pleased to know I released him without the apology. I told her and the kids that he did, just so she wouldn’t lose face in front of the kids. Any other time I would honor that exclusively. Landon was more than happy to be sitting down for dinner. He ate apple sauce and then some of his chicken. For dessert he had a lollipop. Mindy let me know that she didn’t like what I did. I knew she wouldn’t but felt it the righter thing to do under the circumstances. She wasn’t in the best frame of mind from the outset. She seemed to get over it. As far as the rest of the kids, they understood that he apologized from his room. After the mini-crisis and clean-up, I took Rocky & Landon up for a bath. In the meantime, Mindy contended with the never-ending laundry. I dislike giving kids baths but knew that Mindy would appreciate the help. After baths, we read with all the kids. Once again, putting Landon down in his own bed was a battle. I won. It was about 8:20pm. This was Idol results night. I was anxious to see which three would move on. And just like last night, Mindy rubbed my back which had just started aching again around dinner time. After she rubbed mine, I rubbed hers. After Idol we tuned into the Science Channel to watch a program about the secrets of the Atlantic Ocean. The primary subjects were sperm whales. Very cool! We headed for bed at 10:05pm.

Spring in the Air

Snapped back to reality. I must’ve started clock watching around 4am. I’ll bet I checked the time five times before 5:30am rolled around. And while I felt well rested, I could easily have drifted back to sleep for another hour or so. But work beckoned. Soon I was fully engaged in my exercise routine. First, a batch of sit-ups & push-ups, and then a round of curls. I headed out with Ykraps at 5:47am.It was mostly clear and 28 degrees. The day’s high promised to reach the mid 50’s. Fluctuating high temps like we’ve had of late are becoming more frequent – a sure sign that spring is in the offing. For the most part that leaves me feeling anxious for more, but also a little sad that our local ski season is most likely done. However, last year, we got 20+ inches of snow on March 8th – the blizzard of ’08. That was enough to replenish the local resorts, but even that didn’t last long. It melted away quickly. I was back at home prepping our first cups of coffee by 6:00am. I delivered Mindy’s bedside. I didn’t spend much time on the PC for wanting to spend a little extra time meditating and stretching. Even though it was about 12 degrees warmer than Wednesday, I still wore my full winter running attire. It was 28 degrees. I can’t say enough about how loose my legs feel after adding a more relevant and consistent stretching exercise to my routine. While my legs and groin feel good, I’ve been battling a stiff neck for the better part of a month now. It comes and goes. I finished my run earlier than expected. It was 7:15am when I reentered the house. The house was quieter than usual minus Bella. Plus, Rocky seemed down. Landon was his usual self, though. Jacob was already off playing in his room. Mindy hurried the two boys off to the Honda at 7:30am. Boom – she was gone. I finished my breakfast and then organized a simple lunch. I was ready for work before 7:50am. Jacob didn’t come down until 7:55am. I used my five minutes constructively. I tidied up the kitchen and prepped the dishwasher before leaving the house. Jacob advised me of the new, school bus pick-up point. Said it was now across the street on the corner – within eyeshot of our front door. I like the closer proximity but failed to see the logic in moving it across the street given that we’d have to cross back over to get on the bus, and that’s right at a curve in the road where people often drive way too fast. We waited there along with neighbor Jake. As the bus approached I could see the driver shaking her head as if to say no. In addition, she was motioning us to cross the street. As suspected, the boys misinterpreted her directions. They were supposed to be on our side of the street. That made much more sense. They were soon on the bus and I was on my way to work. I arrived at 8:20am. This was staff meeting day. The morning flew by. During our meeting we decided to do a team lunch. By our accounting, it was actually Sandy’s turn to buy but she was unprepared to do so and declined the invite. I agreed to buy and chose The Big Fat Greek. None of my peers had been there before. I drove, too. As promised, the weather was superb. It was about 50 degrees and sunny. It felt terrific! We arrived at the BFG a little after 12:30pm. They had a pretty nice sized dine-in lunch crowd. Johnny was quick to come greet me and my pals. He introduced himself to everyone. He made sure we had lots of appetizers – pita bread & olive dip along with some Saganaki Opa (flaming Greek cheese). Three of us ordered gyro platters. Matt ordered salmon salad. Alexandria was our waitress. She has a very thick Greek accent. We were there for about an hour. I needed a box. I couldn’t eat but about half of my gyro platter. I tipped well. We visit often. The drive back to the office was as nice or nicer than the drive to lunch. It was gorgeous. The afternoon moved swiftly. I talked with brother Bobby late afternoon and ended up at the office until almost 5:50pm. I didn’t talk with Mindy until my drive home. She was making pork chops for dinner. This was a Jimaken night and Rocky was supposed to attend Ash Wednesday mass with Kelly & Lindsey. Rocky wouldn’t be picked up until after dinner. I walked Ykraps as soon as I got home. Meanwhile, Landon was very happy to see me. Mindy said he wasn’t so joyful when they got home. They apparently did some serious head butting. She won, of course. The boys had already eaten dinner before I got home. Mindy waited for me before eating. Lindsey showed up for Rocky just after 6:30pm. For the first time since we’ve had the boys, Landon cried profusely for his mommy’s attention, and even cried out for her by name. Mindy & I were both surprised. Prior, their relationship has never seemed to be what it should. Like most small children, he was fine two minutes after she left. She called about five minutes later to check on him. Jimaken brought Jacob & Bella home around 7:15pm. I’m quite sure that Landon thought it was his momma and Rocky. He went running only to find Bella, Jacob, and Jimaken at the door. He was only semi-excited to see them. What’s funny, he calls Jimaken daddy. Mindy needed to run to Kroger in part to fetch snacks for Rocky’s snack day at school tomorrow. She took Jacob with her. I got Landon and Bella into their jammies while they were gone. I knew she’d appreciate the small act. Lindsey arrived to drop off Rocky before Mindy got back. Rocky seemed fine with being dropped off. Landon was OK too. She picked him up and took him out to see Grandma Kelly, who waited outside in her car. She didn’t stay long, citing her waiting and impatient mother as the reason. Mindy returned minutes later. We quickly got the kids ready for and tucked into bed. We’re having a problem getting Landon to lie in his own bed easily. Ever since his weekend at Kelly’s he insists on sleeping with Rocky. We don’t allow it. It’s been a small battle that he’s lost each night since Sunday. After the kids were tucked neatly into bed we tuned into American Idol. I was anxious to see Adam Lambert. He’s my pick to win it all. We missed the first 35 minutes dealing with the kids. As for Adam Lambert, he didn’t disappoint. He did a cool version of The Stones, Satisfaction. I enjoyed it much. Mindy was gracious enough to massage my aching back while we watched the rest of Idol. I took four Advil just before the back rub. By the time she was done I felt nearly perfect. No ache and no stiff neck. We headed for bed soon after Idol was in the bag.

