The Denver Georges

The Power of Social Media

2010-02-07T13:30:00.002-07:00

For those who scoff at the idea of using Twitter or cringe at signing up with Facebook, here's a story on the power of one tweet I sent on Dec 10th Here's the tweet...

"Won a free trip on @flyfrontier at a Rockies game, no date/location works for me to use it! Worthless promotion? Probably"

Here's the story. I participated in an on-field promotion with the Coloardo Rockies at the end of the season 'The Frontier Airlines flyball challenge'! Catch two fly balls, get a free roundtrip on Frontier. I caught the balls and won free RT ticket. The caveat was the need to book the ticket in certain class over the phone and the trip needed to be complete by August 2010. So my first attempt to use the ticket was on our family vacation to Disneyworld. No luck booking the ticket in early November for a January vacation. A month later I knew that I had three different trips coming up to try and use the ticket. San Fran, Minneapolis, and New Orleans. Frontier doesn't fly to New Orleans so that was out. San Fran was in February and Minneapolis in March. Two and Three months out for those places. Upon calling Frontier, I found that I couldn't use my ticket for either one of those destinations, even with flexible dates over a long weekend in both cases.

At that point, I figured I was out of luck, so I asked how I could file a complaint with Frontier. They transferred me, I submitted my complaint and was told there wasn't much that could really be done becasue the free ticket was restricted to a class that doesn't have many available seats.

I was frustrated because I couldn't look up availability on the web, had to work with someone over the phone and just keep guessing for a location and date that would work. Further I figured my phone complaint had fallen on deaf ears. So I sent my tweet!

Within 18 minutes @flyfrontier (Frontier Airlines) started a twitter conversation with me about how could they help resolve my situation. Several tweets back and forth and within 24 hours, they had booked a seat for me to San Francisco. The result is that Stephanie and I will have our first weekend away from the kids in just two weeks.

Simply, when you make a complaint directly to the company, there isn't always the incentive to respond. However, when you share you complaint/concern using social media the power of your network, connecting to the networks of your followers and friends, provides a powerful incentive to respond and handle the issue.

In this case, I was more than impressed with the speed and willingness of Frontier Airlines to respond to my situation. Thank you Frontier! Unfortunately my loyalty to Froniter is starting to slip. With a family of four, we always need to fly with bags. Until the baggage fees kicked in, I would always choose Frontier over other airlines. The direct tv is a big draw when travelling with kids. But with baggage fees there is an additional $120 cost when compared to flying with Southwest Airlines, plus the $16 to $24 in Direct TV costs. Sure you can purchase the Classic Fare, and my solution would be purchasing two seats in Classic and two in Econmony for only $80 more in most cases. Unfortunately, they don't let you book that way online so the entire family is on the same itintary. With only an $80 cost, I might make that choice, but over a $140 difference, I'm a Southwest Airlines guy when possible. Maybe someone at Frontier will read this blog and change how they do business, but I doubt it. (Hey my doubt worked last time!)

Master Bathroom - Nov 20th

2009-11-20T11:37:00.001-07:00

We are about halfway done with our Master Bathroom remodel. We are really excited about the tile in the shower!

Mud Room and Half Bath - Nov 20

2009-11-20T11:36:00.001-07:00

A short video of the changes to our mud room and half bath. The wall opposite of the shelving has magnetic primer and chalkboard paint for us to use. So we can hang the kids artwork and write notes on the wall with chalk! Pretty excited about the changes to this space.

Master Bathroom

2009-11-09T09:31:00.000-07:00

So a quick look at the before and now current vies of the master bathroom. We've moved the wall a little, removed a doorway and added a window. Most importantly, we are down to just one yellow toilet (yellow). The blue and green toilets are gone.

In addition, I've replaced almost every door in the upstairs. Gone are the doors stained dark brown or painted and in their place we have white six panel doors. The house is so much brighter!

This week I'm going to tackle painting the family room while work continues with our bathrooms.

Bathrooms Part 1

2009-11-09T09:26:00.000-07:00

So we are a little more than a week into the Bathroom remodels. The powder room is nearly complete, our bathroom is completely gutted and the kids bathroom has the old wallpaper removed.

The first photo is the powder room - gone is the asian wallpaper, the carpet, and pretty much everything else. The second photo is the mud room that is partially complete. Really just need the paint on it and we'll be done. The new floor is such a huge upgrade over the ugly carpet. We are also looking forward to the magnetic primer and chalkboard paint on the wall opposite the shelving.

The third photos is the kids bathroom which no longer is the ugly green color.

The last photo is the asian wallpaper that had been painted over in the master bathroom - though this was behind the toiler and not painted. The same stuff was in the powder room.

