Day Four: Ascending to 14,000 Feet

A plethora of photos from our trip to the top of the world (a.k.a. Pikes Peak, CO). Highly recommended to anyone visiting this great state, btw.



Above: Waiting for the cog train. Below: On the train.










We made it. Sitting on that train was hard work. But we made it.







Yeah. I put down the backpack for our cutest-ever-family-pic above (iPhone was inside, plus some granola bars) and then walked away. Didn't notice it was gone until we were re-boarding the train. I think the altitude made my brain quit working. Here I am running back to the train after recovering it....I run awesome at 14,000 feet.

And Kip saved the day by waiting in line to get 2 dozen of the "Famous High Altitude Donuts" for all of us to try. They were....uh....good?



Gratuitous Beebee shot.



Everyone was exhausted coming down off the mountain. EVERYONE. Dave gets the photo posted though.



Back to a mile high. This is how the older boys entertained themselves around the house. Racing Beebee's trikes down the hill. They could not look tougher.



So that was basically it, you gize. Do you feel like you were at the reunion with us? Thought so. That night Scott & Mignon had to leave to head back and the rest of the adults went out to eat again & left the kids at home for some more cousin bonding/free babysitting. Then Dave & fam headed out at 5am Sunday morning and Kip & Blondee flew back to Michigan.

::sigh:: Post reunion let-down set in Sunday afternoon during my nap.

You Asked, Now Landee Answers!

Thank you for writing in your deepest burning questions* to "Dear Landee." Before I get to posting the final day of Denver Reunion 2009, I shall proceed to answer....

Q: Where did everyone sleep during the reunion? PS You're a saint for putting this on. I admire the heck outta you.

A: Aw shucks, you're too kind. The sleeping arrangements actually turned out quite nicely. My parents stayed here in our guest room. My oldest bro, Dave, has six kids. They thought it would be best to just get a hotel as a) they are aware they have 6 kids and b) Dave is allergic to dogs. He can hang out in a house that has dogs for a while but wasn't too sure about sleeping there. Kim & fiance didn't come, as I explained, but if she had she was planning on getting a hotel as well as I cannot allow non-married couples to sleep in my home. (snicker) What would the kids say? Scott & Mignon and their 4 kids did stay here. S&M had the bunkbeds and their two boys slept on that floor. Their two girls slept in Beebee's bed. All my kids slept on our floor and loved it. Kip & Blondee stayed at Blondee's parents' house which is about 15 minutes away. It worked out perfectly! Our house was the "hub" of activity and then at night everyone went to their assigned places.

Q: Hosting your sibs is right up your alley btw. Can we get links to their blogs so we can read about it from the visitor perspective? PS Yours is my favorite blog, of course, but I'd love to see theirs too!

A: Sadly they have no blogs. Some are technologically retarded. Others don't want their identity stolen and others are too lazy. Being the family blogger 'tis a burden I have to bear.

Q: August 5th!!!! Seriously!!! That is way too early to go back to school!!! Is it year round or something? PS You are the prettiest person on Blogspot.

A: Not year-round, no. But it's called "modified traditional." We have a two week fall break and a two week spring break in addition to the usual days off. I would have loved an August 10 start date but Aug. 5th killed me.

Q: And how did your house fare? Any broken windows (Bil's house circa 1970 something) or food fights (Jim's house circa 1970 something)? PS You're my favorite niece. And if you were my daughter, you'd be my favorite daughter.

A: The house actually held up quite well! I was pleasantly surprised with the end result. We were always out & about doing things and when we were here the kids were "bonding" over video games (Wii) or watching movies at night. Plus, they are really good kids. No spazzes in the bunch.

Q: How much can you possibly fit into ONE day? Were there no naps involved for little ones? PS I want to come & visit ASAP.

A: Come any time you want! We'd love to have you! As for the answer, we could fit A LOT into one day. We only had three days, mind you. And I wanted it to be memorable. As for the naps, we don't really have any nap takers in the family right now. Kip's baby is only 3 mos. and she caught some shut-eye when she could and prefers sleeping in her mom's arms anyway. So it worked out great. Some toddlers dozed off during car rides from one place to another if needed.

Q: No Kimmie?? What kind of "family reunion" is this? PS These pictures make me want to move to Denver & live by you. That would make my life complete.

A: It was still an awesome reunion without Kimi, but not as awesome as it COULD have been. She deserves to be spanked for not coming. With a wooden spoon. Or even a whip.

Q: It's giving me a sunburn just looking at those sunburned little kiddies whatching a movie. How'd you get them to sit still for that? PS I love Crocs.

A: We slipped narcotics in their juice boxes.

Q: Where did everyone sleep is what I wanna know? PS Your life rocks.

A: I think we already addressed this one above. Geesh!

Q: And do you need Tony to send you something to stabilize those mood swings? PS I can't live another day until we reschedule my visit there!

A: Send me what you got.

