Settling into Denver

Charlie and Opa Ice Skating

We returned to Denver at the end of January in time to celebrate Charlie's 4th birthday.  His party, complete with jungle decorations and a surprise visit by a gorilla, was quite the smash.

At the Broncos parade--all players, their families
 and cheerleaders, mascots, etc. rode on Fire Trucks so
 all could see them, or else all we would have seen
 was the back of this little boy

With all the excitement about the Broncos and the Super Bowl approaching, it was a fun time to return.  We defy anyone to spend any time here without loving the Broncos.

Charlie, "Bronco Bear" and the Blue Bull
 (though the Bronco's mascot is a horse, of course)

Guess what their colors are ?  We are avid fans and after the win, we even went to the welcome home parade, one of the more than one million to do so.

With Peyton Manning's retirement things are a bit up in the air, but everyone still looks forward to the new season.

Bryn and Charlie with us on a Zoo outing

Our Charlie time has been the focus of our lives here, proven by all the pictures in this blog: Ice Skating, Hanging Out Downtown, Going to the Zoo, Enjoying the Snow, Going to Playgrounds or just Picking him up at School.

Bryn and Grant on the slopes

Bat Man, need we say more?

We enjoy every minute.  He is at a really cute age and does something to give us a smile or make us laugh each time we are with him.

Of course it is wonderful to be with his parents, too.  One of our most fun times was a trip to the mountains for skiing.

Bryn and Larry on the slopes

Larry and Bryn skied, Grant snowboarded, and Sue and Charlie played together at the rented condo.



Charlie wore the Bat Man pajamas that Oma and Opa brought for him 24/7 the entire time we were there, proudly showing it to anyone who would exclaim over it (under his outer wear if outside).  He sauntered around Winter Park protecting all from the "bad guys".

Ashley Brown and Sue

We have also been gifted by visits from friends.  Our friend, Anita's, daughter, Ashley, from Portland, Oregon, and we even got to spend time with Anita herself.

She, Ashley, her son, Justin & family, and some of Justin's in-laws spent a week at Copper Ski Resort, so we traveled up the mountain to see them.  They are a sweet group and we loved being with them.

Tom Eshelmen with us both

Our friends, Jeanne and Tom, came for a conference and we were able to spend some quality time with them.

More with Tom, as it was Jeanne's conference--she is an Episcopal priest--and it was a church sponsored gathering.

A cock-eyed view of our favorite M.L.King Memorial
with Tom taken by a young girl in City Park

We were able to tour Tom around Denver a bit, something we have fun doing.  As can be seen from most of the pictures in this Blog, except for snow days, Denver is full of big blue skies and wonderful sunshine.  We are loving it here !

Spider Man unmasked at the "web" jungle gym
with Opa

Our day-to-day lives are pretty mundane.  We are getting used to our new "home"--a condo (on the 20th floor) in a high rise.

It is the first time either of us has lived in an apartment (as permanently as we live anywhere these days) since our college days.


Yes, it does feel small.  Thank goodness we have a very long vista view towards the Rocky Mountains from our balcony. Looking out gives us more of a feeling of space.

We're hoping no one plops a 60 story building between us and the mountains.  We fear this,  as every parking lot corner in the city seems to now have a huge hole, a crane, and some sort of high rise building going up.

70 degrees one afternoon and waking up to this
surprise the next morning

We are probably pretty typical retirees:  exercise a little, read a lot, eat too much, find entertainment at the movies or local performing arts center or by watching TV.

We tell ourselves we'll find some way to volunteer our time, but haven't yet.

We've been mightily entertained by this year's Presidential Election cycle.

Yet another Bat Man outfit, with friend, Oden at school

Who knows the outcome, but it has been a wild ride.

We have plans to tour some National Parks in CA and OR in May and visit friends in both places and then to fly east to visit Sue's family, as well as Erin and Johan in June.

At the zoo with his map which told us it was "28 miles" between exhibits

Other than that we are here until the travel bug bites for a longer trip somewhere.


We are always ready for visitors and have a second bedroom, empty, just waiting.  We hope to see whomever reads this, whenever !

Bat Man climbing Spider Man's web

No caption needed--he's on duty !!