One Year

2009-10-22T10:45:00.002-06:00

Wow! Twelve months ago today, Steph and I were sitting in the recovery room with Mason as he had just had his partial biliary diversion surgery. Amazing the things that we have went through over the course of just 12 months. Last night Stephanie and I reflected on what has transpired. We have had four different stays at Children's Hospital along with three trips to their ER and countless doctors visits. We remodeled both kid's rooms, the kitchen, the living room, and the dining room. We traveled to Disneyland in February, Bumpa and Tete's cabin in the North Woods twice (April and Oct - where it rained way too much both times), Kyle and Sharon's wedding in Grand Junction and Breckenridge for a family summer vacation. We have the plans and the people ready to remodel all three of our bathrooms starting next week. I started a new job. Isla started going to ECE classes with Stephanie, Mason has blossomed in the Rainbow Fish room and become a star on the soccer field. We celebrated Isla's first birthday, had Mason's superhero birthday and we were finally able to have family over to our house for the High Holidays. Stephanie was able to take a vacation to Las Vegas, while I had my college buddies in town for our annual hockey weekend. All in all, I'm not sure how we have done it all, its been exhausting, fun, crazy, and stressful. But at the end of our discussion - we sure feel fortunate. We have wonderful family along with supportive family and friends to continue forward on our journey.

For those that are wondering. Mason is doing great. Everything from the second surgery seems to have worked the way we wanted. We are looking forward to having Stephanie's family to our house for Thanksgiving and my family to our house to celebrate Christmas. We are looking at vacation options for us as family in January and a special weekend away for Stephanie and I.

With that said, I think I need a nap. Have a great day!

Mason's 4th Birthday

2009-07-31T20:35:00.001-06:00

It’s been busy at the Denver Georges the past couple of weeks. Steph and I have tried to find a sectional couch for our family room and still haven't found the one that we love. Then we have been planning Mason's 4th Birthday and preparing for Mason's surgery next week to fix a small issue with his stoma. So by far the most fun was planning, preparing and hosting Mason's Superhero birthday party. Mason got to choose the theme and from there Steph and I borrowed ideas we found on the internet to have an interactive Superhero birthday party. The planning started with the invitations where we asked each of Mason's friends to let us know their favorite color. Needless to say from there, Steph and I had our work cut out, but as you can see in the pictures it paid off!The first picture is the sign on the door of the house when Mason's friend's entered. Needed: Superheroes to defeat the Birthday Bandit and recover the stolen treasure. We had the children hang out, play, eat snacks while we waited for everyone to arrive. Once the group was together, I asked who wanted to be a Superhero! All raised their hands and yelled me! So I pulled out t-shirts that Steph and I had designed. Each had the kids initial in their favorite color. From there I said we had to defeat the birthday bandit! The first step was going in the front yard to pop the balloons the birthday bandit had left behind. Once that task was complete each kid received their superhero wrist bands made of foamy paper and Velcro.

Next step, each kid had to go through the superhero obstacle course. They went down the slide, through a tunnel, around the cones and hopped in and out of the hula hoops on the ground. After 3 or 4 times through the course, each kid got a red cape with their initial on the back. Now the birthday bandit had left green and red kryptonite in the yard and the kids used a spoon or tongs to pick up the kryptonite and deposit it safely in a metal bucket. Upon completion each kid got their own superhero mask in made out of the foam paper in their favorite color. The picture with their arms raised is just after they completed the training.

But they still had to find the stolen treasure. So as the kids roamed the back yard, I lowered the treasure chest piñata from the tree and they rushed to see it coming down. The kids got to take whacks at it with a bat and finally it opened up with the treasure the birthday bandit had stolen.

For cake, Steph and I made cupcakes for the kids and parents. It was truly a great time for Mason and his friends.

Later this week, Mason got to give his friends fruit popsicles at school on his birthday and we had a birthday supper in the tradition of my family. We wore hats, Mason got to pick his favorite food for the dinner (noodles) and we opened presents from Isla, Steph, and I. Mason got a new bike, which we rode through the neighborhood tonight after dinner. It won’t be long and he will be cruising alongside me.

Steph and I are planning on a fun family weekend as we prepare for Mason’s surgery next week. We know that’s going to be stressful on all of us, but it should help stop the stoma from prolapsing any more. Surgery is schedule for next Thursday and we will post updates on Mason’s Carepage (keyword: MasonGeorge) and I’ll leave some quick tweets (@sweetlou94) which you can follow on Twitter or on the right hand side of the blog here.

Right now, we are looking forward to having some family time as I’m going to take off 8 days from work. Plus my parents are going to come into town to watch Isla and Aspen while Steph and I stay at the hospital.

