Jane Needs a Dog.

Meet Ralph. He's our year and a half old panda hamster. He's adorable and completely docile. He expects to be held, spoken to and pampered. Seriously. Kate named him after the mouse in the book, The Mouse & the Motorcycle. He is a completely and appropriately a little Ralph.

He does this when he notices the camera flash - climbs to the top of his cage and sticks his nose into the corners as if he's trying to smell what's going on.

Goofiest little creature on Earth. But, we love him. (Look at those tiny little hands!)

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Jane's Sacrifice

For the second time in her life, Jane chose to donate her hair to "Locks for Love." She donated her almost waist-length hair to this charity who accepts donations of long hair to construct wigs for women and children affected by cancer.

The last time she did this was in second grade over Winter break. When she returned to school she discovered that the librarian completed a course of chemotherapy which resulted in her loss of hair so she returned to school wearing a wig in a chin length page boy - an exact match in style, length and color of Jane's new haircut as a result of her donation. She referred to the librarian as her "hair twin" for the rest of the year.

Now, in fifth grade, she's just as excited.

And, looks so cute!

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As Jon Stewart Would Say...

enjoy your moment of Zen.

Last of the fall colors in the "high country" (ie, the mountains) - never fails to impress. Never.

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Wow - We've Got Some Catching Up To Do...

This is crazy. I can't believe how long it has been since we've updated this thing. Yes, life gets in the way of blogging.

So much has happened since the tornado...so here's the Cliff's Notes version:

Weekend after the tornado, Kate's friend Meri came to visit for a long weekend. We drove up to Red Feather Lakes to see the Stupa. Walking back to the car I twisted my ankle in a rain crevice. I heard it. The girls heard it. I broke my ankle - specifically, I snapped the tip of my fibula off. Not a huge deal because it's only marginally weight-bearing but a huge bother all the same. And, had to wear a big, ugly grey plastic boot for eight weeks. Chic.

Attended the National Peforming Arts Conference in Denver for a week. Wearing my gross boot. Had an amazing time meeting people from all around the country. Attended a few fascinating workshops and performances. Mostly had a hard time navigating the Convention Center's escalators - no one seemed to know where the elevators were situated. Downtown Denver was great. But it was nice to be back in Fort Collins by the end of the week.




David's friend Andy spent the summer working and playing in Fort Collins before he had to return to Ohio for the new school year at BGSU.

We brought Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra to town as the closing performance for the first jazz festival in Fort Collins. It sold out. It was amazing. They are incredible musicians and gentlemen. Saxophonist Walter Blanding was born in Cleveland where he lived until his family relocated to NYC. So that was pretty cool. Walter spoke to a group of star-struck student musicians studying jazz from town. Wynton was very soft-spoken but hysterically funny. I hope they come back when we open the amphitheater because it would be amazing in an open air venue and we wouldn't have to charge $85 a ticket.

Hosted a Peace Corps celebration the weekend before the Democratic National Convention. Not a sellout but was well-received. Highlights included Symphony for 1,000 Drums, an up-and-coming bluegrass act called Cadillac Sky and the Kingston Trio.

Jane started school at Putnam School of Science. She was a little worried about the "science" part but has really adapted well and is in the full swing of school. She's decided to become the valedictorian of 5th grade. Joe and I are both on board with that. She attended Eco-Week at Colorado State University's Pingree Park campus and returned a mountain-adventurer. They did a ropes course that included repelling, wall-climbing and a zip-line; hiked for miles in the mountains; camped out in cabins; journaled their scientific observations; and, learned approximately 7,000 camp songs. Not bad for a few days work. She came back with ten (or so) new best friends.

And, Halloween was a big deal at her school with a parade and classroom parties. Jane was Alice in Wonderland. [Check out the science teacher!]


Another Tour de Fat has come and gone. This time Kate and friends dressed as furry woodland creatures (skunk, squirrel, cat and yeti...don't ask) and rode in the parade. I received a text message from her mid-parade that said: "it's official. I love this place." She is also a reporter for the school daily news and finding her path as a writer and building her portfolio.

Jane's school had a skating party fund-raiser and it was the first time she had skated at a rink. Now she goes whenever we can work in an open skate - mostly with Kate and Kate's friends.

David is hard at work and still trying to decide what to study. He is sharing a house with a group of friends and learning to be self-sufficient. He has a nice group of friends - all quiet hardworking guys. A lot like Dave. He also rides his bike EVERYWHERE like a true Coloradoan.


This month we hosted a celebration of NASAs 50th anniversary with the Youth Orchestra of the Rockies, 4 astronauts, some of the 50,000 images taken from space, and a special viewing of In the Shadow of the Moon. Amazing documentary.

Our trivia team - the Creative Geniuses - won the 4th Annual Brainiac Bowl. That's right our motley team of artists, dancers, writers, marketing geniuses beat out tables of systems engineers from HP, surgeons, attorney, accountants, college professors, etc. Don't EVER doubt that the cultural arts makes you smarter...or that the wife of triv-guy will prevail. Our prize:


the coveted luminous brain trophy. (complete with pink and blue plasma action!)

And, house in Lakewood still not sold.

The Calm After the Storm

Morning after the tornadoes couldn't be more beautiful. Sunny, bright blue skies, everything is bright green following a day filled with so much rain and humidity and the temperatures are comfortable and crisp.

No indication or signs of the previous day's destruction.

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Tornadoes Hit Mid-Afternoon Today

Apparently, tornadoes are a rare occurence so close to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. In the "banana belt" where we live the really big storms that kick up in the high country (mountains) usually pass right over us at altitudes so high that we aren't affected.

Today, strange cloud activity combined with unusually high humidity for the region created the perfect conditions for SEVEN tornadoes. A few of which touched ground in Wellington (just north of us), Windsor (to the east of us on the other side of I-25) and Greeley (slightly to the south east of us and on the other side of I-25).

Lots of destruction, hail, rain and insane wind.

The tornado that passed through Windsor was estimated to be a mile wide.

The oddest part of the storm system experience was to see people in Old Town come outside to stare at the sky to watch and photograph cloud formations.

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'Ello Guv-nah!

So Governor Ritter was in town to sign the bill that guarantees the construction of our amphitheater - all 4,000 seats of amphitheater!

The most amazing part of this was how relaxed and informal our legislators were: governor, senators, representatives. All cool and approachable.

I had the opportunity to thank the Governor in person for supporting the tax increment financing extension. We had a lovely chat in the morning sunshine.

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