Crested Butte

Bill and I haven't been to Crested Butte for more than 8 years.  We wanted to visit as we approach our 10th anniversary, and bring the kids for the first time.  It is hard to believe it's been 10 years since we were joined here by almost 100 friends and family for our wedding.

Our neighbors Thao, Joey and their daughter Whitney joined the trip.  Thao and I took the kids as the husbands mountain biked on Saturday. We checked out the annual People's Fair on Elk St.  A lot has remained the same (how small the town is and surrounding nature), but many of the restaurants and shops have changed since we were last here (including our favorite waffles at Princess cafe).

We stayed at the Elevation hotel right the the base of the Mt. Crested Butte - great location and dog friendly.  Sasha was excite to come with us, but she is no longer young enough to run next to Bill for a full 10-mile bike ride.

On Sunday morning, we took the lift up and hike the remaining mile and 1,200 ft elevation gain to the summit.  Mason had a tummy ache and was cold, so he stopped with Thao and Whitney at a picnic shelter half way up.  Bill, Joey, Audrey and I went all the way to the Summit.  Audrey did great!  Other than being scared in certain rocky parts (only boulders on top, no hiking path), she was talking the whole time (I didn't have the lungs to respond).  As I sat down and asked "are we almost there?", she said "We are almost there, just keep going!"

Bill and Joey went out for another ride in the afternoon, as the rest of us recovered.

I had forgotten how much I love this town.  We hope it won't be another 8 years before we are back.

PS:  Sad note - Rachael Gardner planned our wedding 10 years ago.  Bill and I got to know her and her husband Steve, and through FB knew they had 2 boys (9 and 7).  I didn't see a lot of updates from her on FB, but would see the occasional picture of her and the boys.

I emailed her to let her know we were coming to visit. She responded right away, but let me know that Steve passed 2.5 years ago from terminal cancer at age 38.  They are well, but miss him.  That news left a hole in my heart.  Steve had Cholangiocarcinoma, liver bile duct cancer, and had already spread when he was diagnosed in late 2010/early 2011 - he passed that November.  In his memory, CB had an annual soccer youth tournament and the proceeds go towards local families going through cancer treatment.

Our time here is short - don't hold grudges, forgive quickly; live the life that will make you happy, don't worry about what others think and don't judge the way others choose to live.  

4-0

Work and school have been too busy and distracted me from the approaching day.  I didn't want to make a big deal of if, but did want to mark the milestone.

I remember my parents turning 40 when I was young and thought that to be old.  :)

Bill arranged a lovely dinner in a private room at my favorite restaurant these days (Root Down).  It was great to be with friends and hope to celebrate in a part 2 in Portland in October.

I was going to take my actual birthday (Monday) off, but had to go in for a couple of meetings.  I received flowers at work and my coworkers brought in champagne and OJ for mimosas and pastries. In the afternoon I went to yoga and had a great dinner with Bill, kids and my parents.

I also got many voicemails, cards and FB, where birthdays are celebrated in mass!  

So far, 40 feels the same.  In fact, that morning I woke up with 2 pimples, making me feel like a teenager again.  My midlife crisis has been to workout/run, so I'm better shape than when I entered my 30s!  

Kindergarten

Audrey had her first day of Kindergarten at Hulstrom on Wednesday.  So far, so good.  Hulstrom starts at 7:45 am, 45 minutes earlier than Broomfield Academy and in the opposite direction.  700+ kids being dropped off right next to one other Choice school (no bus) and another neighborhood school can make traffic challenging.  

We are super excited as Hulstrom ranked #4 on the list of 800+ elementary schools in Colorado.  Hopefully Mason will make the transition next year.

Audrey is in Mrs. Egging's class, one of the 3 kindergarten classes.  We keep hearing Mrs. Egging is tough, but kids love her.  We think she will be great for Audrey.  

Audrey was a little shy on the first day, but did great and had no tears.  We wish all the kids a great school year ahead!

First day of 2nd grade

Mason started 2nd grade (Mrs. Younger) at Broomfield Academy last Wednesday.

Getting ready for a new school year

A few days ago we heard Mason had a spot at Hulstrom.  Bill took him for a tour with the principal, and he like the school. But we decided that although it would be logistically easier, perhaps we should leave him at Broomfield Academy for one more year.  The main reasons were the 3rd change in schools, he is very happy at Broomfield and we wanted to make sure Hulstrom was a fit for Audrey before moving kids back and forth.  He will also have sibling priority next year and he will have time to adjust to the idea of a change.  If it works out, we may sign Mason up for Summer school at Hulstrom next year so he can go into the school year knowing some people.

After the decisions were made of where the kids will go, uniforms were bought and returned; school supplies were bought; and calendars have been updated.  Mason starts 2nd grade on 8/13 and Audrey Kindergarten on 8/20.