During the recovery at home, I’m hoping Mason and I can go to a morning practice of Broncos training camp and I’m sure we will have some fun family walks and outings. And in September, Mason and I are also talking about an overnight camping trip at Cherry Creek State Park, just a short 10 minutes from our house. I’m hoping that it will be a lot of fun to camp with Mason, but I’ll post here how it goes! Have a great weekend!

Daddy Time

2009-06-26T10:16:00.003-06:00

What a relief last week when Steph came home from her trip in Las Vegas! Not that things weren't going well, but I was beat and my cold was still beating me up. On top of it, its been raining every afternoon this week, so the kids haven't been able to get outside and play during those key post-nap hours.

However tough the three days/nights that Stephanie was gone were easily made up by the cool things that I got to experience by spending time with the kids.

The picture is of Mason and Isla at the zoo on our picnic. They so loved sitting down and watching the carousel and train. I loved that almost no one comes into the little park within the zoo where we were eating. In addition, this trip to the zoo was the first time I got to see Mason use the map to take us around the zoo. He knows right where to find the kangaroos, the elephants, the penguins, the lorikeets, the monkeys, the carousel and the train. Given time, I'm sure he would have taken us around the entire zoo. Its so neat to see him looking at the map and trying to figure things out.

Another highlight was feeding the lorikeets. Mason was brave and held out the nectar for them to drink, while Isla was fascinated as the lorikeet jumped on my arm and drank the nectar from my hand. It was a really cool time with the two kids.

On Wednesday morning, Isla decided she wanted to wake up early. I was going to let her cry a little before getting her, but a minute later, I hear Mason talking to Isla. He was trying to calm her down. He said "Don't worry Isla, I'll get daddy." But she wouldn't let him leave. She kept crying, so Mason said, "Here's your binky Isla, don't cry, I'll get daddy." She kept crying because she didn't want Mason to leave. Again he tried to leave saying that he would get me, but felt trapped because she wouldn't stop the tears. I decided to get up and help him out. Both were relieved.

The next morning as I was taking a shower, I left the kids to watch some cartoons. I came out of the shower, but Isla was nowhere to be found. I asked Mason where she went and he didn't know because "Handy Manny" was on the tv. So I walked downstairs and found Isla on the kitchen floor with a handful of Chex cereal. She was hungry, so she had opened the newly stocked lazy susan and found the cereal and the pop tarts. Once I was able to wrest the cereal from her hand she showed me the box of pop tarts and then went to the table where she had placed the package of poptarts on her high chair. So I decided to reward her cunning with both cereal and pop tarts. I never thought I would find her amongst a pile of food, but on reflection, I should have known better.

I also got to see Isla and her favorite thing to do outside. If the screen door is Isla's only obstacle to the patio, Isla will put on her Crocs and walk out to her playhouse that Steph and I got at a garage sale for just $10. A steal. She loves to walk into the door and look out all the windows.

Finally, is it strange that Isla doesn't have the standard "lovie" in her crib. Instead of a stuffed animal or blanket. Isla insists on sleeping with a book or two. Right now "Time for Bed" "Brown Bear" and "No No Yes Yes" are in the bed favorites, while outside the crib, the animal book from Poppi is requested about 98% of the time. She doesn't tire of looking at the animals and she's starting to pick up my signing of the animals. She now makes an elephant noise and raises her arm like a trunk. She also loves the chickens and the ducks. Hopefully a stop at Amy, Ryan, Nils and Eden's farm will be in the works this summer. Isla would love the chickens. Oh yeah and Isla has a new cousin. Edi came early Sunday morning. So now when we are back in the Midwest, Isla and Edi will be running to keep up with the five older boys. Congrats Amy, Rye, and Nils.

Next Monday Mason will be moving to the Rainbow Fish room and I think he's excited, but leaving the Little Javelinas today was pretty tough. The 4th of July weekend looks to be a lot of fun with friends and we are excited to share our remodeled home!

Nearly complete

2009-06-15T20:48:00.000-06:00

The tile backsplash is up, the grout is in. Just a few last details and we be done with the kitchen.

We are almost there. 8 weeks later and we have the most amazing kitchen. Its been a lot of work, but definitely worth the work. Everything is done to our tastes and how we like to use the kitchen, dining, and living room spaces.

The past few days have been pretty crazy at the Georges. I was in Minneapolis for 48 hours to attend a conference and as soon as I landed in Denver on Friday, we were basically on the road for Kyle and Sharon's wedding in Grand Junction. We had a great time catching up with family, dancing, and enjoying the spectacular, yet windy views from atop the Colorado Monument where they were married. Then shortly after arriving in Denver, my cousin Kelly, her husband, and the five boys came over for some appetizers. It was great seeing Kelly and we are hoping to plan a family reunion sometime in the near future (year or so) for the Arnoldt clan.

Truly, I rarely meet such considerate young boys as Kelly's. It was such a treat to have them at our house.