Working From Home

Knowing that I’d be working from home, I was able to sleep a bit later than usual. I was up and after my exercise routine by 6:05am. Despite working from home, I still needed to be back from my run by 7:30am to see Mindy off and at the same time, be there for Jacob and Rocky, who was staying home from school ill. I was back from walking Ykraps by 6:30am. Somewhat hurriedly, I poured and delivered Mindy’s morning coffee. She was already in the shower. I spent a few minutes on the PC but cut it short in an effort to stay on schedule. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have slept later than 5:45am. I’ll remember that for next time. By the time I finished my first cup of coffee, stretched, and dressed for a run it was 6:50am. It was closer to 6:55am when I finally headed off for my run. For all intents and purposes, it was daylight from the outset. I tinkered with the idea of cutting my run short but didn’t. That’s a slippery slope, and one which I save only for rare occasions, like ski days. Truth be told, I wasn’t in the best frame of mind immediately out the door. I had another one of those not so happy dreams, and also felt concern over the ever falling stock market. I’ve watched my personal wealth (401K) fall between 40-50% over the last 9 months. So during my run, I worked hard to change my frame of reference. Instead of dwelling on the negative, I forced myself to think only of the many positive things going on in my life, and there are many. By run’s end I felt really good. I stepped on the gas down the home stretch worried that I might be holding up Mindy. But when I got to the house it appeared she had already left. What I wasn’t immediately sure of was whether she left Rocky behind or not. Just after last night’s tuck in he commented that he was feeling better. That being the case, I imagined him going to school after all. The house was quiet. It was 7:31am. Mindy was indeed gone. I checked my phone and sure enough, there was a missed call and message from Mindy. I didn’t bother checking the VM. Instead, I simply called her back. She reported leaving right at 7:30am and leaving Rocky behind with Jacob. I assured her that I must’ve just missed her. I hollered for Jacob who confirmed that Rocky was with him in his room. I spent the next half hour getting logged into work from home, setting up base at the kitchen table. I was preparing to walk Jacob to the bus stop when Rocky asked that I not leave him alone. I agreed and asked him to suit up for the chill. But Jacob advised that he’d be fine just one house over at the bus stop. I allowed him to head out on his own. I asked that he wave from the bus to show me that he was fine. Rocky sat by the door watching. It was just Rocky and me from that point forward. Numerous times I had to remind Rocky that I was actually working, and that he was sick and needed to rest. He wanted to play at the neighbors, watch TV, or eat candy. Just as he often does, he asked these things repeatedly. J The day moved swiftly, certainly faster than it does while at the office. I made lunch around noon. Rocky and I took a 30 minute nap afterwards. It felt terrific. I was back to work around 1pm. Around 3pm I went for a much needed shower. Prior, I stayed in my stale running clothes. The afternoon flew by. Before I knew it, it was time for Jacob to be getting off the bus. He got off in front of the house. Mindy was stopping at Kroger on the way home to pick up a few things to help get us through the week. I can’t be certain but believe that she was home around 5pm. I know this, she arrived while Rocky & I were out walking Ykraps. Jacob was off playing at the neighbors. Mindy brought home one of those roasted chickens and mashed potatoes. She had a full fledged roasted chicken dinner ready in a matter of minutes. Everyone seemed to enjoy the chicken. I know I did. We devoured it down to the bare carcass. Clean-up didn’t take long either. I was grateful for that. Reflecting back on my day, my contention that working from home isn’t for me was reaffirmed. It just feels wrong and leaves me feeling disconnected and uninspired. Mindy made arrangements for Bella to spend the night at Gloria’s. She took her over around 7pm. Jacob went along too. I gave Rocky & Landon baths and also saw them into their pajamas. They were happy to see Mindy back a short time later. Tuck in was a bit strange without Bella around. After the kids were asleep, Mindy played on her laptop while I tuned into four episodes in a row of Family Guy. It was either that or the President’s speech. I took the high, intellectual road and chose Family Guy. :) I fell asleep after 1.5 episodes. I’d been tired all day. Mindy woke me around 10pm for bed.

Two Years and Counting

Happy 2nd Anniversary Jimindy!

1) Rocky comes home from Kelly/Linzy weekend with a buzz cut. 2) Finding it hideous, we insist on the wig. Rocky likes it (perhaps too much) and wears it to school all week. I had a bad dream. I can’t remember much about it except that I woke scared and upset. It was also 5:30am and time to get up. I could’ve slept longer but knew that I needed to get moving. It didn’t take long to shake the sleepies. As soon as I finished my exercise regimen I felt fine. I checked the temperature just before heading out with Ykraps. It was a balmy 12 degrees. At this rate, winter may never end. With Monday being our new trash day, I wisely placed our can at the curb shortly after arriving home last evening. I didn’t have to bother with that this AM. Ykraps failed to take a dump this morning. He didn’t go last night either. Hmm? I knew Mindy was staying home with Landon today, so I left her sleep until just before my run. She still had to make sure that Jacob was up and readying himself for school and then take Rocky to school. When I did eventually wake her, it was with a cup of coffee. I wished her a happy anniversary, too. Although we celebrated at Holiday Valley, this was the official date – 2 years removed. I let Mindy know that Rocky was up and complaining of feeling sick. He looked warm and red cheeked. I left for my run after stretching inside and out around 6:35am. I felt really good. In fact, my legs have never felt better, and that’s after five days of skiing. It was daylight by the time I made it back home. Mindy was up and making eggs for Jacob and I. Now, since Rocky wasn’t going to school, Mindy didn’t have to go anywhere. She helped me pack a light lunch. After my shower, I walked Jacob to the bus stop just after 7:55am. He wanted to throw the football but we were in hand covers. Taking the football made little sense. We didn’t have to wait long. She was there before 8:05am. I had the Trooper warming while we waited. Prior to this AM, it hadn’t been started since last Tuesday. I returned inside to wish everyone well and goodbye. I left for work at 8:10am. It was an easy drive in. Gas prices were down to $1.68 at Thornton’s. I had about 3/4 tank. Obviously, I didn’t need any. I started my day somewhat quietly. First on my agenda was clearing out hundreds of stale emails that accumulated during my absence. Around 9am I enjoyed some coffee with one of my peers, Ken. Among other things, we talked about my ski trip and his weekend. My boss showed up sometime before 11am. We chatted for a while too. It took a while, but I eventually got caught up on everything. I didn’t take a formal lunch break, although I did eat my packed lunch. I didn’t talk with Mindy until later in the day. She reported getting caught up on laundry and other household stuff. She also said the kids seemed to be feeling better. Great! I left work for home around 5:15pm. I stopped at Kroger to pick-up a dozen roses for Mindy, and then the ATM to get some cash. I called Mindy in route home. She implied that she was making a nice anniversary dinner. Mindy seemed very pleased with her roses. I walked Ykraps as soon as I got home. Jacob walked with me. He was in a really good mood. Meanwhile, Rocky & Bella were in trouble for touching each other again. Landon was a happy guy, too. Ykraps failed to take a dump again tonight. This can’t go on for too long. Tomorrow AM I may have to resort to the big squeeze! He doesn’t care too much for that, though. Mindy made filet mignon for the two of us, and boneless chicken for the kids. As sides we all had baked potatoes, broccoli, and rolls. Clean-up took a while. All during dinner, Rocky claimed feeling ill. Mindy took his temperature and reported it being near 102. I knew what was coming. She asked if I could stay home from work tomorrow if necessary. The other alternative was taking him to his mommy. After giving it some consideration I decided it best if I stayed home. But if I were going to stay home, I wanted to work from home. But sadly, I left my laptop at work. I decided to make the short drive into work and fetch it. While there I phoned my boss and got his OK to work from home. I was back by 7:50pm. Courtney was there when I returned. We were expecting her. We gave her some cash and got our house key back. She didn’t stay long. After Courtney left, Mindy got the kids ready for bed. We tucked them into bed just after 8pm. I did a little writing for my blog then joined Mindy on the sofa where we talked and watched a little TV. I poured myself a HopSlam to take the edge off. Yum-yum! After 24 we headed for bed.

