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!

Glenwood Springs: Coming Home

Our trip back from Glenwood was as easy as could be.
We stopped frequently for bathroom breaks and there weren't too many crazies out on the road.

While I was sad to leave on the count of Vince, I've got to say it's good to be home. Now we'll start getting ready for our next trip, Yellowstone Park with Abuelita Zumbado!

Glenwood Springs: Day 4

Day 4 started off like the rest; continental breakfast and a morning dip.

Afterwards, the Fam and I took a nice walk around downtown Glenwood Springs.








It was the perfect day. Not too hot and not too cold.









Best of all, there were plenty of quirky landmarks that added to the local flavor.












Eventually, Vince insisted on showing Mom where he and his Grandpa had seen the train a couple days before.








Amy was really into it!













After lunch and a midday swim, Vince and I geared up and went for a scoot down the Roaring Fork rivertrail.








The day was still beautiful and the trail was long, paved and clean.












Take a look of some videos that I took along the way...


This one's a bit steadier....


Not bad for a guy taking pictures from a moving skateboard!












The scenery was great.









The river was fat from meltwater and roared right next to the trail. It made for quite a sight.








Vince really got a kick out of the weird little features and obstacles that made the trail unique. The underpass was a particular favorite.







Eventually, the trail crossed the Colorado River over this wooden bridge.








In fact, that very bridge spanned near the confluence of both the Roaring Fork and Colorado rivers. It's quite a sight watching them come together.







Anyhow, on the North shore of the Colorado was a city park.












It was the perfect place for a snack break!









After the break, we finally started making our way back into town.









As we skated in, Vince was treated to this great view of the hot springs pool.

You know what that meant....






Cool time, pool time!












I know it's sideways, but I really liked the footage and thought y'all would too!


And we can't forget Amy!

Glenwood Springs: Day 3

Day 3.
The Plan: Take it easy on the midday outdoor activity while simultaneously keeping the kids happy.
Impossible? Not really!

First we had breakfast right about the time the pool opened. (~0900)



We took an early morning dip after breakfast to get a swim in and keep the peace with Squirt.












Success! Vince was very receptive to a morning and late-afternoon swim. As far as he's concerned, any pool time is cool time.








He's getting a lot braver, too! He's confident enough to immerse himself and open his eyes underwater. In fact, one of our games was to duck below the surface and play "Oobi."







The water was perfect and best of all, it wasn't too hot!









On the way out, Squirt and I took in some of the quirkier sites around the pool. This is the "Drinking Spring," where people would pour themselves steaming, stinky cups of mineral water to cure their ails. Did I mention that the water is a piping-hot 122 degrees Fahrenheit?





This is the main spring, where the water bubbles up from the ground. The water from this geothermal giant is hot enough to cook a hot dog instantly.







After our morning dip, we said our good-bye's to Great-grandma Porch, who motored on back to Denver. It was really great to see Bea and Anne. I hope to see them soon.










About midday, the Fam and I took a trip to the St. Benedict's Trappist Monastery in Snowmass, CO.
These guys are the real McCoy. Vows of silence. Separated from the real world. Cloistered and closed-off. This is a view of the monastery from the only road that approaches it.





The only time these guys ever see anyone is on Sundays for mass.
This is the bell they ring to call the brothers to services.








Even though the place looks abandoned, everything is so neat and clean that you know there must be people nearby.








Before the main chapel is an antechamber where the monks sell some stuff for dough. Along with the books, there's pottery, woodcraft and bronzework pieces of religious art all made by the monks. Purchases are all made on the honor system.






Check out some of their signs...










Yikes. I guess I shouldn't have taken these pictures. ^_^;;;









Sensing that adventure was afoot, Amy suggested that we check out the private meditation alcove in the visitor chapel.








Eh, not too bad. The place was uber-clean, it smelled nice and there was some pretty music in the background.

But wait...










It turns out that the pretty music in the background was coming from a monk who was practicing on his recorder! Here's a shot of the elusive lad, jamming away on some inspiring Catholic hymns. (Exciting, no?)











Once that was done, we took in the beautiful view of the monastery's lonely little valley.







Pretty, isn't it?










But alas, it was back to civilization for us sinful types and on to another great eatery in Glenwood.













Amy really dug the mashed potatoes!

And while there aren't any pics of it, we all went back to the pool for an evening swim. This time, Amy was all play and cheer!

Day 3 ended successfully!