50th Anniversary Celebration

The official day of celebration is here.  Not only are we celebrating Nancy and Bob's 50th anniversary, it's also Deb and Jack's 5th anniversary.  Funny how that worked out as when we were on our Hawaii trip celebrating my parent's 50th, we also celebrated Rosalie and The's anniversary too.

So, the morning consisted of a plan to meet at the River Run to go up on the gondola to the Round House restaurant, up on the mountain.  While waiting for folks to gather, we shopped, I took more pictures... Got more of my favorite shots of Connor!  Yeah, I am going to be exiled from him soon if I keep this up.

More family pictures.

Lunch at the Round House was very good.  I had a grilled salmon salad and Rick had a burger.  We spent a decent amount of time taking pictures and checking out the views.  Having spent almost a week on the resort, I can say that I am amazed at how much detail goes into an operation like this to have it well run.  Great job Tim!  My hats off to you!

Post lunch, we took the chair lifts to go up further on the mountain.  Amy was hesitant about going but in the end, she went.  I am glad that she went.  We had a good time walking around and yep, more photos. 

After a while, we headed down and back to the village.  Rick, Leslie, and Rich (Rick's uncle who came last night) headed out to the range to hit more balls.  Leslie has improved tremendously, just over the past few days.  She even was able to sail a majestic shot out there under the pressure of and audience from Steve (one of the men working on the course).  I am sure that Steve was much less impressed my be sailing my ball into his cart as he drives around the range, collecting the balls.  I must say, the fun of trying to hit the cart while they are out there never gets old.

After the range, we went back to the house.  There was a little more time before we had to get dressed for dinner so everyone went off to do their own thing.  Me, I worked to make sure all goes well for my quarter end.  Then, it's time to get dressed for the celebratory dinner.  Reservation is at 6:30 p.m. and we need to get there a little earlier for the family photo.  I took many many pictures.  Dinner was fabulous and everyone had a great time.  It's a rare occasion when you have all your family together to celebrate such a momentous occasion.  Tonight Bob and Nancy were surrounded by their family, engulfed in love and pride. Such a wonderful family, a true testament to the wonderful people that they are.  Me, I am truly lucky to be a part of  2 very great families.

 

Hanging Out at the Resort

We had no particular plans today so it was a whatever anyone wants to do day.  Me, I sit and sort my photos and post in the morning as well as did some work.  Rick went on a long walk with Nancy, Bob,Deb, and Connor.  Jay and Christopher went on a bike ride and Sandy and Amy went to the pool.

When they returned, we met up at the A la Mode ice cream shop so that Nancy can give Connor a milk shake.  There as a toy store next to the shop so when Jack and I walked up, he was trying to ride a little scooter.  He did pretty well.  Below are photos of him doing it on his own.

Then comes milkshake time.  A large Strawberry shake.  Oh boy did he enjoy it.  It may be coldie cold, and causes some shivering but whipped cream you say?  Bring it on!  One funny thing, when Connor is finished eating, he raises his hands and twirl them.  He also closes his eyes and shakes his head.  I was able to capture that... All done Grammy, all done.

In the afternoon we went to the River Run.  This is where skiers take the lifts or gondola up the hill.  The ski lodge was amazing!  This place spares no cost in their lodges.  I loved all the wood and stone fireplaces.  There was a shop across the way so of course, there was shopping to be done too! That said, 60% off a $1400 sweater is still a No, I can't buy that.

After the River Run, Rick and I took a drive to a summit point called Galena Peak.  What was amazing is that there was still now on the top of the mountain.  It was a nice drive although I will say, there was not that much to look at when we got there.

Once we returned, it was time to pack up and head over to Tim and Leslie's again.  Dinner tonight was Baked Rigatoni, Caesar salad, and Garlic bread.  I had bought a big aluminum pan to make the pasta and when it was baking in the oven, it looked like Costco food.  I have just thought of my next potential job, Costco food prep employee.  How I aspire to greater ambitions!

Soon after dinner, we all headed back.  Time for the kid to be put down and me to go back to work.

Trail Creek and a Snake

The morning started off slowly as usual.  The plan for us today was to play golf at Trail Creek with Leslie and Jack.  For me, the rest of the time was going to be just filler time until it's time to golf.

