Highlanders

Just your everyday sunrise

After a pretty dry November we finally started getting some snow this month. Evergreen gets most of its snow in the spring, but we have been getting a little bit to get us ready for cooler weather. (Of course, our “little bits” usually come 8-10 inches at a time.) The lake downtown is almost fully frozen – folks have been ice fishing for a few weeks and the lake opened for ice skating a few days ago. We still have quite a few icy spots and a lot of grime on the road, so the bike will likely be hanging on the wall more often than not for the next few months.

Downtown at Christmas

We kicked off the Christmas season in the Rockies with the downtown holiday walk. The whole town turned out for hot cider and cocoa, live music, reindeer, and Santa cruising main street on a vintage BMW motorcycle with his sidecar filled with toys. (Wish I’d caught a picture of that!) We hit all the local shops and ran into a few friends.

Ellie’s Pom squad competed for the state competition. Unfortunately Ellie is out of commission on injured reserve until January, so she wasn’t able to fully enjoy the process of winning the overall state title with her team. But she will be fully recovered and ready for February when her team competes for the national championship.

Ashten wrapped up her first session of rhythmic gymnastics. It’s been an interesting shift to a combination of floor gymnastics and dance, with a hard core coach imported from somewhere beyond the now rusted-out iron curtain. It’s probably taking more getting used to for me because it’s very different from the graceful athleticism of traditional gymnastics. But Ashten likes the flexibility and coordination that “rhythmic” requires, so we’re giving it a try for now.

Next week we’ll head back to OKC for a week or so of Christmastime with friends and family. We’re disappointed to miss our first Christmas in Colorado but at least we’re not expecting a white Christmas in the front range this year. Next year school’s in session until Christmas Eve, so Christmas is definitely in the Rockies next year!

Looking toward the New Year we will try and start hitting the slopes. It will be our first time on skis for more than a decade, and the first time for the girls. Ellie will be driving soon we we’ll be in the market for another vehicle. I’ve also been increasingly concerned about clipping a deer or an elk in the Bimmer, so I plan on retiring her to the garage for sunny and fair weather treatment and we’ll pick up another 4Runner. The one we have has been the perfect vehicle for Colorado, so we’re going to try and find another one just like the one we have now.

Next post will most likely be after Christmas. So until then, enjoy family and a little time off.