We had a great checkup at the doctor's for Mason. Gaining weight and holding steady on everything else.

Last, I'm looking forward to hearing the news from Red Wing about the new neice or nephew. It should be any day now.
With the kitchen nearing completion I'll have to find some new topics to blog on besides the kitchen, but I'm sure they will come to me. Right now, we can enjoy the remodeled space and get settled in our house.

Almost Done

2009-06-04T14:48:00.000-06:00

The kitchen is nearly completed. Tile backsplash, lighting, some carpet touch ups, and the punch list are all that's left. Of course, the pilot igniter in the boiler isn't working and the sprinkler system has a small leak. So some items to still fix in the house. But we can move into the kitchen this weekend. YES! On time nonetheless. We are so excited.

By far my favorite part of the kitchen is the bench. It is gorgeous. Now I have to get the legs to the table finished so we have a place to eat. I'm also looking forward to getting the dining room table, coffee table, sofas for the family room and finally having all of our kitchen stuff in a useable spot. It will be almost a year since some of it was packed away so we could stage our old house for sale last summer. The bench will be able to store nearly everything we haven't been able to easily access previously.

As for things around the house, Mason is working hard at potty training. It may be a little while on this though. Isla's favorite words are butterfly, sit (but it comes out s**t), and shoes. Plus both the kids love the daddy listens to dance music in the morning on the TV. Mason requested this morning to "shake his bum" to the music. Very fun. Saturday is the last day of soccer for Mason. We'll definitely look for more sports opportunities for him to participate as he loves them!

We are looking forward to Grand Junction next weekend for Kyle and Sharon's wedding and I'm also looking forward to a quick work trip to Minneapolis next week as well.

Granite - We have a kitchen

2009-05-28T15:30:00.000-06:00

So after a long, wet Memorial Day weekend, the granite was installed on Tuesday. The primary color is green, but it has so many interesting flecks of color that we will be able to pull out. The backsplash will definitely pull some of those colors out. The plumbing should be mostly installed by today and we keep moving forward on all of the little details.

In addition, we have started the move into the kitchen. We are now using the refrigerator as the old one was taken away yesterday. Its nice to get that space back in the living/dining/kitchen room we currently have.

By tonight we may have a functioning dishwasher, which would be awesome. Steph and I are both tired of taking the dishes to the basement to clean them in the utility tub. Especially Bottles!!!

We are making some final decisions on chairs, tables, and light fixtures. Once those are complete we'll start working on window coverings. In case you are wondering it will be blinds and not drapes like someone suggested (yes you know who you are and how that question dated you! :-)

Hopefully I'll get a chance for more pictures tonight and blogging tomorrow.

But in the meantime know that Isla's spoken vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds every day if not every hour!

The Bench

2009-05-21T09:11:00.000-06:00

I'm so excited about the bench going into the kitchen. The carpenter did an amazing job - of course there is still some work to do, but he incorporated the design of the cabinets into the back and I couldn't be happier with the results. We also have some of the handles and knobs on the cabinets. They are blending in nicely! I think the painter will be in today to stain the bench and finish some of the painting. We are excited to be nearly the finish line.

As for Steph and I, we have no idea why Mason insists on being up all night right now. Stephanie barely slept and I got 5 and a half hours. It was rough morning in the George house. Here's to hoping we get a good night's sleep tonight.

Watching Paint Dry

2009-05-20T15:44:00.001-06:00

So the last few days, the progress has felt a lot like paint drying – because that’s what has been taking place. The new colors look amazing, but it’s not quite as sexy as the new cabinets going in or when the granite arrives. Regardless, last night was a long night of decisions to make. We picked out the pattern of the tile backsplash; we poured through two books on lighting fixtures for the entryway and dining room, and decided on bar stools and fabric for the counter area. We’ll also use the same fabric for the bench in the breakfast nook. So I have some updated pictures of the house, but tomorrows blog will show a lot more changes as Stephanie told me the bench and the cabinet hardware have been installed.

I also thought I’d share some photos of the kids eating breakfast. Can you guess that Isla LOVES yogurt and Mason is a ham for the camera.

As for Mason, we had an eventful weekend. We spent Friday in the ER (stoma prolapsed), but we we’re home by 10pm. We had the same doc as before and everything went quickly and smoothly. Though when I showed up at the ER, I thought a school bus had crashed somewhere in Denver. There were 15 people dressed for an army of ambulances to show up. It looked like a scene from ER or Grey’s Anatomy. Thankfully it was just a drill at Buckley that was being coordinated with several hospitals and emergency organizations.
On Saturday, Mason was a soccer star. The events of the night before didn’t slow him down one bit. He scored 5 or 6 goals and was there to cheer on his teammates that scored as well. Sunday’s game was a little shorter as it was hot and right at nap time. I think it affected everyone playing. He scored just one goal.

