Where All The Children Are Above Average

What a crazy cool, long day. We started the events off with a trip up to the mountains. Mary Jo isn’t known in these parts (or any parts really) as the most likely to enjoy a trip on a mountainous road, but she wanted to get up into ‘them there hills’ and do a little fear-facing along the way. We settled on a trip to Breckenridge, which is all interstate and a short trip down a smaller road….but no high mountain passes without guardrails (we’re saving that for next time).

The drive up there was great: no traffic, easy driving, beautiful scenery, and nobody was scared in the car. I think that it went a lot easier than some of us had imagined and we were treated to some snow-capped 14′ers along the way. If you have never spent much time in Colorado, the time when the mountains look their toughest is when they have a little snowfall on the peaks, giving them a Himalayan effect - just like yesterday. When we arrived in Breckenridge, we headed up to the Peak 9 drop off area because Ezra needed to eat and we needed some seclusion to do that. While Ahna and Ezra enjoyed their time together, Mary Jo and I wandered around the ski lifts and the ski run immediately next to them. We talked skiing and lift riding, and did a little wandering around. 

For lunch we went to a local/tourist favorite (it’s a strange place that is a heavy attractant to both of those groups) called Downstairs At Eric’s. Here’s another one of those moments that we never noticed before: it’s called ‘Downstairs’ because it’s in the basement…fair enough…but there isn’t an elevator because it’s old enough…which makes it a little tougher with a kid and stroller. We managed, but it sure would have been nicer. Following lunch we simply wandered the streets and the shops until it was time to pull anchor and head home. 

This is where the story gets frustrating. It’s a singular frustration that consumed 1.5 hours….paving on the east side of the Eisenhower Tunnel…which lead to a back up that took 90 minutes to cover about 5 miles. Normally that would have ended the stress, but we were trying to get home before heading up to a concert at Red Rocks (!) to exchange clothing and grab blankets. The entirety of the time delay resulted in Ahna driving home (and making great time) and us having just about 40 minutes before needing to head out again for the evening. We had hoped to allow Ezra to stretch out a little more, but he was doing okay and we had to get to the show (the tickets where under my name at will call). 

You might be wondering what rockin’, jammin’, dancin’ show we went to…well, it was Garrison Keillor and A Prairie Home Companion. It’s a little on the ’subdued’ side of the rock show spectrum, but Ahna and I agreed that it might have been one of the top five shows that we have ever seen. Both of us (and now Ezra) grew up listening to A Prairie Home Companion on the radio and to this day we enjoy finding it on weekend public radio. So when we heard that he was going to be in town at the same time that Mary Jo was here and my folks weren’t traveling, we had to go (it really would have been the cat’s meow if Dave where here….so perhaps we all will have to catch the show in St. Paul sometime). They were on the Rhubarb Tour, which is essentially the show without the live-radio recording - and more than 3 hours long. All of the stories and the songs where there; and I think the highlight was watching the impromptu story telling between Keillor and Fred Newman (the sound effects guy).  

On top of the great show, it was wonderful to introduce my parents, Mary Jo, Don, and Sonja to Red Rocks. We couldn’t have asked for a better evening, and even the moon made a dramatic appearance in the sky line roughly halfway through the show (the moonrise was red). After being to lots of rock shows at Red Rocks, it was a little strange to be there with the crowd last night: there was a great mix of dreadlocks, Grateful Dead t-shirts, 30-something hippies (like us), and older folks. Because of the type of show, the audience was deathly silent - so much so that any peep from Ezra made people from five rows turn around and look. When I went to the restroom, I was the only one in there….a very far cry from the lines and crowds that the others shows have had. It was weird but really neat. The show was close to being sold out, but there was enough room for us to spread out a little and lay Ezra down for a quick nap. He really enjoyed all of the sights and sounds of his first Red Rocks experience.

We opted not to bring in the camera with us since we had a handful of other stuff, so these images from the camera-phone will have to suffice (if you look really closely at the night shot, you can see the red moon rising on the horizon). There are also three pictures from Breck that are mixed in.

Willy Wonka’s Golden Ticket

That what it feels like…the sad part is that I am the only one that thus far gets to feel that way. Ahna and I had been wait-listed for community credentials to the acceptance speech at Invesco Field (home to the Denver Broncos), and we thought our chances of seeing the event in person were over. Well, yesterday I received an e-mail from the Colorado Professional Fire Fighters stating that the union had received 25 tickets for the event. The catch? You had to be a member of the CPFF; which means that I am able to get one, but not Ahna or Ezra. Really exciting and really a bummer at the same time. 

