Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas (a bit belated) and Happy New Year! Alex and I had a blast at Loveland and compiled a quick Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays video for you! We've had a wonderful year and look forward to the next. We wish to say thank you to all of our family and friends for the love and support you continue to give.

All the best to all of you in 2011!

Regards,

RayII & Alex

I Ride Loveland, Alexandra!

Alex and I visited Loveland this past Saturday for our first trip up to ride. Perfect weather coupled with short lift lines made for a wonderful day on the mountain.

"I Love Snowboarding Daddy," says Alex after 2 runs on Turtle Creek and 2 runs in the Valley! For a first day of the season, this little girl did well! Despite catching an edge on the first run, she bounced back and didn't miss a beat.

Check it:

Regards,

Ray & Alex

The First Intrawest Turkey Fry

On the eve of the Intrawest Thanksgiving Potluck I wanted to give tribute to a one Mark Allen who taught me how to fry turkeys safely. In addition, a BIG shout out to all the folks frying turkey this Thanksgiving. Be Safe! And check out the original Turkey Fry video from 2006...where it all began at Intrawest Shared Services!

Here's to you Mark!

Regards,

Ray

The Cowgirl, Halloween 2010

Alex, with the help of her mom, decided to switch it up this year. She is now a cowgirl vs. the "pretty witch" from years past. Check out her costume below! Also, the first photo is a picture of Mrs. Middleton her kindergarten teacher. The kindergarten class had a nice Halloween parade and party on Friday.

Happy Halloween!

Ray & Alex

10 Years Ago...Halloween

As Halloween 2010 approaches I think back to previous Halloweens and none is more present in my mind than that of 2000. My good friend Jay Berger (also known as Bay Jerger) cooked up the idea of dressing up as secret service with an ex-president and numerous sexy secretaries and renting a limo to head down to sixth street in Austin. The video below captures the night in all its glory.

Thanks Jay for bringing this idea to fruition. I'm also going to give myself some props for putting together a nice little vid of all the fun we had that night. Beside hitting sixth street, we made some initial first stops at Jester dormitory, the Capital Building, a posh hotel, and multiple parties along the way before ending up at Sixth Street downtown.

Secret Service 2000 from hayrebert on Vimeo.

Here's to you Bay...

Cheers,

Ray

The 2nd Freestyle - Alex Swimming

Alex and I make our way each Monday/Wednesday to the Golden Rec Center for her swim lesson. She's progressed quite well and enjoys the lessons as well as playing in the pool just prior to and after. Good for Dad because I just hang out and relax by the pool while she does her thing.

There is a previous post of her first freestyle. In this she's doing quite well and not holding her nose as much. To say I'm proud is an understatement.

Regards,

RayII & Alex

JG Grappling & Jiu Jitsu

Misty was in town this past weekend and we had an opportunity to check out a local grappling/jiu jitsu tournament at a local high school. The instructor that I had the pleasure of training with is in the video below. He wins the match via a submission hold.

Cheers,

Ray

Old Memories, Crested Butte 2000

In the conversion of my PC files to MAC and organizing various photos and videos I've come across old videos and memories. Below is the first real video I put together after a trip to Crested Butte in 2001. This was put together using Adobe Premier at the time on a custom built desktop computer. Enjoy!

Regards,

Ray

Wimmer Golf, Breckenridge/Silverthorne, CO

Just put together a little video of a golf trip to Breckenridge/Silverthorne a couple of weekend back. I'm not a golfer but the circumstances were good (all expenses paid) so I documented the trip and had a bit of fun to say the least.

Until the next golf outing...

The Labor Day Weekend Video

Some of you may know that I recently experienced some computer troubles. My beloved Dell crashed 2 weeks ago which I had faithfully used for 4 years. In keeping with the times to stay "hip" I opted to purchased a Mac Book Pro. Here is the first video created from it...done in about an hour's time (I had to learn the software otherwise this probably would have taken only 10-15 minutes).

Enjoy!

Regards,

Ray

The "Rabor Day" Weekend

This post is a shout out to the wonderful folks in Billings, MT who made Alex and I feel welcome over the Labor Day Holiday. Alex and I had a wonderful time with the Buchanan Capital crowd as well as Lena, Tony, Norma, Bret at the picnic at Misty's. You guys are wonderful and I look forward to seeing you again! Here is a photo or two and some video from the wonderful garden dinner.

Thomas, Bruno the Bear, and Alex at the Billings Zoo:

The Table & Garden (photo compliments of Alex)

Labor Day Picnic Video

Norma & Misty

Alex & Mrs. Maple

Thanks to all of you wonderful folks for making it such a great Labor Day weekend!

