More Merry Christmas Pictures!

Merry Christmas 2007

Merry Christmas! It's quiet time at the Adams' house after an exciting and busy morning full of presents and fun. We had a wonderful Christmas morning with Nana, Aunt Sig, and Grampa Tom. Garret and Owen were so pleased that Santa remembered to stop at our house. Garret was into playing with all of his new toys, and Owen wanted to try on each new outfit and pair of pajamas. We've had lots of smiles and good times and we wish you the same!

Christmas Newsletter 2007

8 years running. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving in Colorado

Grammy and Papa arrived in Colorado on the Sunday afternoon before Thanksgiving. We had a weeks worth of activities planned. All of us were so excited to have them here for a visit. John and Brendan were going to lay tile in our remodeled master bathroom and Grammy and the boys were going to play, play, play.

Me - my goal was to not move. I came down with a nasty stomach bug on Wednesday and didn't really want anything to do with food until Sunday. I was so disappointed - we had planned a delicious Thanksgiving meal and I wanted desperately to enjoy it.

It started snowing on Tuesday night and we ended up with several inches much to the delight of Garret and Owen. They talked Grammy into going outside to play early on Wednesday, even though it was around 30 degrees. Owen lasted for about 15 minutes, and Garret and Grammy had to be dragged inside much later, just in time to go jump around at Monkey Bizness - our favorite bouncy place.

Me - I laid on the couch and slept!

Thursday morning came and it was time to get cooking. Barbara, John and Brendan went to work in the kitchen and had everything ready to go in the morning. They took the boys and Jameson on a long walk in Cherry Creek State Park. Jameson got to say hello to his prairie dog friends and the boys threw rocks into the stream.

We were ready to eat at about 5pm. Brendan and John were carving the turkey, we had the table set, and when I went to find Garret he was sound asleep on the couch! Happy Thanksgiving!

So these are the only pictures I got over the enitre week. I think Papa got some others. We ended up having a nice meal and a fabulous week. It seems like it went really fast and the kids are already asking when we will see Grammy and Papa again.

Papa and Brendan came down with the same stomach bug, and it slowed them down on Friday and Saturday. But they both managed to keep working on the tile. (pictures of the finshed project to come soon - maybe next weekend?)

We are so thankful for our family and we missed those who were not able to share the holiday with us.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Denver Marathon

So… it was hard. Not so much the 1st 20 miles, just the last 6. In fact, I cruised the first 20 under 8 minutes each – just as planned. I didn’t go out too fast. I felt great! Like a champ!

Then the wall happened. My last 6 miles were filled with tunnel vision, walking, random cramping, and a general light-headedness. I averaged 10:15 / mile and made it home in 3:43:14. Wow!

Not exactly what I wanted, but I suppose I am happy with it – especially given the relentless 40 degree rain that didn’t stop the entire day. My hands and wrists have officially thawed and I can say I’m better for having accomplished the race that has eluded me for so many years. Thanks to all for your encouragement and tips along the way!

Owen's 2nd Birthday Party

We celebrated Owen's 2nd Birthday on Sunday with a Construction themed party. Brendan organized a creative obstacle course that was done on the John Deere Gators. Owen loved his "Dirt Dessert" and opening presents. He took his time unwrapping, showing all of his new things to everyone. It was a fun afternoon with the Churchich's and the Taggart's. With the Rockies and Broncos on TV, everyone made quick departures by 2:00, and Owen was fast asleep by 2:15!

The Wild West Relay

So if you recall from my April 2nd post, I was going to complete a 195 mile relay race from Fort Collins to Steamboat Springs. Mission accomplished! This past weekend, team "Twelve for the Road" conquered the Wild West Relay in 29 hours 57 minutes. Not lightning speed, but not too shabby either. Check out the pictures!



In order from left to right:

1. Running the first leg @ 6:38 min/mile. 2. Loungin' prior to my second leg. 3. 1:00 am after 8.8 miles up 7% grade (1920' gain) on Medicine Bow Pass summit - elevation 9126'. 4. Part of the gang before my final leg. 5. My final ascent. 6. After the 5.5 mile summit up Rabbit Ears pass - elevation 9426'. 7. Continental Divide 8. Several teammates goofing off on the top of Rabbit Ears Pass.

Good Times!


"Twelve for the Road"

My First Fourteener

So I finally got around to hiking to the summit of one of Colorado's 58 peaks above 14,000 feet. Here I am between a couple of buddies (Juston and Nick) on the peak of Mt. Yale, Colorado's 21st highest peak at 14,196 ft. The highest peak is Mt. Elbert, at 14,433 feet. The climb had an elevation change of 4,200 feet over the course of 4 miles - 1050 vertical feet per mile - that's an average of just under 20% grade! No wonder my legs were tired.

The Mantle Is Complete

From the dirt in Sig's back yard in Pecos, New Mexico, to superstardom above my fireplace - this hunk of wood has made the journey. It truly is a cinderella story.

What a Weekend!

So last weekend I was gifted the opportunity (by Megan) to have the kids all to myself for the weekend. Meg ran away from home on Friday afternoon to Winter Park for a girl’s scrap booking extravaganza. Little did she know, she was heading toward a April blizzard and spent the entire time inside while the snow kept falling. Meanwhile, back at the homestead, I employed a "cooperation through exhaustion" philosophy. We hit everything hard. The rest of Friday was spent playing in the yard. Saturday, we woke up to mild drizzle and decided it would be a great day for the zoo. We were right. All of the animals were enjoying the cool weather (aka not lying in the dirt). Lions were roaring while their teenage cubs sprinted across the landscape and tackled one another, peacocks pranced freely around the grounds with full feathers on display, the cats paced in their cages hungry for lunch, and all other animals one finds at the zoo seemed to be out to show off (except the penguins and the polar bears - they were boring - too hot, I suppose). So, after 3 hours of zoo time, we headed to Heidi's Deli for lunch. On the way, Garret spotted the Museum of Nature and Science and thought it would be a good idea to go see the Dinosaurs. So we grabbed our sandwiches, ate at City Park (after I shook Owen awake from the car ride) and headed in to the Museum. We pushed our way through so that we could get out in time for naps, jumped in the car, and headed home. I drove around so that naps would last longer, then we spent the afternoon in the backyard again. Funny, the boys didn't make a peep at bedtime. Neither did I. Sunday was spent at Garret's swim lessons and doing things around the house. While the boys played, I somehow managed to paint a few walls, install outdoor speakers, cut some crown molding for the family room, clean, wash windows, mow the lawn, and have a few beers. Meg came home on Sunday night and we are back to normal. What a weekend!

Happy 4th Birthday Garret Quinn

We are celebrating Garret's birthday in Albuquerque this year. He had a birthday party with friends at Monkey Bizness before we left Colorado, then we had a little celebration on Easter with the Olson's, Falde's and Adams'. Today we took birthday pictures at Portrait Innovations, played at Umpa's house, and then we are off to Itz - an amped up Chucky Cheese. I'd say G's had a pretty good chance to celebrate his big day!

1 Year Anniversary

This weekend marked the one year anniversary of our move to Colorado. What a year it has been! There were houses bought and sold. We took many small adventures to Beaver Creek, Steamboat Springs, Copper Mountain, Keystone, and Breckenridge. We attended family and friend weddings (and a funeral - we love you Pops) & associated trips to Seattle, Sacramento, Baltimore/DC. There was white water rafting, skiing, alpine slides, fishing, hiking, snowshoeing, sledding, pro baseball, hockey, basketball, soccer, and football games... 4 more birthdays... We taught Garret to ride a bike, play soccer, and ski. We taught Owen how to walk. We were blessed with many visits from both family and friends (hope the arm is healing well, Tim) and have thousands of pictures to prove it. We are beginning the first of many home improvements. I ran the Denver 1/2 Marathon. I helped manage the construction of a 29 story condominium tower (we topped out the structure on Saturday - see picture below) and took multiple work trips to Oklahoma City, Minneapolis, and Phoenix. And there were a million other great things that happened throughout the year. Next year will prove to be even better - with more skiing, more home improvements, more athleticism (full marathon, 195 mile relay race, and hopefully a gym membership), and more wonderful adventures and experiences with the boys. As always, everyone is welcome to join us. Let us know!

Grammy and Papa visit us!!!!

We had some special visitors last weekend. Grammy and Papa blew through here for a 38 hour visit. Of course we managed to maximize every minute. Here are a few highlights.

Garret and Papa testing the cake batter

Grammy and Owen testing the frosting to make sure that it is yummy!

The boys blowing out the candles.

Our Trip to T.O.

Garret, Owen and I made our annual trip to California to visit Nana Kris over President's weekend. We went to the Santa Barbara Zoo, saw lots of friends and cousins, and played and played and played.

Phoenix Phun

Meg, Garret, and Owen went to Pheonix over the Martin Luther King long weekend in January. We visited Grandpa Randy, Great Grandma Mary, and Bugs. We also saw Shannon, Steph, Sanjog, Konnor and Hunter. We loved seeing the sun and we enjoyed the warm weather. It was a fun filled weekend.