AMGC @ HV Closing? & The "Official" Five Birdies

Written on 8-29-16.

     Well, the tournament was a blast!  It was one of the best ever, and it might also be the last ever at Hidden Valley.  I’ve been informed that the golf course is officially closing again, and I am feeling confident (and sad) that it will really shut down for good this time.

     I have my first fall session for The First Tee tomorrow.  Only a handful have signed up, so I am curious to see what the final number will be.  Belinda and I have gone back and forth wondering if I should just can the whole thing this time for a number of reasons, two of those reasons being that the numbers are low and the golf course is likely to close.  I could still choose to cancel once I see how many show up tomorrow.  That way I will feel better knowing I gave it my best shot for any parents who might have waited to sign up on the first day.  It would be weird to have so few participate, so it’s a tough decision for me.

     Let’s get those five birdies in here officially.

Aztec Municipal Golf Course-Hole #1-Birdie #36 of 2016

     We chose the escalating skins game for this round.  My drive was long enough to be even with the cottonwood, and it was on the right side.  The flagstick was visible on the right side of the green, and I chose my 8-iron to go for it.  I pulled that approach a bit, so my ball ended up rolling and stopping on the right side of the left hill, and the remaining pitch was funky because my ball was so far below my feet.  I bent my knees and took a few practice swishes before I took my shot while C.J. watched and waited.  My ball came out low, bounced on the lower tier, steadied itself and rolled up onto the higher tier where the hole was, and I made the putt from there.  I won that hole and earned the first bonus of the round, the longest drive on the fairway for a total of $20,000.00.

     Before I write about this next birdie, I must record my amazing par on hole #3.  The tees have been way back on this hole for many rounds now, so it’s...

Birdie Bonanza!

Written on 8-25-16.

     Today is Danielle’s 21st birthday!  Happy birthday, dear daughter.  We talked about driving down to Las Cruces to be with her for this big occasion, but changed our mind when we heard it would be more of a “party” weekend.  Her friend from the YCC, Devin, is making the trip, and we didn’t want to intrude.  We also got to celebrate her birthday when she was here before heading back just before school started, and we bought her her gift, a new car stereo with bluetooth and some new speakers.  She was thrilled with it, of course, and we were happy knowing she would be safer when talking hands-free on the phone while driving.  Happy birthday, Danielle!  Our baby is 21!  Wow!

     It’s time to get caught up with the birdie count again.  I had only one to catch up on before Bruce, C.J., and I played again on Wednesday, yesterday, and that’s when I earned FIVE more in one round!  

So, here I go…

Aztec Municipal Golf Course-Hole #13-Birdie #35 of 2016

     This birdie came in the round where we were playing the points game.  I was in the lead after nine holes with 21 points to Bruce’s 17 and C.J.’s 14.  We all had a pretty lousy front nine, so I was happy to come away with the lead despite our high scores.  

On the back, I managed to...

One Night at the Cabin Home

Written on 8-22-16.

     Belinda and I are up at the cabin home.  She just made a fire, even though we don’t really need one.  It was raining as we drove in, but it isn’t raining here.  Danielle, Belinda, and I took the time to go gather all that wood, though, so we decided to use some tonight, and it’s great for cabin home ambience.  We are here because Belinda has an appointment with her neurologist tomorrow morning.  It will be easy for us to get up and drive less than a half hour to get there.  

     We are going to find out the results of her most recent four MRI’s, and we’ve already heard from the nurse that there were/are four active lesions on her brain (sigh).  We are wondering if her hysterectomy may have caused an episode to occur.  That will be one of many questions we will ask when we go.

     We just returned from Denver last night, and it was a fabulous weekend.  As I mentioned above, we got to see The Fixx live in concert, the major reason for the trip, but we also got some other major bonuses.  On Friday night, Darrell, Angie, Caden, Joe, Tammy, Bev, Curt, Daryl, and Katie all made the effort to come meet us at Dave and Buster’s on Colorado.  After dinner, we did the usual “buy and quickly blow” the cards for gaming.  Caden had a spectacular time; he is such a nice kid.

     On Saturday, we had scheduled a family breakfast with Bev, Mom, and Dad.  Curt had to leave the house around 5:30 AM to go to some officiating thing where he was a mentor.  After breakfast, we did some light chores for Mom and Dad.  We cut down some branches from behind the larger shed, replaced the plastic covers to the window wells on the north side of the house (from damage that resulted because of a recent hailstorm), and weeded and tidied up the garden (B’s part).

Back From Canada, 8 Days of Consulting (sort of), and My Fixx Fix

Written on 7-31-16.

     Wow!  It’s the last day of July, and that means the end of our vacation, too.  We are on our way back to Durango on a United flight, our second to last leg before we drive home.  Amanda and Eric are seated directly in front of Belinda and me.  We are tuckered out, but happy.  When we ate at the Cantina Restaurant at D.I.A., we each recounted some of our favorite memories from this trip, and we found ourselves quickly naming more than one each.  I can’t say that this vacation was better than our 10th anniversary trip to Glacier National Park, but I can say it equaled it, for sure.

     Now that we are headed home, I can start prepping for the upcoming educational consulting I’ll be doing.  I have two Bisti Writing Project workshops, one for a grammar boot camp and another for…

Continued on 8-19-16.

a third basic skills math Saturday workshop.  I had to stop to get ready for landing there (tray tables up, seats in full forward position, etc.), so that’s why it ended so abruptly.

     Now, I am sitting next to Belinda in our Escape, and we are escaping to Denver for a concert.  We will also get caught up with Mom, Dad, Bev, Curt, Daryl, Katie, Joe, Tammy, Darrell and his family, and Colin and his family, too.  It's going to be a great weekend, and I will be able to cross something off of my bucket list, seeing The Fixx in concert, one of my favorite bands from high school and on.  They are playing with Huey Lewis and the News, The Go-Go’s, and Kool and the Gang.  Wow!  It’s going to be a super 80’s style shindig.

     I haven’t written for so long because...

Danielle is 21! and Different Golf in Canada

*Happy 21st birthday to our dearest daughter, Danielle, today!

Written on 7-28-16.

     We are having some quiet time after a busy day here, and this is our last night at the VRBO.  Working backwards, I’ll recount what we’ve been up to.  All four of us just came back from playing frisbee golf together at the RV park I mentioned above.  The other three “chose to love” and come play with me (even though Eric was the one who came up with the idea), and I did my best to contain my excitement about having us all do something that I enjoy (golf of any kind) more than anyone else.  Belinda and I took on Amanda and Eric in total stroke play and we got away with the win by one stroke.  Go, Swopes!  

     Although, Eric was definitely the undisputed King of the Billiards Table at the VRBO.  He beat me resoundedly over and over again with some amazing shots, and we played multiple games the last two nights.  I learned that I play worse when I have had three Budweisers, but Eric plays better with more margaritas.  The Democratic National Convention did not upset him too much either, and he certainly was not distracted by any of Hilary’s remarks.  Incredulous, but not distracted.    

     Before that, we drove out to Huson Lake and Caves.  It was incredible!  The scenery here is...