Mason wrapped up LEGO camp and extra hockey sessions this week, Audrey Rock & Swim at Lifetime Fitness.  

Is she your Mom?

If I have not blogged about how much I disliked Bill's old car, his Subaru WRX, let me do it now for the record.  Let me start with the positives, the WRX is a good car - all wheel drive for the CO climate and sporty and fast turbo engine for the money.  When we got it 10 years ago, before kids, it was adequate in size and a good vehicle for Bill who was driving to Boulder for work.  Now the negatives - it was inconvenient because I couldn't drive it (I can drive a stick shift poorly, and was too afraid to drive the turbo), so if we had to trade cars, I would have to take the 4 Runner (my dad's car now) and my dad would take the WRX; it looked like a teenager's car and I didn't like how loud it was; and once kids came, it was just too small of a car.  The straw that broke the camel's back was a month ago when Bill got a call from the Subaru dealership, interested in buying the car back (but of course, they wanted to sell us a new one).  She asked for me, because the WRX (to add insult to injury) was registered under my name because I negotiated the deal.  Bill told her I wasn't there, and once she said it was about the WRX, Bill said he was the driver.  As the person on the phone looked up my information, she asked Bill "oh, the car is under Cecilia Mao, is she your mom?".  Hahahaha....  Bill laughed out loud and said, "no, she is my wife", and the person on the phone was horrified "I'm so sorry, please don't tell her I said that", and Bill said "that's OK, we joke how it is a teenager's car, so she is going to thing that is funny".

During the last Subaru service, we heard that timing belts and other things needed to be serviced, I told Bill it was time to get a new car and it didn't make sense to put more money into his old one.  We had been talking about getting a new car for at least 2 years, but since we both worked from home, it made little sense and there was no urgency.  And we had done all the research exactly what we would get, a  BMW X5 1-3 years used.  We also didn't have much time to look and test drive, as in CO you cannot buy a car on Sundays.  But last weekend, only hours after Bill landed back from Jackson MS, I found the X5 we had been looking for (2012 X5 xDrive50i) at the Carmax near us.  It was trutly a pleasant experience - no haggle - and a fair trade price for the Subaru (not dependent on us buying a car from them).  And by that evening, we had a new occupant in our garage. 

Wild Animal Sanctuary

We went to the Wild Animal Sanctuary about 40 minutes from our house on the North/East side of Denver. It is a 720-acre sanctuary for animals like bears, tigers, lions, wolves and many other animals that has been rescued from different countries.  It was a great place to visit and learn about some of the rescue stories behind these animals (some circus animals and many mistreated).

Busy weeks and new school

It has been an extremely busy couple of weeks for both Bill and I at our respective jobs.  For me, we found an big issue with one of our vendors and in addition to my normal job, I been put in charge to get it resolved (internally and externally).  I am usually in before 8 and leave after 6, followed by emails way into the evenings and weekends.  For Bill, he has moved back to Lightreading as of August 1st, the company he started with over 12 years ago.  Lightreading was acquired by UBM a few years ago, but the found didn't like the direction and bought it back, taking a few employees with him (including Bill and his boss Chris).  Bill will continue to work from home and his job will change too much, but in these past months and weeks, he had to migrate all their systems to Lightreading before the separation on July 31st.

We are grateful to have my parents' help.  They have dropped off and picked up kids from camp, cooked us dinner, and done a lot around the house.  Without them, these 2 weeks would have been very difficult.

And it doesn't help that we are nearing the start of the school year.  Broomfield Academy starts on August 13th, so last Tuesday night, we filled out 2 registration packets, wrote the tuition checks, included all the necessary forms, and I bought both kids hundreds in uniforms for the school year.  On Wednesday morning, Bill turned in the paperwork.  And on Thursday, just as I was having my 6-hour marathon meeting with the vendor, I get a text from Bill that Audrey had been accepted at Hulstrom.

We have been on the wait list for Hulstrom, a GT (gifted and talented) choice school in our school district.  At this point, I had mentally been OK with sending both kids to private school through probably 8th grade.  But had concerns if the school was too small (too few students in middle school), not much in terms of team sports, and not as many clubs/activities to choose from. At the end of the day, we want the school that would the best fit for the kids, and we don't know where that is yet.  But, we have decided to accept Hulstrom for Audrey, since we can always go back to Broomfield Academy if that is not a fit, but we are unlikely to have the choice the other way.

Now that Audrey is in, Mason, who is still on the wait list move up with sibling priority.  He is not guaranteed a spot, but we are hopeful.  We don't want to manage schedules with the 2 different schools in opposite directions from our house.  But at the same time, we make both decisions with a heavy heart.  We love Broomfield Academy, the staff, the teachers, and the other families.  If Mason moves too, this would be his 3rd school in 3 years straight, and he leaves his best friend Matthew.  These are tough choices.