Isla just continues to grow and try to keep pace with her big brother. She kicks the soccer ball, tries to climb on his big boy bed (been successful once or twice) and loves to ride her tricycle. She’s still getting some teeth which have made for some long nights, but she’s a good sleeper in general.

I can’t wait to see what progress is completed today!

Appliances

2009-05-15T16:30:00.000-06:00

The pace of changes for the kitchen and now coming fast and furious. All of the appliances have been installed and much of the cabinet detail is being completed. In addition the Asian type shades on the windows in the living/dining room have been removed. Its change is quite remarkable. I think we have settled on a paint color for the room and few choices now remain-which is good.

It’s fun to come home to such big changes every day.
It’s also fun to come home to Isla and Mason every day. Mason runs from whatever he is doing and gives me a huge “Hi Daddy” hug, and Isla is the background shouting “Daddy! Hi! Hi!” while feverishly waving her arm.
Mason has a pair of soccer games this weekend.

I’ll see if I can get some action shots posted from the weekend.

Cabinets!

2009-05-13T13:23:00.000-06:00

The cabinets came just after I left for work yesterday. So it was quite a fun surprise to see them in place when I go home last night. Even without the appliances, I'm so exited to be in the new space. Its so much more open and has so much more usuable space for storing items. I'm guessing this kitchen is easily twice the size of our old bungalow in NW Denver. As seems to be the case, Steph and I spent a fair amount of time last night going over decisions for the entire room. We picked out colors for our baseboard (a creamy white) and the walls (tan/gold). We also picked out the handles for the cabinets. It seems like every day is a new decision to make. But everything is getting closer to the finish by the day. In fact I think we are a couple of days ahead of schedule.

The good news in the house is that Mason is adjusting to sleeping in his twin bed, but it also means a little more freedom for him as he shows up in our bedroom every once in a while. We are thinking he needs an alarm clock in his room so he doesn't wake us up at 6:00am every morning. Which would be fine if we weren't up until 1:00am taking care of both him and Isla last night.

So last night I had a dream that I one of my kids had jumped on my back and it was now really sore/tight. Well, I guess my mind tried to create a story to fit what the body was feeling. Because I woke up to my daughter throwing her binky at me from her crib. Isla had trouble sleeping last night so I got her calmed down and layed on the floor thinking I would leave after she was sound asleep. Apparently I was tired and I spent the entire night on the floor of her room. Needless to say, my back's sore today and I'm still tired.

Also last night when Steph and I got back from the Rockies game, Mason had just woken up and was with Poppi when we walked in. So he got to stay up a little later than usual last night. However it was very funny last night when we told him it was time to sleep and he decided to try to negotiate. He started by saying, "Guys, guys, guys, The deal is..." which at that point Steph and I started cracking up and laughing, which got Mason laughing and then he forgot what he was going to say...so we then went to bed. Steph likes to say to Mason - "Listen, the deal is that you have to X so we can all do Y" Always funny when kids pick up the things you say to them.

Friday! Friday! Friday!

2009-05-08T11:42:00.001-06:00

So the kids’ rooms are 95% complete. I have a couple of small pieces of baseboard to install and the interior of Mason's closet to paint. Getting to the finish line was a little tough though. I had to cut about 3/8 of an inch off the bottom of the new door in Mason's room so it could open completely. Apparently the floor isn't all that level in my 40 year old house. Plus the walls are a little wider than the new door standard. Makes hanging the trim a little more difficult. It’s cool to see the kids’ rooms nearly complete. Of course that's just another in a string of projects on the house. But it’s getting there.

As for the kitchen remodel, the handrails and spindles are all in, plus the painter is starting to work on the ceiling. Monday we will pick out the new color for the walls. Things are a couple of days ahead of schedule which is great!

Wednesday night I went out with friends and we had a lot of great conversation. Talking about elementary schools, Twitter, the next great idea that we could capitalize on, and how we’ve ended up in Colorado. It got me thinking about the person that gave me the opportunity to see the world in a whole new light. That would be my uncle FD. I said it before and I’ll continue to say it, the trip to Europe was the stepping stone to exploring more in the world. From taking that trip, I decided to travel to visit a friend in Belize, I took a job in Indiana, decided to go to grad school in Denver and have remained ever since. But I’ve been able to travel to London for spring break and witness real football, travel to Munich to partake in The Oktoberfest, travel to Italy for my honeymoon and then all the places I’ve been able to visit in the US. Each trip opens my eyes to the bigger world we live in!

As for today, I’m happy that Steph, Mason and Isla will be coming home. I can’t wait to hear all the stories Mason has about the cabin, Bumpa and Te te. I can’t wait to see the smile and “hi” that Isla will give me when she sees me and I can’t wait to have my best friend to talk about everything that has gone on over the past week.

