Last year we were left dreaming of a White Christmas as we walked in the park after our big meal under blue skies with 69 degrees. This year, a White Christmas was a certainty. You may have seen some coverage of the Colorado Holiday Blizzard. I affectionately call it "The Nightmare Before Christmas." (Amazing pictures of our house at that link.) Ryan was working in Little Rock, AK, Mon-Wed and his flight back to Denver was cancelled. With no seats available on anything to Denver until after Christmas, Ryan and two co-workers flew to Amarillo, TX, and rented a car and drove back home to Denver. We are thankful to have him home. In addition, the Fisher family is celebrating Christmas with us here in Wheat Ridge. Ryan's parents, Paul and Sue, his sister Tabitha, his brother Jared and Jared's fiancé Teea are all staying here for Christmas week. It is a blessing to celebrate with family and we were glad they could navigate the weather and get here. It even snowed for us again on Christmas Eve.
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Fun Facts
Britta's hair has been growing.
This year she has had to purchase:
- a comb
- a hairbrush and a little travel brush for her purse
- a hair dryer
- a headband
She refuses to go to curling iron, so we'll see what happens next.
Ryan is now in his 4th year at CSS. This year he has been working on tools for Inventory Traders. A major goal for CSS was met this year when a client prepared to use CSS's software for their securities "books and records" system. Ryan also had a few business trips in 2006, during which he enjoyed lots of seafood.
Britta started the year as the Fair Housing Program Manager at the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. She traveled to San Diego in February for a Fair Housing Conference. Then she acquired a new title and job scope at the Coalition as the Statewide Advocacy Manager. In July she was approached by an organization she has been volunteering with called Wheat Ridge 2020. It is a non-profit organization which does community and economic development to improve Wheat Ridge. The offer to work a mile and a half from home and to get paid to make the community better proved to be a strong pull. And it turns out one can make better money in economic and community development than homelessness. In August Britta became the Director of Community and Small Business Development at Wheat Ridge 2020. She is looking forward to learning more about business and to making loans and grants. She is also overseeing leadership development and neighborhood revitalization projects.
- San Diego, CA
- Washington DC
- Orange County, CA
- Little Rock, AK
- Minnesota (x3)
Colorado trips:
- Winter Park
- Vail
- Durango
- Breckenridge
The first few months saw us visiting with two of the groomsmen from our wedding. Adam stopped by to visit us on January 1st and stayed for a few days. That's him skiing in the yellow.
A couple of months later Britta had a conference in Washington D.C. We both went along and got to hang out with Nic & Jackie while we were out there.
This summer we saw two sets of grandparents celebrate 50 years of marriage. The Erhard family (Ryan's grandparents) and the Harjes family (Britta's grandparents) both had some celebrating to do. While we were bummed we were unable to make the Erhard celebration in Myrtle Beach, we were fortunate to celebrate with the Harjes clan over the week of July 4th in southeastern Minnesota. We hadn't seen some of the family since our own wedding, so it was great to catch up with cousins and see everyone.
For our 4th anniversary we went to Winter Park and Rocky Mountain National Park to celebrate. We played golf at a beautiful mountain course outside Granby. On our hike we were fortunate to see a moose cow and calf feeding together. We hope to take a trip outside of Colorado for our 5th anniversary in 2007.
Reading from Britta:
"Gonzalez and Daughter Trucking
Co." by Maria Amparo Escandon
"Guest of the Revolution" by Kathryn Koob
"My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult
"4th and Fixed" by Reggie Rivers
Not only did we get out and about to visit family and friends, we had lots of visitors here in Colorado.
In April, Britta's stepsister Greta and her fiancé Pablo visited us in Denver when Greta had a conference. It was fun to get to know Pablo and show them the Rockies.
In June, Ryan's uncle John had some work in Denver and we had a chance to go to dinner with him. He hadn't seen Ryan since he was just a boy, so it was fun to reconnect.
In August, Britta's family takes a family vacation and they were able to stop in Denver on a Wyoming/Colorado trip. It was their first time out since we bought our home in Wheat Ridge. They enjoyed our mosquito-less weather and our ability to play games in the back patio into the evening. Also, note in the picture to the left that Garrett and Zach got tall!
And now we are playing games with Ryan's family. Our home is stretched to the max with five guests (and six for one night when Tabitha's boyfriend visited), but it is great to all be in one place for Christmas. It is cozy not cramped.
Colorado is a great place to visit. Let us know if you are traveling to the area. We'd love to see you.
- Lamar
- Boulder
- Colorado Springs
- Grand Junction
- Carbondale
- Castle Rock
- Longmont
- Adams County Jail
Britta was accepted as a member of the Colorado Institute for Leadership Training Class 2006. This nonprofit trains leaders on issues facing Colorado. The emphasis is to travel to different parts of the state and have in-depth training on issues from education to renewable energy to growth management. One of the most powerful classes was a tour of the Adams County Jail. Britta had a great time in Lamar talking about agriculture. She wowed her classmates (mostly Denverites) with her ability to quickly climb to the top of a John Deere tractor and with her knowledge of bins. Britta enjoyed the interactions with her classmates and the informative speakers. The class met roughly twice a month for six months. If you live in Colorado, she highly recommends this class.
Britta still serves as the Chair for the Colorado Housing Investment Fund Coalition. She was part of a successful fundraising campaign and the group was able to hire staff this year. The Coalition worked hard on an educational campaign in 2006 and is getting much closer to realizing a dedicated source of funding for affordable housing investment in Colorado.
In 2007, the Urban Servant Corps is celebrating 20 years of servanthood. Britta is chairing the 20th Anniversary Committee and is looking forward to seeing her housemates and other volunteers at the big event, "ServantStock," June 22-24.
- Psych
- Monk
- Survivor: Cook Islands
- Studio 60
- Veronica Mars
- Gilmore Girls
- Flip that House
- Broncos games
Ryan had a good time biking this year. He participated in two organized rides. The first was the 65 mile Elephant Rock ride. This is a beautiful trek around Castle Rock, and has almost 7000 riders. Unfortunately a hamstring issue slowed Ryan down for the rest of the summer. He rode 25 miles to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis in the Ride for 65 Roses later on in the summer.
Ryan and Britta both did a lot of golfing this summer. They have traded the Hope Cup back and forth (a competition in our church) and Britta cites her top achievement in 2006 as winning the women's longest drive contest at the Housing Aurora Tournament in August.
For fun, Britta keeps busy with the Drinking Club with a Book Problem and her women's discussion group. Ryan and Britta both participate in a great small group at Hope Community Church. Ryan also sings on the worship team and Britta helps out in the tech booth.
And now Britta goes Zoom-Zoom. After many years of bonding, Britta has traded in the little burgundy Geo Prism and bought a new Mazda 6. She is enjoying the cupholders and power everything.
- Skipbo
- Phase 10
- Dutch Blitz
- Nerts
- Yahtzee
- Rummikub
- Snowboarding
- Snowshoeing
We feel blessed to live in Colorado and hope that this season finds you enjoying many blessings as well.
Merry Christmas!
Britta & Ryan