The Aftermath of the Two-Minute Storm

Katy and I went to visit my parents and siblings Thursday evening of last week. Though the drive was uneventful, with the exception of Katy's excitement about seeing her grandparents and aunt and uncle, there was a surprise awaiting us when we arrived.

Turning into the subdivision where my parents live, it was hard not to notice that there were a large number of overturned trees on both sides of the street. Fortunately, they were mostly cleared out of the way, so that at least there was a navigable path. The weather was pleasant and there were so many, I almost wondered if there was some serious trimming being done by the city. Not so.

When I arrived at my parents, the first thing I did was drive my dad back to where he had to park his car, three blocks away. When I had called my mom to let her know we were on our way, she had mentioned that there was a crazy storm that lasted about two minutes, but I had no idea how much damage had really been done.

In my parents' backyard, at least three large branches had been torn from their trees and deposited on the ground and on my parents' shed. One was at least 2-3 feet in diameter and had previously lived directly above their house; the wind had bent it far enough that it didn't even come close to falling on their roof and landed mostly on the shed, instead.

Part of my plan while visiting my parents' had been to help them build a deck in their backyard. Well, we spent most of Friday chopping and moving trees, instead. What I learned was that the chainsaw is a lot of fun. For the amount of work we spent doing back there, I was surprised by the fun I had. At the end of the day, when we were done moving all the tree parts, we finally had time to work on the deck, at least for a little bit: we mixed cement and used it to hold the posts in position.

Since we were also there to celebrate my brother's and dad's birthdays, we spent most of Saturday just visiting, eating out, opening presents and eating cake and ice cream. Finally, around 6pm, I dragged my brother and dad outside so we could move the pea gravel that Mom had had delivered. Dave and I transported it from the driveway to the deck area with numerous trips with the wheelbarrow; for something so small, it was a considerable amount of work. Dad used a rake to spread the dumped gravel, which also was exhausting. Finally, we were able to move the wood to the back. We finished the day by dismantling the old wooden steps that are being replaced by the deck; we used crowbars and the back of the axe and it, too, was fun.

I left on Sunday, so there wasn't really time to try to work on it any more, then. However, at least all the heavy stuff was in the backyard so Mom and Dad didn't have to try to move it all themselves. Conveniently, the building where Dad works was hit by lightning and won't be cleared for use by the fire department for two weeks, so he should have plenty of time to finish the deck. I am looking forward to seeing it when it is done.

Return from Breckenridge

On Friday, January 25th, Kendra, Katy and I drove to Grand Rapids and took a flight to Denver. Thus began our Ski / Snowboard adventure. The flight was uneventful and we arrived safely. Kendra's mom, who lives in Denver, picked us up and we spent the night at her house. Katy was excited to sleep on the air mattress in her gram's room.

Saturday, after a easy paced morning and lunch out, we stopped at REI so I could grab a balaclava and some wrist guards. Then, I drove Kendra, Katy, Gram and I in Gram's Jeep the approximately two hours to Breckenridge. The mountain roads were clean enough, but I could tell there that it was a little intimidating for some in the car, so I tried to drive cautiously.

After a potty break the exit immediately prior to the one we wanted, we discovered that Breckenridge does not have the roads necessary to accommodate the number of people who visit weekly. While most of the drive there was quick, the final couple miles took forever due to crazy traffic circles and stagnant backups of vehicles.

That evening was spent unloading the cars and mostly taking it easy. I cannot recall what we did for dinner, but I believe I went to bed early.

Sunday, I was up at 6:00am (8:00 EST, so it really isn't that impressive.) Kendra, Grandpa Carl, Ann and I took Katy to her ski school around 8 and then I signed up for two full day snowboard classes. I waited around until 9:45 when the class started and spent the day learning the basics of snowboarding.

At lunch, I went most of the people from the class to the Quandry and had the burrito. It was yummy.

The next day, I had class with two of the people from the day before, and met one other new girl, Sara. The four of us did a good job and by the end of the second day, we were rated for blue trails.

