Sunday in Keystone--Rise and Shine / High Stress...high altitude

After our wonderful day in Breckenridge with Amy, it was time for her to head back to SA. This thin air is for the birds! Nathan and I got up around 4am to take Mike and Amy to the Denver airport. The snow was still falling. The roads were still playing "hide and seek" but we managed to get our sweet friends to the airport in time for their flight. It took about 2 hours to get there but it was a nice drive. I was sad to have them go home early but I'm thankful for the time we had together.

The sun started to come up and the drive back to Keystone was nice. Great scenery! I didn't see it the first time in on Friday morming b/c I was driving. Here are some shots from the car...

This is closer to Keystone. Higher and colder and more snow than in Denver.

We got back to the condo and got ready for the day. Jo went skiing with Seth.

Keene still had a hurt wrist so we took him to the medical center. We dropped him off at 10:30 am and we were going to meet up with him in time for our 2:30 reservation for snow mobiling. Well, time was quickly passing by. We took a lot of pictures of skiers. Called and checked on Keene. Went to the condo to run a few errends. Called and checked on Keene. Used our condo sleds to do a little sledding outside our front door to pass some time. Called and checked on Keene, again. Finally at 2pm we got in the car to pick up Keene ready or not. We were gonna be late! We called the Snow Mobile folks and got NO sympathy from them. They told us that we would be left and we would not get our money back. I went in and got Keene and his broken wrist. We left the clinic at 2:25 and had 5 minutes to make a 20 minute drive. It was a quiet and stressful ride into Frisco. We made it there JUST in time but poor Keene wasn't able to join us for the snow mobiling tour b/c of his fractured wrist. The shuttle offered to take him back to the condo so he could rest.

Nathan and I got back into our car and drove about 45 minutes into the mountains. Our tour would take place in Leadville. We finally made it and went inside the base camp to get our gear on. We were layered up like nobody's business! We had our ski clothes on. We had our goggles, ear bands, coats, gloves, etc. They let us borrow boots and helmets.

We went outside with our group for the demonstration/ training session. Our tour guide was great. I chose not to drive my own. I rode with Nathan and I'm so glad I did. I would have wrecked in the first 5 minutes. The tour was about 2 1/2 hours. It was awesome! We were in the thick of the mountains on some really cool trails. Lots of steep hills and sharp turns. We almost flipped once but Nathan didn't lose control. Yes, I was screaming.

Wow, was that fun! Nathan and I had a blast! It was 3 degrees once we got back down to the car. I have no idea how cold it was UP in the mountain. It was freezing, though!

We went back to the condo and made dinner. Mike's friend Seth joined us again and stayed around to play Cranium. Here's a pic of him and Jo doing a puppet/ charade question....

It was a fun last night.

Saturday in Keystone

Saturday morning Nathan and I woke up and met up with Becky and Joe. They were in CO for President's Day weekend, too. Unplanned. It was hilarious when we figured out that we'd be in the same place for a weekend vacation. Joe is in the military and purchased lift tickets for $55 vs. the regular $86 price. Expensive, huh! We bought 3 of them. One for me, Nathan and Keene. Keene is a friend of Jo's from Houston. I forgot to mention that he met up with us at the airport in Houston.

When Nathan and I got back to the condo Amy told us that she needed to go home. The altitude was making it hard to breathe. Not just for her. Nathan and I were struggling too. We were supposed to go skiing that day but we made it a girls day and the boys went skiing. Ahhh- a much better plan. Which would you pick? Risking major injuries and coming back in pain and really sore..... OR going shopping and to the spa? Yeah, we enjoyed our girl time!

We went to shop after shop. It was so funny walking in our high heel boots. Jo and I almost fell about every other yard. I found a beautiful cross and Amy bought an icthus trivet.

We all got our nails done and we had a nice lunch together.

--Drinks and appetizers at Modis in Breckenridge.

It was a very special day.

We drove back to Keystone to meet up with the guys for dinner. Our drive back was a little on the scary side. The snow was coming down pretty hard and I had a difficult time seeing the lanes on the road. We finally made it. Nathan and Keene were really tired after skiing and Keene complained of an injured wrist.

Dinner was good. We all went back to our condo and watched a movie. Amy and Mike were able to book a flight for the next morning to head back to San Antonio. Good night. Early start tomorrow.

Welcome to Colorado!

This is a freakin' long day. Friday, that is. Yesterday, I went to work. Took Zeta to the groomer. Doesn't she look beautiful?


After work, I took her over to Mom's house for her weekend visit. By the way this is Valentine's Day. That's why she has the pink and red hearts bandana. Nathan was at work until midnight and we were all packed to drive to Houston so we could fly out of Houston to Denver. We met Amy and Mike at 2:30 AM and got to Houston around 5:30 AM. We picked up Jo and drove to the airport. Here's what Amy looked liked squished in the car.

