The kids are finally good enough to ski with only one parent! We had a great time skiing Eldora on a Friday. Smaller crowds, shorter lift lines and no school = awesome Colorado Day! The only thing better would have been if Dad took the day off to ski too...
We sure love having our Michigan family come visit us, especially if they come out to ski! It was so great to see Grandpa (who didn't ski LOL), Aunt Candy and Uncle John. Unfortunately, Joseph barely got to visit with them at all. He was super sick for the first 1/2 of their visit. We missed living room cardio workouts, Lillian's basketball game, a tour of Daddy's building, skiing and après skiing beers! Joseph's fitbit reported 0 steps on Saturday (his sickest day). Thank goodness his little body fought off this super flu bug and he was on the mend toward the end of their visit.
We had a blast, the kids enjoyed seeing how the "pros" play ball and the tickets were free...but the concessions were pricey! LOL
Droste was such a good family dog. His awesome, adventurous life ended pretty abruptly when the kids were born. He was the BEST hiking, snowshoeing and mountain companion. Nothing made him happier that seeing the leash brought out, or getting "invited" to jump in the car to go - anywhere. I hate to admit it, but when the kids were born, he suddenly took a back seat on our priority list. There was less room for him in the car, we hiked less often and certainly shorter distances. Now that the kids are 7 and 8 years old we're ramping up our outdoor adventures, but the last 6 months Droste hasn't been up for a walk around the block, let alone a hike in the woods.
Suddenly, last night Droste wouldn't lay down. He followed me around the house before bed (and even climbed upstairs when we took the kids up to bed). He was acting really strange, staring at the walls. When we woke up this morning, we found him behind the Christmas tree staring at the wall. He was happy to go outside but wouldn't come back in. As the sun began to rise, I found him lying in the mulch, carried him back inside, laid him on a blanket and took the kids to school. I called Grammy & Opa (who immediately drove over to say goodbye and support me). Their "2nd opinion" confirmed our suspicions. There was little chance Droste would ever walk again. I called the vet, they made a special appointment for us at 3:30 so the kids and Mike could go with me to put him down. Ten minutes after I hung up the phone, Droste passed peacefully all by himself. What a good boy! Even at the end, he made this difficult time a little easier for all of us. Lillian made a clay imprint of his paw as a momento and both kids pet him goodbye. I was really proud of how they both handled saying goodbye...