Holiday Valley - Day Five

Heading Home I was up once again just before sunrise. It was 6:40am. Judging by the ski rack just outside our door, it looked like we got another two inches of fresh snow overnight. I had coffee brewing and my exercise routine completed before 7am. I did a little web surfing and TV watching before setting out on my run. I was eager to run early so that we could pack, eat, check-out, and ready for a day of skiing before 10am. By the time that I dressed for a run the sun was shining brightly. This time I took my camera along. I got a few nice pictures of my trail. Mindy was still in bed when I got back, but got up minutes later. We made sausage and fried eggs for breakfast, and started packing at the same time. It didn’t take long at all. We were packed, showered, and loaded to go before 10am. Loading the Honda was as challenging as unloading. We had to make four trips each. We pulled out of the lot to go turn in our condo keys at 10:05am. We weren’t sure where we’d park for the rest of our ski day, but the Holiday Valley Realty office advised that we could park at our condo until 2pm or so. After returning our keys we drove back to Snow Pine Village Like each of the four days prior, we headed up the Wall lift to the ski park. Mindy wanted to ski the Tannenbaum run before departing. We did that one right away. Both of us were skiing tired, plus my ankle was sore from wearing ski boots for five days straight. Even still, neither of us wanted to leave before doing a few runs on our park favorite – Falcon. We skied over to Eagle. Once again, there was next to no crowd. Cool! Before doing Falcon, we did Hoot Owl. Mindy somehow forgot our plan and ended up at the Morning Star lift. I waited at the base of Eagle. She eventually made her way over. We made our way over to Falcon. It looked even more ominous today. Like a lot of today’s runs, it was extra mogully. I headed down first, and missed my third cut after hitting an icy patch. My speed went quickly out-of-control as I inadvertently headed over to the large mogul field. It wasn’t if, but rather when. Next thing I knew I was soaring through the air eventually tumbling & bouncing off the mogul tops. I lost one ski. More importantly, though, I was OK. Looking back up the run, I saw Mindy take a quick spill. If I fall, she typically falls, too. Not sure why. We skied down to the bottom of Falcon and agreed to hit it one more time. This time we both nailed it. We rode the Eagle lift up one last time. We then charted our trek back to the Honda. We skied Upper & Lower Woodstock then took the Cindy’s lift up to get over to Bob Sled and eventually to our vehicle. We were on the road by 12:10pm. Next stop, Ohio for lunch. The drive out of town was peaceful. We hit some serious snow squalls just west of Jamestown that continued all the way into Ohio. There were more than few white knuckle moments along the drive. Several times we encountered snow drifts blown across our lane of travel. Yikes! Despite many slow downs we were making decent time. We stopped at the last rest area just east of I-271 for a potty break. We also stopped just south of the Lodi exit for gas & lunch. Once again, we ate at Wendy’s. Mindy had their new fish sandwich. I had a double combo. The burger was even better than the one I had on the trip up. It was fresh, hot & juicy. Yummy! We called Jimaken as we reentered the freeway to arrange for the kids. We estimated our arrival time to be 5:30pm. He planned to have them home about the same time. We then called Courtney to let her know that we’d be home earlier than originally planned. We also called Lindsey just before arriving home to let her know that we’d be picking up Rocky & Landon around 7pm. We arrived home right at 5:30pm. We quickly began carrying in our gear wasting no time at all. We pretty much had all of our gear carried inside by the time that Jimaken pulled up with Jacob & Bella. We talked for a few and thanked him for caring for the kids in our absence. He soon departed. The house looked good. Initially everything appeared to be in order and clean. We thanked Courtney for her services. She soon left for home. Mindy and I continued unpacking and stowing our gear. By 6:45pm, when we left to pick-up Rocky & Landon, everything was put away and the laundry started. We arrived to pick-up the boys at 7:02pm. We weren’t there long. Landon was sad to leave his momma for the first time that I can remember. Rocky gave her several hugs and kisses just before we pulled away. They both seemed happy by the time that we got back home. Rocky was more than a little pumped up. He was borderline wild. Sadly, they both reeked of cat piss. Once again, I don’t think that Kelly can smell it after living amongst it for so many years, but it’s overwhelming to others. We threw their coats in the washer almost immediately. Mindy gave the boys a quick bath. By 8:15pm we had all the kids in bed. Mindy was still upset about Lindsey’s accusations regarding Landon’s well being. Mindy made arrangements to miss work on Monday and called Kelly to let her know that she’d be taking Rocky to school. Kelly and Mindy talked for a long time. Most of the conversation centered around where we’re headed with the boys. Mindy & I feel strongly about having a plan in place, and right now it doesn’t seem like one exists at all. After 90 days, we want a goal laden plan in place. Kelly can’t speak for Lindsey but apparently didn’t disagree with anything we offered up. In the end, she asked that we discuss the situation with Lindsey. This will most likely come to a head soon. We want what’s best for the boys, first and foremost. We headed to bed at 10pm.

