Saturday, October 30, 2010

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Burritos in Breckenridge

We took a short drive from Keystone to the beautiful ski village of Breckenridge.  Our goal: to rent some bikes and take Anthony on his first ever bike ride.  We weren't disappointed.

The gondolas weren't open yet, but they were running them to get ready for the season.  Everyone was hoping for snow!

We found the bike rental place and after a few short blocks were on a paved bike path that runs along the river and has a view of the mountains.

 Anthony safely buckled in. Daddy provided the horsepower.

Off we go!

Hey- Wait for me!

 After a short time, Anthony fell asleep.  The bike rental shop owner said that's usually what
happens.
On our trek, we encountered this little burrito and his friends.  Here I am terrified because a sign was posted saying "Horses and donkeys can kick and bite."

Paul insisted the sign was just for liability purposes.

 It was just a beautiful ride.  The return trip was a little harder on everyone because it was uphill and the sun was right in our eyes. There was crying the whole way back (us, not Anthony!).

We made it back to town and treated ourselves to ice cream and a walk around Main Street.

 
 Anthony seems to have picked up my irrational Donkey-o-phobia.



 All in all, a very fine day!

Village of the Damned!

A great horror classic from 1960.

A chilling allegory about our child-centric culture and the dehumanization of modern life.

"In the English village of Midwich, the blond-haired, glowing-eyed children of uncertain paternity prove to have frightening powers."


Also known as Anthony's Class Picture.
"Leave. Us. Alone."

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Keystone, Colorado

Mommy had a work conference to attend in Colorado, so Daddy and Anthony came along to keep her company.  It turned into a wonderful family vacation!  We took so many pictures there are too many for just one blog post, so we'll start with Keystone, where we stayed.

We knew it was going to be an exciting trip when we encountered a herd of buffalo on the way from the airport.

Our condo was at the Lakeside Village.  Those are the Rocky Mountains in the background.


There were lots of trails and a beautiful pond just walking distance from our place. 

We had a fireplace in our unit which, conveniently, was baby-proof!

The terrace was just perfect for fun time with Daddy.

It was "off season"- in between the summer and ski seasons, but lucky us were just in time to see the beautiful aspen trees at their peak (no- they don't grow sideways, but I can't figure out how to fix this).


We want to get one of these for our backyard- they're so pretty!

For most of our stay, we had beautiful, sunny weather going up to near 60 degrees during the day.  That meant it was important to make sure everyone wore plenty of sunblock!

Anthony let Daddy apply his sunblock with no fussing at all.

Later in the day it usually got colder, so we made sure to bundle up.

One of the store owners told us that there was a bear sighting right in the village the night before we arrived! She said he got into her garbage cans, and she even showed us his paw prints.

Sure enough, that afternoon we ran into the big fellow!  Anthony was a little tentative at first because he'd heard bears can be a little grouchy this time of year, right before hibernation time.
But after getting to know him, the two became fast friends.


Anthony is not only an avid outdoorsman...

...He can also hold his own at a cocktail party.  Here he is at the welcome party for the Oregon conference attendees at Nancy's condo.

Dressed like a proper academic in his corduroys.

One evening we had drinks and appetizers by the fireplace at the Keystone Lodge (again with the sideways!).  Check out that chandelier.

On the walk home we had this view of the full moon.

A true Portlandian, Anthony always enjoys sampling the ales at the local brew pub. 



And then on our last day, it SNOWED!  How cool is that?!


Whew- what fun! (and Mommy DID attend workshops at the conference, too- I swear!)

Next: Our adventures in Breckenridge and Frisco, including chapped cheeks and altitude adjustments- stay tuned!