Q: You have done it again! By that, I mean totally out done yourself as the best hostess ev! Your family is so lucky. Think we could book a family reunion for say...Denver next year? PS You're my favorite sis-in-law...and that includes Reid's side!

A: Heck yes! As we were doing all our activities I kept saying to Gty "Your family would love this. We gotta have your family come & do this too." Done & done!

Q: All those cousins look like each other. What's up with that? PS But your kids are the cutest.

A: Well, they are all related. It stands to reason some of them would look alike. Plus all kids look alike anyway. Char & Beebs could pass as siblings if we told people they were, don't you think? Throw some blonde hair on them & no one even questions it!

Q: Do you remember when we used to stay at Bil's, Jim's, Jack's? PS Those days were torturous.

A: No. The first reunion I can recall in my mind with clarity is the Monterrey Bay one. Hearst Castle, beach, Nick's sweaters around his shoulders, Annie's swimming suit filled with sand, etc.

Q: What I want to know is this--did your dad make home made fingers steaks while he was there? PS I wish Gty was one of my son-in-laws.

A: Sadly no. We didn't even think of it or else we probably would have. He made to-die-for-fall-off-the-bone ribs and pulled pork sandwiches (different nights, of course). Then we fed the kids pizza and sloppy joes for the two nights the adults went out. But now I want those so bad!! Thanks for the reminder.

*some questions may have been altered slightly to make more sense, take up more room and/or iterate the writer's true feelings.

Day Three: Ups & Downs

Day Three was a "relaxed, let's just hang out and have some fun together" kind of a day.

UP: The guys got up and went golfing at some ridiculously early time so they could fit 18 holes in before the wives got too angry with them. DOWN: The golf dudes didn't get back until about 1pm.

The rest of us just lollygagged around until 11:30am-ish when we all headed over to a pool I had "rented" for the afternoon.





UP: the stairs to the slide. DOWN: The slide.

It was a fast slide. It was a slide to be reckoned with. I didn't reckon with it, but all the grandkids did. You can see in that last pic there that my nephew, Sam, was prepared for all situations. I srsly think he could have gone deep sea diving in that get-up and would have been just fine. There was also some jumping off the diving board and lounging around involved that afternoon.




UP: Grammy & all her grandkids (I didn't want to say anything but she has way more grandkids than AV). DOWN: Due to the high elevation, there were several sunburns acquired that day.



UP: It was Tonya's 42nd birthday! DOWN: Didn't have 42 candles in the house. And NO, that is SO NOT the same cake we had gotten for their anniversary! I know it looks like we just got out the leftovers, turned it around so the good side would face the camera and stuffed some candles in it, but we so didn't. She deserves her own cake and that is exactly what she got.



UP: That cake was just as good as the first night. DOWN: Our plan was to get tickets for everyone for the Rockies game that evening. When Gty finally got around to looking into that (a few weeks before) he realized they were playing the Loser Cubs and for some reason the Loser Cubs have a crazy following. So yeah, game sold out. When he talked to the box office they said they would release more tickets 2.5 hours before the game started and to try back then. So the guys jumped in the van and headed downtown 2.5 hours before the game started only to find this atrocity was the line for the tickets.....and we needed 25 tickets.... yeah... it was a no-go.



Gosh I hate the Cubs. Any other team (besides the Yankees, I guess) and we could have walked in with ease. Oh well.... UP: We ended up staying home and, for those 12 and up, playing a super fun game (Loaded Questions--a must on the next SS trip, btw) while the littles did this (watched a movie)...



So yeah, a rollercoaster day. So much fun though. It all worked out for the best, as most things usually do.

Tomorrow? 14,110 feet baby.

Gravity Can Be Fun!: Day Two

So, after a good meal, socializing and a good night's rest, we headed out on Day Two to a little place near here called Heritage Square. It's basically a run-down small amusement park but do you know what they have? An ALPINE SLIDE! Gravity's roller coaster. It was a must-do and we must-did it.

Here are Elizabeth & Lexi (belonging to oldest bro Dave, for those of you who need me to label everyone) heading up on the chairlift.





And the whole group of us at the top. We are kind of clustered by families (well, except TBone) so you figure it out. You might wanna click on the picture to get a better look.


All lined up & ready to go. I think it's funny they make you show your ticket at the bottom AND at the top. I say, if someone hikes up that thing they deserve a free ride down. But I'm way nice and stuff.



Ttocs Nosppej ready to go.





After cruising down the mountain a couple of times we headed over to do some go-carting. This is where some family competitiveness reared its ugly head. Unfortunately SOME people had faster cars and there just isn't anything you can do about that.









Here is my dad after having just take over Dave to move into 2nd place (as indicated by his fingers, obviously).



He then set his eyes on poor Gty who never saw him coming. What is with the tongue??



Gty expressing his opinion on the matter.



Kip did what he could to keep my dad at bay (i.e. keeping him pinned against the wall) but it was no use. Dad's car was the fastest. Luckily he was super humble about it and stuff.



