Audrey and I, as a gift from my folks, came to Snowmass for the weekend. For those of you who don't know, Snowmass is right outside of Aspen. It is a cool little resort town and we are staying at the Westin, which we found on Priceline for a killer deal. The hotel is so nice! For the price I was expecting something a lot more basic, but this place is beautiful.
We drove almost 5 hours to get here yesterday because of some bad construction traffic on I70. But we stopped in Vail for lunch and then pushed on through. I guess we were here by about 3:00.
Oh, I forgot to mention that we stopped at Denver Children's Hospital on the way to see Audrey friend Sorcha who has Cystic Fibrosis. She has been in there a week or 10 days. Audrey spent the night up there in the middle of last week and wanted to see her again before she discharges on Monday or Tuesday. So we got a little bit later start than I anticipated.But no big deal. THis is Audrey's 15th birthday trip and so she's the boss.
THe real reason for coming to Snowmass was to see if we could find Hunter S. Thompson's house. He was a famous and gifted writer that Audrey and I both love. He had a house in Woody Creek and that is right across the highway from where we are staying. So to start off we had dinner at the Woody Creek Tavern, which was his local hangout. And then using satellite imaging, we tracked down his home. The iPhone is amazing! I have to admit I got a little chill when we found it. To be at the place where so many wild adventures happened, so many stars visited and so many books and articles were written was pretty cool. I am usually not like that, but it was a a bit of a rush.
Got back to the hotel and Audrey went to the pool to finish her book after the mandatory jump on the bed. For as long as we have been coming to motels, AUdrey has always made it a practice to jump on the bed. Not sure why other then the fact that she can't do so at home so she takes advantage of her opportunity on the road. She cam back and took a shower before we headed to the bar for "second dinner."
Second Dinner is sort of a thing with our family. We tend to eat dinner early so by 10 or 11 everyone is hungry again. So we went down and ate a bite before turning in.
I am up early. There is a Starbucks downstairs so I am enjoying a Venti coffee and writing this post. Audrey is still sacked out--she may be for a while. We will make a leisurely departure whenever she gets up and will arrive back in the Springs sometime this afternoon. No hurry!
Joanne is at Kristen's cabin in Winter Park with Kristen's family and her mom. I talked to Joanne last night and she is doing really well. This is officially the longest period of time we have been apart since the stroke. Feels weird but I think it's good. Emma ont he other hand is with my folk and getting spoiled! They went to P.F. Chang's for dinner which is Emma's favorite and then to the Apple store where Emma acted as jr. sales rep and tried to get mom into an iPad and dad into a new iPhone. That kid knows and loves her Apple products.
Funny story: dad was trying to move some files around his iMac and the two of us were ahving a terrible time figuring out how to do it. Emma popped ina dn told us how to do it and I told her she was nuts; that it would never work. Well, we tried it and it worked! Major foot in mouth for me. That kid is Mac savvy!
I guess that's about it. We have a lot of school activities this week getting ready to start on the 19th. Can't believe the summer is almost over!
Toben
Toben- you are such awesome dad. So fun, understanding and in tune with your girls hearts. You are just who God created you to be for your wife and girls.
May God Bless You Mightily,
Linda In sunny Seattle
Posted by: Linda Hughes | August 11, 2013 at 11:38 AM
Toben, Jumping on hotel beds is a lot of fun. You should join in next time! Treasure up these times before the school routine starts.
Grace and Peace,
Kim Feth
Apex, NC
Posted by: Kim Feth | August 11, 2013 at 12:46 PM
Oh, how I miss Joanne and her sweet Mother! Tell them hello for me, please.
Posted by: kimberly | August 13, 2013 at 09:01 AM
I hope you all had a good day today. Our daughter started 5th grade last week. They sure do grow up fast. Many hugs to you all <3
Posted by: Sara G | August 19, 2013 at 08:48 PM
Hello Toben....I've been following these posts from the beginning. Unfortunately, we've never met you or Joanne, but my friend, Andrea Vidano told us when Joanne had the stroke and you two have been in our prayers. We're former FBCers...hence the connection with the Vidanos. At any rate, I've another friend that had a stroke awhile back and just wanted to connect you and Joanne to her blog. I'll bet that Joanne can relate to some of Jan's words.
http://1sugarbuzz2.wordpress.com/2013/08/21/brain-chatter-during-and-after-a-stroke/
Posted by: Lysa Barrell | August 22, 2013 at 08:48 AM
Hi Toben,
I was wondering if I could get in touch with you with a quick question. Do you think you could email me when you see this? Thanks so much, I hope to hear from you.
Take care,
Cameron
cameronvsj@gmail. com
Posted by: Cameron Von St. James | August 30, 2013 at 06:37 AM
Praying that God would lift you all up, and hold you close to His Heart. It's been a while. Hope everyone is well. {\0/}
Posted by: mannas7mom | September 17, 2013 at 04:40 PM
Just stopped in to say HI! Hope all is going great with your family. I was thinking about the girls and I am hoping they are enjoying all of their classes.
Take care and hope to hear how everyone is doing soon.
Posted by: Shawn | September 18, 2013 at 07:01 AM
hoping for an update from you all. Nance 9/23/13
Posted by: Nance | September 23, 2013 at 09:11 PM
Loved reading your blog and how your wife, kids and life were doing. Even prayed when you asked for prayers...Wish you would start it back up and let us all know how you are doing.
Posted by: Patty | October 05, 2013 at 10:07 PM
Toben, I've been reading for years, and I'm concerned because you haven't updated in almost two months! Please let us know what's going on!
Posted by: Susan | October 06, 2013 at 06:43 AM