Becky Gets a New Tooth

Isn't it lovely? You may have never known this about me, but I had a chipped front tooth for as long as I can remember. It was patched and repatched and repatched again with ordinary filling material. The result was a really ugly, bumpy tooth that was a different color than my other teeth. When the bonding material fell off last month, the dentist talked me into crowning the whole tooth. I was hesitant at first, but am pleased with the outcome. It matches perfectly!

A Spontaneous Camping Trip

At 5:00 on Saturday, Steve called Heather & Rudy to see if they wanted to join us for an impromptu dinner. Instead, they turned the tables on us and asked us if we wanted to join them on a camping trip. By 5:30, we had the car packed, Steve had run to the grocery store, and were on the road heading toward the Uintahs. We quickly set up camp before the sun went down, cooked some hot dogs and beans over the fire, and enjoyed some conversation and beers before going to bed. The stars were awesome, but allergies (to who knows what) were terrible. The overnight temperature was so cold that Leo burrowed all the way to the bottom of a sleeping bag. The cold weather is a sign that winter will soon make its appearance in the mountains -- and you know what that means, ski season!

Altmans Visit - Steve Turns 41

Altmans came to SLC, September 4-11. We enjoyed dinners on our deck, thanks to our plentiful garden. We went for a sunset cruise on the Great Salt Lake with Steve's co-workers. We took a one-night vacation to celebrate Steve's 41st birthday and Harry & Carol's 51st wedding anniversary: The boys started the day with a round of golf. Carol and I met up with them in the afternoon for a round of cards on the patio. Zak & Tess, Kim & Nick, Rudy, and Nikki joined us for dinner at Snake Creek Grill, followed by plumcake and champagne at the Blue Boar Inn. The night at the Inn was a special treat. The five-course brunch in the morning was spectacular.

It was nice to see the Altmans, but also sad to see them go. Until next time ... November, when we come to Ohio for Thanksgiving.

Labor Day in Colorado

We just returned from a long weekend in Colorado. We went with the Zimmer's to the Jazz Aspen Snowmass music festival.

THURSDAY- Our intention was to get on the road early, but our inability to leave work ended up putting us right in the middle of rush hour traffic. We did not arrive to Grand Junction until 10pm. We stayed at a dumpy Holiday Inn, grabbed a beer from the minimart next door, played a round of scrabble in the Holidome, and enjoyed a good night sleep with no alarm clocks.

FRIDAY - After a mediocre breakfast at Pufferbelly's, we drove the last two hours to Aspen. We explored the town and shops there before checking into our condo. In the evening, we went to the opening night of the festival: Nickelcreek, followed by Ben Harper. Ben Harper was awesome, by far, my favorite performer of the festival.

SATURDAY - Another day without alarm clocks. We walked to a breakfast place in Snowmass Village, went grocery shopping for the evening's dinner (the groceries do not come cheap in Aspen), did a fairly easy hike in Maroon Bells, saw a bear walking down the street and through the grounds of the high school, and then enjoyed a dinner of steaks and scallops at home. Zak and Becky rocked in the scrabble tournament. Tess dominated in Boggle, as always. Steve and Zak traded money back and forth playing poker. The Zepp-tember radio show kept us entertained.

SUNDAY - A lazy morning. Around 3:00, we headed back to the festival: Leftover Salmon (a local Colorado band) started the day. Michael Franti and Spearhead followed with a high-energy set. The Allman Brothers ended the day with a guitar-heavy jam session. Crowded festival. Nice people. Good music. Good food.

MONDAY - Drove back home. We stopped at a terrible lunch place that served two cups of gravy on my plate. Yuck. All in all, Aspen is a pretty area, but the people are pretty pretentious. We had plenty of laughs throughout the whole weekend and learned that the Zimmer's are easy travel partners, despite their constant talk of their bathroom habits.