Ski Season Is Here....Opening Day at Breck!

Ski season has officially arrived for the Lane Family. Audra and I took a vacation day and we allowed the kids to cut classes to continue our tradition of skiing the opening day at Breckenridge. The day was just beautiful, 50 degrees and clear, blue skies.... with no wind. In typical fashion for opening day at Breck, we also enjoyed the fine music from a Mariachi Band. (Click Here) We also munched a couple of huge pizza's for lunch. Enjoy the pics.... (Click on each pic to get a much better view.)



The morning starts off with a free pancake breakfast. The kids are munching down. The two extra kids are a couple of boys that graduated with Cassi at Falcon HS, DJ and Jared.



Audra is loading her cakes up with butter and real maple syrup.



I was able to catch Bryce riding the board, when Audra and I were riding up on the lift. Bryce is the second kid. DJ is the First kiddo.


Here is Cassi and Tyler, just after getting off the lift and ready to head down.



Katie girl.... ready to go



Audra with Tyler in the background.



Cassi with Bryce and Tyler in the background.



Tyler, Bryce, Katie and Cassi.










Perfect timing. Of course this is a great pic of Audra, but if you look closely, you will see Bryce and the other kids on the chair lift. I wish I could claim great planning and timing... but it was total luck.

YouTube Video of Bryce and Friend

In the Spirit of Family Funnies........You got to watch this video.

Bryce and his friend, Caleb, produced this video for a Chemistry assignment. I don't think it will be a YouTube Smash...but it is worth watching....

Video...Click Here

The Basement and 4Runner

The basement continues to be a weekly project. The pics below will reveal our current progress. On Friday we ordered the carpet and it should be installed in about three weeks, hopefully the Monday or Tuesday prior to Thanksgiving.





In this pic, I have finished tiling about 1/2 of the shower. The pink wall is a lifetime, waterproof coating.




This is a pic of part of the boys room.



This is a pic of the closet in my office.







This is a pic of the 'Den', looking at the hallway leading to the bath and the boys bedroom . If you click on the pics, they will enlarge and you can better see the paint colors and the texture that we applied. The ceiling is an off-white and the walls are a mocha color called Timber Dust. The next couple of weeks, while we wait on the carpet, I will finished the bathroom, install the doors and install all trim, except the baseboard (which we will do after the carpet is laid). Also, I will be finishing all the electrical, installing switches, light fixtures, recepticles and sub-panel.





And.... we have 'sort of' turned a chapter in life in getting rid of the Suburban (Family Hauler), opting for a Toyota 4Runner. The Suburban has been wonderful for the past three years, but it was time for a change. The 4Runner has the third row seat and is built out pretty nice....but it is getting 21 mpg (awesome for a 4x4!!). Audra loves this vehicle and I will have to agree, it drives wonderfully and it capable of tackling just about anything Colorado Mountains or Weather can throw at us.

October 31st

Trick or Treat time!!!!!!




Tyler enjoyed putting on the Hard Rocker wig and handing out candies.



Simply a sugar high...



Bryce had to work and he was allowed to costume up. He went to work as a 1970's NBA Basketball Star. Katie dressed up as the Tooth Fairy.



Cassi, dressed up in her Banana Republic work garb, handing out candy after she got off work.

First Snow at the House...

We have had a couple of snows up high in the mountains this fall, but we finally got our first snow here at the house. For October, this one was pretty impressive.

I took this photo on Saturday evening as I was BBQ'ing some ribs, but these 'snow' clouds were the first evidence that we were going to get pounded.


It was a heavy snow, falling all night from about 2am to noon on Sunday. Notice how the trees are sagging.


Yep...that is 5" of snow in the front yard. I tried to measure a place where it seemed the most level, but we did have a 2' drift next to the house.

Bryce's Lift Kit for his Jeep.....Installed!

Thursday afternoon and Friday afternoon found the Lane boys and myself, tearing down the suspension on Bryce's Wrangler and installing his 4" lift kit.




The Wrangler and the beginning of the job. You can see the new springs laid out for installation.



Bryce is mounting the front tires after installing the front lift.



Tyler was charged with brake inspection, an extra while we had the tires off.



After installing the lift, we had to drop the transfer case for proper alignment of the drive shafts. This was a chore, as the bolt holes did not align as they should have.



Bryce adding a little hammer action. Usually needed when bolts and nuts are 18 years old.



Ahhh, the finished product. Bryce and I are under the Wrangler, making sure that all the bolts and nuts are tight.


Upon test drive, the lift was a huge improvement. The old suspension was shot. Two springs were bent, two shocks were completely shot and one was frozen. The 4" lift gives the Jeep just the right amount of height, without compromising stability or safety.

Bryce is a happy camper and Tyler and I learned a ton on the project.