This past weekend, three of Kim’s brothers came out for a visit. They arrived late on Friday night, and after picking them up, we headed back to our house to rest for the early morning wake-up call. We left before seven the next morning and drove up into the mountains for the long weekend. We only hit a little bit of traffic, and made it all the way out to Beaver Creek before nine. We enjoyed a full day of snowboarding and skiing there and covered most of the mountain. The lift lines were surprisingly small, so we were easily able to get over fifteen runs in before leaving.

Later that evening, we drove back to Breckenridge, where we had a condo reserved for the rest of the weekend. We unpacked our bags, cooked up a spaghetti dinner, and most of us fell asleep watching TV by ten that night. The long day had taken its toll. We all headed to bed at a decent hour to rest up for the next day on the slopes at Breckenridge.

Our condo was a very short walk to one of the lifts at Peak 9 of Breckenridge, where we started our Sunday morning. We immediately noticed bigger crowds than we had experienced the day before, but we made the most of it. It wasn’t until we ventured over to Peak 7 that we found the biggest crowd of the day. Unfortunately, this is a really fun part of the mountain, so we braved the crowds and stayed on those slopes for most of the afternoon. Originally we planned to go back to the condo for lunch, but when we were hungry, we were way too far away to get back quick. Instead, we stayed out for a few more runs, and then called it an early day.

We heated up some frozen pizzas for lunch/dinner after getting back to the condo. After eating and cleaning up, we ventured out to the old town area of Breckenridge. We hit up a few different bars and restaurants for a couple of drinks along with some video games and entertainment. Again we weren’t out very late after a tiring day on the slopes.

Again we got up early on Monday morning so we could pack up the car and then hit the slopes one more time. The crowds were much lighter this day, and the Ullr had blessed us with a few inches of fresh snow overnight to enjoy throughout our last day. We hit the parts of the mountain that we didn’t the day before, and had yet another great day at Breckenridge. We were off the slopes by two and our way back to Denver. It was yet another great trip for the Hais brothers.

Peak 9 on Dwellable

After last night’s game, my hockey team actually has a winning streak!   This may actually be enough to move us out of last place for the first time this session.   Our opponents last night were another team at the top of the standings, so things are definitely changing for the good with our team.   We’ve added a really good player to our roster, and even if he isn’t scoring a ton, he really opens up the ice for the rest of us.   He did finish the game with a hat-trick last night, after putting in a last second empty net goal.   I can’t remember the exact score, but it was another high scoring game.   I didn’t get any of the goals, but I did have an assist off one of our player’s face-mask to help with the first goal of the night.   I’ll take it.

After my hockey team’s disappointing shootout loss last Wednesday night, we quickly rebounded the next night.   We were scheduled to take on one of the top teams, a team with some players I used to play with, in a makeup game from a cancellation a few weeks ago.   We actually won our first regulation game, with a huge score of 9-3.   None of our players had a hat-trick, but a few of them had two goals.   So the scoring was spread around pretty well.   I added an assist to my stats and now have one goal and six assists, good enough to be in the top five point scorers on the team.

Unfortunately, the winning could not be extended to the University of Denver hockey game we attended on Friday night.   We arrived just a few minutes into the game, and DU was already up by a goal.   While waiting to climb the steps to our seats, we watched the University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves score a goal to even the score at one.   This was all before the first five minutes of the game.   However, the scoring ended there, and the game even went through a scoreless overtime period.   I was expecting DU to crush UAA, so the tie was a big disappointment.   We watched the same UAA team unexpectedly beat DU last year too.

Last night my hockey team had our first game in a few weeks, and it went surprisingly well. The other team came out fast and scored a goal just a few shifts into the game.   However, we quickly rebounded and had a 4-1 lead around the start of the third period.   Unfortunately, our juice ran out there and we allowed our opponents to crawl back into the game.   With just a couple of minutes to go, they evened the score at 4, and that’s where it stood at the end of regulation.   We had our second overtime shootout game in a row, but unfortunately this one did not result in a win.   With none of the early shooters scoring, it went down to the fifth shooters.   The other team got a goal, and our player nearly missed his.       We were tied for last with this team, and unfortunately we are all alone in last place now.

