1,000th Post - Amazing

I've been thinking about what to say for my 1,000th post on our family blog for a few weeks. It was hard to come up with something worthy until Stacey shot this video last week. I recommend you watch the video twice, each time focusing your attention on one of the kids.

Julia does her best "interpretive dance", while Jonathan decided to go with the "close the eyes and spin around in a circle while occasionally lip syncing words" approach. Both of them show why I've been taking time as often as I can to update this blog. This stage of their lives is pretty special, as are they.

Baltimore - Spurs v. Liverpool

A few months back Dave (we were introduced because our girls attend the same preschool) and I decided to book a trip to Baltimore. Tottenham and Liverpool had both scheduled preseason tours in the U.S. and their paths crossed at M&T Bank stadium.

I left work at lunch on Friday and we drove up to Denver for our afternoon flight. Transportation went smoothly, and by nine at night on the east coast we arrived by taxi at our hotel. We checked in and the front desk informed us that they had run out of rooms with two beds. There was a pause followed by "so at no extra charge we've upgraded you to the bridal suite". Things would have been awkward had their been roses and chocolates in the room, but instead there was a roll away bed in what was essentially an apartment. Having two rooms to sleep in, a kitchen table, and two televisions actually made the stay very nice.

We woke the following morning, game day, and had breakfast in the hotel's restaurant. The hotel is located in the historic Mount Vernon neighborhood, so everything about the area is old and established. The restaurant had crown molding that was probably 15 inches wide, for example. Mount Vernon's defining feature is the first Washington Monument, designed by the same man that did the one in Washington D.C. The purpose of the monument was to honor our first president.

We walked from our hotel about 1.5 miles to the stadium. Camden Yards and the Raven's stadium are located next to each other. We hung out for a little bit before the gates opened and purchased souvenirs before the game started. It was hot and humid, about 93 to 95 degrees. Liverpool fans outnumbered Spurs fans probably nine to one. The game was actually quite boring, ending in a 0-0 draw. Aaron Lennon hit the post, but other then that, neither team really had a threatening shot on target.

It was good to see our new manager and new signings in person. I also was able to see Liverpool's Steven Gerrard play, a legend in the English game. I was on ESPN probably five clear times. We sat behind one of the goals, so the overhead camera would frequently pass by our section. While we were watching the game Dave's wife called him on his phone to let us know that we had been on TV. As soon as I can pull the video from the DVR and edit it, I'll upload it to this blog.

The highlight of the trip was, oddly enough, dinner after the game. We went back to our hotel to clean up and then headed over The Brewer's Art a few blocks away. Their homemade beers and food were great. It's been a long time since I ate at a place this nice and delicious.  Between the two of us our bill came to a few dollars over a hundred, which for a unique experience was probably worth it. The Brewer's Art was voted the best bar in America by readers of Esquire Magazine in 2008, and since this in an ongoing list, it currently sits at number two. Questionable rankings aside, you have to at least accept that the place has great food and drink if it's even part of the discussion. We sat in the restaurant section so it really didn't feel like a bar. I think the bar area is down below, but it doesn't really matter since you eat the same food and drink the same beer no matter where you sit. I had a green salad with red wine sauce, frites flavored with rosemary and garlic, and a 10 ounce steak with white dipping sauce. I chose one of the house Belgian style beers, pale/golden in color with a crisp, dry finish. I only needed one since it was 7.5%.

It was a good trip. I'm glad that I was able to see Spurs again, stay in a nice hotel room, and eat at a nice restaurant...all things not easily managed at home or with the kids. Since I've now seen Spurs play twice in the U.S., I think I'm ready for a trip to London to see them play in a real game at their home stadium. Maybe in another two years.

Explanation

I realized today that it's been about 10 days since I last made a post. When this happens it's usually because we have had nothing going on and/or I've been really busy either at work or at home. The past two weeks have been all that - nothing and so many other things taking up our time.

Work has gotten busier as I've started my new job. Starting a new job is always stressful, but this time I'm being loaned out to multiple other areas as well. I've been pulled in a few directions and haven't had much time to stop and think about other things while at work.

For the past few weeks I've been working all day then coming home to do yard work or small projects around the house.  Playing with the kids and putting them down for bed meant the projects lasted until about nine every night. 

