Ski Cooper w/Julia

Julia and I went skiing again  at Cooper in February. It's becoming a mini tradition for us to ski together...just the two of us. We've always both had a great time, enjoying some Daddy Daughter time and the slopes on a nice day. We purposely pick a day with good weather because that can make all the difference.

Julia is a lot of fun to be around, even the 2.5 hours each way in the car. We usually stop for treats and listen to music together on the drive. Of course, she's super teachable on the slopes and is naturally talented and patient. That's a great combination. We have a good time at Cooper, even if it's a bit farther of a drive, because it's always low key and there are never many people.

Since we typically do this in February and go somewhere for Spring Break in March, we've realized that we should probably start doing this earlier in the year if we want to go more than once. I'll always have great memories of these trips with her!

Happy 65th Birthday Mom!

We had a great time celebrating the Valentine's Day birthday girl with the whole family. Michelle flew into town to join us and made these amazing looking (and tasting) desserts. It was good to hang out together considering what was about to happen across the world.  I love you Mom!

5th Annual Daddy Daughter Dance

This year was the fifth year in a row that Julia and I went to the Daddy Daughter Dance at the Community Center. She still seems to enjoy going with me, and told me that she plans on going every year until she's a senior in high school, so we can make it over ten years in a row!

Kid Pics

First Middle School Dance

Yesterday was Julia's first middle school dance. It was right after school and only for an hour. She and a lot of her friends got dressed up and had a lot of fun together. Afterwards, they all went over to the same house for dinner and a fun time!

January Cycling Pictures

For the scrapbook...

Welcome Bailey Girl

Today we picked up our first puppy as a family. We had been waiting for several weeks after getting the news that a litter had been born. The breeder (Florence) is from Garrison, Montana. We got in touch with her because my uncle had gotten a dog from her in the past. In fact, our dog shares the same father, so they are half siblings.

We met the breeder's friend at the Starbucks in Castle Pines. She was the one that was driving all the dogs around various parts of the country, including a sister puppy in Denver. The kids, especially Julia, really wanted to name her Bailey after reading the book "A Dog's Purpose". I'm still not a huge fan of the name, but other people seem to like it.

So far she hasn't barked once. We can already tell that she's going to be a great dog once we get out of the "puppy phase" and after she gets fully house trained.

I'm writing this post about a month after getting Bailey on January 5. So, these are pictures from the first month of having a new puppy in our house. The first few are of us picked her up and the signs the kids made for her since she was originally supposed to be dropped off at our house. There are several pictures her sitting in our lap, as that's what she liked to do first thing in the morning. The picture of Julia holding her in towels are after her first bath the first day we got her. Bailey fell asleep in her arms.

Breckenridge 2019