Regards,

Ray & Alex

Ocean City Videos, Alex

Just a quick post and shout out to the Colonel for taking some nice video of Alex with his Sony camera.

Alex enjoying the rides 1:

Alex Enjoying the Rides 2:

Alex Enjoying the Rides 3:

Thanks Dad.

Ray

Alex, the Dancer

I will let the video speak for itself...

Hope everyone is well.

Regards,

RayII & Alex

The Misty Weekend

Golden held its annual Fine Arts Festival last weekend. Misty, me and Alex had a blast riding the mini train, checking out the art on hand, and enjoing some time in Clear Creek in Golden.

Misty & Alex on the Mini Train:

Alex posing as a Yoga Squirrel:

Misty & Alex hanging out at Clear Creek:

Alex's 2nd/3rd Day of Kindergarten

Alex had a wonderful 2nd and 3rd day of Kindergarten as well. For those few of you who actually follow this blog, don't worry I'm not posting everyday but wanted to let you know she's acclamated and enjoying her new class.

Her new friends are Brooke, Caroline, and Lily. I'm sure she'll make more but that's good for the moment. Here are a few video for your viewing pleasure:

End of Day, see if you can spot Alex...

And here's a bit of an interview with the kiddo:

Alex's First Day of Kindergarten

And so the first day of Alex's school career begins today, Monday, August 23, 2010. Alex made her way to Mitchell Elementary School in Golden, CO. Nana provided a wonderful little plaid dress and matching top and with her new princess back pack, she set off to her first day of Kindergarten.

Alex, the Kindergartener (Photo 1):

Alex and Mommy (Photo 2):

Alex and Daddy outside the Kindergarten Classroom (Photo 3):

Her Kindergarten teacher's name is Mrs. Middelton and she has a website with weekly happenings here:

www.suemiddleton.weebly.com. You may also visit the school website at www.mitchellmustangs.org. I will endeavor to keep all family and friends posted!

Regards,

RayII

Ocean City, Maryland - Second Post

In addition to providing some photos of the kiddo, I thought I'd take the liberty to include a post on another wonderful tradition associated with trips to Ocean City, Maryland. These are of course steamed Maryland Blue Crabs. This wonderful delicacy of the chesapeake is only complete when accompanied with cold beer, corn on the cob, and family and friends telling stories. Here is Aunt Kathy and my brother Brian enjoying a few...

A little slice of heaven:

Brian & Aunt Kathy:

Ocean City, Maryland - First Post

Alex and I had the pleasure of spending 9 days in Ocean City, Maryland compliments of Grandpa (thanks Dad). We arrived in Maryland on Saturday, July 24 and proceeded to spend the next 9 days enjoying time with family at the beach. I'm currently working on a consolidated video but this will give you a taste.

Alex at the Beach:

Alex Jumping Waves (Video):

Alex at the Beach 2:

The First Freestyle

Over the past 2 summers I have endeavored to provide swim tips to the kiddo. Most to no avail and alas I decided not to press the issue. For those of you who do not know me I grew up swimming semi-competitively and the old man's got quite a bit of swim prowess. It's only natural that I should hold high expectations for my daughter.

A funny thing happened this past weekend while at Water Polo practice on Sunday morning at Congress Park pool. I left Alex with a group of kids and wife of one of the other players while I played polo. As it turns out a private swim lesson occurred at the same time.

Upon finishing practice, the kiddo is swimming underwater, doing a modified crawl and all of a sudden is a water bug when only a week before she barely puts her face in the water. So I ask, "What just happened and how did you suddenly learn how to swim underwater and enjoy it?"

She replies, "I just watched the swim lesson and the little boy do it and decided it was easy."

Yeah, that's exactly what she said. Here is a quick video of her in our communty pool. Remember this kid wasn't even putting her face in the water a week before.

The First Freestyle:

The Original Biker Chick

Over Memorial Day I went cruisin' with a special girl...

Check It:

Alexandra's Soccer Photos

Good morning to everyone! It's been raining for 2 days straight so thought I'd take a moment to add an update to the blog. Alex received her Soccer photos which appear below. Enjoy!

The little star:

My New Cruiser

As I meandered my way through our community garage sale last weekend, I came across this beauty, Schwinn Hollywood Cruiser from the 60s. Needless to say I couldn't resist and Mike put some sweet white wall tires.

Schwinn Hollywood Cruiser

I'm looking to do a bit of "cruising" with this girl I met in Billings, MT. She's quite the catch:

Thinking about you love...R

Soccer & Biking

The kiddo started soccer 2 weeks ago. Here is a picture at the first practice. It's a motley crew but they have a great time together.



First Soccer Practice (cold & rainy):

In addition to soccer, she's getting quite good riding her two wheel bike without training wheels. Here's a bit of footage from Lyons Park, Golden.