Although it's not totally finished, I repainted the front door and shutters a lighter shade of blue. It took two tries to get the color right (i.e. about five coats of paint). Then, I made the mistake of buying an oil rubbed bronze door knob and hinges just to see what it would look like. I've wanted to swap out the outdated brass door hardware for a long time but haven't done it for a variety of reasons. My mistake was thinking that I could stop with just the three doors in the basement. Instead, I kept going and did the main level too.

Stacey also went shopping for the bathroom in the basement. Although it's not used often, the basement bathroom is used by guests. It was time to get rid of the blue shower curtain in that bathroom that I had purchased ten years ago when I was a bachelor. Stacey updated the rugs and other things in there too.

I really like the new hardware. It makes the house look so much better and it matches the rest of the decorations. We're really trying to stick to the craftsman, old house (but new house) theme.  We'll do the upstairs at a later date, since half of our doors are on that level alone. 

As we say at work, this is what you call "first world problems"... 

Olympic Fever

A trip by grandma to the OTC plus new outfits equals photo op...

Castle Peak HDR Panoramas

Photos of our hike courtesy of Josh...

Senior Budget and Forecast Analyst

It's official - I've been offered and accepted a new position within the Finance department at Compassion. My official start date is the 23rd of this month. I'm pretty excited about it.

This job reports to the Budget and Forecast Director, who is responsible for the overall budget and quarterly forecast process. It's a step up in grade (i.e. a promotion) and a significant increase in pay. This is a big deal for us personally, as it certainly puts us in the "one income would be enough should something happen with Stacey's job" category. In the meantime, it's going to mean we'll be able to live a little while still meeting our financial goals. Professionally, it will open a lot of doors and increase my workload, level of influence, responsibility, and therefore I believe, my satisfaction. I'm happy doing what I do now, but fulfillment will most likely be greater in this new position.

The year that I took off and helped with kids seems to have been a good decision now. It was a little bit of a gamble, but I'm glad that I took the time to think and pray about where I should land instead of taking the first job that came along. I knew that I was probably over qualified for my current position, but I accepted it knowing that I would have the opportunity to move up. Upward mobility and growth wasn't an option at my previous employer. I guess this is rare example of making plans and then having them actually work out.

Julia is happy for me too. She's glad that we can get a different car and go camping now. This will have more impact on her long term then just that, but for now we'll call it good with a few camping trips. Funny how kids pick up conversations and process things..

Spider Strength

Julia: Daddy, I love you because you catch spiders and are really strong...

Castle Peak

Today Josh and I woke up early and headed over to Castle Peak, near a little town called “Aspen”. Josh’s family was out of town, so I left my house Friday night and spent the night up at his place in Woodland Park so that we could get an early start. We left his house at 3:30 a.m. and started hiking about four hours later. 

The drive to the normal trail head didn’t really take that long…we just kept driving up the old Montezuma Mine road until it stopped at a little over 12,000 feet. This hike is about 13 miles round trip for most people, but because I have a vehicle that can handle a stream crossing and a 4WD road, we cut the trip down from 13 miles to three. 

This trip was part 4WD adventure, part hike. There aren’t very many 14ers that you can drive this far up the trail, so it was a nice change. We passed everyone else on the mountain today, while driving and while hiking. Starting fresh that high is a big advantage. It only took us 50 minutes to hike to the summit from where we parked and 40 minutes to get back down. We cut off a little bit of time on the way down with a glissade down a snowfield. Neither of us touched our water on the hike, highlighting how hydrated we already were, the short trip length, the cloud cover, and the humidity. 

The area around Aspen is very pretty. It’s one of the greenest areas in Colorado. The drive over Independence Pass and through the town Aspen was beautiful. The low hanging clouds and fog were a nice change from the recent hot and dry weather we’ve been dealing with back in town. I’ll definitely be going back to this area for a little sightseeing and camping in the future. 

Waterfalls, stream crossing in my truck


Beginning of road, top of the road at 12,000 feet


Other hikers headed up the ridge, Castle Peak, Jeep and campsite at parking lot


Valley near Independence Pass, fog near the summit, glissade down


Where's Toyota?, fog near and at the summit

Valley views, Aspen gas