a weekend in the spring

Like bears drawn out of their dark caves after a winter of hibernation seeking light and sustenance, so is the Attridge family drawn to the outdoors at the first sign of spring. Colorado has been very nice to us this year after one of the worst winters last year that I can recall. The daffodils are in bloom, the tulips are an inch out of the ground, and the willow and the aspen are competing for the award of first leaf in the yard this year.

Last weekend was the kind of weekend I could relive for a lifetime of weekends. We all went to a nine hole, par three golf course in Loveland. Paul golfed, Tim caddied, and Luke and I were cheerleaders. It's rekindled my desire to learn to play. Maybe Tim and I will take lessons together.


watching the action


smiles all around


putting


retrieving his ball


the ninth hole

No glorious weekend is truly glorious without a braai.


my mouth waters every time i see this photo


do i need to say anything?


raising tim properly (note lighter in his hand)


unlike tim, luke actually looks like he could become a rugby player


i'm not a white wine drinker, but the first days of spring make it so much better


luke agrees

The ultimate celebration of the return of warm weather has got to be a naked child in the back yard. We put a little water in Tim's old travel bath and he didn't take long to get into the spirit of things.


happy boy


naked boy


learning to wee standing up is much more fun than in the loo apparently


happy mom and naked boy

champagne pow pow

chilling in amy's flat

Mission Complete. I have made a convert of Paul. There's no business in snow business like Colorado business. I know. Everything about it is appealing... Okay, I'll stop being silly. However, Paul now will state to anyone who asks that the skiing conditions in the Rocky Mountains are beyond compare.


just to give you an idea of the kind of snow we're dealing with here

Thanks to my dear friend Amy, we spent a long weekend at her place in Steamboat Springs while she soaked up the sun in Mexico. She has a delicious two bed, two bath flat on the ski bus route. It's pretty kid friendly too. I love going there. She has the most amazing knives in her kitchen. I think I could cut my finger off and never feel it, they are that sharp. East Asian.

Paul worked on the Friday morning and we spent the afternoon making the drive. It's about three hours when the roads are perfect. The roads were not perfect, so we opted to take the longer route through Laramie, Wyoming. This meant we could avoid Cameron Pass. Unlike skiing in Breckenridge, Vail or Aspen, which are all accessed by I-70, Steamboat is a bit more difficult to reach. This makes it more precious because you don't run into a group of Texans in matching kit every time you get on the lift.

We left mild weather in Fort Collins and hit the snow and ice packed roads just north west of town when we left 287 for Highway 14, so we turned around and took 287 to Laramie and from there to Walden, the moose capital of the world. We didn't see any moose. From Walden, we just had one pass, Rabbit Ears, which was snow packed but almost no traffic, so it was slow, but easy driving.


can't say enough about how safe it feels to ride in this honda pilot


rabbit ears pass

the sun set just as we neared steamboat springs

The boys road for four hours with no more than a stop for me to wee and one to change Luke's nappy. That bodes well for our upcoming (in May) trip to California.

these guys know how to do a road trip

Paul skiied on the Saturday while the boys and I watched Amy's James Bond movie and Charlotte's Web along with climbing the 'mountains' in the neighborhood made from the snowplows. It was relatively warm but cold enough to make inside better than outside.


paul's self portrait, enjoying the slopes



to the top all by himself

We spent Sunday morning slowly packing and cleaning, then headed for home via Cameron Pass. The roads were clear and the sky blue, making a nice drive.


i spy with my little eye, something that begins with 's'. paul calls this the 'fargo' shot.

PS 'pow pow' is the local lingo for powder, the most desirable snow condition

rub a dub dub