I’m sure that this is the first of a rapid succession of postings over the next 10 days that will somehow mention the first major political event of Ezra’s life: the Democratic National Convention. On Friday we get to walk through the Pepsi Center, then there is event after event in the upcoming days to attend - if we have the desire and willpower. 

Mary Jo arrived into town last night and will be here through Saturday. It worked out well that most of her stay is over a four-day of mine, so we will have the opportunity to do a lot of things together….there will be stories to come, I’m sure of that. 

PS: This line is for Cyrilla and Tanner (and anyone else who is a Cowboy fan): Denver beat the Cowboys…the Broncos are better than Dallas. Period. Enough said.

Okay, here is the picture of my ticket:

Feet Forever Framed

For our baby shower, someone who works with Ahna at school gave us a gift of a three-dimensional replica of Ezra’s hand and foot. She does this as a side business and was able to come down and visit with us as well as produce the replica just 9 days into Ezra’s life. It uses a non-toxic material that is very similar to plaster, and captures every crease and fold and detail. The finished product is a cast of a quality synthetic stone and is framed in a shadow box. We received it the other day and it has found a home on the dresser in Ezra’s room. 

If you are interested in getting one of these of your child (or pet or you, I suppose) for yourself contact Cheri Sullivan at www.littlepawsdesigns.com 

Disappointment and Disbelief

So both of those words describe the same event last night (don’t worry, it isn’t anything from home life). I was at work and we had been watching the Olympics all day, but specifically waiting for the men’s relay and Michael Phelps. As we sat there and watched the swimmers come to their lanes, and the first members of the relay jump into the water…..the bells went off for a call. Yep, all of that timing, all of that down time during the day, all of that ‘great schedule’ that we have….came crashing to a thundering halt as we had to leave the station just as the most anticipated sporting event in decades came to fruition. Arrgh! And to top it off, the nurses at the call location were all gathered around a TV watching the Olympics mocking the fact that we had been called out. Of course the race was completed by the time that we got anywhere near a TV, but we already knew the outcome (remember, none of the Olympics are live here in the Denver region). 

Don’t know if I should admit this or not, but there have been two times in my life where I teared up at the result of a sporting event….the first one was in 1997 when the Denver Broncos won their first Super Bowl (cheesy, I know). The second one was last night - but for a much different reason. I think that in 1997 I was way too involved on a superficial level with sports and the Broncos, so it was a large part of my life and who I idolized. After watching them loose 4 Super Bowl games in the early 90’s, it was great to see my favorite team break through and win the big game.

Last night’s emotion was one of a deeper understanding of absolute commitment and determination, of overcoming odds, of the week long roller coaster for everyone watching, of the culmination of a lifetime of practice, and of watching what I think we all realized is the most amazing athlete of this time period. I won’t pretend to think that any athlete is more important than a lot of other professions, but for some reason this achievement is miraculous and should be celebrated by all. Seriously, those races where unbelievable. I also won’t be so conceded (like most sports casters and specifically NBC) as to think that we won’t see another Michael Phelps - I mean there might be an 11 year old out there right now on her way to the top - but it doesn’t seem likely since it took more than 100 years to get to this point. Since I wasn’t able to watch the race last night, Ahna did record it for me. Ezra and I sat there and watched the race three times in a row in complete satisfaction. 

So the weather that has socked the Denver area in for the last couple of days (resulting in 3 inches of rain) has finally started to break - which is good for the health of the people here because if it is slightly cloudy or rainy for more than 3 hours here in Colorado, people start talking depression. It’s supposed to be 70 today increasing to 90 by Wednesday. Part of the weather is the stunning images that come from clouds, cold, rain/snow, and elevation. Here are a couple of pictures from two web cams this morning: one looking at Pikes Peak, and the other camera (and two images) looking in different directions from the peak of the mountain. Crazy!

Folkin’a - That’s Some Rain

Sorry for the few days without a post. Thursday it started raining in the afternoon and it hasn’t stopped since….which is extrodinarily rare for Colorado. Thursday night/Friday morning brought a rowdy overnight thunderstorm where several lightning bolts made their way into people’s homes. The working fire that we went on was an attic fire, and the news story can be seen here (if I get any pictures, I will post them). All of that activity left me arriving home late from work and no time to update the blog. 