Holiday Valley - Day Four

Skiing Our Ass Off Our last full day on the mountain… I was up at 6:40am. Like the last three days, it was snowing at rise time. But by the time I put on some coffee and finished my exercise routine, the sky cleared and sunshine prevailed. It was gorgeous! Online, I noticed that the forecast called for accumulating snow later. We’d simply enjoy the sun while it lasted. Mindy was still sleeping when I left for my run. That must’ve been near 8am. It was an incredible run against the sunny back drop. Mindy got up soon after I returned. She wasted little time starting breakfast. She baked maple bacon in the oven, and it smelt absolutely delicious! We made quick work of our maple bacon and scrambled eggs. In short order we were showered, dressed, and on the lift by 9:55am. Not only was the sun shining, but the winds were calm too. Very nice! We took a few easy runs for warm-ups, and ended up at the bottom of Cindy’s & Mardi Gras. As early as it was, the crowd was already thickening. Up to that point, we hadn’t waited in much of a line all week. Now, the line at each of the popular lifts was much longer than we’d previously seen. After a few more runs, we decided to head back to Eagle, figuring it would attract a smaller crowd. You can’t access it from a lodge. You’ve got to ski to it. Our hunch was correct. There wasn’t much of a line at all. Even still, the four black diamonds were far more active than the previous day. We enjoyed a handful of runs on Eagle and Falcon before the line at Eagle began to thicken. It was the perfect storm; Saturday, reasonable temps (low 20’s), and sunshine. Mindy’s phone rang around noon. She contemplated not answering, but I encouraged her to take the call. It was Lindsey telling Mindy that Landon was ill. And in true Lindsey fashion, she did so in somewhat of an accusatory manner, almost as if we’d ignored his symptoms before we left. Mindy was pissed, to put it mildly. But that’s Lindsey. Rather than fight the overwhelming crowd, we decided to take an early lunch and skied back to our condo. We thought about doing the Wall but opted out last second. Even after successfully completing it, it still looks intimidating. We hung out at the condo for a good two hours sipping beers and scarfing down sandwiches. We spent some time surfing then net and listening to some of our favorite music via You Tube. By the time we headed back out (3pm) the sky was clouded over and light snow was falling. The crowd was already thinner. We stuck to some of the less popular runs through early evening until taking another break around 5pm at the Yodeler Lodge. We ran into our Columbus buddies once again. They let us know that there was a good band playing upstairs. We eventually made our way up. They were right. The band was very entertaining playing lots of good music. A gathering of local business women befriended Mindy and coaxed her into dancing with them. Mindy was having a ball. I stayed back and enjoyed an EBC Pale Ale. We headed back out for more skiing just as darkness was setting in. We skied the Chute, Edelweiss, and Yodeler several times. There was no line at the Chute lift. It was incredible. Both of us were feeling no pain. During one lift ride, we got to talking so intently that we forgot to raise the bar on our lift chair. I realized it at the last second, and threw up the bar, and jumped off the lift. Unfortunately, Mindy didn’t have enough time to respond and chose to stay on the lift. The operator stopped the lift and allowed Mindy to exit via the attached platform. We laughed it off. At the bottom, she fell getting back on the lift. Holy smoke! We eventually made our way back to Cindy’s and Mardi Gras. For the first in both trips, we bought a sugar waffle from the stand at Cindy’s base. The smell of cooking sugar waffles is hard to walk away from. Realizing that tomorrow (Sunday) would be our last day on the mountain, we decided to call it a day somewhat early in part to conserve our energy. We skied back to our condo at 7:15pm. We were both tired from four days of skiing anyway. At the condo, we discussed the pros and cons of heading out on the town but ultimately opted to stay in. Nothing feels better than peeling off snuggly fitting ski attire and slipping into ones pajamas. I poured myself a HopSlam all the while watching Crime Solvers. I drifted in and out of sleep for the next couple of hours. We headed to bed at 10pm.

Holiday Valley - Day Three

... Another Brick in the Wall I was up around 7:30am. Just like the day before, I prepped a pot of coffee then whipped out a quick round of sit-ups and push-ups. Before diving into my run, I spent some time on Mindy’s laptop downloading the past two days worth of photos and writing in my blog. I left for my run around 8:30am. I ran the exact same path as Thursday. And yes, it was snowing fairly heavily again. No big deal. Back at the condo, I offered to make breakfast while Mindy went to fetch her new ski attire at the Creekside Ski Lodge, provided she still wanted it. She accepted but opted to get her shower first. That made total sense. I’d try to shower while she was gone conserving as much time as possible. While Mindy was gone I showered and made breakfast sandwiches – egg, turkey, and cheese. We didn’t get out to the lift until almost 11:15am. Our goal for Friday was to do the four black diamonds off of Eagle: Falcon, Eagle, Hoot Owl, and Raven. We skied Cindy’s Run for a warm-up then took the Mardi Gras lift to Morning Star. We skied over to Eagle which had no traffic at all. And yes, it was snowing hard. We did Hoot Owl and Raven first. In my opinion, they’re the easiest of the four. Mindy had no trouble with either. We did them about four times collectively. I was impressed with Mindy’s courage, but perhaps even more impressed with her much improved technique. I kept on her about trying Falcon. She finally agreed. We ended up doing Falcon and Eagle about 6 times collectively. I don’t think she fell once, and neither did I. In our opinion, Falcon was by far the most complicated, requiring the most technique and skill. On top of that, there’s a ledge that sits just above the Falcon slope. I found the bravery to leap off of that twice before descending Falcon. What a rush! We made our way back to the condo for lunch and a brew around 2pm. Believe it or not, after a satisfying and delicious lunch we both decided to give the Wall a try. Why not? Crash – both of us bit it. I fell and lost a ski making my second cut. It’s icy even with all the new snow, but that’s because it’s so steep. Humbled but not beaten, we both decided to try it once more. This time, I skied it successfully. Mindy fell once again, but close to the top. She quickly regained her composure and skied the rest of the way down without incident. We were proud of our achievement. After more skiing and a couple food/beer breaks, darkness finally set in. Ahh night time, my favorite time on the mountain. We spent the evening hours skiing Edelweiss and Champagne with a few blue runs sprinkled in for good measure. We called it a night around 8pm. Not sure about Mindy, but I had one heck of a buzz! We talked about heading back to EBC, but once we were warm and cozy in the condo we saw little logic in heading back out. Instead, we put on our flannel pajamas, made meatloaf sandwiches, and drank a couple of beers. Nothing, I mean, hey, nothing tops a HopSlam anyhow. :) We were asleep by 1030pm.