We got to the airport and had some adventures. Mike thought he forgot his driver's license so he had to go through extensive searching in the glass box. Amy's bag was 9 pounds over weight and had to transfer clothes to Mike's snowboard bag. If that wasn't enough, I did not pack my toiletries in clear baggies so we had to wait while they did it for me! By the way, after this Amy found Mike's id in her bank envelope!


The flight was ok. We landed in Denver a little early. Rented our car. Drove to Keystone. Our condo is very nice. Very mountain looking decor. Love it! We had to take a little power nap before before we went to rent skis and grocery shop. Jo and Mike went night skiing and had a great time. We made dinner and had a nice relaxing night. Seth came over for a visit (Mike's friend) and Mike and Seth made Nathan take them to a bar for a drink. Poor Nathan was so tired. He was about to keel over and pass out.

Had a great night sleep!


Lunch at Tommy Knockers.... here's the beer sampler.



Mike, Amy and Keene at Tommy Knockers.


Amy, Me and Jo.

Under Construction!

Last night Nathan and I went out to Bergheim to see the new home my father in law is building. Bergheim is north on Blanco road about 30 minutes away. Andy Allen with Hill Country Classics started construction a few weeks ago and things are moving along nicely! I am so excited for him. It's going to a perfect house for him and Joan. It's on 4+ acres and the location couldn't be more breathtaking. He's dreamt of this day for so long and I'm so excited it's happening!

Daniel (my brother in law) and Kelsey (my niece) were sneaking a peak, too. Here's a picture of her new friend from Build a Bear. A Valentine's Day gift from her dad.

Dan said that the builders started the roof in the morning.

This picture was taken around 5:45 pm

Nathan and his dad on the back porch.....

Check out this gorgeous oak tree. It's next to the back right side of the house....close to the back porch.

Here's the windmill on his land. Kelsey had a mission to climb it. That's right about where she stopped. Smart girl!

Girl's Weekend

This past weekend was a great time spent with old friends. Ali, Shannon and Brandie came to San Antonio for the Women of Faith conference and Becki, Amy and I all had a chance to catch up with one another. Ali flew in on Thursday afternoon around 3pm. We went to my house to get all of my slumber party necessities and then headed over to Becki's. We all stayed there.

Amy drove us all downtown for dinner at Caso Rio on the river. We ate and then walked over to the Alamodome.












The evening was awesome. We had great conversation and the kick off to the conference was powerful! Mark Shultz was sooo good! He sang for about 45 minutes. All the speakers were great. 10 pm the evening ended and we all went back to Becki's and called it a night.

Friday morning we headed downtown and heard from the rest of the Women of Faith team. That evening we opted to skip the 3:16 event and had a very nice dinner at Cafe Paladar. We all shared tapas and they were delicious! We went next door to Swig North but it was so early it was pretty dead. We went back to Becki's for our last night of our slumber party weekend.

Saturday morning Amy didn't join us because she had to work at the studio. This next weekend we're going skiing and she couldn't miss 2 Saturdays. The final day of WOF was great! Lot's of laughing and priceless time with the girls.

To Ali, Amy, Shannon, Becki, and Brandie--I love you!!

PS...here's a pic of baby Kate-

Christmas in January

Nathan and I went to Dad's for a late Christmas celebration. We had a great dinner and spent time with Dad, Ludi and her girls. Tommy and Chris and Erika and Phillip where there too.











Here's Dad and Robert...


Ginana and her cousin Rosliland

Becki, Me and Nathan (being silly, of course).

Looking Back

Looking back at last week, here's what's been going on...

After work on Friday I headed up to Houston to see Jo. We wanted to go and meet Traci's new baby, Zachary. I got to Houston around 7 PM and met Jo and some of her friends at Sambuca's Jazz bar. It was a lot of fun.

After Sambuca's she took me to dinner at The Reef in Midtown. I just love all the little names in Houston....Midtown, Theater District, etc...

We had the salmon at The Reef and it was so, so good. After dinner, we went home and went to sleep.

We woke up Saturday morning and went to Jo's alterations place. She was having some suits tailored and she looks amazing! We ate lunch at a dive right next to the Alterations place and it was great. After that we noticed that my tires were not only bald but the tread was GONE in certain places. It was time for new tires.




We stopped at her new office for a quick tour and photo session and then dropped my car off at Discount Tire.

On our way to see Traci we stopped to get some cupcakes from "Sugarbabies".

This little place is the girlest confection joint I've ever experienced. The cupcakes are to die for. We got Traci 6 cupcakes and one extra for us to sample in the store. Mmmm!

Heeeeeeeeere's Zachary.....

What a sweet baby. Traci looks amazing and she's feeling pretty great.


We visited for about an hour and Jo and argued about who should hold the baby first. She won only 'cause she pinched me. Hard. Traci is such a good mommy. Zachary has big hands and feet. He's gonna be a big boy. Jo and I think he already has a defined and chiseled jaw. Yeah, he'll be a heartbreaker. For sure. After many hugs and kisses, it was time to go and pick up my car.

Ahhhhhh, new tires. It's so nice to have a set of new tires. I could really feel the difference.