Yesterday was the only day that Ahna, Ezra, and I could go down to the Fire-Rescue International conference in Denver. It rotates between several cities, and comes to Denver once every three years (for one more rotation). The conference is the annual show put on by the International Association of Fire Chiefs - where my Dad worked for 20+ years. Needless to say, there are lots of family friends that we wanted to see and wouldn’t ever have the chance otherwise. I wandered the exhibit floor for a while with the crew from my ladder truck, then met up with Ahna, Ezra, and my Mom and did some visiting. 

We also had tickets to go to the Folks Festival yesterday and had originally planned to head up in the early afternoon after hanging at the conference, but the rain changed those plans. First to describe the festival: it’s a three day annual event put on by Planet Bluegrass at their place in Lyons, Colorado (they also do the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and RockyGrass). There is on-site camping and lots of great music, but we could only go for one day this year - partially because we have a 9 week old, and mostly because I have to work two of the three days of the festival. The big draw for us this year was Patty Griffin; Ahna’s favorite musician. We have seen her several times before, but were really looking forward to hearing her music at such a beautiful venue…but mother nature had other plans. 

Remember all of that yapping about the 90+ degree days and the streak of no rain? Well that gets to stop for now (will assuredly return next week sometime) as the temperature over the past two days hasn’t topped 55 degrees, and the sun hasn’t been seen since Thursday. It has been a steady rain that intensifies for a few minutes at a time, but has soaked anything and everything…including the festival grounds in Lyons. We drove up there in the evening (to reduce our exposure to the elements) attempting to see Patty. Ahna, Ezra, and I loaded up in a sling, rain gear, hats, long-sleeve clothes, and blankets and attempted to make the show. Unfortunately the rain and Ezra’s non-willingness to enjoy the swing meant that we didn’t get to see the show. Ahna did go into the venue and watched a couple of songs from afar, but it wasn’t the evening that we had hoped for. Oh well, I suppose. 

As we talk now, the rain continues to fall and the temp continues to hover right around 50. They say that this will continue into tomorrow, but that we should be back into the upper 80’s by Tuesday or Wednesday. The mountains did get the snow that was promised, and Trail Ridge Road in the Rocky Mountain National park had to be shut down for well over 6 inches of snow. 

Obama Speech Update: We received notice that we were ‘wait-listed’ for credentials to the acceptance speech at Invesco Field. We were not able to change our lives around this past week and give 6 hours of time to the campaign; therefore didn’t get in (we have some friends that found some time and were notified that they got in). I expressed my frustration to the state and national campaign about the misleading stories about tickets and received the generic replies that actually didn’t answer any complaints or questions. It truly has been disappointing - the way that they have handled the credential dispersion for the speech. Perhaps we can still keep our fingers crossed to get in…..

Here are a couple of pictures of Ezra with some of the hand-made blankets that he has been enjoying. Oh, and one of Ezra’s first rest in his crib (now that we have been able to move the clothes into his dresser). 

Guess What Came In The Mail Today? [Edited]

That’s right….this year’s first issue of Powder Magazine! I already got two phone calls from friends asking that question before I was able to find our mailbox….the anticipation is palpable. You have to understand that for those of us that believe in ‘never summer,’ getting the first issue of this season’s ski magazine is like a holiday, birthday, and celebration all rolled into one. One of my friends even bailed on everything that he had planned for the afternoon and read the magazine from cover to cover. By our calculations ski season is (hopefully) less than 60 days away!!!!

Additional as of 6pm: Check out this forecast from our local NBC affiliate!!!!! Woo Hoo!!!!

According to 9NEWS Meteorologist Ashton Altieri, a powerful cold front will first pass over the state on Thursday before the main storm arrives on Friday. Scattered showers and a few isolated thunderstorms will develop after the front passes and temperatures will drop into the 70s for highs along the Front Range on Thursday. As cool air settles into the state and scattered showers continue, freezing temperatures will drop down to about 10,500 feet on Friday, meaning some high country locations will see the rain change into snow by Friday afternoon.

Locations such as Rocky Mountain National Park, the Indian Peaks Wilderness, Berthoud Pass, and Mount Evans could see up to a foot of snow. However, the warm ground will prevent much of that snow from accumulating. Seasonal roads above 11,000 feet such as Trail Ridge Road will likely have to be shut down on Friday because of the snow.

