CHRISTMAS FUN W/ BRUCE & SHENNA

COZY NEW ROBE & HAT ON BACKWARDS

SMILES WITH SANTA

TEA TIME WITH NANCY

LOTTA & ANN TAKE 1ST & 2ND PLACE FOR SWEDEN!

Nov. 1st was the Ironman Florida race & also the 4th anniversary of Lotta's husbands death. She was determined to do the race for personal reasons but has no desire to do it again. Her friend Ann also did the race & they both did great. The water was flat & the weather perfect. This was the 1st race in 4 yrs where the worst injury was a broken finger & we all needed that. Ann said she smiled the whole day and Lotta spent 3 hours with a guy on the run talking to him and enjoying this new friend that sought her out to run (well, really to walk) with. Ann finished 1st & Lotta 2nd for Team Sweden. They did a great job representing their country (OK, so they were the only Swedes to compete.) The 2 people in red standing next to Heather Fuhr are Phil and Laurie from Atlanta. I recruited them to spend the day helping me with Amber and keeping track of Lotta and Ann. They wound up helping me for many hours at the Run Exit as we were short volunteers. They helped me from the swim to the finish line and I couldn't have managed the day without them. My friend Michelle from IMCDA also finished and we are all so proud of her! She is standing to the right of me in blue (Lotta is to my left). It was a special time spent with friends (new & old) and family and we now look forward to the holidays in the mountains.

FUN IN THE SUN

We really enjoyed ourselves while in FL. It was busy with the first week doing Ironman stuff, the 2nd hanging out with Lotta and her kids and her friend Ann and her family all from Sweden, and we stayed a 3rd week and spent time with my parents. We were able to see some friends that we wouldn't have otherwise which was nice. I got some great photos and video. Friday Ed's mom and sister arrive for a week to spend Thanksgiving with us. Ed is in currently in Arizona working the Ironman Arizona race and will be home on Tuesday. We've had unusually warm weather here but it is back to normal starting today.

ROUGH-HOUSING WITH PAPA

Although it is not ideal to have Amber think it's funny when she hits you and you yell "ouch" it came about when Ed hurt himself and she broke out into a huge belly laugh. She's been laughing ever since.

GOOD TIMES, GOOD TIMES

OFF TO PCB, FL TOMORROW

Hello everyone,
Tomorrow we head to Florida to work the Ironman Florida race which is Nov. 1st. You can watch it on http://www.ironmanlive.com

My friend Lotta from Sweden is doing the race on the 4 year anniversary of the death of her husband. He drowned while training to do this race and she strongly feels the need to do it despite me being opposed to it. It will be a long day until she is safely across that finish line (at roughly 11 pm she thinks). Please pray for her safety.

We are staying with her and her 2 kids 2 floors down from my parents condo. It ought to be fun for us all.

Will post photos as good ones are taken.

Ciao!
Julie

FRESH SNOW ON THE MOUNTAIN

AMBER TALKING ON THE BUNGEE CORD

A BEAUTIFUL FALL IN THE MOUNTAINS

HELLO EVERYONE,

HERE ARE A FEW PHOTOS FROM OUR LIVING ROOM WINDOW OR UP OUR STREET. IT IS HARD TO CAPTURE THE PANORAMIC BEAUTY HERE. FALL HAS BEEN GREAT AND WE ARE PRETTY MUCH SETTLED IN TO THE NEW HOUSE. COME VISIT!

WEDDING FUN IN MI

GOOD TIMES FROM MI!

BED TIME/ FUN TIME WITH DADDY

ANOTHER PHONE CALL

LONG WINDED PHONE CALL...

AMBER'S WALKING!

HELLO EVERYONE,
I AM LATE IN POSTING THIS BUT AMBER HAS BEEN WALKING STRONG FOR ABOUT 6 WEEKS NOW. I TOOK THIS VIDEO TODAY AT THE PARK. WE HOPE YOU ARE ALL HAVING A GREAT SUMMER!

MOVING, CLEANING, PAINTING...