Lyons Park Ride:

Winter Park Last Year

Just taking a moment to relive some memories from last summer. I have just recently put together some old footage from last summer and our trip to Winter Park, CO resort. This resort provides a wonderful array of activities during the summer including Putt Putt, Trampolines, Climbing walls, and the Alpine Slide! Enjoy!

May 1, 2010 - Alex Learns to Ride A Bike!

May Day 2010! What a day! Alex and I made our way to Addenbrook park and the kid had another breakthrough...let the video tell the story!

Alex & the Bike:

The Square Foot Gardening Video

The Square Foot Gardening Video from Lakewood, CO. Enjoy!

Alex & Lucy at the Rec

On Saturday, I took Alex and Lucy to the Golden Rec Center for a bit of swimming and fun. In light of the overcast weather it was the perfect afternoon activity for these two girls.

Alex & Lucy:

Lucy & Alex coming down slide:

Square Foot Gardening 2010

Alex and I have embarked into the world of gardening with reckless abandon these days. We decided to start growing some of our own food and flowers and in light of our limited amount of space, Square Foot Gardening (http://www.squarefootgardening.com/) proved the most effective method to accomplish our goals.

We opted to build 3 boxes. The first and larger of the two are 4 x 2 feet while the 3rd and smaller comprises a 2 x2 foot space. After building and painting the boxes which appear below we followed the SQFG instructions by combining a mix of Peat Moss, Vermiculite, and Compost to fill the boxes (check out the video). We are now ready for Spring and will plant our seedlings just after Mother's Day. Enjoy!

Square Foot Gardening 1, a simple box with Alex:

Square Foot Gardening 2, painted boxes and compost bins:

Square Foot Gardening 3, boxes filled with Mel's mix and ready:

Rockies Game Anyone?

Hanging with the Intrawest folks at the Rockies Game, Thursday, April 15, 2010!

I Ski Loveland Part 2

March 28, 2010 and it's an absolutely brilliant sunny day here in Colorado! Grandma is in town so we decided to take a trip to Loveland Ski Area and turns out the kiddo suddenly turned into a snowboarder!


Dropping into "All Smiles" Run on Lift 7:

Look Mom, I'm snowboarding:

Alex in front of Lift 7:

Hebert Style!

In honor of the 2 feet of snow now gracing Denver/Golden, I'm taking a moment to post some photo and video of my little bro's trip to CO earlier this month. My bro (below) and his buddy Blake came up for a bit of riding at Copper Mountain.

The Bro:

The Bro on the board park:

In addition to a bit of riding, we took a trip to Ft. Collins, CO for a Brew Tour at Odell's Brewery. Little photo below takes place in the cask room:

Alex's 5th Birthday Party

Alex celebrated her 5th birthday party on February 27, 2009. Her birthday is February 28th, but we opted to put together a pool party at Golden Rec Center on the 27th. Check out the photos below:

Alex and Cody:

Alex and the Birthday Cake:

Alex and her friends:

I Ski Loveland

Awaking to a fresh blanket of snow today, Alex and I decided to make our way to Loveland Ski Area. A nice benefit to working for a Ski/Resort Company is the "Real Deal" exchange which allows Alex and I to ski at any other resort participating in the program for Free!

We took Lift 2 to Turtle Creek Run and made our way down twice stopping for a hot chocolate after the first run. Alex made additional progress and I was finally able to get some video of her boarding at the end of the run. Enjoy!

Alex at the base of Loveland:

Alex Boarding Loveland:

Ray Bobble Head

I joined Wimmer Roofing & Exteriors (www.wimmerroofing.com) this past fall (September 2009) to earn some additional income and to learn a new trade (roofing). As a Christmas gift to each of the roofers, the company elected to purchase Bobble Heads for each of the roofers. I couldn't resist posting, so enjoy!

The Ray Bobble Head:

Unicorns & Birdhouses

Alex and I decided to decorate her birdhouse that we made on Father's Day last year. I found a unicorn picture online and we proceeded to create stencil. We then spray painted unicorns on her birdhouse. Enjoy! She did inform me that we need to expand our spray paint color collection to include pink, purple, red, and yellow. Perhaps there will be a future post with pink and purple unicorns...

Unicorns and birdhouses picture 1:

Unicorns and birdhouses picture 2:

Happy New Year Colorado Style!

Happy New Year to family & friends! I started this New Year off right with a trip to Copper Mountain with the kiddo for a fun filled day of snowboarding. Alex loves it and she made significant progress today so enjoy!

Alex wishing everyone a Happy New Year:

The Magic Carpet Ride:

Alex Snowboarding: