We started the year hiking into the cabin and ended the year in comfort with a fully-electric snow plow. What an upgrade!
There was some work to do... a lot of pine needle cleanup and a bunk bed setup got us started, but the list went on and on. And on.
Also a fair amount of good ol' family hang out time
Maybe we'll try snowshoeing again next year?
In the summer we discovered the lake at the top of the mountain.
Our new electric side-by-side arrived and we found some wild roses by the creek.
Teaching important life lessons at an early age
Parties include family! Kelly's brother Mike visited in the spring and we hosted Thanksgiving with Nate's family.
Kayaks and paddle boards owned the summer when we had breaks, and the kids played baseball and soccer the rest of the time. Um, Kelly and friends, it's called a stand-up paddleboard. This is supposed to be the sports section!
Dono is also having fun on the mountain bike, loves climbing, and enjoys whatever other activities we can throw his way.
Nora is also quite the little climber, and she found an opportunity to try muttin bustin at Buffalo Bill Days.
Kelly and Dono have been hitting the 5k circuit too, and they completed a five MILE race in Salida after Thanksgiving (Dono was the youngest kid in the race!). Kelly also got back into horseback riding. She's learning a mix of trail riding and crip walking.
Dono is hiking Mirkwood (the continental divide) and sending it off the cornice at full speed, while Nora has chosen Picante over Ticaboo.
The city of Golden finished building a park in our back yard and the kids took full advantage for birthday parties and general afternoon fun. Nate found a perch with a hammock and a glass of wine (to keep tabs on them).
The kids did some kid stuff. Halloween, Christmas, and a random snow day igloo
And we found some time to go camping and hiking (away from the cabin)
After a good, long life, our dog Finn passed away in June. We were very sad but he had been struggling for a long time. Here he is in some of his better days of life.
We couldn't stay dogless for long. Kelly and the kids brought home our new mutt, Hoodoo, after the first meet-n-greet.
Nate approves (mostly). He's a menace most of the time but is all and all a good dog and the ladies seem to love his pink nose.
More kid stuff! The first day of school, each of them reciting a poem in front of a school audience, their science fair projects, and their performance of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at summer camp. Dono is in 4th grade and Nora is in 1st grade (Eleanor decided to switch back to "Nora" this year).
Nate's brother, Alex, got married to Anastasia. We are so happy to have her in the family and they are such a wonderful and happy couple. Congratulations to them both!
We enjoyed another friend's wedding and spent quite a few nights at Red Rocks concerts this summer.
And as for work, Nate is still developing solar tracking equipment at Array Technologies. He built this test site to measure the effects of wind on the large solar fields and will use the data to improve solar field reliability.
Kelly found a good reason to leave her old employer, FirstBank, and took a few months off to enjoy life. She is now working with a non-profit, the Community First Foundation, which helps to get charitable donations into the hands of many small organizations with minimal overhead costs.
If you've made it this far, you're a real friend! Please come join us for our cabin shenanigans, a ski trip, some camping, or whatever! Hit us up!