Holiday Valley - Day Two

Learning my EBCs

Holy Smoke! I slept until almost 8am. It was still snowing at a pretty good clip. Mindy stayed in bed while I tip-toed to the kitchen/livingroom to make coffee and exercise. I had the exercise regimen in the bag by 8:15am. I sipped coffee and read from my latest Deepak book while passing time. Mindy got up around 9am. At about the same time I headed out for my run. At the time, I wasn’t sure exactly where I’d run, only that I’d do one. I ended up running as far north as I could on the Snow Pine property (not too far) and then turned around and ran down the mountain to the main road and back. The haul up the hill was somewhat grueling. But lucky for me, I’ve run up hills/mountains before. I have a technique that works quite well. First, as much as possible, I never look too far ahead. That can be detrimental. Instead, I spend a lot of time focusing on the ground directly in front of me. Then, I take very short, choppy strides. I made it back, but completely tuckered and also drenched in sweat. Upon my return, Mindy was busy cooking up some sausage and eggs. While breakfast cooked, I showered. Mindy had already done so. We prepped for a long day of skiing just after 10:00am. We were on the lift by 10:25am. We skied all day long with a handful of food and beer breaks sprinkled in. With few exceptions, we skied darn near every run in the park. The runs we hadn’t yet skied included the four black diamonds off of Eagle, & the much dreaded Wall. All were on our radar screen! We were determined to tackle those on Friday. During one of our breaks, Mindy found the perfect purple ski jacket along with some fancy & flashy black ski pants in one of the many ski shops that were 100% waterproof. Everything was 25% off. Although ridiculously expensive, I talked her into buying them for herself. She doesn’t typically spend those kind of dollars on herself. Because we were at the Creekside lodge and quite far from our condo, she asked the girl at the counter to hold them until morning when she could drive over to get them. They willingly agreed. That gave her the time to sleep on it, too. We skied until almost 8pm. Even though I was tired, we made plans to visit EBC for dinner and beers. And by the way, it was still snowing like crazy! I wanted to nap for 15 minutes but didn’t. Mindy feared I’d fall asleep for the night. After freshening up, we hopped in the Honda and drove off to Ellicottville. Actually, I had to scrape oodles of ice and snow from the Honda before we could depart. It took about five-ten minutes to get it road ready & warm. We found a parking spot directly across the street from the brewery. We were lucky. There’s not a lot of available parking nearby. Inside, a honky-tonk band was playing rather loudly. We were immediately amused. It was a foursome: violin, guitars, and a banjo. I ordered their seasonal IPA offering. I was eager not only to sample their food but to scope out their souvenirs – t-shirts and pint glasses. Their IPA was advertised to be 10.2% abv. It was good, but honestly, it didn’t taste much like an IPA at all. Instead, I’d liken it to Barley’s Jack Frost – winter warmer. Mindy had one of their Black Jack Stouts. I ordered a chicken quesadilla that came loaded with peppers & onions. It was yummy. To help wash it down, I ordered another pint – a house Pale Ale. Mindy ordered some raw-looking tuna entrée. Before leaving, I bought two t-shirts. One for my buddy, Steve Won. We headed back to our condo around 1030-1100pm.

Holiday Valley - Day One

Five Days of Winter Bliss Despite this being the beginning of our vacation, I was up and out of bed just prior to 6am. After all, the kids’ morning routine would look like any other school day. I exercised, walked Ykraps, and made coffee for Mindy & I. While walking Ykraps I marveled at how I’d be skiing in Holiday Valley, NY in roughly ten short hours. Also, weighing heavy on my mind was entrusting our home & Ykraps’ well-being to daughter Courtney. I didn’t leave for my run until almost 7am. By then all the kids were up & stirring. As luck would have it, it was raining albeit only lightly. The temperature, however, was much warmer than it’s been. It was about 34 degrees. That was important because I didn’t want to wear my heavier winter running garb as it was freshly clean & packed for our ski trip. I wore my back-up-back-up gear, which is far lighter. I ran just three miles keeping with my usual route for ski days. I was back by 7:30am. Soon after my return, Mindy left to run Landon & Rocky to Grandma Sharon’s and then to take Bella to school. She hoped to be back just after 8:30am. That would give me about 30 minutes of alone time to do last minute packing/organizing – something I cherish. I tried to shower quickly, but Jacob was still hurrying me out the door. It was already 7:58am. The bus arrived on time. I wished Jacob well just before they pulled away. I hurried back home to finalize packing. I grabbed two coolers from the garage, and then carried down our packed luggage from upstairs. I printed and reviewed the Courtney list. I also printed off driving directions, although I felt confident I already knew the way. By the time that Mindy got back home I had all of our gear ready by the front door ready for loading. She knows the fire drill. She had the kiddie seats out and the back seats lying down even before I uttered a word. She organized the cold food cooler while I loaded the Honda. That went smoothly. We were ready to roll by 9am. We spent a few minutes double-checking the locks and reviewing the game plan. We left a little cash along with instructions for Courtney. We hit the road at 9:07am. Knowing that Bob & Mary Ann were heading on their own ski trip, I suggested that we make a pit stop at Bob’s office to drop off his ski keeps. It’s just a block or two from our house. While I ran them in and dropped them with the receptionist, Mindy called Rocky’s teacher to fill her in on our trip. Finally, come 9:15am we were on the freeway. The rain was mild to moderate all the way up I-71. We stopped at Wendy’s for lunch – the same Wendy’s we stopped at one month ago. I believe we were in or near Mentor. The rain intensified dramatically once we got back on I-271N to 90E. It poured buckets! The temperature hovered around 39 degrees. Given the rain, I worried that we might not be able to ski this afternoon. The rain didn’t let up until it turned to snow just east of Erie PA. Initially, it was a very heavy, wet snow – giant flakes too. By then the temperature had dropped to 33 degrees. The highway got a little slick as we passed over Lake Chautauqua, NY. In fact, a tractor trailer carrying a load of large milled lumber began swerving immediately in front of us. That scared us enough to pass him once and for all. There were times when the snow was so heavy that we could barely see in front of us. Yikes! We slowed our speed the rest of the way in. Once we got close to Jamestown the snow fall lessened. The rest of the drive in was fairly easy. We arrived in town around 2:30pm. Like our last trip to Holiday Valley, we decided to fill-up as soon as we arrived rather than wait until we leave. Mindy asked if I wanted to stop at the Ellicottville Brewing Company after fueling, but I figured we’d get there at least once during our 5 day visit. We decided instead to check-in. Although I knew where the Snow Pine Village condos were located, we weren’t sure where to check-in. That’s something I overlooked in the booking process. Our paperwork made no specific reference, although they used The Inn at Holiday Valley logo. We decided to stop in there & ask. Meanwhile, the snow was coming down big time just as we pulled into the Inn lot. Mindy went in to ask where check-in would be. She returned telling me how long the line was. I went to park the Honda then joined her. We were about five families deep. It didn’t take that long, though. Turns out, check-in for Snow Pine was just down the road at the Holiday Valley Property Management office. We waited behind a guy debating the cost of additional lift tickets. I was growing admittedly more impatient by the second. Come on! Check-in took just a minute or two. While there, we went ahead and bought our lift tickets good thru Sunday evening. We were all set! We drove back south about ¼ mile to the Snow Pine Village entrance. We drove up a winding snow covered hill surrounded by giant conifers looking for building “G”. Mindy spotted it. We were within 100’ of ‘The Wall’ lift. Our one-bedroom unit was on the back half lower level – a true ski out condo. The only trouble was getting all of our gear there. We carried the first batch down the wooden steps to the building and through three doors and then down two more sets of stairs inside the building. Enough of that! We decided instead to bring everything else around via the sliding glass patio door. That meant we had to trudge through the snow and walk down a gentle slope, but that was a far easier proposition. It took us about three or four trips each. Nice condo, but smallish. Perfect for the two of us. After unpacking our gear we wasted little time getting into our ski gear. It was 3:50pm. The Wall lift, by design, closes at 4:30pm each day. That meant we had to plan accordingly. We wouldn’t be coming back to our condo (skiing down) until we were done for the day. Here we go! From the outset, the snow fall was ferocious. Let it snow! We were digging it. For starters, we both agreed to do a green run to allow us time to get our ski legs. We chose Snowledge. We took the Cindy’s Run lift back-up. Just after we disembarked the lift, a kid directly behind us fell out of his lift chair awkwardly and let out a horrendous shrill of pain. It was scary. They stopped the lift as he lied there screaming in pain. I figured it his ankle or leg. Either way, not good. To make matters worse, he nor his buddy had any idea how to remove his snow board binding. We opted to ski on and not gawk, but his incessant screaming stuck with me until we were beering later. We skied are butts off while re-familiarizing ourselves with the various lifts and trails. We skied for about two hours before taking a beer break at the Yodeler Lodge. Up to that point, we had skied almost exclusively blue, save for me taking one relatively easy black diamond run – Maple Leaf. Right way, we met three guys from Columbus sitting just outside Yodeler Lodge by the fire. They were very friendly and offered to photo Mindy & I. We talked with them for about ten minutes before heading in. They were on a boys-only weekend getaway. After two beers and a hot dog, we headed back out for round two. We sipped some Goldschlager heading back up the lifts. We skied Mardi Gras several times and eventually sprinkled in a couple of the easier black diamonds – Shadows & Firecracker. We ended our skiing around 8:30pm. Just like our last visit, it started spewing ice pellets, which eventually seeped through Mindy’s ski pants. As Mindy put it, we looked like glazed donuts! Realizing that we had lots and lots of skiing ahead of us, we decided to bag it for the night. We skied back to our condo. We had no choice but to take Bob Sled, a rather treacherous, winding & narrow run in the dark (no lighting). We made it with little trouble, though. Back in our condo, we wasted little time getting out of our ski gear and back into street clothes. We chose to dine at Cadillac Jack’s. I wanted wings. Once there, Mindy ordered lobster bisque & salad. I ordered wings. I washed them down with a Sam Adams Winter Ale. I mistakenly thought they served EBC Pale Ale. No biggie! The wings were good. We didn’t stay out late at all. We were tired from a long day of driving and skiing.