Holy Crap! A List Of 4 Amazing Things From Yesterday

Holy Crap! The Dresser Arrived!: 6 months (or 26 weeks, or 170 days) after placing the order for the crib and dresser, the final of the two pieces arrived into Denver. We got the phone call from the store from where we ordered the set (Big Kids and Baby World 2) and immediately attempted to figure out how to get up there and pick it up. Turns out that we were able to get it yesterday afternoon and put it in Ezra’s room last evening. When I called them two weeks ago, they had no idea what has happening with the dresser, and I am sure that without our prodding, we would still be waiting for it. All of that said, it looks pretty sharp. There are pictures posted below, but give us a week or so to completely set up his room (since the crib has been acting as a dresser, and a card table has been serving as a changing station) before we post pictures of the whole room. 

Holy Crap! Dinner Was Awesome!: Our good friends Geoff and Mary brought us dinner last night and hung out for a little while (they are on vacation and for some reason didn’t want to spend a night of it with us). We have long been inspired by the job that Geoff and Mary have done in raising their two boys (one of them is a Deadhead), but last night we were reminded of their incredible ability to make delicious food. Before becoming a firefighter, Geoff and Mary owned a sub and pizza restaurant here in town. I have had the joy of eating some of their subs before, but never a pizza until last night. They made us a salad, desert, and two pizzas - one was a pesto, artichoke heart, onion, black olive, roasted red pepper pizza, and the other was very similar but red sauce-based. Both were amazing….as I am writing this the stomach is telling me that I might have to go and heat one up for breakfast. 

Holy Crap! The US Swim Team Rules!: After not even being sure if an unnamed family member - Matthew - even reads the blog (since we rarely get any comments from him), he sent along an e-mail yesterday in surprise that there was no mention of the 4×100 relay results from the other night. [ed. note: for those that don't know, Oren swam competitively for 15+ years and therefore has a big interest in international swimming] Okay, fair enough. I have to admit that when I was writing the posting I completely forgot about the Olympics for just a couple of minutes. Also in full disclosure, personally I was more impressed with Phelps’ WR setting swim in the 400IM on the second day of competition - as I watched that race, I actually got chills from seeing what I consider to be the greatest swimmer of all time swim the perfect race. All of that said, the relay was one of the funnest and most dramatic races ever…the comeback by Jason Lesak was one for the ages; and it showed the best parts of being in a relay race: having fun and finding your desire to win. The haul that the US team took last night was even more impressive, and it was great to see them exert their continued dominance of the sport. Wow, Ezra has to start getting in the pool if he has any hopes of making the squad for the 2028 games.

Holy Crap! NBC Is Lying To Us!: Enough with the claims that the games are being seen live. They aren’t…at least they aren’t for those of us not lucky stuck enough to live on the east coast. Even though some of us with internet connections figured it out on the first night of ‘live’ competition, it has taken the media a couple of days to realize it. Regardless, stop treating us like children who have to wait until after dinner to watch TV, and show the events live….it only requires that they start the broadcast one hour earlier here, or two hours earlier on the left coast. The organizing committee for the ‘08 games decided to completely rearrange the schedule of the medal events to coincide with live coverage possibilities for the US, and we aren’t even getting it live! Argh! (PS: those of us on slightly archaic Apple computers can’t even stream it from the NBC web site live). Come on, NBC! These athletes didn’t train for their entire lives to be on a tape delay!

Here are the pictures of the dresser that were promised earlier.

105th Post

Yea, the number 105 doesn’t hold much excitement on it’s own, but I forgot to mention that we went over the 100 mark a few days ago….therefore, the number 105 holds a special place as the 5th post after the forgotten 100th. It’s sort of anticlimactic when announced this way.

Last night we went up to Denver for a mostly impromptu gathering of family dinner friends at Sarah and Claire’s new place. They had just moved in a couple of days ago, so all of the unpacking was completed and we enjoyed the fully furnished apartment just beginning and we had to bring our own chairs for dinner and drinks. Gabe and Charlotte were there and we really enjoyed finally introducing Ezra to them. It has been a long while since the entire gaggle has gotten together (like several months) (also, I just wanted to use the word ‘gaggle’ this morning), which made the evening all that more fun. We ordered some pizza and heard all sorts of fun stories - including ways to scam people out of a free road bike. 

Here’s some pictures of the friendly, the funny, the ‘I don’t smile at pictures anymore,’ and the gaggle all assembled on the stairs. 

PS: we have the envelopes, stamps, labels, and announcements all in hand. All that we need now is the time to put it together. Don’t worry, we’ll get them out this week.

Where Has The Time Gone?

