Happy Holidays everyone! Hope your time with family and friends was grand. The Denver Units certainly had an amazing Christmas celebration --in 2 parts. First round was celebrated in Seattle with Matt, Janelle, John (and a pinch of Amy)! We had such fun and got in some great visiting and hugging. The second round was in DesMoines with Michelle, John, Sara and Lori. We did Christmas the traditional way with a church service and one Christmas gift on Christmas Eve (always PJs) followed by stockings and presents on Christmas morning. We feel so blessed to be able to share these special times with our kids, their spouses and grandgirls. We are looking forward the year 2010 and all it has to bring. Happy New Year to all!

Well we did it--We have moved into our new house. It was quite the adventure, but we did it! It will be well worth the effort of moving a gazillion boxes and rearranging furniture several times. Our house is just the right size and will accommodate several guests. We haven't hung too many things on the wall yet--we will wait awhile for that. We put a few snowmen out to celebrate the season and then on Saturday we are off to Seattle followed by some holiday celebrating in Des Moines. Life is so good. Happy Holidays everyone!

Well here we are in our 16' Budget truck! We drove it 1400 miles from Denver to Seattle loaded with boxes, furniture and assorted tools for the Weaver boys and their spouses. (We had a few extra items for the Hollimans as well.) The trip north was mostly incident free--although we had a few tense moments in the snowy "pass" just outside of Seattle. Strode did an amazing job of driving the entire way! It felt good to make the trip and deliver various items to our kids. The rest of the Thanksgiving week was very successful with lots of time with family and friends. Now this week we will look ahead to our move into our new home. It will be a very busy week with all the things that need to be done before our move, but it will be well worth the effort.

So here I (Judy) am--standing in our new kitchen. Strode and I drove by our house today and spent about an hour--checking it out. We measured drawers, admired our floor and generally inspected all the nooks and crannies. We are getting so close to our move-in date--very exciting. Next weekend we will be off to Seattle in our Budget truck--to spend a week in the Northwest and celebrate Thanksgiving and Matt's birthday. As we look outside right now, there are about 6-8 inches of snow on the ground. Winter is definitely here in Denver. We hope for a dry weekend for our travels at the end of the week. Life is good.

What a great week we have had. We have been watching the construction crew put some of the finishing touches on our new house. We are still aiming for a Dec. 5th move. The other good news this week is that the Houghtons in Des Moines are celebrating John passing the oral boards!! Congratulations to John. We know that John is an amazing doctor (not to mention-wonderful son-in-law). Strode is in Nevada for a couple of days, but will return in time for the Friday night Nuggets game. Life is good in Denver.

John's October Visit

What a wonderful weekend we have had with son John! It was great fun to have our youngest "cub" here in Denver for a couple of days. We had the perfect weather for his visit. We were able to get in quite a few activities and lots of hugs. The main event was the CU game on Saturday. And although the Buffs had a rough outing, we still had a good time. As you can see here in the photo, we also toured our new house as it is nearing completion. In about a month we will be making our move to our new "digs"! As you can see -fans, lights, flooring, painting and tile projects are complete. It was a treat to show it off to John. Lots of room for visitors!!

SNOW, SNOW, SNOW....in Colorado! This photo was taken this AM from our balcony at the Gem on Pearl. The weather report says that we could have as much as 2 feet of snow within the next 48 hours! The roads are pretty messy right now, but it is sure beautiful to look at and it is so QUIET! School was closed today and it may be closed tomorrow so it is a perfect day to update our blog and get a few things done. We are supposed to go to a Nuggets game tonight. We assume it is still on unless we hear otherwise. We hope that the weather report is accurate and that by Friday it will be clearing and warmer so son John can fly in to Denver without any hitches. We are expecting about 50 degree weather for the Buffs game on Saturday. So until next time...Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.....

Since Judy has been resting her left foot after a little toe repair work and Strode has been fighting his bi-annual sinus cold, we have been rehabbing by putting a 550 piece puzzle together. What a great way to relax and concentrate on some creative puzzle solving. Here is our big achievement all in one big piece. We really liked the subject and we highly recommend this activity to others!!

