Merry Christmas

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, we did! We sorta did the celebration in waves -- Nell, Chris & Monica arrived (James & Penny spent the night with us) about 11:00 and we opened gifts with Judi & Steadman. About 2:30 Tim & Sheila, Gary & Cheryl arrived and due to some malfunctioning ovens, we didn't have dinner till about 5:30, which was just fine with everyone except the chefs. After dinner, we had a fun gift exchange with the whole bunch. We capped the evening with the annual viewing of "Christmas Vacation" movie.

Steadman was invited to join the Castle Rock Senior Sluggers, a Rockies Baseball fan club, comprised mostly of Youngs' brothers and a few friends. This special honor was bestowed on him due to he & Judi's impending relocation to Castle Rock, CO. 



Carolyn's new specs.

Beware, Jim got knives.

Judi's nails will be  spectacular!

What Not To Wear -- James gives Steadman advice on cold-weather dressing.

Chris & Monica checking out Uber's balls. Didn't know they were able to keep them.

New Youngs' baby

There are many reasons for adopting an orphan, but as James has discovered, this one is a chick magnet at the dog park. She may grow out of that persona because Penny Lane is an American Bulldog/German Shepard mix about 3 months old and a complete doll. If she grows into her paws, she's gonna be big. She is also very mellow for a puppy and follows James around like a shadow. There are 3 dogs and a cat in James' household and word is that they all get along well. Penny visited mom & dad's home for the last couple of days and she gets along well with our dog, Lucy too. Tomorrow will be interesting as we'll all be together for Christmas along with Chris & Monica's puppy, Uber, who has yet to meet Penny!

Fun party games

Until Monica's wedding I had never seen the most amusing, entertaining party game to come along in a long time -- Shake Face. The process is simple. Using a point-and-shoot camera, get folks to shake their heads as the pix is taken. The results, as you can see, are hilarious. Apparently there's a whole website devoted to it as well, complete with prizes for the best shots. We had lots of fun on the fringes of the dance floor catching everyone at their best. We still can't figure out how we can't seem to find a single pix of Pat Benger, who was having lots of fun mugging for every camera. Try it! BTW, this shot is of James' buds, Wei & Amy, obviously professionals.

How to ward off snakes

When our dog, Cody, was still alive, Carolyn would walk him around our property, curiously wearing her snow boots, even with shorts in the summertime. When asked about the boots, she said it was to protect her from snakes. Apparently it worked too as she said recently that she's "never seen a snake out there." We all guess it's sorta like that old joke about the guy standing on the corner clapping. When asked why he was clapping, he told folks that it was to keep elephants away, and when they responded that there were no elephants around here, he responded, "See, it works!"

Dad passes

I'm sad to report that my dad, Bill Youngs, succumbed to cancer October 25 at about 5:00 p.m. We were fortunate to all be with him when he passed; our mom, Nell Youngs, my brothers Gary & Tim, and our wives Carolyn, Sheila and Cheryl. I think this photo nicely captures his spirit and is one of the ways we will remember him most. He had an awesome sense of humor. In keeping with that we published a quote on the front of a handout for his memorial service, "On a hot day you can't beat a root beer float...except for buttermilk!" We will pay tribute to him Wednesday, October 29, 11:00a.m. at his church, Littleton Church of Christ and he will be buried in Chapel Hills Cemetary, just behind the church, with one of the best views of the Rocky Mountains anywhere in Colorado. RIP dad!

Ride to the top of the world

Last week Carolyn's siblings, Bill & Judi, and Judi's husband Steadman, came to Colorado ostensibly to sort through mom's old photographs. We managed to party a little too and do some sightseeing. Highlight of their trip was a venture to the top of Pikes Peak, 14,110 feet above sea level. On one of those picture-perfect Colorado Fall days, we boarded the famous cog railway operated by the Colorado Springs & Manitou Springs Railroad. At the base of the mountain the weather was predicted to hit 85 degrees, but at the top of the mountain, we found 40 degrees and very little air. It was a beautiful trip both ways and the clear view from the top was spectacular in every direction. Steadman delighted in making cellphone calls to his family from the top of the world. The scenery on the way up was colorful as the Aspen trees had just about reached their peak Fall colors.

After the trip up the mountain we drove through quaint Manitou Springs at the base of the mountain and stopped for a light, late lunch.

It was a great Colorado day.

Grandluxe Railway vacation

Our vacation in August on the GrandLuxe Railway was wonderful as we spent about 6 days on this vintage train traveling from Tacoma, Washington to Jackson Hole, Wyoming through four national parks -- Mt. Rainier, Glacier, Yellowstone & Grand Teton. The scenery was incredible and the parks magnificent. We also enjoyed the train travel very much and met a lot of great folks. There were only 69 passengers on the trip so we had lots of time for pampering and visiting. 

Sadly we learned when we returned from the trip that we were on the second to last trip as GrandLuxe closed it doors and is trying to sell the railcars. Too bad because the food and service on the train were great and it was very relaxing for the most part. No TV, no phone, no computer most of the time. It was kinda cool too staying in the U.S. and seeing some stuff we'd never seen. 