Wii Ski .... again

Ski Ready

Happy 23rd Birthday, Ashley!

This day would be the closest thing to normal all week. I was up a little after 5:30am and quickly finished my daily exercise regimen. In no time at all, I was out walking Ykraps on what was expected to be another crisp, cool, clear morning in Central Ohio. It didn’t disappoint. It was again about 20 degrees under clear skies. After our walk, I poured Mindy’s coffee then delivered it shower-side. She was up unusually early. By the time I got settled in front of the PC it was just after 6:00am. My mind was racing, constantly reviewing all the things that still needed done to make our ski trip a success. For whatever reason, I am the consummate worrier. To categorize it as anything else would be a misleading. It’s rooted in believing that to be worried is to care about the outcome. I know there’s a better way. I stretched inside & out before leaving on my run. My indoor stretch routine in particular is going really well, at least judging by a further reduction in leg/groin discomfort. While I would still call it dark at run’s launch, daylight wasn’t far behind - a sure sign that spring is just around the corner. I finished my run and reentered the house to a wealth of activity. Rocky & Bella were eating their breakfast, and Jacob was already up in his room gaming. To help Mindy, I went to fetch Landon. She was going to take him directly to the Honda, but after discovering he had a chitty diaper, we decided to change him. Into what was the question! :) Mindy bailed me out offering to do the deed. I, more than willing, stepped aside. Mindy and the wee ones finally departed. After my shower, Jacob and I walked to the bus stop. For the first time in a long while we took the football. Jake intercepted Jacob just outside our door. They were both eager to pass the football at the corner. Some things never change. Soon the boys were on the bus and I was on my way to work. By comparison, it was a calm work day. I spent a lot of time chatting with my boss. Among other things, I asked about leaving early. He agreed. The work day went on as planned. I didn’t take a formal lunch, but did enjoy the salad that Mindy packed. Mindy called just after 3pm to share the excitement of being free from work for the next five days. It’s become tradition. We briefly reviewed what we had left to complete. I reminded her that it was daughter Ashley’s birthday. I had already called to wish her well. Mindy planned to do the same. We agreed that I would pick up a Minelli’s pizza on the way home to simplify dinner. I left work at 5:00pm. I stopped at an ATM to get a little cash. I order our pizza as I pulled out of the bank lot. The pizza wasn’t quite ready by the time I got to Minelli’s. I had to wait about two or three minutes. And just as I often do, I ate a small piece on my drive home. That one piece reminded me how hungry I was. After greeting the household, I leashed up Ykraps and set out on our evening walk. Ykraps took care of business quickly. Back at home, Mindy & the kids were already well into the pizza. Rocky proudly proclaimed receiving a smiley face at school that day – a daily report of his behavior. He’s doing really well in that regard. I spent most of the evening further preparing for our trip. I had a list, just like I always have, but admit doing most via memory. It’s all the little, last minute stuff that seems so overwhelming. After the kids were tucked into bed things got easier. I could then focus my full attention on trip prep. Once I felt I had done all I could do trip-wise, I spent a solid 30 minutes updating my blog. Afterwards, I was able to catch about 45 minutes of American Idol. Mindy headed for bed with me still watching TV from the sofa. I declared myself on vacation!

Washington, Lincoln, Clinton ... and all the rest

Returning to work wasn’t the most exciting event to come along, but it was necessary and inevitable. This was President’s Day, so Mindy & the kids were on holiday from school. I wasn’t so fortunate. I was awake at 5:30am and fully engaged in exercise. By 5:45am I was outside with Ykraps. It was moderately chilly – about20 degrees - certainly nothing I couldn’t handle. Because I didn’t have to wake Mindy, I was able to play, relax, and meditate in leisure. I didn’t leave for my run until 6:50am. There were clear skies, so the amount of daylight at my runs outset was abundant. I realized during my run that we’re just three short weeks (20-days) away from day lights davings time, which will cast my run back into total darkness for a good month or so. I finished my run without incident. Back home, I ate a quick breakfast that Mindy prepared. She and the kids were up and at it. But then again, why wouldn’t they? It was after 7:30am. They rarely sleep beyond 7am. I left for work a little after 8am. There was next to no traffic, the holiday the apparent cause . Work was like usual. Nothing jumps out of significant interest. I did take a ‘real’ lunch break to run a couple errands in preparation for our coming ski trip. I drove to the Anderson’s to fetch some ski trail snacks and some Hoppin' Frog Silky Porter for Mindy. While at the Anderson's I ran into Art, an old Time Warner boss, who's since retired and working two days a week at the Anderson's as a greeter. Seeing Art reminded me of John Vidosh and wanting to call him. I called John on my way to Kroger. Still seeking employment. I popped in Kroger quickly and picked up a bottle of Goldschlager.