Tuesday, it was very cold, so we didn't send Katy to class. However, I decided that I still wanted to go and got there around 10:30am. It actually warmed up and wasn't as bad as predicted, plus I was layered very well and it would have taken a lot to chill me (except for my toes!) While going down the trails myself, I bumped into Sara and her sister, Kate: we decided to hang out and try the trails together.

Wednesday, I went with Kendra and her family, but it was at this point that I realized that snowboarding non-stop every day was exhausting; I knew what I was supposed to be doing, but my body was too tired to do it. I ended up letting them go on ahead and took my time. After meeting them for lunch, Kendra and I hung out and went on the trails together for a little bit.

Thursday, I took a break, since I knew that I needed one. We walked around the town, had lunch and did some window shopping. I also bought some glove liners and some better socks. I also went and picked up Katy with Kendra; she had been on the mountain and was very good at stopping!

Friday, I took a final lesson and Katy did, too. We focused on technique, on carving, analyzing the grade of the hill and a couple of tricks. Katy went on the mountain again; the instructor told Kendra that she was very good at chained turns when following the instructor, but when she was tested, she would just go straight (which is about right for a four year old. ) Funny girl.

Saturday, we packed up and headed back to Denver. We met up at Gram's again and the rest of Kendra's family and had sandwiches. Gram's neighbors were excited to meet Katy, whom they had heard much about. Then, Kendra's family went off to the airport leaving only Gram along with Kendra, Katy and me. That evening, much to Katy's excitement, we dined at Red Robin.

Sunday, we went to the airport and flew home. We arrived in time to watch the Superbowl, disappointing as it was.

The trip was fun and I look forward to snowboarding locally. While I know that the experience will likely not be able to compare to mountain trails, I still think it will be a good time.

FAT Fest and the Turkey Experience

After a slower start than I wanted due to needing to run into work for a little bit, Katy and I made the Thanksgiving journey that so many Americans make this time of year. We only hit a little traffic on our trip on Wednesday afternoon and it took an extra hour to get from Kalamazoo to Grandma & Grandpa's house in Sterling Heights. She is amazingly patient and becoming such a big girl: at one point near the end of the trip, she told me she "had to go potty"; I asked her if she could hold it and she was able to make it all the way to her grandparents' without needing to stop.


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After a quick potty break, we went to Katy's favorite restaurant, Red Robin; she has a lot of food allergies, but we discovered that she can eat the fries and she discovered that she loves them. We played a little bit back at the house and then it was bedtime. David, Jenny and I ran off to David's house and played "Guitar Hero III" and watched "Flight of the Conchords" for the rest of the evening. A good time was had by all.

On Thanksgiving, Davey and I went back to the 'rents. We all had a good day playing with Katy, watching football (on DVR so we could skip commercials and the boring parts), eating and just generally enjoying one-another's company. After bedtime, once again, the three siblings went to Davey's place and played GHIII and several board games. The entire trip, I had been making good use of my new digital video camera, which I will write about in a later post. Some of the videos are pretty amusing.

On Black Friday, Jenny had to work (after the rush so it isn't too bad). David and his friends have been playing an annual game of football on the day after Thanksgiving for about eleven years now, and I decided to join them after my long hiatus. The game is called "FAT Fest", which I believe just stands for "Football After Thanksgiving". In the past, when we were young and stupid, it was full-contact tackle football; now that we are old and less stupid, it is flag. For the first time ever in FAT Fest history, another group of players also wanted to play on the field we were using. So, we ended up playing us vs. them. It was a little anxious, but it ended up being much closer than the feared blow out and we only lost by two scores (7 touchdowns to 5 touchdowns).

Now, the plan is to run out at 4 and catch the new movie, Hitman. It hasn't gotten very good reviews, but I like the game enough to watch it just to see a movie with my bro and dad. Afterwards, we'll likely have dinner (probably turkey, if I had to guess) and then hang out with David's friends who are in town and can stop by at his house to play.

Right now, the plan is to leave on Saturday after lunch, but Katy has been begging to stay until Sunday. I guess I'll just play it by ear. So far, it has been a non-stop fun time.