Oh what a night!

2009-05-05T09:30:00.000-06:00

So it’s been a long, long night/morning. The good news, I picked up Aspen - it was nice having him in the house. I got supplies for painting the kids rooms, and came home to the railings being installed. So cool. From there, the fun really started. To start, you can see the kid's closet doors in the garage, and just below there is a teeny, tiny spot of white paint on the garage floor. I have my father’s knack for being clumsy at times and last night was one of them. Just like my dad, I sometimes get going too fast and make a “small” mistake. Yep, looks like I have a new project for the summer – painting the garage floor. Nothing like spilling a quart of oil-based primer! Bugger. Oh well, clean it up a little and got Isla and Mason’s closets and closet doors primed. I also decided to paint the interior of Isla’s closet white. It was all marked up and it now really sparkles. By the time I had everything painted it was about 12:30am.

The problem is that I was probably a little woozy from the paint fumes. I had a headache, but forgot to take my Tylenol. Probably why I couldn’t sleep until 2:30am. So I thought I would sleep in a little. Nope. 6:15am I was up – so I decided to keep painting. I was able to paint everything for the kids’ closets. So tonight I can work I installing everything. The good news is that it shouldn’t be that bad. If I have time, I’ll also get the new door to Mason’s room installed and trimmed out. If I can accomplish all this, I should have no problem having the kids’ rooms ready by Thursday night for their Friday return. Maybe I’ll even be able to take down the crib in Mason’s room. Maybe!!

Today the spindles for the railings are going in. I can’t wait to see them tonight.

Hardwood Floors - Day 11

2009-05-04T11:14:00.000-06:00

So the hardwood floors have the stain and a coat of polyurethane. They look amazing. We are actually a couple of days ahead of schedule which is awesome. The steps are so gorgeous! The kitchen is starting to take shape.

We had a wonderful weekend in Wisconsin/Minnesota. Mason has warmed up to Bumpa and Tete and loves hanging with his grandparents. Over the weekend he built a birdhouse with Bumpa - we have to find a place for it at home. Isla had a great weekend with her cousin Nils. It was so hard to see him leave! We missed the Rosemount Georges, but they were working at a feverish pitch to get their home ready to sell. Hopefully it will happen soon. Steph had some time to stop at the Candy Shop in town. Mmmm Fudge!! I had a chance to catch up with the Siebens and Beumers before my flight last night. What a treat. Plus, Kenny had perfect timing in dropping me off at the airport. Walked through security, straight to my gate and right onto the plan.

Last night it was weird being home alone without the family and the dog. I'm looking forward to getting Aspen tonight to have a pal in the house. Looks like we should get railings up this week and we have to pick out the paint. Fun!

Tonight I start my work on the kids bedrooms, I'm going to get the closet doors painted white, finish the new trim and get the new doors completely hung. The house is really starting to take shape. In a month it won't look at all like the place we bought!!!

Oak Floors - Day 7

2009-04-29T12:06:00.000-06:00

So the floors are going in. They are going to look spectacular. I can't wait to come back from our weekend trip to Bumpa and Te Te's house to see them with the stain. We are looking at goig with one of the two options on the bottom of the second photo. Maybe something inbetween as well.

As you can see, Isla, is far more interested in the camera's battery recharger than me. Oh well.

We are also looking at taking out the frosted window panes on the side of the house. It should bring in even more natural light. A big plus.

By the time the kids and Stephanie get back from Wisconsin, the floors should be done and the handrails installed. Then its the fun stuff. Cabinets, Granite, Backsplash, appliances, painting, etc...

It looks like the entire George clan will be at the cabin this weekend so it should be a weekend of the cousins having fun together, the siblings having lots of laughs and a tiring out of Bumpa and Te Te.

Good, Bad and the Ugly

2009-04-27T14:17:00.002-06:00

Weekend Happenings at the George Household.

The good - Steph and I were able to celebrate our 6 year anniversary - Poppi and Grammie watched the kids while Steph and I were able to have a walk downtown Denver, breakfast at Snooze and then gambled a little in Blackhawk. Steph lost $60, but I hit 4 dueces in video poker and ending up winning $80 in total. We had fun for a couple of hours, but can't wait for roulette and craps to come to Colorado in July!

The bad- well it was a cold day for soccer on Saturday. Mason played like a trooper, but it wasn't much fun being a fan.

The ugly - For the third time, Mason had a prolapse. For the second time, I've fixed it. He's such a trooper to let me push it back it. Its not that comfortable to have that much pressure on his stoma. We think we have figured out that its a result of severe coughing. Something we will just have to monitor for now.

