The Boat

 Bridger found some powder in the trees.

Ginni having fun on the slopes.

 Mommy and Son at the top of the Gondola.

Along with the snow we have some big icicles  at our house.

 

It was cold this morning so we decide to wait until it warmed up to go skiing.  We got to the slopes by mid morning and it was a balmy 4 below zero.  The good part for us is that it was 21 at the top of the mountain where we skied.  We are enjoying our time at our house.

 

I hope everyone has a nice New Years Eve.

 

"Hey Rodney. Not on this side.  Not on that side.  But right down the middle."

townhouse snow

I measuered the snow at the back door onto the deck and it was 2 feet.  Glad we don't have to shovel this.  I don't think we will be BBQ this weekend, unless Darin wants to shovel. 

This is the rest of the deck.  Funny how the benches are outlined like they are.  From the underside, the benches have no snow beneath the seat. 

We slept in this morning and did some things around the townhouse.  We are going to drive into Steamboat and do some looking around, get some groceries and maybe treat ourselves to dinner out. 
The plan is to trying skiing tomorrow.  The high today is 11 degrees and tomorrow it is forecasted to be 24 degrees.  Much better skiing temperature.

More Christmas Pics

 What a good looking guy.

 This is where he gets it.

 This is his evil smile showing a Vikings fan his gift.

Bridger has stepped up the quote on the blog.  He wanted to re-create a scene.  What movie was a mistletoe held like this and people were told to kiss his butt.

I hope everyone is having a nice day after Christmas.  It is snowing again here, winter finally made it.

Merry Christmas

 '03

 '12

 We woke up to a white Christmas.

A Christmas kiss.

 

It is fun to watch Bridger's excitement for Christmas.  He started with jumping in bed this morning to wake us up.  He then was the present master and handed out gifts from under the tree.

 

It is a beautiful Christmas morning here.  We have about 3 inches of fresh snow on the ground.  It is only about 8 degrees though so it may be a while before we wander outside.  I am not sure if we will go on our hike today.

 

Merry Christmas everyone.

 

"Look, Daddy. Teacher says, every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings."

Christmas Eve

 Santa on Ice.

 Getting some advice from Santa's helper.

 We had many Christmas card poses.

Be thankful we sent the one we did.

 

The ND G-parents made it here yesterday.  Bridger was excited to see them.  He wanted to stay home instead of going to the store with Ginni and I so he would not miss them getting here.  He is currently watching a movie with Grandpa R.

 

It was a quiet day here.  I had to put some time in at the Fire Department so left for a while.  I think I was the only one that left the house today.  Everyone else enjoyed being together.  Fire dispatch (911) is suppose to make an Santa sighting announcement over the radio tonight for all of the children of firefighters in the county.  It is nice they are trying to add to the excitement of Christmas.

 

Yes, we do know the reason for the season.  Ginni and I have talked about going to midnight service at our church.  I am not sure if we will make it.  It is so nice and warm inside right now.  We are predicted to get 3 - 5 inches of snow over night.

 

I hope everyone has a wonderful night and wakes up to a beautiful morning.

 

One of my favorite Christmas movies.

 

" All right, listen up guys. 'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, except... the four guys coming in the rear in standard two-by-two cover formation. "


Lights

 Bridger thought he would be helpful by climbing on the expedition.

 He found the deer and penguin and wanted to put them out.

Someone being silly.

 

We finally put up some Christmas lights yesterday.  It was actually calm and pleasant outside.  Today, not so much.  The winds are back at mock speed. I do not envy Grammy and Grandpa R driving in it today.  They should be here this afternoon.  Bridger is pretty excited.

 

It is pretty lazy here today.  Bridger did tell me he wanted to get Ginni another present for Christmas but has not told me what so we may make a trip to the store.  Last year at this time we were skiing but our hill has not even open yet and it does not look like we will get any snow for a while.  On the other hand the Boat got 6 ft of snow in this last storm, sweet.

 

I hope everyone is enjoying the weekend.

 

"Oh, the silent majesty of a winter's morn... the clean, cool chill of the holiday air... an idiot in his bathrobe, emptying a chemical toilet into my sewer... "

Santa at Station 12

 Santa and his helper.

 Just another view so you could see his boots.

The three of us.

 

Last night went well.  We had high wind warning but luckily they did not hit until this morning.  It was about 30 degrees and calm so the ride around town on top of the engine was pleasant.  We had a lot of people come out of their houses to wave at Santa and his elf but not very many showed up to the station for pictures and hot coco.  It is fun to see some of the kids come in and sprint across the bay with unbelievable excitement to give Santa a hug.  A couple of times I was not prepared and got "racked" and my nice elf just laughed at me.

 

Today we make an appearance at the ice arena.  It usually draws a lot of kids.  It should be fun going in circles for 2 hours.

 

Have a wonderful Sunday.

 

 

 “Okay, this is extremely important. Will you please tell Santa that instead of presents this year, I just want my family back?”

Getting Ready for Santa

Bridger has outgrown his outfit from last year, so Ginni sewed him a new one.  He seems to be excited to help out again this year.  His old babysitter, Kayla is going to be there with her girl so Bridger will get to reunite with her.

Saturday seems to have flown by.  I was on duty at the fire department and am home to get my Santa gear and head back in.  Bridger played all day, part of it with his dog in his room.  Ginni went to the gym this morning then shopping and then sewing.  I think she was the busiest out of all of us.

I hope everyone is enjoying Saturday.

"You're an angry elf!"

It Is Finals Time

 Just a nice picture of B and his Mommy.

Bridger at skate with Santa last year.

