When first we launched our website and began blogging back in 2008, it was our goal to consistently post on a weekly basis. Up until late 2010 when we began experiencing computer problems that forced a blogging break, we stuck pretty much with this weekly posting schedule. But, after blogging for the better part of three years, we think some changes are in order....
In an effort to keep our content interesting and fresh, and to alleviate blogger burnout on Deb's part, we will no longer strive to post each and every week simply for the sake of posting. As soon as Deb figures out how to do it, we hope to reformat the site and change the way in which we organize/post to our blog so that locating specific posts will be easier.
In the interim, as we iron out the specifics of our new site / blog design, we thank you for following our ramblings and do hope you'll check back to follow our progress.
As always, we encourage visitors to sign our Guestbook.
Scott & Deb
You know the old adage in the entertainment business about not following behind pets and small children for fear of being upstaged? Well that's kinda how I've felt about blogging these past several weeks. After a very lengthy post detailing our exciting end-of-old-year / beginning-of-new-year activities, the first quarter of MMXI has been anti-climactic and not particularly blogworthy. Scott has traveled here and there while I've held down the fort in Littleton and engaged in the ordinary stuff of life.
Cassie's grandparents-in-law and I share the wealth in caring for Little Man Kota when Mama is at school and work. While spending time with a toddler may not make for exciting blog fodder, it is anything but boring!
When not watching the man's favorite TV shows and movies: Toy Story (Buzz, in particular), "Melmo" (Elmo of Sesame Street), Handy Manny, & Sponge Bob, we play...and we play...and we play. We're up the stairs, we're down the stairs. We sit on the floor with toys. Rousing games of hide-and-seek and chasing each other around the townhome are particular favorites that bring forth squeals of delight. By the time this little guy heads home, Nini is exhausted!
G-Dad treated Kota to some special playtime at Little Monkey Business on Friday evening. Afterwards it was dinner for 2 1/4 at G-Dad's favorite place for Mexican eats in Colorado--Brewery Bar III.
The last time we co-hosted a hangar movie with the Ziliks was back in August of last year (read about it here). After a bit of subtle prompting by friend/RV7 builder Ron Duren, we planned a last-minute get together for Saturday night. Nothing fancy this time around--just order-out pizza and munchies.
This may have been our best turn-out yet with 19 peeps in attendance. In addition to some of our "regulars," we were pleased to welcome several new friends into the fold. We spent the better part of an hour-and-a-half visiting, talking planes, and eating together before settling in screen side for the entertainment portion of our evening.
Master projectionist Scotty decided on Memphis Belle. While most of us have already seen this movie a time or two, it's one that just never gets old. Great flying scenes (actual not virtual) and a well-rounded cast make this flick a real crowd pleaser.
Thanks to everyone who came out, particularly our newbies and out-of-staters!
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Posted by Deb
| December 2010 - January 2011 |
Well ... it's been quite some time since last I blogged--mid November of 2010, to be exact. What began as a short computer-related respite has snowballed into months of virtual silence. My sieve-of-a-memory being what it is (or, more appropriately, what it is not), I'll do my best to hit the highlights in this post and then update last year's entries accordingly. (yeah, right)
Scott and I rang the new year in with a bang. I speak not of the stereotypical bang of fireworks and champagne corks but, rather, an all-expense-paid cruise to the Southern Caribbean, compliments of the company Scott works for!
E2PSI's Silver Celebration Cruise extravaganza commenced bright and early on the second day of the new year when nine employees and eight significant others were whisked away from the frosty front range of Denver, Colorado to the balmy isle of Puerto Rico.
We over-nighted at the San Juan Marriott Resort & Casino on Condado Beach.
Next afternoon, following an evening and morning of exploring the area surrounding the hotel, we were shuttled to the docks where we would board the
Celebrity Summit for six nights and five days of fun, fun, fun, and relaxation.
Company owners, Barry and John (pictured in the group photo above, front row left/right), spared no expense in procuring for their guests spacious concierge class staterooms, complete with balcony, on the Panorama Deck.
Lest you think the stateroom pictured above looks less than spacious, below is the room I shared with gal pal Carolyn during my first experience aboard ship back in 2008 (read about it
here).
While accommodations on that first cruise were quite adequate, having the extra living space and a private balcony from which to take in the views and eat breakfast each morning made this cruising experience just that much more enjoyable.
Between self-guided tours and organized excursions, we spent the better part of our days exploring the islands of St. Thomas, Antigua, St. Kitts, and St. Croix. What few daytime hours we spent on board were devoted to reading poolside, exploring the ship, sampling the endless food buffets, and being pampered in the spa.
A bronze likeness of Captain Jack Sparrow is but one of many life-sized pirate statues at
Blackbeard's Castle (not the type of castle I was anticipating) on St. Thomas.
The impressive
St. John's Cathedral (in the city of St. John's on the island of Antigua) is currently under restoration, but we got a good look at the outside from a couple of different angles.
While touring the coastline of St. Kitts aboard the
scenic narrow gauge railway, we observed a mix of natural beauty and abject poverty.
Pictured below is one of several pig farms dotting the otherwise beautiful coastal landscape.
Each evening, as the sun began sinking low on the horizon, our group donned their formal/semi-formal attire and prepared to gather in the dining room for a lovely meal and visit. On one such evening, after a snorkeling shore excursion at
Buck Island Reef National Monument, Scott indulged in a bit o' the bubbly on the veranda before dinner.