Floors start going in today. Steph picked out some amazing granite for the countertops and tile for the backsplash.

No pictures today-sorry. Not much exiciting in that regard.

Bumpa & Tete we're getting ready to see you soon!

Rough In - Almost complete Day 5

2009-04-24T09:45:00.000-06:00

So the start of Day 5 brings us close to completion on the rough in for all of the work. The walls are up, the floor has been patched and nearly all of the ceiling has been repaired. Oak floors go in on Monday. With that Steph is at the granite yard looking at options for the kitchen and then probably to the tile store to look at options for the backsplash. I get to follow up tomorrow looking at what she liked.

As for the family, Mason is excited about playing soccer tomorrow and Isla is starting to say words and become much more vocal. She called Dad when she wanted my attention. She comes running to the door when I get home from work and gives me a big hug. Its awesome!!! So we're looking forward to a fun-filled and packed Anniversary weekend.

Day 4

2009-04-23T08:54:00.000-06:00

Not much happened besides some drywall but it looking good. The family is looking forward to Bumpa and Te-te's house next week so we can a repreive from the kitch-dine-living room.

Electricity and Walls - Day 3

2009-04-21T20:09:00.000-06:00

So the walls of the kitchen are up. Yep, just one and half on them We have to keep a small post to hold up the roof and the larger box to hold up the roof and conceal the flu. There is going to be so much more light in the kitchen/breakfast nook area. A huge change.

At first I thought the framers made a mistake today with the half wall. Its not what we talked about. But after more thinking and seeing how its going to work. I like that we will have a small rise above the cabinets to the "bar" area. Its amazing how quickly things change from day to day. Only 45 days or so until completion.

Remodel - Day 2

2009-04-21T09:54:00.000-06:00

Welcome to the echo chamber! In a manner of hours our 1969 kitchen has been transformed into the open space we dreamed of when we walked through the house 8 months ago. Its funny how much noise the cabinets and carpet would eat up. Standing in our temporary family room/kitchen/dining room you can hear the echo from the space. Hopefully that will get better as things get put back into place - which will start at the end of the week. only a day or so more of demolition and then its starting the framing, fixing the ceiling, etc. I have to admit when I stood in old kitchen I smiled because we will now be able to look out the front window and see front door from our new space. its going to be cool!

Today Mason is eager to see the construction guys again. Yesterday he got his tool belt on with his hammer and pliers and was ready to dive in until I took him to day care. He wore the tool belt all the way to daycare and all the way back.
He also said he is excited to go visit Bumpa and Te-te (next week while the hardwood floors are being installed) so he can build a birdhouse with Te-te. Te-te gets the orange pencil and Mason will use the blue one.

Kitchen Remodel - Day 1

2009-04-20T11:41:00.000-06:00

Here's what the kitchen & living rooms look like on Day 1. I'll post updates just about everyday as work on completing the project!

Broncos Game

2008-09-14T21:09:00.000-06:00

September 14th - A lazy Sunday had Mason and Isla in their Broncos gear. I thought the game was in hand and took Mason on a bike ride, boy did I miss a fantastic finish. Oh well. We are still getting settled into the new digs, but each days its a little better.

Thursday is around the corner - Uff da!

The Ballpark

2008-09-14T21:04:00.000-06:00

September 13 - A great night at the ballpark with Steph and Mason. Stephanie won the tickets at the Liver Life walk in Denver and they were awesome. We were 17 rows right behind home plate. Nobody showed up in front of us, so Mason had a clear view of the game and the rest of the park. His highlight was going to the t-ball batting cages in right field and eating ice cream and a hot dog! Too bad the Rocks won't do anything spectacular this year.

The Flag

2008-08-26T09:27:00.000-06:00

August 26 - Walking down the halls of Mary Reed I noticed the shadows on the floor gently shifting. I look up out the window and the American flag is waving in and out of the direct sun. It was a striking picture and given its the second day of the Democratic National Convention here in Denver, maybe a little apropos.

Broncos Game

2008-08-26T09:23:00.000-06:00

Sat. Aug 16th - Its been a whirlwind few weeks since I last blogged. We sold our house, bought our house and did a million things in between. Saturday was supposed to be the first time Mason went to a Broncos game with Poppi and Dad, but it was cold and rainy, but that didn't dampen our spirits. We got dressed in our Broncos gear (thank Poppi) and went our for dinner to watch the game on TV.

Where's the Pause Button

2008-08-04T16:58:00.000-06:00

Aug 4 - So its been a little while since I last blogged about the Denver Georges. First, we spent nearly two weeks visiting friends and family in Minnesota and Wisconsin. We had a tremendous time staying with the Ericksons and my parents as well as visiting with the Beumers and Siebens. Plus we spent an afternoon at the Whipporwillows Farm!