Can you tell it is finals time.  I have time during the day to blog.  I did have to get one more in because the total number of blogs after yesterday added up to a number that Ginni does not like.  It has to do with someone that the Church Lady on SNL talked about by rearranging the letters in Santa.

So, word has gotten out that I am a good Santa.  Now I have been asked to be Santa for the City during the skate with Santa.  I get to be pulled in circles on the ice for two hours, yeah.

It is almost the weekend again.  It is looking like it is Santa weekend.  Saturday for the fire station and then Sunday for the city.  Bridger will have fun.  I will let him be one of the people that pulls the sleigh.

This post was for yesterday but then Ginni already posted so I saved it for today.

I will add that Bridger had a hockey game last night and played great.  He got a goal and an assist but played even better defense.  He shocked one of the older players that tried to go around him to the goal.  Bridger slapped the puck away so hard that it ripped the kids stick from his hands and across the ice.  I was proud of him.

I hope everyone is staying calm with shopping traffic.

"We get one day a year to prove we're not screw-ups and what do we do? We screw it up."

(Arnold Movie)

St. Nicholas Day, December 6th

Traditions always fascinate me.  I had a patient tell me about St. Nicholas Day, which has come and gone already for December, yesterday.  I decided to use the internet and see what else I could learn about St. Nicholas Day.  The patient is  from German descent and was raised Catholic.  Her parents would use stockings to be set out on Dec 5th in anticipation of St Nicholas visit.  She said they would have apple, orange, nuts and peppermint sticks, along with a small present-if they had been good.  She said her brother got coal alot.  She said it was a way for children to know they better shape up their behaviors in time for Christmas if they really wanted something.



St. Nicholas Day, celebrated throughout Europe on December 6, is a holiday for children. Orthodox Christians celebrate the day on December 19. St. Nicholas, also known as Sinterklaas in Dutch, is where we get the name, Santa Claus. In France the day is celebrated in some regions with a donkey carrying gifts around the villages for the children. Grandparents tell stories of the saint, and bakeries and kitchens are full of the aroma of gingerbread and mannala (brioche). Children play games, sing songs, and create artwork and crafts to represent St. Nicholas.
In Italy, the saint is called. San. Nikola. The tradition in Italy is to give gifts on the Feast Day of San. Nikola to young brides who need help before getting married.
In some countries including Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands, St. Nicholas Day is celebrated on December 5. St. Nicholas fills the children’s boots with gifts and candies. If children had not been helpful during the year, a tree branch was left in their boots. The tradition of story telling, baking and sharing sweets, and gift giving remains the custom to celebrate St. Nicholas Day in many countries throughout the world, including Turkey, Greece, Lebanon, Palestine, Canada, and the United States. In the U.S., the tradition has been to put an empty shoe outside one’s house, bedroom or a stocking by the chimney on December 5 so that St. Nicholas can deliver gifts for
the children.

I might remember next year and create a little tradition in our home for December 6th.  Bridger would love it at this age.

12 days until Christmas!!!!

Happy 121212

 Just an older picture of Bridger climbing in Jackson.

It was movie night last night but we did not watch MIB 3.  I think Bridger is saving that one to watch with Grandpa Roger.

Tuesdays are the one night out of the week that we do not have activities.  It is starting to become our movie night.  Last night Bridger got the choice of going out to eat or staying in and having movie night.  He chose to stay in.  He then started to say which movie he wanted and then stopped and said, "we can watch whatever Mommy wants to watch."  Ginni picked up Brave and we watched it.

Bridger and Ginni were motivated this morning.  The got up and went to the athletic club to play racquetball.  The got home just as I was leaving so I did not hear how it went.  I hope everyone has a nice day.

"No, ma'am. We at the FBI do not have a sense of humor we're aware of."

Sick Day

 Bridger was excited about it snowing but today he felt like this.

It is that time of year again for Bridger to help Santa.

I got a call this morning that Bridger ended up going to work with Ginni.  He kept falling asleep when I would wake him this morning.  I guess it was because of illness.  Ginni said he slept for 2 1/2 hours at work this morning.  I wish I could have gotten away with that.  It is probably due to his sleepover on Saturday night.  We still have not figured out when he went to bed that night.

This weekend is the Santa weekend.  I guess we need to get out his elf suit and see if it still fits.  I hope everyone enjoyed the weekend.  Only 4 more days and we have another.

"Bueller?... Bueller?... Bueller?"

Hockey Pics

 Bridger's individual picture.

 His travel team.

His house team.

 

We have had a pretty quiet weekend.  We had Ginni's Christmas party last night and Bridger got invited to a sleepover.  Ginni and I got home and were in bed before 9, real party animals.

 

It is colder this weekend.  We made a dump run yesterday in the snow, did some shopping and then started decorating for Christmas.  We have not started outdoor decorations yet, maybe when it warms up a little.

 

Not much more here.  I hope everyone is enjoying the weekend.

 

I used this quote in my locker room speech before our last game in Denver.

 

"I'm sick and tired of hearing about what a great hockey team the Soviets have. Screw 'em. This is your time. Now go out there and take it."

Hockey in Denver

 Bridger waiting for his next shift.

In the hotel lobby with some of the boys eating pizza and watching football.

Bridger had a good weekend of hockey.  He played really well but no goals.  Part of that is because I had to use him on defense most of the weekend since his is one of the best blue liners (defensemen).  He had fun running around and swimming at the hotel with the other boys.

We had a nice weekend in Denver.  We both took Friday off since I had to stop in Cheyenne to take my EMT re-cert test.  We got back early evening yesterday to 60 mph winds, thank you Casper.

I hope everyone had a nice weekend.

"Would you rather spread manure, or play hockey in Madison Square Garden in front of 20,000 people?"