All but one of our five-course dinners were eaten in the main dining room. John and Barry also treated us to a particularly elegant meal at
The Normandie.
Everyone went their separate ways after dinner, sometimes meeting up with others from the group to take in a show, lose a little hard-earned cash in the casino, sit socializing on deck, or groove to the sounds of "live party bands." During an evening at the Rendezvous, Dan-O and Melissa were able to get a decent photo of the two of us--an occurrence that does not happen very often.
As with all good things, our New Year's cruise came to an end altogether too quickly; and before we knew it, we were on our way back to the Centennial State.
A wonderful time was had by all thanks to the generosity of John and Barry. Our sincere appreciation to them (and those involved in planning) for a most excellent start to a brand new year. It was an experience to remember!
* * *
As wonderfully as our 2011 had begun, a fun, old-fashioned family Christmas with kids and grandkids was equally enjoyable. Three generations of custom-made stockings hung on the mantle awaiting the fat man's arrival.
Stevie, Mio, Jade, and Logan drove 31 grueling hours (straight through) from Centreville, Maryland to Littleton, Colorado in order to spend the holiday with us.
We shopped, wrapped gifts, played games, sat around the dinner table, ate out, watched movies, reminisced, and simply took pleasure in one another's company. Many thanks to Stevie and Mio for doing the lion's share of the cooking during their visit; we enjoyed delicious dinners as well as many a gourmet breakfast and lunch.
Our two little men got on well in spite of their polar opposite personalities: If Logan were to be described as a calm breeze, Dakota would be more of a whirlwind. They were just too cute together.
Whereas my one-on-one time with Jade revolved around crafting, she and G-Dad spent their alone time in the skies over the front range. As a volunteer in the Young Eagles program, Scott has introduced about 20 kids to the world aloft. There is, however, something extra special about taking your grandkids up for their first taste of flight. As with all the eaglettes, Jade was given the opportunity to try her hand at aviating.
We celebrated Christmas Eve by eating way too much food and then settling in on the couch for a seasonal movie. This year it was Jim Carrey's animated version of A Christmas Carol.
Once we finished the flick and had the little ones nestled all snug in their beds, we held a last-minute wrapping party around the Christmas tree. Many hands made for light work, but mostly we just had fun.To our amazement, Scott ended up being the more "gifted" wrapper of the four.
Christmas morning was a fun free-for-all with wrapping paper and ribbon flying in all directions.
Even the grandchildren looked on with great anticipation as Bamama/Nina opened a little velvet box to find a pair of half-carat diamond earrings nestled inside! I have rarely been so completely surprised by a gift. While I knew hubby had gone out shopping for me, I never expected anything like this.
Scott gave me a pair of modest diamond earrings on one of our earliest Christmases together, and I have continued to wear those same treasured sparklies for close to 30 years now...but no more after this little upgrade.
When the gift-opening frenzy had subsided, the rest of our day revolved around food. We first enjoyed the delicious French toast casserole that Stevie and I had built and popped into the oven before heading downstairs for gifts. Early afternoon we had our traditional Christmas meal of Honey Baked Ham with all the trimmings. Cass, Tyler, and Kota weren't able to join us for dinner due to other family commitments, but the whole gang got together later that night for Chinese food, compliments of Dad.
Although we were certainly sad to see Stevie and Mio and Jade and Logan head back to Maryland the Monday after Christmas, we were so happy to have had them with us for nine wonderful nights and eight days. This was, without a doubt, one of the most memorable family Christmases hubby and I have had in quite some time.
* * *
Two weeks before the Christmas holiday, we spent a glorious week on the island of Kauai with our friends the Ziliks.
We had a 6:00 a.m. departure from DIA,with a lay-over in the land of fruits and nuts (also known as San Francisco). Arrangements for this trip were made early in 2010, so we had been eagerly anticipating it all year long.
We landed on
The Garden Isle early afternoon and were headed toward the Marriott Resort by 3:00ish. Our activities on arrival day were limited to logistical stuff, exploring the resort, and making tentative plans for the week.
While on island, we took advantage of resort amenities, reveled in the natural beauty that is Kauai, did a wee bit of hiking, enjoyed a sunset dinner cruise, observed ocean wildlife, toured a coffee plantation, and visited a historic lighthouse/wildlife refuge.
No vacation would be complete without a thorough sampling of local cuisine. The fact that Scott was able to procure last-minute dinner reservations at the extremely popular
Beach House Restaurant one evening was amazing in and of itself ...
... but what was even more amazing was the primo surf-side table they sat us at. We just could not believe our good fortune.
Across from Captain Andy's office (with whom we took our dinner cruise) is the original red-dirt shirt facility that was featured on Mike Rowe's Dirty Jobs: The Anti Clean episode. After purchasing a few authentic dirt shirts, Scott and Gary decided to get down and dirty themselves and took advantage of a rainy/muddy afternoon to dye the shirt on Scott's back While it didn't have the same depth of color as one of the "originals," it came out pretty good.
The guys hopped a flight over to Oahu one day to meet up and fly with a local RVator named Colby Jones While Scott was permitted to take the stick during he and Colby's one-hour flight around the island, he did not get the opportunity to make a landing as he had hoped in order to gain the prestigious distinction of having landed an RV in all 50 states. Oh well...maybe next year. ;-)
In the interest of getting this entry posted before next February, I'll leave it there....
