COLORADO CHRISTMAS

Last weekend, we participated in a tradition very new to the Bops. We cut down our own Christmas tree. For $20 (awesome), the Colorado Forest Service will let you go into certain areas that need thinning and cut down trees no larger than 6" round and no taller than 15'. The permit is a mirror tag and if you carefully follow the directions on the back, it folds into an ornament (ugly as sin). So we followed some friends to the cutting area, had a small lunch once we parked, and proceeded to hunt down the Bop's Christmas Tree 2007. After 45 minutes of looking uphill of the car, we ended up downhill of the car and found our tree in 5 minutes. Mrs. Bop's "I want to help" was helping decide on the tree, and being the historian for this expedition. Once the tree was decided on, I set to work on falling this behemoth of a tree.

The picture is a little deceiving. It took a little longer to cut it down because I was on the side of a very steep hill. But with a little perseverance, I had the family tree down and was hauling it to the car for transport to the Bop House.

After struggling to move the tree to the car, we had to document our conquest. Our friends took a picture for posterity.

The tree in the background makes ours look a little bigger than it really is. It ended up being around 7' tall, perfect fit for the Bop House. The next day, we had it set up and lit. No ornaments on it in this picture; maybe that will make it to a post in the future.

HOUSE IN OCEANSIDE

I've lived in many places during my life. The first place I have a memory of is my family's house in Oceanside, CA. We lived there while my dad was stationed at Camp Pendleton. I remember going to the beach during the summers and playing in the back yard. I have very fuzzy memories of this house because we moved from here when I was four.

WHERE I'VE LIVED

My brother Jack Army has gone to many places during his career, and that made me think about where I've been in my life. So, I'll start with where I'm living now. The Bop's just recently moved across town into a house. This is the first time Mrs. Bop or I have lived in our own house. It's been apartments or duplexes up until now. It's a nice feeling not having to worry about being or hearing the elephants upstairs. Lil Bop can jump and dance in the house without care (sort of -- we have hardwood floors) and she finally has a yard to play in. The funny part is I live on Cherry St. now.

XTERRA

The Xterra goes on most adventures we have in Colorado. So, invariably, it makes it into the pictures of our trips. This is from our trip to Burnt Deckers.

FISHIN'

I had to do the birthday present shopping for Lil Bop's birthday. Mrs. Bop was having a very busy time then, so it was left to Dbop. Lil Bop got from us Legos (cool), a video game (cooler), and her very own Barbie fishing pole (SWEEEET). Fast forward a couple of weeks, and it was time to put Barbie to the test. Lil Bop had a day off from school, so I decided to take the day off with her. It seemed like a perfect day for fishing. We tried three different spots along the South Platte River, had a picnic lunch; it was a great day. We didn't catch anything, not even a bite. Lil Bop said she had a lot of fun. I had a blast. I had a great day teaching her to fish. We worked on casting and reeling and she picked it up very quickly. Even though we didn't catch any fish, it was a great day with my daughter.

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

Mrs. Bop received the news she passed the Bar exam in early October. As a retirement present to me, we went to Steamboat Springs to visit some friends for the weekend. We went on a short hike to Fish Creek Falls. These are the falls on the Coors beer can.

The weather turned nasty while we were visiting. We were there for the first snow of the season. I am glad to be in a place that has all four seasons.

LIL BOP'S BIRTHDAY

We celebrated Lil Bop's 6th birthday at the Butterfly Pavilion. This place was very cool. They had a girl come to the party room and show bugs to the kids. They were much more interested than the parents. After the bugs, we went into a huge atrium that took me back to Texas. Apparently, butterflies like hot and humid weather. I thought I had given that up when we left Texas. We got to see many beautiful and interesting butterflies and moths. We had some friends come down from Steamboat for her party, and afterward, we all went out to dinner. Lil Bop wore her favorite of the presents to dinner.