Merry Christmas!

"Hello Friends!"

This was the greeting of little Ethan when we arrived in Green Bay, one of our two nephews (along with his brother Thomas) that live in Green Bay. Laura and I flew into Rochester (MN not NY) last Wed. night in time for the rockin' graduation of Laura's sister Janet on Thursday (followed by a delicious dinner paid for by Janet as is tradition). Janet graduated from nursing school on Thursday and will soon be the sugar-mamma for her husband Brandon (who still has a year and a half more of med school). On Friday, Janet, Brandon, Laura and I tried to recreate the magic of our journey from Denver to Rochester last Christmas by piling into their car and heading to Green Bay. We had a nice drive over there to visit Laura and Janet's brother Matt, his wife heidi and their two boys. We had a great time there and got to visit the illustrious home of the Green Bay Packers, Lambeau Field. Heidi was an excellent cook and Ethan and Thomas were very entertaining. Matt created a wonderful sign with our last name on it to hang in our home.

On Sunday, we left at 8 AM on what should be a relatively quick 5 hour drive back to Rochester. however, Mother Nature had other plans (ominous music here)... We ended up spending over EIGHT hours in the car together coming back. Between the slick roads, white-out conditions, pee breaks and Nate's consistent missing of exits ("they just looked like more snow patches"), it was pretty hard going. however, we made it back in time and in time for Brandon to get to his Dad's retirement party.
Kristen and Aaron (Kristen is another of Laura's plethora of sisters) drove over from Madison on Sunday night as well. We all stayed up playing MadGabs and other card games.

Monday was Christmas Eve. Nate did Pilates with Kristen and Aaron while Laura ran on the treadmill. Then, Nate, Laura, Kristen, Aaron and janet went to see a matinee of "I AM Legend" with Will Smith. I had been very, very excited for this movie and, I think somewhat unfortunately, swayed the group to go. The movie was much darker and scarier than I had anticipated. Not the kind of family feel good movie that one might choose for Christmas Eve! Oh well, unlike in the movie, we all survived.

The Christmas Eve church service was filled with hymn singing which I really like. It was also fun to be back at the same church where we had been married and where Janet and Brandon also got married in October.

after church, we went back and had fondue! Two pots of cheese fondue and two pots of meat fondue worked together to feed a really big group. The meat fondue was really a broth which is healthier than the peanut oil that we have used before. We will have to try that at home.

Then, the present opening began! Laura and I think that both Aaron and Carrie like the make-and-bake presents that we made for them - the green chocolate pretzel treats, the home-baked dog treats, the wine bottle/beer bottle candles, the jars of premixed hot cocoa and cookies. We got some great presents. An alarm clock / ipod player, a slide show with a new picture LCD displayer to show it on, hand-made glass etched candle holders, and a variety of fun stocking stuffers (which we might break into and eat shortly).

Christmas Day has also been filled with game playing and over-eating. Laura's mom Linda cooked a turkey for dinner with all of the fixings. Nate lost at spite-and-malice.

Now, right now, we have been dropped at the Rochester airport and are delayed going back to Denver (via Minneapolis). So, cross your fingers that we can get back to Denver tonight!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years

Christmas Letter 2007 - An incredible year of Firsts!!
• Our First year living in the same city!
• Our First year living in the same house!
• Our First year as a married couple!
• Our First duathalon together and Laura’s first Triathalon
• Laura’s First year working as a marketing manager.
• Nate’s First (and probably last) book
• Our First Blog (thepricelessblog.blogspot.com) – at the insistence of Janet!
Starting with the winter blizzards and Laura’s new job in January, the year was full of new adventures for us. Laura had just moved to Colorado, leaving her friends and family behind to live happily ever after in moderate-climate Colorado. However, just like the gold rush posters from the 1800’s that overpromised, weekly blizzards (for seven weeks in row! ) made Laura’s commute a nightmare and led to lots of comparisons of weather with Minnesota (which was actually nicer!). Luckily, as we moved towards spring, Laura learned to ski on beginning ski runs and then intermediate runs and had a more positive experience with the snow. Nate was happy to ski with such a cute ski bunny.
The spring was filled with wonderful celebrations. Laura had a great wedding shower in March in Minnesota! She then had a great wedding shower in Denver thrown by her boss. Nate had a bunch of guys play paintball for his bachelor party. Also, in the spring, Nate finally decided he was done with the novel he’s been working on forever and put it online so it could be printed out by friends and family. So far, 20 copies have been ordered (mostly by Laura and Nate’s Mom Karyl). Nate will probably not be able to retire on its success…this year.
The big day happened on May 27th in Rochester when we were hitched! Thanks to all of you that were able to make it and everyone who participated. It was a really fabulous and fun party. In July, we flew to Hawaii for our honeymoon – specifically, the island of Kauai. Nine days of island fun – swimming, touring, snorkeling, sleeping, relaxing and enjoying the green vistas and humidity. One of the real highlights was our surfing lesson which Laura did very well – except for the black eye!
The next big excitement was Laura’s sister Janet’s wedding to Brandon Verdoorn in Rochester in October. It was also a great fun party and another good opportunity to see everyone. Laura was the matron of honor while Nate was the honorary goofy dancing guy.
And so we end the year better than we started (married and no big blizzards so far). We enjoyed Thanksgiving with Nate’s parents and sister and are headed to MN and WI for Christmas. Laura is doing great at her new job with Cochlear and has almost reached her one year anniversary. Nate loves his job at the National Renewable Lab so much that he turned down another job offer (and a raise) in Denver last week.
So, to add to the firsts, this is our first family Christmas letter. We hope that it’s been good for you and we promise to get even wittier and funnier in the years ahead! We hope this letter finds you all to be happy and enjoying the holidays. Along with Sundance, we wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year’s!

Happy Birthday Janet!!!

We would like to wish a very, very happy birthday to Janet, Laura's sister!!! What a year! Getting married plus getting Nate as a great brother-in-law!! We wish you a year ahead full of happiness and adventure. We love you Janet. Looking forward to seeing you this month.

Fresh Powder!

Today was our first day on the slopes for the 2007-2008 ski season! There were blizzard conditions in the mountains yesterday, so we decided to head up early this morning for a few hours of skiing.

I was anxious to get out on the slopes to see if I maintained some of the skills I had learned last year, and of course Nate is always up for skiing! Plus, we both have new gear - new boots for Nate, new skis, poles, boots, and bindings for me. I'm excited to have my own skis. No more stopping to rent on the way to the slopes and dropping them off on the way back. One of the great things about living in Colorado is the pre-season ski sale called sniagrab (bargains spelled backwards) where you can get all geared up for about $300.

Anyhow, we got out of bed this morning at 6:30 and hit the road after throwing all our gear into the car and walking Sundance. Today we went to Keystone, which is where we spent most of our skiing time last year while I was learning. It was a beautiful day in the mountains. A little windy at the top, but clear and sunny. The views from the top of the mountain are worth the trip alone without the skiing.

The good news is that I was pretty much able to pick up where I left off today, so we skiied greens and blues. We did end up on one blue run where the tops of trees were poking through the snow and there was a lot of fresh powder. I've never skiied over tree tops that I can see before so this was interesting!

In other news, the Cochlear holiday party was last night. Nate and I put on our best duds and spent a few hours listening to a great band and enjoying wonderful food. We were hoping to win one of the prized they drew for, but no such luck. Next year we hope for the free plane tickets.

Anyone interested in visiting for a ski trip this year? So far we're looking forward to Aaron's visit and skiing with Jessica and Mike around New Years!