Leaving Colorado

Holiday Joy - Jonah Patrick Blass

 
Wow, this is harder than I expected it might be, the "leaving" part that is; but then again I'm a newbie at this "grandparent business", and I really had no conception, until now, as to how quickly and deeply a Grandkid could stamp himself into one's heart.  Jonah, of course, has done just that, very easily and naturally!  I feel privileged and blessed to have: 1) been here at his birth this summer, a 4th of July baby, no less;  2) spent the first 2+ months with him and his parents, our daughter, Sara, and son-in-law, Drew; 3) spent a precious few days in the first half of November in Nashville with Sara and Jonah, witnessing then how much Jonah had developed in just two months since we'd last seen him; and 4) now spent another month with the young family experiencing the further blossoming of a charming young grandson, not to mention the great love shown him by two wonderful young parents.  And it was doubly wonderful, certainly, sharing this with Elaine... who Jonah is just "ga ga" about, of course!

Jonah on his favorite shoulder

Our precious "Little Man"

On Tuesday, Dec. 17th, Elaine and I headed South to our Christmas Holiday destination, Tempe, AZ (more on this later in a subsequent blog post). We've enjoyed Christmas with younger, daughter, Emily, a Tempe resident; and are looking forward to several more weeks in the Valley of the Sun before we hitch up the "Gypsy Wagon" to travel on again.  But right now I'd like to reflect in more detail on the month we spent in Colorado after our arrival there on Tuesday, November 19th.

As mentioned in my previous blog post, we just beat the winter weather back to Colorado, as it began snowing on the very next day, Wednesday Nov. 20th; and, by the time the snow let up late Thursday, we had about 3 inches on the ground and all over the roads in Loveland, where we had parked the 5th Wheel for the duration of our latest Colorado stay. 

Snowy day in Loveland

The snow kept us largely house-bound for the first few days, but weather and roads had cleared enough by the end of the week to be able to spend a whole lot of quality time with Jonah and those other guys (his parents, our daughter, Sara, and son-in-law, Drew).


We also, with Sara and Drew, and Jonah too, of course, soon welcomed a couple more family members to snowy Colorado, Auntie Em (to Jonah), our younger daughter Emily from Arizona, and "GeeGee" (her choice of name), Elaine's Mom, and Jonah's Great Grandma, aka Mavis Jones, for Thanksgiving.  Both were thrilled at their first meeting with Jonah, and Jonah seemed quite enthralled with them as well.  So we had a great family gathering in late November to give thanks for our many blessings.

Jonah with his "Auntie Em"

And with his "GeeGee"

The whole gang at Thanksgiving

 

 
Thanksgiving took place in kind of a lull between two serious winter weather systems, the second of which was very much the most severe.  It hit the following Tuesday (Dec 3rd), just after we'd taken Drew AND Mavis/"Gee Gee" to Denver International Airport that morning, Drew to head to Phoenix for a short business trip, Mavis returning to Eugene (Emily had returned earlier to Tempe). 

The weather turned both beautiful (snowy flakes) and ugly (plunging temperatures) almost all at once, the temp. dropping from the low 60's Tuesday afternoon to the "teens" overnight.  After the airport, Elaine and I drove directly to Loveland and the "Gypsy Wagon" to check things out (we hadn't been there for several days, over-nighting instead at Sara and Drew's house 35 miles South in Louisville), then I took Elaine back to Louisville to help out with Jonah and other things, while I headed back to Loveland to help keep the 5th Wheel from going in the deep freeze.

Home at Loveland in early December

Actually, the 5th Wheel, and I, held up pretty well over the next few days as temperatures dipped all the way down to minus 15 degrees at one point.  I had heat, food, and unfrozen water pipes, thanks to a lifesaver "heated hose" we bought on arrival in chilly Colorado; it cost about half a monthly car payment, but was well worth it. After the snowfall had piled up to about 5 inches on Tuesday and Wednesday, it finally stopped, the sun came out, and all was good, if still freezin' ass cold each night (we had sub zero temperatures for over a week)! So, by the end of the work week ("WORK?, what's that?), I was able to venture out on the roads and rejoin the rest of the family.

The "Boys" study NFL "gamebook" in Louisville, CO, early Dec. 2013

 In our last week in Colorado, we celebrated a bit of Christmas early at Sara and Drew's house, enjoying our mutual time together at the start of the Holiday season before 1) Sara, Drew, and Jonah headed off to Florida and his parent's house for Christmas week, and 2) we headed South.  It was great spending part of a first Christmas with our 5 month old grandson.  He won't remember this at all, of course (but we will!), or maybe deep down he WILL retain some of the great vibes.  Regardless, we had a wonderful time, and I think he did too.

Climbing aboard a really big present

Jonah in his "car", a "really big" present from Elaine and I

And then it was time to head off for Tempe and warmer temps.  We did, indeed, greatly enjoy our second tour in the beautiful State of Colorado; and, as long as Sara, Drew and Jonah are there, we will definitely be back.  But for now it's the Phoenix Valley and Jonah's "Auntie Em"; and... you know what?... it's kind of nice being here as well in late December with sunny 60+ weather!

Our Colorado Family - we already miss them a whole lot!