HELLO EVERYONE,
LAST FRIDAY WE CLOSED ON THE HOUSE IN DIVIDE AND TOOK A LOAD OF THINGS WE DIDN'T NEED OVER THERE. THE PREVIOUS OWNER DIDN'T CLEAN SO WE HAVE A BIG JOB AHEAD OF US. THIS HOUSE WILL KEEP US BUSY FOR MANY YEARS BUT IT IS WORTH THE VIEW. THE NEIGHBORS ARE FRIENDLY AND LABS OF VERY COLOR SEEM TO BE THE DOG OF CHOICE HERE. OUR FRIEND BRIDGET HAS BEEN HERE SINCE THURSDAY HELPING US WATCH AMBER AND MOVE. SHE'S BEEN A HUGE HELP. ED ARRIVED IN HAWAII SUNDAY FOR HIS FIRST TIME THERE AND SAID IT WAS 90 AND TROPICAL. I AM GLAD HE HAS THIS OPPORTUNITY TO CHECK IT OUT. WE WILL HAVE A COMFORTABLE GUEST BEDROOM AND BATH AT THE NEW PLACE SO WE HOPE TO SEE MANY OF YOU IN THE FUTURE!

GOOD TIMES IN AMBER'S NEW "INDOOR" POOL

AN EXCITING TIME AT DINNER

WE'RE HOME AFTER 3 WEEKS IN MICHIGAN

HELLO EVERYONE, WE ARE BACK HOME AND SETTLING IN TO A BEAUTIFUL SUMMER IN COLORADO AFTER 3 RELAXING WEEKS IN MI. IT WAS GREAT TO SPEND TIME WITH FAMILY AND A FEW FRIENDS. AMBER SPENT TIME WITH HER COUSIN ISAAC WHO IS 6 WEEKS OLDER. SHE HAD A GREAT TIME PLAYING WITH ANOTHER CHILD FOR THE FIRST TIME ONE ON ONE. WE GO TO THE PARK HERE AND SWING WITH MY FRIENDS DAUGHTER WHO IS 6 DAYS YOUNGER BUT THAT ISN'T FACE TO FACE PLAY TIME. THEY WERE ADORABLE TOGETHER. AMBER LEARNED HOW TO GET PICKED ON BY A BIGGER KID THANKS TO COUSIN ISAAC. HE IS PICKED ON BY A BOY 6 MONTHS OLDER IN DAY CARE SO HE WAS PASSING ON HIS SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS KNOWLEDGE. MY PARENTS ARRIVED SAFELY HOME FROM FL AND WERE ABLE TO SEE US FOR A FEW DAYS BEFORE WE LEFT. ED WAS THRILLED TO HAVE HIS GIRLS HOME. AMBER IS ALMOST WALKING. SHE'S TAKEN UP TO 6 STEPS AT A TIME. ENJOY YOUR SUMMER AND LIVE YOUR LIFE!

A LAST MINUTE TRIP TO MI...

HELLO EVERYONE,

LAST WEEK I DECIDED TO GO TO MI TO ATTEND MY NEPHEW'S FIANCE'S BRIDAL SHOWER. IT WAS GOOD TIMING AS WE WILL CLOSE ON THE HOUSE IN DIVIDE, CO JULY 11 AND WILL BE BUSY MOVING AFTER THAT. WE CLOSED ON OUR FL HOUSE TODAY SO THAT IS ONE HOUSE SOLD, ONE MORE TO GO! WHAT A GREAT FEELING TO HAVE THAT BEHIND US. THE WEATHER HAS BEEN WARM AND MOSTLY SUNNY EXCEPT FOR A DAY AND NIGHT OF STORMS. THIS PHOTO IS OF MY NIECE ELISE AND AMBER JUST AFTER GETTING A BATH. HOW CUTE IS THIS!

WE HOPE EVERYONE IS HAVING A GREAT SUMMER!

STICKY B-DAY CAKE

AMBER'S FIRST B-DAY!

HELLO EVERYONE,
AMBER ENJOYED HER FIRST B-DAY. SHENNA SPENT THE DAY W/ US AND WE WENT OUT TO LUNCH, THEN TO A TOY STORE, ANOTHER STORE, A COFFEE PLACE, ON THE SWING IN A PARK, AND AFTER ALL OF THAT SHE HAD HER PIZZA PARTY. ALTHOUGH SHE WAS REALLY TIRED SHE WAS A TROOPER AND HAD FUN UNWRAPPING PRESENTS AND PLAYING W/ HER TOYS AND CARDS. SHE DID NOT ENJOY THE CAKE WE PUT IN FRONT OF HER THAT MUCH THOUGH. WE HAVE HAD SUCH A SPECIAL YEAR W/ HER AND LOOK FORWARD TO MANY MORE.