November News from Greg and Amy

Hello family,

November has flown by and it was filled with lots of fun with family and friends! My mom's birthday was November 1st and Amy and I had not told her that we rented a place in Salida so.....for her birthday we gave her a card that said, "your birthday present is a 24 hour trip to the mountains for food and music....." but we didn't tell her where. So the following weekend we picked her up and drove her to Salida....which didn't surprise her too much as she always hears us talking about Salida....but it was a BIG surprise when we opened the door to our little rental

and she saw our furniture inside! We gave her a tour of the house (which doesn't take long as it's only about 700 sq ft) and then we walked around town showing her the sights. In the evening, we walked (you can walk to everything in town) to a new restaurant in town....then walked to Bongo Billies Cafe for dessert and live music...then walked her home to the Gazebo Bed & Breakfast where we were putting her up for the night.

The next morning when we came to check her out....the owners said their was no charge....that having my mom stay with them over night was their Thanksgiving gift to us. We were all very touched by their generosity! After breakfast at our little rental...we walked along the Arkansas River, then home for lunch, then we walked back to the Salida Steam Plant which has been renovated into a small theater and we enjoyed a chamber music concert by the Walden Chamber Ensemble.

By that time the day was ending and we drove back to Denver. My mom told us over and over that she thoroughly enjoyed every minute of her 81st birthday present.

The following week was Thanksgiving and while the numbers at our table were small this year (Fritz, Estelle, Polly, and Amber) we all enjoyed sharing the day with family and the wonderful food traditionally served at Thanksgiving.



The last week of the month Amy and I managed to get back to Salida to soak in the hot springs, walk along around town, check out the snow conditions at Monarch Ski area (not enough snow now...but it was snowing hard while we were there), listen to music, and just relax and enjoy the slower pace of small town life.

Love to everyone in our extended families!!!

Greg and Amy

In mid-November a

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hey family,

Happy Thanksgiving! My mom just called saying "It feels like holiday already". Excited to relax, eat, bike, have some wine and of course - very exicted my parents and brother are coming out to visit this year! Below is a picture of our solo t-day last year!. It will be nice to have some help with all that food!

We'll post our menu on the food blog. Love to see what others are having too!

The week leading into thanksgiving is always very fun. Last year I spent the prior saturday night in the parking lot of Target waiting for the first release of the nintendo Wii. After waiting from 12:00 AM to 8:00 am with a bunch of 15 year olds we got our Wii! We then played Legend of Zelda all thanksgiving week which is exactly what we wanted to do. This past saturday we got the new Super Mario Galaxy. we love it! My brother and I have historically played Mario and Zelda during thanksgiving for years so the timing is quite perfect that Mario release coincides with his visit to South Bay!

Aside from video games we also kicked off the week with an amazing mountain bike ride with my buddy John Reeves at Corte de Madera Creek in Woodside. This is the home of the famous "Alice's Restaurant". We went to Alice's afterward for lunch.

Sunday we met our friend Cornelius for a sea kayaking trip and the Elkhorn Slough near Monterey. It was so fun! Unfortunately we had technical difficulties with the camera. We got to see Seals, Otters and the most impressive were the Pelicans. I could write a whole other posting about the pelicans and how it made me think of a quote from "Fahrenheigt 451" by Ray Bradbury. Maybe I'll come back to that later.

My point is - the week has been great so far and we're very exicted about the rest of it! Love to all!

Joey and Julie

HALLOWEEN IN PV

Familia,

Puerto Vallarta was Wonderful!

Joey tripled his arsenal of "Funny" stories during this trip.

He'll have to tell you the one about the Cab Driver and the word "Halloween".

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Memoirs of a Halloween Party

This is late - but wanted to post some pics of our halloween costume party a couple weeks back. Julie was a Geisha and I was a Midieval King. We were both going to be geishas but couldn't find a gown big enough for me.

Getting ready.

How the heck does this makeup work?

Piggy back clown and me.
Devil and a statue of Darth Maul. That Darth Maul mannequin was sweet.

Dancing Clone. This young man is a more energetic dancer than I will ever be.

Mrs. Incredible with her escort to the "Ichidiki tea house" (read the book)

October news from Greg and Amy

Hi everyone,

Amy and I love the fall and the changing of the season. Each day we watch the light change, the colors fading from the plants, and the heightened activity of the animals that prepare for the coming winter.

During the month of October Amy and I spent a week in Salida Colorado (our favorite mountain town).

Amy biking in Salida

fishing the Arkansas River

Listening to music at Bongo Billie's Cafe

Over the past 12 years Amy and I have spent so much time in the Salida area that on this trip....we decided it was time we rented a little place in town so we'd have a place to stay each time we go. We looked around and we found a perfect little house that has been divided into three rentals (upstairs, downstairs, and back) and we rented the downstairs! The place is small (one bedroom one bathroom) but soooooooo cute. We drove home, spent the next 24 hours deciding what we could take from our Parker house....and then went shopping for the rest. The next day we rented a U-Haul and moved the furniture (old and new) down to Salida. We then spent 24 hours scrubbing and cleaning.....and setting up house.

our little home away from home main room

There's still alittle more to do....but our new place is now liveable and we are very excited to show it....and share it.... with family.

Love to everyone,

Greg and Amy