For Your Protection

by Erica

Go to this link and enter your street address...it will show a "house" in the middle of the map, that's your house... all the little colored boxes are registered Sex Offenders... click on them and you get a, name, address & picture of the person along with his crime... pretty amazing and scary...it shows you where they live in proximity to your home and the local schools.

http://www.familywatchdog.us/

Wolf Creek Weekend

by Erica

Getaway weekends are the best. Thanks to Phil for a generous gift of a couple nights stay at a Bed and Breakfast and a day of skiing at Wolf Creek! Wolf Creek is known for getting the most snow in Colorado. Although they are about 100 inches behind this season, the powder was simply amazing. I put my pole in the snow and the snow covered all but the top. I can't imagine what their ususal 500 inches of snow is like. The sking was great. The 24 inches of snow before we got there certainly helped.









Pagosa Springs (where we stayed) is a beautiful 51/2 hour drive from Denver (7 1/2 hours if you would follow Mapquest's time scale). Jason and I kept saying, "look how beautiful that mountain is." I spent my time looking at the map and telling Jason every stream we just passed and the names for the mt. peaks. Although the map worked well, I think a GPS is next in line.Pagosa Springs is not a Vail or Aspen, rather, it is a small laid back mountain town that wishes to remain a town of mom and pop businesses. They did have a nice area where you could take a soak in the hot springs. $30 for us to basically sit in a hot tub was an option, instead we decided to take a quick jaunt down to New Mexico since I had never been there. We saw the border, took a picture and then headed back. New Mexico did prove to be the land of enchantmant.

Obsessed With Rubbermaid

by Erica

Confession: I am currently obsessed with putting things in Rubbermaid containers. It all started about a month ago when I decided that I didn't like the look of cardboard boxes. If it was in cardboard, I decided it needed to be in Rubbermaid. Here are my reasons for spending a lot of money on plastic:

Reason #1: Better protection from the elements. The elements being our cats
Reason #2: Rubbermaid looks better
Reason #3: Keeps the dust out
Reason #4: Sturdy and easily stackable
Reason #5: The Type A part of me of wanting the basement to look organized

There is a down side to this OCD behavior. Jason can't seem to find anything that he is looking for. Most of the time, I don't know where I put it either.

Sleigh Ride and Dinner

by Erica

What an absolutly perfect way to spend our first Valentines together. After a day of skiing at Copper we sat waiting for 'something' to arrive. I realized that I love surprises, but I couldn't stand not knowing what was about to happen. I looked out and saw 3 teams of draft horses pulling sleighs behind them. They were so beautiful. We hopped on, cuddled underneath some blankets and took a sleigh ride through the forrest. We ended at a miners tent for dinner. There was an old wood burning stove heating up the tent and singing in the background. The atmosphere was perfect.

Thank you baby, for such a wonderful and memorable day. I love you!

*NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND: The Football Version*

by Erica

ALL kids will be expected to have the same football skills at the same time even if they do not have the same conditions or opportunities to practice on their own. NO exceptions will be made for lack of interest in football, lack of a desire to perform athletically, or genetic abilities or disabilities of themselves or their parents. ALL KIDS WILL PLAY FOOTBALL AT A PROFICIENT LEVEL !

This will create a New Age of Sports where every school is expected to have the same level of talent and all teams will reach the same minimum goals. If no child gets ahead, then no child is left behind.

ALL teams must make the state playoffs and all MUST win the championship. If a team does not win the championship, they will be on probation until they are the champions, and coaches will be held accountable. If after two years they have not won the championship their footballs and equipment will be taken away UNTIL they do win the championship.
--Phil Rambikur

Skiing Junkies

by Erica

Skiing is something that I have always enjoyed doing, but part of me liked it because it is something Jason was into. However, the last few times I have been up have been so great that I want to go more often than just the weekends. The breathless views, the speed, the 350 inches of snow, the bumps...I love it all. My husband has taken me places on the mountain that I would have never imagined that I could ski. I still have a lot to learn and perfect but I am so happy that I found something I truly love to do.