Here he is acting bored cuz it was so easy to pass everyone. Way humble.



There was then some mini-golf playing.



And some little rides taken (due to having leftover tickets). Gty never quite recovered from the Tilt-O-Whirl. He felt sick the rest of the night. JBird & Beebs were unfazed.



We then headed back, ordered pizza for the kids, left the big cousins in charge and went out for an "adults only" dinner at Hacienda Colorado. Goooood mexican food. Huuuuuge diet cokes that never get fully empty before another is placed before you. Fuuuuun conversations. My stomache ached at the end due to over-eating, over-drinking (soda) and laughing so hard.



LtoR: Tonya & Dave (my oldest bro & wife), Mom, Dad, Landee, Gty, Blondee & Kip (youngest bro & wife, pseudo names), Mignon & Scott (the middle bro, just older than me & wife).

You may have noticed Kim isn't there. She was ::ahem:: unable to attend. We missed her & her live-in boyfriend/finace RodTodd immensely and intensely. Maybe next time. ::saddy face::

Let's Break It Down...

I want to share with you all the fun we had at our recent family reunion held here in the great city of Denver, CO. I shall do this one day at a time so you get the full effect. It was the first official reunion my siblings have had and, if I may be so bold, it won't be the last. Sure we have the big reoon every other year with all my dad's siblings' families, but there is something special about just being with your own brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews.

We laughed. We teased. We made memories. We bonded. Plain & simple.

DAY ONE

First of all, when scheduling this reunion (I was the host, btw), I didn't even THINK to check my kids' school schedule. "There is no WAY my kids start school as early as August 5th," I thought to myself. "NO. WAY." So we scheduled the reunion to be from Aug. 5-8th. At some point I find myself looking at the school schedge and whaddayaknow? My kids start school on August 5th. Freakin A. Luckily everyone was driving in on the 5th and would be arriving around dinner time. So the boys got up and had a full day of school that day. They had half days the rest of the week so they could be involved in most of the family reunion activities.

Here are the two yahoos on their first days of 4th and 2nd grade. I think TBone's "2 Cool 4 School" tshirt was a nice touch. His teacher needs to know what she's in for early on. Foreshadowing, if you will. It's a classic literary device.

Everyone then arrived just before dinner time and the partying began. On the agenda for Day One?

1) Eat.

2) Hang Out With Cousins

3) Celebrate the fact that August 5th is Dave & Tonya's 20th Wedding Anniversary!

4) Get everyone settled in rooms/hotels.

So yeah, Day One went down in the record books as a success. Never before had a family been so well fed, hung out with cousins so much or celebrated an anniversary so much (that literally might have been the yummiest cake I've ever eaten).

Next up?

You guessed it. Day Two.

Family Reoon Live Blogging

We're on the cog train on our way to 14,115 feet. I hear they have
oxygen tanks up there. Notice the tshirts? A thing of beauty.

More Inspiring Before & Afters

You may have seen an earlier post of my cute Dad installing a garage door opener in our 3rd bay garage. My unabashed abuse of my poor Dad did not stop there. Oh no, no, no. Not by a long shot. It was a slippery slope which I enjoyed thoroughly. I now go in my garage, shed a tear and leave... hourly.

Why?

Cuz this is what it used to be:



A disgrace to garages everywhere.



Wasted space. Junk all over the floor.



Stuff thrown haphazardly hither and thither.



I would run out, grab a diet beverage from the fridge and run back in as soon as possible. Those days are over.....

Ladies & gentleman (that's you Markie!)... I now present The Landerson Garage 2009.



Room to run free and in VonTrapp type circles!



The walls being put to use just as they were intended! My dad didn't do ANYTHING if it wasn't attached to a stud. My favorite thing was every time he solidified a shelf or hook or whatever he'd wiggle it a little and say "That isn't going anywhere" all excited like. Hilarious.



My dad came up with some ingenious things such as how he hung this super annoying gigantic ladder we bought for unknown reasons long ago. It's not going anywhere, btw.

The best part....::cue angelic heavenly music::



BINS!



BINS!



BINS!

I know you wanted to see every angle. Have you ever seen anything so beautiful in your entire life? Did you see the LABELS? The labels!!! The ones that don't have labels are empty. Sheer joy, I'm telling ya.

Other "little projects" my dad has worked on:

Painted and hung a door on the boys' room (it didn't have one when we moved in)

Cleaned out our gas fireplace (I was unaware the glass part could come off and it was getting nasty in there... I was just planning on living with it... srsly)

Fixed a kitchen chair

Fixed some lighting issues in the basement

Taught me all about the nuances of Harbor Freight Tools


I think I need him to come by at least twice a month to fine tune the house. Gty & I are hopeless homeowners.

Thanks Dad for all your hard work! Now the family reunion starts tomorrow and you'll just be on cooking duty. Easy.