Family Visit to Copper

My parents and brother were coming to visit, so we decided to rent a condo at Copper Mountain, and let Dirt Grandma (Grams) watch over Eli while we all went skiing. It was the perfect situation. Our condo was ski in/ski out, so we could easily go in at lunch to say hi to Eli and feed him. We could keep him on a good sleeping schedule because we at in every night, and we all slept relatively well. On the way home, we stopped at the Lost Cajun, a delicious gumbo restaurant in downtown Golden. Thank goodness for grandparents! While we'd love to have them closer, it's always nice to have them visit. 

Lake Pueblo Pilgrimage

We've made a winter trip down to Lake Pueblo State Park in Pueblo, Colo. for the last three winters. We generally go in January because it's one of our slower winter snow months and we always seem to get a few freak days of sun and warm temps. This year was no exception. While it was a bit windy, Pueblo didn't disappoint with 70-degree highs and plenty of sun. The trip was another exercise in sharing time on the trail and time with Eli, so I've asked Morgan to help out with this post:

One of my absolute favorite wintertime activities is mountain biking at Lake Pueblo State Park. When Boulder is in the depths of winter, Pubelo, just two hours south, is dry and warm. We decided to take the trip with Eli's godparents, Chris and Leslie, but we'll call them Dirt Godmother and Dirt Godfather since their real role is to help us support Eli in living a life of adventure and happiness!

There’s camping at the park, but we knew it could get a bit windy at night so we stayed at a hotel. Steve rode about 25 miles with Dirt Godmother and Dirt Godfather on Saturday afternoon, while I hiked with Dirt Dog and Eli, and we switched the following day. As long as you give Eli a general routine of eating, playing, and sleeping, you can easily time hikes and car rides around his needs. He’s joined us on our adventures pretty early on, which bodes well for his ability to sleep anywhere and be on the go. 

Ski Copper and Hike Open Space

This weekend we took it easy and skied at Copper for the day (trading off turns) and going for a family hike in the open space around our house. Eli is two months old!

New Year's Day

New Year's is one of our least favorite holidays because we like to go to bed on the earlier side, but what that means is that it's a great opportunity to enjoy the slopes on New Year's Day! We had a delicious meal of cassoulet with our neighbor friends Patrick and Katy on New Year's Eve, and took turns skiing at Eldora on the first day of the year. In the evening, we started our new family tradition of eating a delicious local ham, with greens and black eyed peas for good fortune. 

 


Dirt Mom Debut

Occasionally I ask my wife, Dirt Mom, to fill in for me. It's nice to have a different perspective and it gives me a break from posting. Here goes:

Dirt Mom here. Dirt Dad was in Washington, D.C. this week for Dirt Dad duties, so I was alone with Eli for one night. It might have been indoors, but it was still an adventure. I find that parenthood is challenging not because of the child, but because of the parents. You’re always second guessing yourself and wondering if you’re doing everything in your power to give your child the best life and opportunity. Taking care of Eli overnight by myself in his eighth week was a piece of cake as soon as I got past the apprehension of it.

Later in the week, Steve and I did the first of many “you hang out with Eli, I’ll go mountain bike,” and this time, Steve was on the receiving end, riding at North Table Mountain in Golden while I strolled the downtown with Eli in his Moby Wrap. We continued the day’s outing at our friends’ Madeleine and Steve’s Christmas party, where Eli just napped in a corner and wowed the crowds.

Gumbo and Bowling

This weekend marked Eli’s first bowling outing, his first Amirault Gumbo night (Ryan’s annual tradition), and his first ski trip. The key takeaway for me was: if someone trustworthy and healthy wants to hold your baby, let them! At the bowling alley, my colleague’s daughter was thrilled to hold Eli, which made my attempt at a turkey considerably more promising, though not entirely realistic. Gumbo night was delicious as always, and Eli enjoyed falling asleep in the arms of his new friends, giving Morgan and me a reprieve.

For the ski trip, we opted to stay close to home with a quick trip up to Eldora. It's super convenient and Morgan and I took turns skiing while the other hung out with Eli in the lodge. This is a pretty effective strategy for continuing to get some turns with an infant and it’ll probably be our standard practice until the little guy gets his own pair of skis in a couple of years. It may not be perfect, but it sure beats not skiing!


Christmas Trees and Mustaches

Our two big adventures for the weekend were putting up the family Christmas tree and sizing up mustaches and man-made art at Holiday ManCraft.  The Christmas tree was sourced from the local hardware store this year, so the most excitement on that front was keeping the cat from batting around the ornaments.

ManCraft was a bit more of an adventure, at least from an artistic standpoint. There were custom knives, wooden pinball games, and some cool bicycle-inspired art from our friend, Design by Nibo. I picked up a pinball game for my mom for Christmas; she’s a huge fan of the game and I think Eli will enjoy playing with her when he gets a bit older. 

Thanksgiving Day Hike

It’s Thanksgiving Day, and boy is there a lot to be thankful for! Every year for as long as I can remember we've done a family Thanksgiving Day hike. Growing up in Connecticut, it was a trek to the top of Heublein Tower. Since moving to Colorado, though, most of our hikes have been out the front door and across the street in Boulder's Open Space. This Thanksgiving holiday marks Eli’s third week on the planet and we thought it'd be fun to carry on the tradition.

As I mentioned, the hike is a family tradition and we are thrilled that my brother, Uncle Scott, is in town to join us. Today’s hike was about 5 miles with about 800 feet of elevation gain. Eli rode up front again in his LÍLLÉbaby.

Even though it’s November, it was considerably warmer than our last hike with a high in the low 60s. This presented a new challenge. I hadn’t realized it before, but the little kiddo is a furnace and having him strapped to my chest made our Thanksgiving day jaunt feel like a mid-summer excursion! I started out with a hoody sweatshirt and soon had to let it go for just a T-shirt. I’ll keep that in mind for next time and make sure to factor in an extra 10-20 degrees to account for his heat output!

The end of our hike brought us home to football, a heritage turkey, and a visit from Aunt Tayler. It’s nice to have siblings who love the little guy. I’m sure Eli will have many fun adventures with Scott and Tayler in the future.

Bowl of Death

Today Morgan, Eli, and Jasmine (Dirt Dog) accompanied me to my last cyclocross race of the season, the Bowl of Death in Louisville, Colo.  As intimidating as that sounds, it was mild compared to the apprehension I had about Eli, Morgan, and Jasmine wandering around a sea of people and bikes as they attempted to watch me battle my way through the middle of the cat 4 pack. Luckily it was a beautiful day and a far cry from the weather experienced during my race last Saturday. It was also so nice to have the family out with me, making the whole experience considerably more enjoyable than the guilt-riddled foray of last week’s race.

Eli split his time today between a stroller and the LÍLLÉbaby. The stroller was good for a sleeping, but a bit unwieldy for navigating through sand pits, steep sideslopes, and barrier-like curbs. After the race, he slept peacefully in the stroller while Morgan and I enjoyed a nice outdoor lunch in downtown Louisville. We returned to the Bowl of Death in the afternoon to watch our buddy Ryan and it was a blast to have the entire family cheering for Team LTD Cycleworx!

"Until you increase your lead papa, imma keep on nappin'." -Eli

A photo posted by Morgan Lommele (@mlommele) on