Mindy called mid-afternoon, said she took Jacob & Landon for hair cuts and then all four kids to McDonald’s for lunch. Brave or crazy? She also reported an incident involving Rocky & Bella. Let's just say that we won't be allowing them to sneak off by themsleves in the future without supervision. She said we’d most likely be having burgers for dinner. She invited my dad, too, who was leaving for Florida the following day. As luck would have it, I ended up engaged in a complex work related matter until 7pm. I felt obligated to get it on track before leaving for home. Mindy and company enjoyed their dinner without me. I kept her abreast of my situation at work from the outset. She kept my burger warm. I asked dad if he was excited about his trip. In typical dad fashion he said not, at least not in the giddy sense. He shared sobering news about Uncle Kenny, who was in the hospital after experiencing chest pains and then driving himself to the local firehouse. Kenny made arrangements for one of his close Florida buddies to retrieve dad from the airport. Wow! Dad stayed until just after 8pm. The evening fly by, mostly due to my late arrival home. After dad left I spent my remaining waking hours packing for Wednesday morning’s trip. Before relaxing, I had pretty much my entire trip’s wardrobe laid out save for running clothes, which I planned to launder after finishing Tuesday’s run. We watched a History Channel program about the assassination of Julius Caesar, and how he may have plotted to help his assassins along. To bed sometime after 10pm.

Some Things Never Change

I woke stiff. My ass ached where I landed hard after a fall, and my calves ached most likely from my new ski boots. I was stiffer today than I’ve been all year after skiing. Not sure why. It was 8am when I rolled out of bed and headed downstairs to exercise. The kids were awake but I was bent on getting my exercises done before addressing anyone else. Ykraps and I headed out the door for our walk around 8:15am. The weather was sunny and about 25 degrees. A lovely winter morning. I went to get Landon from his bed after returning. Mindy met me at his side. Good thing too. He had a very messy diaper – a Mindy diaper. For the next hour I sipped coffee and hung out with the family in the kitchen/family room area. Mindy began making breakfast burritos while I got dressed for my run. I left around 9:40am. For the first time in a really long while I ran along Trabue and then south on Hague. That route wasn’t really feasible with all the snow on the ground. If anything, I got a little warm, especially around the head and neck. I removed my gloves with a mile remaining. I didn’t bother removing my gaiter as that would’ve required me to stop. I simply pushed through the mild discomfort. Shortly after arriving home I carried in our skis from the garage to the basement. I planned to clean them up after breakfast. I fixed a breakfast burrito with lone remaining tortilla. I stuffed it full. Mindy talked about going into school and grocery shopping. Lindsey still wanted to visit too. We called Lindsey and suggested her mother bring her by since we had a house full of kids to tend to. While at it, we suggested that she bring Olivia, who had already called asking to come over. According to Lindsey, Kelly agreed to bring her but begrudgingly so. In return, we agreed to get everyone home. I was surprised that Lindsey & Olivia arrived when they did. It couldn’t have been 45 minutes later. They weren’t there long when Mindy left for the grocery. She decided to bag the idea of going into school for the sake of time. After all, we had a busy afternoon planned with Sunday dinner at her mom’s and all. The kids played all afternoon. I fed them lunch, hot dogs and beef & noodles. Mindy really wanted me to put Landon down for a nap, but I purposefully didn’t since Olivia was over. He would’ve pitched one, and rightfully so. I did curl up on the floor hoping that Landon and Olivia might join me. They did, but only briefly. Mindy got back from the grocery around 2:45pm. Courtney showed up around the same time. She stopped by to review the details surrounding Ykraps’ care. I gave her some brief instruction and a key. I am hopeful that it’ll all go down without incident. She left around 4pm. She agreed to give Lindsey a ride home. She was going to give Olivia a ride too but couldn’t because she doesn’t have a baby seat in her van. No worry. We’d take Olivia home. Soon the older girls were gone. All of us got ready for Sunday dinner at Gloria’s. We hadn’t been to Sunday dinner for two months. Last minute we decided to take Olivia with us. We’d drop her off at home afterwards. Ashley agreed. We arrived at Gloria’s around 4:30pm, all seven of us! Yikes! I helped brother-in-law Larry install DTV converters on the TVs. He did most of the work. The house was soon rockin’ to the sounds of six wee ones, not counting Jacob. Dinner was served around 5:30pm. We had sloppy Joe’s, macaroni salad, and fried potatoes. Thanks to the wee ones, it was one of the noisiest, liveliest dinners I can recently recall. For dessert, we had ice box cookies. As always, they were delicious. Mindy gathered the kids and got them ready to go around 7:20pm. We took Olivia home first. We phoned Ashley just as we were pulling up. She came out to fetch her. We headed for home. We must’ve arrived around 7:45pm. Mindy quickly started getting the kids ready for bed. Both Jacob and Rocky walked Ykraps with me. They headed up to ready for bed immediately after we got back. Mindy & I were both tired and thirsty. Sunday dinner will do that on its own merit, but most of my tiredness was leftover from yesterday’s skiing. We chatted briefly about the kids and how we need to push for clarity relative to their stay. We simply need a plan. We headed for bed around 10pm. Short work week ahead.