I spent a decent amount of the morning adding photos to my blog as well as working.  It's great that we bought me another camera cable so that I can see my pictures.

At around 11:30, we all gathered at the Konditerei to say goodbye to Michael, who had to go back to work.  So, we met in the village, took some more pictures and hung out there.

One thing that Connor does that I just love is to make pig sounds on command.  Below is a picture of him in his piggie action.  Debbie is not very appreciative of Rick and I giving him bad habits like these.  Another thing that he started to do today was say "nein" for no, which is German.  Hilarious, that kid.  Here are some pictures of the goofball.

Finally it was golfing time and we headed out.  We made sure that we had time on the range to warm up and to see what game I was bringing today.  I rode with Leslie and Jack rode with Rick.  Trail Creek was a very  fun course.  Mostly flat so that was very good for Leslie and I.  Leslie does not golf at all but she did great!  It just shows that coordination and a little course management is really all you need.  Me, I played my usual game, not great not horrible.  That said, I did par 2 holes, and one of them a par 5 so that was pretty good.  The greens rolled pretty true and not with a lot of break so I actually did decently on the putting side today.  All in all, it was a lot of fun just to get out there and play.  Jack also had not played in years and did not do too bad for someone who has not played.  All in all, we played nine holes in 2.5 hours.  That is within regulation.

Now comes the story of the snake.  I hit my ball into a creek.  Rick went to get it, as he often does when my ball goes astray.  On the way down, he saw a snake.  At that point, ball retrieval effort was over.  I told him that I can't believe that he didn't get my ball for me just because of a little snake.  His response was that he could buy me new balls but he was not going near the snake.  Yeah, he does not like reptiles... any kind of reptiles.

Back at the apartment, everyone was gathered and it was time for dinner.  The kids and Sandy, Jay and Leslie played UNO.  Very competitive, that bunch.  Dinner was pizza and Caesar salad, with watermelon for dessert.  I also had a rootbeer with my meal.  How many of my favorite foods can be in one meal?  Heaven!

Post dinner was back to work time.  Deb had a conference call and I had quarter end expenses to manage.  You can just never really leave work these days... That is unfortunate.  That said, I am sure a lot of it is me too.  But when you choose to go on vacation during the busiest time of your job, there has to be some give... I'm giving, I'm giving!

Thus the end of another day.  Interestingly, we have no plans tomorrow.  I wonder what we will end up doing?

Eating Our Way around SunValley.

We woke up fairly early and went walking around the village.  Along the way we took some pictures.  When we came back, most people were awake and making breakfast.  I must say, there is a lot of eating in SunValley.  Sandy said it perfectly, "It seems like we get food, eat, and get more food".

After breakfast, Debbi, Jack, Sandy, Rick, Connor and I took a walk into town to check it out.  Along the way, we saw some horses.  We went to a Starbucks and interestingly, it sells wine... I bet there are not too many Starbucks around that have wine for sale.  I was hoping to buy something that was SunValley related but no such luck, they only had standard Starbucks stuff.  We also passed a restaurant where I liked their maitre de.  Deb had a crush on him too.  We then went to Atkinson's market to get some wine for dinner and I also bought some cookies, for the long trek back to the apartment.  That kind of walking requires fortitude.

Once we were back in SunValley, the gang was meeting up for lunch.  Yep, more eating.  Leslie was around and while we waited for our seats, we did a little shopping.  She was nice enough to let us use her discount so that was great.  Rosie saved a lot of money! I think that Rick would argue that I saved any money... but we both appreciate the generosity of Tim and Leslie.

Post lunch, we went to the driving range to hit some balls.  The high altitude makes my ball flight majestic.  Not that I am very consistent  but when the ball take air, it did fly high and straight.  We are going to play tomorrow so I do hope that my bring my game.

After the range, we went back to shower and change out and then off to Tim and Lelie's for dinner.  Dinner was a plethora of food, Tri- tip, BBQ chicken, roasted potatoes, salad, peas, sauteed mushrooms and onions, sweet Hawaiian rolls, followed by pies and ice cream.  Tim and Leslie had a family friend and her kids (Marianne, Joe, Daniel, and Neil) over and we a good time visiting with them. 

Then came the time to bid goodnight at the end of another day.