I am happy to report that I won 1st place in a few fantasy football games though.   I won both NFL pick’em games.   And even though I was finally eliminated in the survivor league with my Broncos over Chiefs pick, I still ended up winning that game as well.   I also finished 3rd in the salary cap game.   Keeping it in the family, Kim had a big 1st place finish in yet another regular fantasy football league.   I ended up finishing in 4th of 8 teams in that league, so at least I was in the top half.   I’m happy to add some more trophies to my trophy case!

We arrived into New Orleans around 3pm on New Year’s Eve, thanks to a flight change on United which put us on the first available direct flight.   We weren’t expecting to get in until 5 or 6, but were so glad to get there early.   We dropped our bags at our hotel and immediately headed to the Jackson Brewery area for the Fan Fest and Bearcat Pep Rally.   There we saw the voice of the Bearcats, Dan Hoard, take the stage for the pep rally, along with coaches, players, cheerleaders, and the band.   Along with firing up the crowd and introducing the large gathering of Cincinnati fans to New Orleans, Hoard gave this tidbit of advice, “A hurricane is like a woman’s bosom…one is not enough but three is too many.”   We spent the rest of that night testing that theory with multiple rounds of Hurricanes and some Hand Grenades as well.   I can honestly say that I haven’t seen 5am in a long, long time.

I guess there were some other events thrown into the mix that night, it was New Year’s Eve afterall.   After having some dinner at the Crescent City Brewhouse we met back up with my parents, a large group of their friends, one of my roommates from college, his family, and even more friends.   The black and red of the Bearcats had definitely taken over the streets of New Orleans.   Eventually we made our way over to Jackson Square for the annual NYE celebration there.   We were told of some baby statue that was supposed to fall.   Obviously we thought it would be like the ball in Times Square.   Unfortunately, the baby never fell.   And to make it all worse, we couldn’t even see the fireworks from where we were standing.

Obviously that wasn’t the only letdown of the trip.   After finally making it back to the streets of the French Quarter the next day, we eventually found our way to more of the aforementioned drinks.   This led up to the big team sendoff at the official hotel.   Once again, half of Cincinnati’s population was inside the hotel and flooding out into Canal Street.   Eventually the team all made their way on to the buses and en route to the big game.   After the first bus pulled away, I was able to see the large crowd that was also gathered on the other side of the street.   Everyone went crazy at that sight.   It was shortly after this when the biggest letdown came.

We all grabbed a couple more drinks and headed off toward the Super Dome for the big game against Florida.   There is no need to tailgate in a lot, as you can legally drink on the street of New Orleans, as long as you use a plastic cup.   Plus all the tourist stops and even the stadiums are within easy walking distance.   We arrived at the dome and made our way all the way up to the last row in the place to find our seats.   Yes, this was pretty disappointing, but we were surprised at how well we could see.   It wasn’t until the next day, after I could barely walk, that I realized just why the sight-lines were so good, the stairs up to the seats were gigantic.

And then the big disappointment finally came.   The game started off great, with the Cincinnati fans easily doubling the number of Florida fans.   This energy even transferred to the team with a great opening drive for the Cats.   But after a great run, a holding penalty sent the team back to their own side of the field and it all went downhill from there.   I’m sure many people saw it, if you weren’t there in person, so I probably don’t have to give a play-by-play.   It was a disappointing game, but I think everyone there was proud of how far the team had made it.   We could have easily taken off our red and black, but I continued to see it throughout the streets for the following two days.

The day after the game was Saturday, and we weren’t leaving until Sunday, so we once again spent the day walking around the French Quarter.   We first made it down to the French Market area, and then worked our way back north to Royal where we enjoyed some of the street performers, and later back to Bourbon Street for even more of those colorful drinks.   We actually spent a good chunk of time at Pat O’Brien’s this day, out on the patio, enjoying the sunshine.   The weather was pretty awesome the entire time we were there, but I can imagine that it could be pretty hot and muggy in the heart of summer.

We had an evening flight out yesterday, so again spent time exploring the River Walk, some of the Central Business District, and eventually back to the action on Royal and Bourbon.   The crowds were obviously thinning out quite a bit, but I was still shocked to see people enjoying more and more drinks.   I knew that my body had already had enough.   Though I did buy a package of hurricane mix from a souvenir shop, so I can try to make my own sometime in the future.   I’ll probably wait for the summer, as the snow back here in Denver doesn’t put you in the mood for the fruity drinks.   When we do give it a try, I’m sure I’ll be quickly reminded of our great trip to New Orleans and all the great times shared with our closest 25,000 family and friends.