As we celebrated it finally being Friday night, we went to Scrumptious, a local ice cream and candy store in old town Arvada.  Bill saw candy he hasn't seen since he was a kid.  The ice cream was also delicious!

So, this weekend we completed another registration packet for Audrey, wrote new checks and once we receive the Gap uniforms, we will be returning all of them for Audrey.  We await news on Mason's status.

Uncle Al

Sadly, right after we got back from Atlanta, we found out that his uncle Al had passed away.  And no matter how busy life is, those are the moments we pause and reflect.  Bill joined his family at the funeral in Jackson Misssissippi.

We dedicate the rest of this blog to uncle Al.  I've only met and talked to him a couple of times, since his rarely came to he family functions I attended, because his wife has had COPD for many years and is unable to make long trips.  I wish I had known him better.  Here is uncle Al's obituary.

Dr. Alton Venson Hallum Jr.

 Dr. Alton Venson Hallum, Jr. passed away peacefully at UMMC on Monday morning, the 21st of July, 2014 with loving family members present. He was seventy-seven years young. A Requiem Eucharist will be celebrated at the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Jackson, Mississippi on Friday, July 25th at 1:00 PM with visitation in the parish hall beginning at noon. A memorial service will be held at a later date in Georgia. 

Alton Venson "Al" Hallum, Jr. was born December 20, 1936 as the second child and only son to Dr. Alton Venson "Pappy" Hallum, Sr. and Mrs. Helen Carroll Hallum of Atlanta, GA. An avid lover of the outdoors and of all sports, he was an Eagle Scout and attended Woodberry Forest School in Virginia, where he was a left-handed pitcher for the varsity baseball team. He was also a life-long fan of the Atlanta Braves, and loved attending games at Turner Field with his adoring wife of fifty-five years, Elaine Ward Hallum, and their grandchildren.

Al Hallum received both his undergraduate degree and his medical degree from Emory University in Atlanta. Following his residency program in Jacksonville, FL, he became a captain in the U.S. Air Force, and served as a physician and field surgeon in the Philippine Islands during the Vietnam conflict, often volunteering to fly with Medevac transports to retrieve wounded personnel. Upon his return to the U.S. following his honorable discharge from the military, he completed his training at Grady Memorial Hospital before embarking upon a lengthy and successful career as a well-renowned OB-GYN in the greater Atlanta Metro area. The medical care of expectant mothers and the joy of bringing new life into the world gave him a very deep and lasting sense of professional satisfaction.

Even greater than the rewards of his profession, Al Hallum enjoyed the fulfillment that came from his devotion to his family, with whom he loved to travel all across the nation he held so dear. Of particular appeal were trips out west to visit The Grand Canyon, to go on horse-packing trips in the "Big Sky Country" of Montana, and to attend hot-air balloon festivals in New Mexico. These journeys served not only to create enduring family memories, but also afforded Al the opportunity to pursue his passion for photography. His favorite subjects were naturally his loved ones and beautiful landscapes.

Al and Elaine Hallum retired to Big Canoe, GA in 1998 where they made numerous fun-loving friends, and became very active in their parish life at The Episcopal Church of the Holy Family. Even in retirement, Al continued to enjoy rounds of golf and card games with his buddies, and was always quick with a smile and a twinkle in his eye as he shared a good joke, most of which could not be printed in this column. With an intense desire to give back to his community, Al and a select group of friends embarked upon an endeavor to create a charitable medical facility to serve the surrounding areas of Pickens County, GA. Out of this ambition The Good Samaritan Health and Wellness Center was founded and continues to offer care to local patients. In December 2013, Al and Elaine relocated from Big Canoe to be nearer their daughter Holli and her family in Jackson, MS. They moved into The Blake at Flowood, where they quickly found a new group of good friends among fellow residents, staff and administrators. All of these diverse facets of Al Hallum's abundant life combine to form a legacy which his family, friends and loved-ones will cherish always. 

Alton Venson Hallum, Jr. was preceded in death by his parents, Dr. Alton Venson Hallum, Sr. and Mrs. Helen Carroll Hallum. He is survived by the love of his life and his wife of fifty-five years Elaine Ward Hallum; his sisters Sheron Hallum Williams (the late Ben Williams), Helen Hallum Graham (Jack), and Susan Hallum Trotter (Bill); his children Francine Ward Liles (Lee), Dr. Alton Venson "Hank" Hallum, III (Jenny), and Holli Hallum Roach (Dan); his grandchildren Molly Choate Carmichael (Lee), Justice Choate, Sam Hallum, Claire Hallum, Jacob Hallum, Patrick Roach (Marci), Andrew Roach, Madalyn Roach, and Alton Hallum "Jace" Roach; as well as numerous beloved nieces and nephews.