Winter Break 2.

We slept in till about 8am in Glenwood.
After that, it was washing up, packing up and hitting the road bound for our final destination. The trip from GS to Denver was very scenic. The Rockies really are spectacular to view. Best of all, you could see all the world-class ski areas from the highway.
And the HOUSES!!! Sheesh. Some folks have too much money.

Just before the big Eisenhower Tunnel was a little burg called Silverthorne. We stopped there for lunch at the Village Inn. It's kind of like a "Denny's."





Finally, we went through the Eisenhower Tunnel and onto the eastern faces of the Rockies. This thing's a monster! Over a mile long and with it's own ventilation system. No wonder it was so spooky in The Stand.





After a couple of hours on the road, we finally made it to our new home for the next week:










Our first stop was at the home of Lisa's Aunt and Uncle. They were great hosts, eager to offer a warm chair and a cold beer after the long trip. Whew!








It's always nice to unwind after an exceptionally long road trip.
I think everyone was glad to be out of the car.

But as usual with our monkeys; once they were loose, it was on with the shenanigans.




Vince took it upon himself to jump-test all of the beds.
What a guy.







Amy couldn't get enough of poor Shadow, the dog.
She was a little rough at first, so we had to find a fake dog for her to practice on.






Ha! Perfect. Amy loved this little statuette. She kept patting it and saying "Dog" and "Woof, woof." Too cute.







Having passed her doggy quals, Baby-girl was eager to get in there with the Real McCoy. I think Shadow still had some reservations about the vetting process.






After a quick dinner, we went out for a tour of the city lights.
The city was in full color.

This is the old electric company building.





This is the Denver Municipal Building.
It was coincidence that this year was Denver's 150 year anniversary. Wow. Ain't it pretty?






Here's the state capital. Can you believe that the whole area of the dome is gold-leafed?







Being a railroad family, it was only natural for us to drive past Union Station. I'm glad we did, too. Look at those lights!







Yeah, the lights were nice. But we were all very glad to get back to the hotel and into our pj's.

I'm sure glad that the drive's over. Now it's on with the vacation!

Winter Break!!!

I know what you're thinking....

Tom, where the heck have you been?
Well, the past semester has been a real drain on the home life.

First, I tried to make my penultimate undergrad semester as great as all my other ones. (Grad school reps are looking!)
Second, the double duty of schoolwork, grad apps and the GRE forced me to temporarily divorce Lisa and orphan the wilas until the deeds were done.

Now the winter break is finally here and the Fam and I are eagerly enjoying a beautiful trip to snow-covered Colorado. Yay.

First Stop:









The kids did great during the road trip from SLC. Sadly, Amy was positively mutinous by the time we reached GS. But once we pulled into the motel, little faces started to cheer up.

A Colorado winter is a beautiful thing to behold. Everything is pristine, clean and white. This is a shot from our room.







Here's a shot of the big spruce in the parking lot and the mountain in the background.








Lis and Amy were so glad to be off the road. Wrestling on the bed was a great way to doff some pent-up energy.







How "Grandma" can you get? She brought Christmas cookies from home!!! (Too bad the Broncos screwed the pooch that night, eh Mom?)






It's impossible to make a whistlestop in Glenwood Springs and not visit the hot springs pool. 37 degrees outside and 80 degrees in the water. Mmm, mmm, comfy.







Champ was digging it in a big way. He was splashing around and swimming underwater. He even jumped off the diving board a dozen times.






Amy on the other hand, could've lived without the trip. The pool was too big and the weather was too darn cold. She clung to Mama the whole time and facilitated our leaving early. (Phooey! Stupid ol' infants and their stupid ol' body heat problemsgrumblegrumble...)





Thankfully, my main man didn't blink an eye when I told him to get out. What a trooper.











Once we were washed up, we took a trip downtown to our favorite Italian restaurant, The Italian Underground!







The town was full of Christmas lights. so I tried my hand at some night shots...

I took this one as we were walking to the restaurant.









Just across the street was the Doc Holliday Tavern.
I'm especially proud of this image. (:3)







This little alley has so many memories for our family. Iwas happy to make another one.






Finally, we made it to the eatery. Because it was Sunday, there were no crowds or a waiting time. It was like hitting the jackpot.








After being tormented with a long car ride and potential hypothermia, we rewarded baby-girl with a hot plate of buttered spaghetti. Dig in, sweetie.





Well, from here it's on to Denver.
I'd like to thank my readers and apologize for falling off the face of the Earth these past few months. I'm sorry there have been so many unanswered e-mails and unreturned phone calls. But please rest assured that while my actions might not reflect it, y'all are in my heart and prayers.

Stay tuned, readers. There's more to come!

An Aftermath of New Opportunities!!!

Well, the GRE has come and gone.

Sadly, I didn't do as well as I had hoped.

But just like life, whenever one door closes another will open.

Inspiring, no? ;-)

Now, I am happy to announce that my new and improved Big Seven list is ready to be revealed!!!

And the winners are......

Ol' SHC! I could be a Paralegal!

UCMH! Great hands-on training!

Crazy Go Nuts University of Free Country, USA.

C,G,N....U! (Me?)

Mighty UP!

I could do it all from home!

Fightin' EGC! (Hey, it's close to the TRAX Station.)

Big DU-du.

Admissions process? Just open the door!

And the final bottom of the barrel potential grad school to I can apply to...

Brigham Young University!!!

(Yeah, I was pretty surprised too...;-)

In all seriousness....

While my GRE wasn't the best, I'll still be applying to my aforementioned grad programs and hoping that my academic record, letters of rec, personal statements and diverse background can highlight my potential.

Either way, here goes nothing.

GRE Day...

Dead...

Man...

Walking...

Three days and Counting...

Things are getting down to the wire.
I can't wait for this bloody test to be over with!


Actually, I could use the extra study time...

GRE Anxiety....

Man, I hate standardized tests.

The Big Seven...

OK. It's taken a while, but Lisa and I have finally whittled down the massive list of potential grad schools into seven prime candidates for application.

It's was quite the selection process, one that had two separate types of criteria.

On one hand, the hopeful grad schools had to have a great program that suited my study focus (International Relations or Political Geography).

And on the other hand, the places we moved to had to have dynamite autism resources for Vincent. Specifically, dynamite resources that didn't cost a mint. (I'm talking to you, CA and NY.)

Well, the list is in and the applications are going out.
(And yes, Eddie. They've all got great football teams. ;-)

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Big Seven:


The University of Utah: Salt Lake City, UT






The University of North Carolina: Chapel Hill, NC







Texas A&M University: College Station, TX








Ohio State University: Columbus, OH






The University of Georgia: Athens, GA




Princeton University: Princeton, NJ







Georgetown University: Washington, D.C.