Really?! It’s been three days since a posting was done!!! I feel like there should be some grand excuse that has prevented a posting from completion and publishing. Oh yea, there are these little plaid dressed gnomes that are loose in the house. The run around and sing and dance, but shout somewhat offensive (PG-13) remarks between songs. Normally they are easy to ignore, but they have gotten really difficult to deal with the last couple of days; and the time that is normally devoted to writing a post has been consumed by chasing them around.  

I just got home from work - completing my first full tour (3 days) back. During the second night, we had a call at 3am - which I would have thought would have been easier to deal with since that is about when Ezra wakes up every night, but for some reason still held the same difficulty as before. I suppose that it could have been the fact that I only went to bed at midnight, but that would be too easy to blame it on. 

That morning (Friday), I went straight from work to meet up with Dad. Hunter is also in town visiting (before the IAFC conference next week) and he came along on a ‘morning at the office’ of sorts. I hadn’t had the opportunity to visit his new office yet, so he invited Hunter and me along to hang out with him during the morning. We had the chance to attend some meetings on a current project and to meet some people that he deals with daily. It was a lot of fun, and extremely educational on many different levels. That evening, Ahna, Ezra and I went down to my parent’s house to have dinner and watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympic games. 

Admitingly, the ceremonies were very impressive to watch - and actually held my attention, unlike the previous couple of Olympics. The choreography was extraordinary and the technology was really cool to watch. On the same token, I still have a really difficult time with all of the “I Love China” talk that went into the dialogue and commentary during the ceremony. While we can understand that most of the blame for all of the atrocities in that country can rest with the government, it was still hard to watch it and not have them mention the fact that an entire province’s power was diverted to ensure that there were no problems during the ceremony. The duplicity behind the harmony kanji and the peace dove did not rest well with me, but were apparently completely overlooked by NBC. This really wasn’t a situation where you would have to look for faults to bring up the truths, the faults are always in play and the truths are on the surface…we just seem to be afraid to talk about them (evidence Bush’s speech the day before arriving in China). I suppose that might be partially due to the fact that they own our national debt…oh, and they are funding the war efforts right now.

Enough politics for now, back to the Ezra stuff. While I was at work yesterday, the ladder truck was sent down to participate in the annual Douglas County Fair and Parade. It’s the only parade each year in Castle Rock, and as such it’s highly attended. I know that there were several thousand people there - lining the streets for the two mile route 5 and 6 deep. The best part was seeing Ahna and Ezra standing on the corner near the downtown fire station and being able to have him see me in the truck. Hopefully someone got some pictures that I can find. 

Ezra’s personality continues to develop each day…and his latest thing is TV. We are struggling to keep him away from it, but he is really attracted to the light and movement. When he is sitting with us in the living room and finds the screen, we are now turning it off or turning him around…there will be plenty of TV time for him in the future. But it’s hard for us….the Olympics are on. 

I think that pretty much brings us back up to date. Here are a couple of photos of Pike’s Peak…taken from Castle Rock at sunrise on Friday morning. I happened to look south as I was on my way to meet up with Dad and saw the cool looking clouds. In both pictures (better with the one with Pike’s Peak on the left), you can see our townhouse complex on the bottom right.

Just The Two Of Us

It seems as though Ezra and I have spent lots of time together, but as it turns out, we had never spent more than two hours (or so) alone…until yesterday. I arrived home from working the day before, and Ahna was heading to school to participate in the start of the year meetings with parents and kids. She left around 7:30 and thus began the father-son time….which lasted until about 12:45.

It didn’t feel strange, odd, hard, or scary - like I said, it seemed like we had done this before. What it did feel like, was a lot of work. I wasn’t able to get nearly half of the stuff I imagined getting done because I was spending time with him. Some of that time was demanded by Ezra, most of it was demanded by me. I have mentioned it before, but it was yet another reminder of my ever-growing respect for single parents. 

After meeting up with Ahna at school and heading out to lunch, we returned home for the better part of the remainder of the day until dinner time. We made it two-for-two in meals out, as we found a restaurant that served mashed potatoes. You see, yesterday was my brother’s birthday (Ezra’s middle name’s namesake) and it is my tradition to celebrate that day by buying him a beer while I drink one “with him.” I settled on a place to do that by deciding that I wanted to partake in what is widely considered my brother’s favorite food - mashed potatoes. It was a nice dinner and Ezra was super smily throughout the meal. Once we got home, we took the opportunity to tell Ezra about where he got his middle name from. 

Here are some pictures from the other night with Mary, as well as from yesterday (including Ezra’s best take at lounging on the couch). Enjoy!