We spent two days before boarding the train celebrating our 37th anniversary in Seattle. Lots of fun there too. At the end of the trip we drove back home from Jackson and enjoyed the scenery of Wyoming & Montana.

Speaking of masculinity

Apparently my brother in-law, Steadman Matthews, is very comfortable with his feminine side as witnessed by this photo of him (right) with our neighbor, Rita Krupp. Even with all the make-up his persona as a woman is questionable. The occasion was our Academy Awards party in which participants dressed as characters from some of the movies up for awards that year. Stymied by an idea, his wife, Judi, suggested the main character from Transamerica. Well, it certainly was trans-something, but a big hit at the party. Folks had to look quick too as he quickly shed his costume saying that his panty-hose were riding up uncomfortably and his heels were killing him.

Comfortable with my masculinity

My marketing director, Steve Temple and his new wife, Tina, thought it would be funny to give me the pink Fem-Hat you see here as kind of a joke based on my having to write something for one of our female contributors. The thinking that I had to write from a feminine perspective, I might need some sort of motivation if I had to do it again. Well, I'm pretty in touch with my feminine side (and very comfortable with my masculinity as well), so I don't really need the cap, even though I wore it all day after receiving it.

It's all about family

Though the occasion for this gathering was a sad one -- the passing of Thelma Allen -- we're sure she was smiling down on us as we gathered as her family and extended family to reminisce and celebrate her long life. Thelma's funeral was held in New Albany, Indiana with burial in the family plot in Jeffersonville, IN. After the services the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren convened at son, Bill's home for a relaxing day of socializing with family members we sadly don't get to see very often. The weather couldn't have been more perfect with low humidity and mild temperatures under clear blue skies. Unfortunately we were having too much fun to get photos of everyone, so these and our memories will have to suffice for now. Present for most of the day were Bill & Dawn Allen; Dallas Kidd; Bart, Melissa, Max, Macy & Ben Jacobs; Missy Jacobs; Lee, Jennifer & Will Allen; Neal, Bethany, Cheyenne & Brooklyn Allen; Cayce & Gregory Horgan; Marsue Johns; Phillip Allen; Christine & Dave Tomlin; Delilah Allen; Judi & Steadman Matthews; Carolyn, Jim & James Youngs; Monica & Chris Benger. A good time was certainly had by all. The following day, thanks to Melissa scoring us some tickets, we visited Churchill Downs for some horse racing and a visit to the cool museum. Then it was farewell and plane trips to homes scattered all across the country, from New York to California. 

Unfortunately Austin Allen suffered a fall at home just before this event and was hospitalized for a serious neck injury. His immediate family and many of the rest of us visited him there to give him support and recount the activities.

Really multi-dimensional

I guess this photo proves that my interests lie in things other than cars. The back story is that I'm a certified sushi chef, having graduated from the California Sushi Academy in Santa Monica, California some years ago. Okay, so it was only a one-day class that Carolyn gave me as a gift for some long-forgotten birthday, father's day or something. I learned just enough to get me in trouble and cause me to wear this head band and kimono and try to speak in pidgeon-Japanese. Hai, dozo! Actually, it's kinda fun and we get together with friends and family from time to time for "sushi night" at our house. Of course preparing sushi is very labor intensive so I usually enlist the help of sister-in-law, Cheryl, friends of my son James' , Chris and Jeremy, and others to slice and dice along with me. The key (and it's a secret) is that Chris is a sales rep for Seattle Fish Company and gets us great deals on very fresh seafood, typically with enough left over for some seared Ahi tuna steaks the following night. We have also recently discovered an awesome Asian market in Aurora, CO, where we blitz through to collect the rest of the condiments and the best produce at the best prices in town. 

Anniversary coming up

Next week will mark the 37th anniversary for Carolyn and me. We love to travel together and have just about run out of gifts to give each other on such occasions. This year we decided to pull out all the stops and give each other a trip of a lifetime. (Actually, we went on a cruise to the Panama Canal in February of this year, so the trip next week may be considered "another" trip of a lifetime.) We're very blessed to be able to do these things. We leave on Thursday August 14 heading for Tacoma, Washington where two days later we board the GrandLuxe Railroad, trains built in the 1930s and recently refurbished. The train will take us to 4 national parks -- Mt. Rainier, Glacier, Yellowstone and Grand Teton -- in total luxury. We then spend two days at Jackson Lake Lodge in the shadow of the Grand Tetons and then drive home in a rental car from Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It's really a different kind of vacation for us and we're really excited. We'll give you some updates here as we can. Wish we were leaving tomorrow! We normally head for Mexico at this time of year (usually a hastily-planned vacation fitted in between magazine deadlines) and you can imagine the heat/humidity. We reasoned that heading north would probably be cooler and that, along with a Travel Channel show on the GrandLuxe, helped us decide on the train trip through the Northwest.