Bella Skis on Valentine's Day

I won’t kid you, I woke a number of times through the night hopping mad about my ski dilemma. Somehow I still managed a good night’s sleep despite a racing mind. Realistically, I knew they’d correct the trouble, and most likely with little problem. But still… I woke for good around 700am. Sadly, the kids were already up making a measureable amount of noise. I tried to complete my morning routine before fetching Landon and waking Mindy. In addition, I checked the all important weather forecast. The radar was clear albeit with an overcast sky and the temperature hovering around 28 degrees. Bob said Mad River would be busy making snow all night. Cool! Early on at least, it was looking promising. I walked Ykraps soon after Mindy was up and around. I left for my run a short time later. I didn’t feel like we had a lot of time to waste. I ran only three miles just like most other ski days. I’ll get one hell of a work out on the mountain later. Back at home, Mindy ducked off to the shower. The wee ones reminded me of my promise to make cheese omelets. I obliged their request. I made enough for all of us, although Jacob said he didn’t want any. Mindy took a shower early so that I could run and then bolt for ASBCO. I saved part of an omelet for her, too. While waiting for Mindy to finish her shower, I continued to organize our ski gear. As soon as Mindy was ready I headed up for a shower of my own. I wasn’t long. I was downstairs and all but ready to head out the door by 9:15am. I spent a little more time organizing our equipment being careful not to forget anything critical to our comfort. Afterwards, I loaded our news skis and boots into the Trooper then dashed off for the Arlington ABSCO store at 9:30am. I arrived at 9:50am. They didn’t open until 10am. I waited patiently. Two employees showed up just before 10am. I soon followed leaving the skis temporarily behind. I kindly ask for some help and calmly explained my dilemma. Casey, the store manager, assured me that he’d take care of it quickly and efficiently. I left my paperwork sitting behind for him to glance over while I went to fetch the two sets of skis. I paced somewhat impatiently around the showroom while waiting for Casey to reemerge with our skis. I saw Jason, the first ABSCO sales guy I talked to a couple weeks ago. I felt bad that I didn’t return to buy skis from him. To make matters even worse, I saw my new skis were marked down even further this week - $40 cheaper. It didn’t take long. I was out of ABSCO by 10:15am. Casey assured me that had we not discovered our ski mishap at home and had to have an out-of-town ski-smith make the necessary adjustment, they would’ve covered our expense. He also said that the guy who signed off on our skis was their finest, most tenured. Said it happens only once or twice each year. Forgiven. I was home by 10:30am. Kara was already there and Jimaken pulled up just after me. He was there to pick-up Jacob, who was adamant about not going skiing. Kara would be watching Rocky & Landon. While Mindy tied up the loose ends in the house, I loaded our tuned/adjusted skis, boots, and poles into the Honda. We left for Mad River just before 11:00am. I stopped at Thornton’s to fill-up with gas. The drive up Rt 33 to Mad River was an easy one. We were there in 45 minutes. Noticeable right away was the severely diminished snow pack. There was bare ground everywhere but on the actual ski trails. We purchased our lift tickets and Bella’s lesson package before donning our new ski gear. We returned to the Honda after outfitting Bella in her rental gear. She looked so cute in her equipment. It was only 12:15pm, a full 1.25 hours before Bella’s lesson would begin. We did three runs on the bunny hill with Bella giving her as many pointers as we could. The whole time, I worried that we might inadvertently create/teach bad habits. I made Mindy aware of my concern. Collectively we decided to hold off on any more runs. It was still 45 minutes before lesson time. A few minutes later we spotted the Imber’s making there way over our way. We hung out there talking for a good 30 minutes. Eventually Mindy released me, and encourage all of us to go ski while she waited out the last 15 minutes with Bella. She’d join us at the main lift once Bella was handed off to ski class. We took a blue run in part to allow me to get comfortable with my new skis. They felt fine, but the snow was loose and granular making it somewhat difficult to give them a fair comparison. However, right away I could easily feel how much better the edges dug in as I carved my way down the mountain. Given the sloppy snow, I figured I’d have to wait until Holiday Valley to measure speed and feel. After about three runs we spotted Mindy waiting at the base of the main lift. The four of us skied together for the next two hours taking nearly all the varied trails. Comparatively speaking, we were all a bit more daring than we’ve been past. We hit several jumps, and even a few that I wasn’t even expecting. I caught some really good air but also busted my ass twice going over the jumps. I was leaning back too far on my landing. Ouch! To counter the loose, granular snow pack I found myself skiing with much of my weight favoring the back of my skis. I guess I didn’t readjust after hitting the jumps. Note to self. I fell a third time while doing the brush course. In all, I fell three times within about an hour. Prior to today, I had fallen only once all season, and that was while I was standing still waiting on Mindy at the bottom of a black Holiday Valley slope. But without question, I was being more aggressive, and taking chances I might not otherwise have taken. It was fun! Come 3:30pm we skied over to the bunny hill to fetch Bella. She was done and ready for some food. So were all of us. We made our way over to the main lodge/bar. We found a table to seat all five of us. Bob and Mary Ann treated us to a pitcher of Sam Adams and some homemade sandwiches. Mindy fetched Bella a hot dog and soda. We enjoyed the warmth of the lodge for about an hour. Bella, meanwhile, was eager to show us her stuff. Before that, however, she complained of her boots hurting. We determined that her boots were about a size too small. I went to fetch another pair, one size larger. The kid working the boot counter advised that we’d almost certainly need to have her skis readjusted too. Crap – I didn’t even think about that. What’s worse, once I got back to our table at the lodge Mindy discovered that I grabbed two left boots. Mindy agreed to do the exchange this time. I advised her that we’d have to have the skis adjusted too. We agreed to meet at the base of the triple chair. Bob talked Bella into riding the lift with us. I know, can anyone say, de javu? Mindy returned with Bella and the larger boots. She never did take the skis to be adjusted. And sure enough, they wouldn’t fit. I ran them back to the counter to have them resized for a size “13”. That took all of two minutes. Soon we ascended the mountain. Bella chose to ride with Mary Ann and Mindy. Bob & I lagged back one chair. I got a couple of pics of Bella riding her first lift. Bella disembarked from the lift with the same grace as her brother. Like him, she skied with much apprehension. She was nervous staring down the long winding hill, albeit an easy green. The truth is, it is no steeper than the bunny hill, but simply longer and winding. Bella did OK but also exhibited some of the same fear and reservation that Jacob did two weeks earlier. She fell often and when her legs got twisted she’d cry out in pain. Like Jacob, she gave up half way down the mountain. However, unlike baseball you can’t just walk off the mountain and go home. You still have to get down the hill. Eventually, I talked her into skiing down with me – between my legs. I handed my poles to Bob and used my arms to hold half of her body weight all the while allowing her to help steer and stop in unison with me. That worked well. She seemed to enjoy it. At the bottom of the hill, unlike Jacob, she asked to go up the bunny hill some more. At the same time, Mindy & Mary Ann went to do a few runs of their own. Bob stuck with Bella and I. Bella regained her confidence in a big way on the bunny hill. She refused our assistance getting on and off the magic carpet, and then proceeded to blow both of us away with her previously unseen ability to ski – turn, control, and stop. Wow! She must’ve did the run three times without any help and more often than not with out fail. Bob & I surmised that the larger hill was just too much for her to process, whereas the bunny hill, while just as steep, gives her the entire enchilada in one glance. Perhaps a lesson in elementary education. Mindy & Mary Ann skied up and caught one of Bella’s finer runs down the hill, turning and stopping without falling even once. We all celebrated. Perhaps a bit too confident, she went down one final time and bit it good, once again getting her legs twisted underneath her. She was ready to go. Honestly, we needed to go anyhow. It was already 7pm. Kara was expecting us home and both daughters, Ashley and Lindsey, were expecting us to visit. We thanked Bob & Mary Ann for hanging with us and wished them well on their coming ski trip. They, in turn, wished us well on ours. We were on the road by 7:15pm. At my prompting, Mindy called Lindsey and canceled her visit citing the late hour and the kids bedtime. Lindsey pushed back but we held firm. Not to be mean, but she should’ve planned the visit sooner. Hell, we could’ve saved $65 in childcare fees. We offered to pick her up for a Sunday visit. About the same time, Ashley called and canceled us picking up Olivia too. Made sense to both of us. We arrived home at 8pm. All of us were beat. I hurried to walk Ykraps who was waiting patiently by the door. Mindy paid Kara. She left even before I got back home with Ykraps. While Mindy jumped immediately into chores, I got the three older kids into the hot tub at Bella’s prompting. The skiing left her achy. I let them soak for about 15 minutes before calling them in. Looked like they were having fun. After we got the kids tucked into bed Mindy and I got in the hot tub. It felt terrific. I sipped a Jack & Coke while soaking. We headed to bed almost directly after a relaxing soak.