New Orleans on Dwellable

With two of my fantasy football leagues completely finished, I only have one left.   Unfortunately I took a loss in that league this past week to the last place team.   I accidentally left DeAngelo Williams on my roster and should have played Jonathan Stewart instead.   That would have won the game for me.   I am now in fifth place but I hope I can get one more win in this last week and end in the top half of the league.   I remain in first place in both of my pick’em leagues and am still alive in the survival league with my pick of Arizona over St. Louis.   I cannot pick the Rams opponent this week as I already used San Francisco.   So I’m thinking of going with the Broncos over the Chiefs.   Finally I fell down to fourth place in the salary cap game, but I am hopeful that I can end in the top three after this weekend.   The college bowl pick’em has also started and I am happy to claim my spot at the top of the standings so far.

Speaking of college bowl games, I am taking off work tomorrow to head down to New Orleans for a big weekend of parties, family/friends, and to top it all off the University of Cincinnati taking on the University of Florida in the Sugar Bowl.   Watch for us on TV on Friday.   Go CATS!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas break, I know I did.   We spent the long weekend in Cincinnati with family and friends and attended six different parties and/or gift exchanges.   It was a very busy weekend, but worth it to see so many people.   I only wish I had one more day so I could have seen all of my friends that I didn’t see, but I know we will be back to visit again soon enough.

Instead of staying in Cincinnati through yesterday, we flew back on Sunday.   Originally Kim was going to work on Monday morning, but later decided to take it off so we could spend our first day up in the mountains this season.   For whatever reason, my company decided we should have Monday off instead of Christmas Eve.

So yesterday morning we woke up fairly early and headed up to Keystone for our first day of snowboarding.   The conditions on the open slopes were actually better than I had anticipated, but there are still so few trails actually open.   We were able to quickly get in ten runs and decided to call it a day after riding well over 50% of the open trails.   I really hope that a ton of snow falls over the next couple of weeks before we start getting visitors who want to snowboard or ski.   Overall, it was a good first day of the season.

Last night Kim and I went out for our normal four mile run. Three-fourths of the way through I was officially finished with the quest to run one-hundred miles between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I finished the last twenty miles in five days since the last update, and can now start resting up for the holidays. I was the sixteenth person to finish the hundred miles out of over one-hundred participants. Kim still has a few miles left to finish, as does my dad. Good luck to both of them. I’m hoping that I will not be joining any of them for a run on Christmas morning.

I might as well provide an updated on my fantasy sports as well. I lost my big game in the money league to fall out of the playoffs. My performance was good enough to earn back my $40 entry free, but I would have liked to take home the big $200 prize. In my other league, I beat up on Kim pretty good, though I still remain in fourth place while she remains barely in first. I’m still in 1st in both pro pick’em leagues, as well as 3rd in the salary cap game. And finally I remain undefeated in the survivor game. Though Houston barely made it past St. Louis I’m still considering picking Arizona over St. Louis this week.

Guess what?   My hockey team actually won a game this week!   I must have been too caught up with running an insane number of miles to mention this earlier.   Sure they other team only had three subs, but we took it to them hard.   Plus we also had a new player join our team who is really good.   In face he scored the game deciding goal in our overtime shootout.   His snap shot is one of the best I’ve seen.   The stats are not posted yet for the game, but I think I added two more assists to my four that I already had.   That should be enough to make me the player with the most assists on our team and possibly move me into the top 10 in the league.   We will have to wait until next year for our next game to see if we can turn our win into a streak.

After realizing last week that I was falling behind in the quest to run 100 miles between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I’m happy to say that I am now back ahead of schedule.   So far this week I have racked up 35.05 miles and I haven’t put in a run yet today.   Compare that with 25.2 the first week and 18.25 the second.   I’m contributing most of these miles to our weekend stay in North Dakota.   With the temperatures so cold outside, Kim and I spent much longer than normal on the treadmills.   And with the warmer weather in Denver, I’ve been able to keep running longer distances, though it is definitely getting darker earlier still.   My current total is 78.5, so only 21.5 more miles in the next week plus.   I’d really like to finish before we leave for Cincinnati next Wednesday night.