The lake was amazing, but the last day Mason was jumping off the swimming raft into my arms - a far cry from last year. Next year who knows what he will be doing. I caught a decent size Bass and confirmed that Stephanie loves fishing.

There are so many stories to tell, but the best one is this. As we buckled our seat belts on the airplane to fly back to Denver, Steph's phone rang. Someone wanted a 2nd showing on our house. We quickly called our neighbor to see if he could hold off in taking Aspen back to our house and hoped for the best. The next day our realtor told us that we should expect an offer - we waited all day and into the early evening and finally got one. Our realtor came to our house after the kids were asleep and we countered. The next morning they countered back and we had a signed agreement. Now what to do. So the past week we have been frantically searching for a new home. Who knows what tomorrow will bring, but we could sure use a pause button to slow things down and catch our breath!

Relaxation

2008-07-14T15:59:00.000-06:00

July 14th - Many may know this spot on DU's campus. The fountains next to Mary Reed. It is one of my favorite places to go. On a clear day one can see the 3 prominent fourteeners - Evans, Long's and Pikes. I strolled through before heading out to lunch to get a fresh perspective on the day!

A hot one!

2008-07-14T15:54:00.000-06:00

July 12 - This weekend was hot in Denver! As some may be aware, Mason has not been a huge fan of swimming. However, after several trips to Grammy's pool, Mason is really starting to enjoy it. So we broke out a pool and he hopped right in. In fact, we put cold water in the pool on Sunday morning and that didn't even phase him. We are getting excited to go swimming in Blueberry Lake at Camp Blueberry (Bumpa & Tete's house)

Riding to Work

2008-07-11T09:47:00.000-06:00

July 11 - A great morning for a bike ride into work - though its a rare day that I'm up riding at 6:15am. Isla had me up at 5 and 5:30am - Mason continued at 6am. So why not ride into work. Crisp and cool - no one on the road a great ride into DU! As I crossed over the Platte onto the Cherry Creek Trail I couldn't help but stop and take a moment to enjoy the sun just starting to shine over the city and onto Confluence Park and the water rushing over the rocks.

A late night walk to the Square

2008-07-09T16:57:00.000-06:00

July 9 - A long, long day ends with a beautiful and relaxing late night walk to the Highlands Square with Aspen Dogger. The street lights at Perry and 32nd provided a serene and peaceful setting as we walked back home.

I'll miss this place

2008-07-09T16:55:00.002-06:00

July 8 - So I awake and walk through our empty and clean house. The realtors came through yestersday and today we meet with our realtor to discuss the price and last minute details. We find out that someone wants to see the house before we hit the market next week. As I walk by the painting Jared Steinberg did of our house for our 5th anniversary, I smile and this picture sums up the day. We are coming to the end of one home and flying away to another.

Eating Yogurt

2008-07-09T16:55:00.001-06:00

July 7 -Isla T is starting to eat solid foods and I had the pleasure of feeding her some yogurt. Right now most of it ends up on her face, hands and bib, but still she smiles right on through it all.

Isla T

2008-07-09T16:54:00.001-06:00

July 6 - Seriously - how cute is Isla T? Playing on the floor she hams it up for the camera. Its sunday night, we've been packing like mad to get the house ready for the realtors to walk through tomorrow. So a well-deserved break gives me the chance to play with her.

Playing Ball

2008-07-09T16:54:00.000-06:00

July 5th - A chance to hang out with Mas, I'm pitching the plastic wiffle balls and he's hitting ropes across the yard, onto the patio roof and straight at my shins. Name the sport, he loves watching and playing it. Of course, I love it just as much. Who knew that he would hit left and throw right. Maybe the big leagues some day?

The Parade

2008-07-09T16:53:00.001-06:00

July 4 - Steph, Mas, Isla T, and I all headed down to the Highlands 4th of July parade. Mason loved seeing all the kids riding their bikes past us. Rather than brave the post-parade party at the park, we ventured to REI and relaxed on the patio overlooking Confluence Park. Mason and I took a walk over the bridge to see the bikes and the rapids. After - it was back to packing the storage unit.

Storage

2008-07-09T16:53:00.000-06:00

July 3 - The massive storage unit arrives. The driver was not the most adept as he destroyed two tree limbs on our neighbor's property. Fortunately, our neighbors didn't really care. I can't believe the work that is ahead for the 4th of July weekend.

Coming soon!

2008-07-09T16:51:00.000-06:00

July 2 - The Coming Soon sign is in our yard - what have we got ourselves into!

The torn order form

2008-07-09T16:45:00.000-06:00

July 1 - a terrible night's sleep is followed by the milk man dropping the monthly order form on the bottom of the cooler - leading to me picking it up and it tearing. Sums up the morning!