The house in the Arbors neighborhood is starting to look like a finished house. The landscaping is in both in the front and the back. We got inside this afternoon and the tile is just about done in both bathrooms, the granite counters on the kitchen island and the side bar are done and the tile around the fireplace looks really good. We have been given a December 4th close date so will be working toward that day (or the next) to have the movers and truck over at our old house to get all the furniture out of the basement.

Grandma Judy and Grandpa Strode spent a weekend in Des Moines with their favorite (and only) grandgirls. Of course, we were delighted to spend time with our favorite daughter, Michelle, and favorite son-in-law, John. It was a wonderful time laughing, playing and visiting with the Houghtons. Michelle and Mom got in some shopping, which is always fun. Michelle got in some scrapbook time with friends while Sara, Lori, Grandma and Grandpa ran through the mall stopping at Build-a-Bear and munching on yummy pretzel sticks.

Can you tell that this was an amazing day to walk/hike in Colorado? This was one of those perfect days to be outside. The weather was just over 70 degrees with a little breeze and the path had a few challenges, but manageable. We saw some interesting birds, new plants and trees along the way. Mostly we just enjoyed being together and savoring the sounds (lack of), the smells (pine trees) and sights of being outside in this glorious country.

Well Strode is back from his 36 hour trip to Indianapolis and a board meeting for the Association of Cancer Executives. Judy did a great job while he was gone and the movers made short work of getting all of our furniture down into the basement where it will stay until our new house is done. It is moving right along with all the stucco undercoat applied and all of the sheetrock up. Judy and Strode stopped by today and they were taping the seams and starting the finish work. We are all moved into our rental condo and slept here for the first time last night. We have set our land line phone number up as an "anywhere voice mail" so we can keep the number when we move in. We are still on track for a mid-December move in and are really enjoying watching it finish out.

Well here are Mom and Dad Weaver in Bend, Oregon! We had a great time over the Labor Day weekend with friends Dan and Mary Nelson. We met the Nelsons in Portland and drove to Bend. We stayed in a fun rental house that we found on VRBO. It was just right for us. We toured the area, did some hiking and ate lots of good food. Our favorite areas of interest were the lava beds. We hiked through some very interesting landscape and learned a lot along the way. Our trip to Oregon was a good break from all of the packing we have been doing over the last few weeks. Now we are ready to move into our little "Gem" on Pearl Street for the next 3 and a half months. Many adventures ahead...we will keep you posted.

The Extended Weaver Family in San Diego

Here we all are in San Diego in July. From the left, Matt and wife Janelle, John and wife Amy, Michelle and husband John with grandgirls Lori (5) and Sara (7), Judy and Strode. We did it all, swam every day in the pool at our vacation house, Sea World, Old Town, a Padres game, Wild Animal Park, the beach, and a water park. All of Mom's bear cubs within arm's reach for hugs any time she wanted. Doesn't get much better than that. Laughed a lot and played a couple of Tripoli games finishing with our traditional five card showdown hand for all the chips on the table (to declare the winner of the universe).

Our new home in the Arbors development is coming along at a steady pace. The windows and doors are in, the roofing went on yesterday and today, and electrical wires are dangling everywhere. We are almost done with all of our selections and approved a very nice patio landscaping plan just today. Judy and Strode have been biking over most evenings to view the progress.

It is raining cats and dogs outside today. Judy has already been to school and worked with her nine new student teachers. It is going to be an exciting year for her.

I failed to mention yesterday that Strode and Judy had a great weekend this past weekend. Friday, Saturday and Sunday included a dinner out at one of our favorite brew pubs--Lodo Bar and Grill, a concert at the Arvada Center --blue grass and Celtic music, and a run through the Golden Art festival, which is one of our favorites. Strode also likes the fact that he can stop for a beer or two at the "2nd largest brewery" in Golden! A great little place to stop and rest awhile.

Busy Days

The Units are currently up to their eyeballs in packing boxes! We are getting ready to make our big move in the near future. We, of course, sold our house and now we are building a new one not too far away. We will be in "temporary" housing for about four months while we wait for the construction of our new house to be complete. Fortunately, we found an amazing little condo near downtown Denver! We call it the "Gem on Pearl Street". In the meantime, we will keep packing, go to work and enjoy our beautiful Colorado.