Colorado Skiing, Anyone?

We have a condo reserved up in the heart of Colorado ski country, and you are invited!

This year we have a condo that sleeps 8 in a little town called Frisco, Colorado. It is very close (less than an hour) to any of five awesome ski resorts: Vail, Copper Mountain, Breckenridge, Keystone, and Arapahoe Basin. I have been keeping an eye on plane tickets and now is a good time to buy!

So get out your calendars (and your credit cards) and get in touch with me by e-mail as soon as you know what your interest and availability is!

Oh, yes, the dates ....... we get the condo after 4 PM on Saturday February 27, and need to be out Saturday AM March 6. I would like to suggest that folks come for either the first half or the second half of the week. To save money on car rentals, I think if rent one fairly big car, like a minivan of 4x4 SUV, we can fit up to six and get around pretty well. I would like to limit the number of trips back and forth to Denver Intl Airport, as it is at least 90 minutes each way.

So, if you want to come out Saturday and stay through Wednesday, aim for arriving in Denver on Saturday February 27 around 2-3 pm, and leaving Wednesday March 3 after 5 pm.

If you coming out Wednesday March 3, plan on arriving between 4 and 6 pm and leaving on Saturday March 6 after 5 pm. ( Please note that this is a shorter time with only 2 1/2 days of skiing available, unless you rent your own vehicle and stay the night in Denver and go home on Sunday. )

If we are not "fillin up the joint" then I can be much more flexible with timing; I just don't want to be driving into Denver everyday and missing the skiing :) I am also open to anyone who is interested in the whole week to contact me RIGHT AWAY, so I can make sure that will really work.

Here's what we have so far:

I am planning on being "the host with the most", and staying all week (can you say burnt out quads?)

Jenny would like to come for the first half of the week, and would love to have some fellow "Blue Square" skiers join her.

Dave, I am hoping you are staying the whole week. Better get in shape, man! PS Did you know you can't smoke at 12,000 ft - not enough oxygen! I would love to see Melissa out there, too...can you talk her into it?

Deja Vu All Over Again!

After seeing Valerie's new pictures, I thought they looked a bit familiar, so I went to the family archives and found these pix of Greg at about the same age. Amazing isn't it! The apple doesn't far from the tree!

These pictures are from the Northwoods IV apartment complex on North Campus at Uof M just around Greg's first birthday.

It's a Girl!

Nothing really to add to that. Just wanted to share. :-)

Christmas Plans

Mike and I bought plane tickets yesterday. We will be arriving in Detroit Saturday, December 19th at 9:10am. Our departing flight is Thursday, December 24th at 7:10am. We were hoping that everyone would be willing to celebrate "Michael-Mas" (as Mike likes to call it), a combination of Mike's Birthday and Christmas on December 23rd.

As for presents, we were hoping that everyone would want to do the same thing as last year. In case you don't remember, this would mean that everyone would buy presents for the kids and we would have a Secret Santa for the adults. I would be happy to draw names for everyone and email you your person or couple, since it does not seem like Greg, Michelle, Tim, Jessica, Mike or I will be able to make it to Ann Arbor for Thanksgiving, which is when we drew names last year.

Please vote in the poll. If you have any suggestions or problems please leave them in the comments area.

Panning Family +1

I guess I owe you all an update, huh? I'm not sure how far in the Fleming Family Grapevine this news has traveled, but I wanted to let you know that we are anticipating the arrival of a new little Panning! Baby "Anatole" is due in mid-March. I've got some cute pictures of our newest munchkin, but I don't have a scanner at the moment, so you'll have to use your imagination. Give us a couple more months and we'll be able to tell you (hopefully) if Anatole is a girl or a boy. For now, we're just happy to know that the kiddo is safe and healthy and all seems to be going well.

-Barbara

p.s.- While Henry is clearly a little young to really understand, he does poke my belly and say "baby!" I'm trying to convince him that the u/s pictures show a baby, too, but I'm not sure he believes me. :-)

p.p.s- If you're curious, Anatole is the name of some obscure relative in Matt's family who comes up from time to time. For reasons that escape me at the moment, we thought this would be an appropriate name to call our unborn baby... I'm not sure if this is better or worse than Elmo!

Lords of Slane, Keepers of the Paschal Fire

Last month I spent a week wandering around Ireland. It was a bit of a fluke, really, I wanted to take a week off after finishing at one company and before starting at my current one. A few minutes' search on Orbitz.com, and I found surprisingly cheap tickets to Dublin. Ireland is a beautiful country, and full of vivid and amazing stories. "History should not be bogged down with facts," one gentleman told me, "It's the stories that matter."

Along the way, I visited Slane, a small village north of Dublin in the Boyne Valley. I did not know before-hand the significance of the place, as it was one stop of a historical tour focusing on the Celtic culture. But when we arrived at the Hill of Slane, the tallest hill for ten miles in any direction, my guide patted me on the shoulder and said, "Mr. Fleming, welcome back."

Any Flemings in the US that trace their heritage to Ireland today are descended from two branches of the Fleming Family that came from Flanders via Scotland (where the name persisted as Flemming).

In 1370, following the invasion of Henry II of England, the Barony of Slane was created and given as a reward to Richard and Thomas Fleming for their part in the war. They, and their descendants the Fleming Family, were Lords of Slane for three hundred years. (The other branch of Flemings became viscounts of Longford.) Loyal to king James II, they lost the Barony of Slane when James fell to William of Orange in 1691. Slane castle stood on the Hill of Slane until the Flemings built a newer castle in the valley below.

But there's another story about the Hill of Slane that, although largely apocryphal, is dear to the hearts of many Irish Catholics. My guide told me the following story that day.

Saint Patrick, perhaps the most famous Irishman of all, was not Irish. He was a Roman, born in the British territory to a wealthy famliy living on the west coast of Ireland. The Romans never conquered Ireland, leaving it to the Celts. When he was a teenager, he was captured by Celtic raiders and taken to Ireland as a slave. He spent six years there before escaping back to Britain and joining the Church. As an adult, he saw that Christianity wasn't doing so well in Ireland, the missionaries didn't have the cultural experience he had to really communicate with the Celts about Jesus.

Patrick knew the Celts, he knew their beliefs, and he knew what was important to them. So he returned to Ireland on a mission of his own, and in the springtime went to the Hill of Slane.

Ten miles away rose the Hill of Tara, the seat of the High Kind of Celtic Ireland. Every spring, around the vernal equinox, a great celebration was held on Tara. The High King himself would light a ceremonial fire that would burn for days, and all other fires throughout Ireland were to be put out during this festival. Storytellers from all clans traveled to Tara so they could bring news of the festival back to every corner of Ireland.

Patrick knew this, and so began the biggest publicity stunt Ireland had every known. As the festival began, and the Tara fire was blazing as the only fire in sight, the revelers saw another light struck on Slane. Patrick had lit a fire well within view of the King's fire, and even bigger. The King was furious at this defiance, and immediately dispatched his army to Slane to destroy any rivals they might find there.

The army marched across Boyne Valley, the best and strongest warriors who served the King, some 200 to 20,000 (depending on who tells the story). When they arrived ready to fight an invading army, they found only Patrick, unarmed but running right at them down the hill. They were so taken aback by this show of bravery that they completely failed to kill him. Instead, he convinced them to take him back to the King to explain himself. Patrick told the King about Jesus, about a God so powerful that Patrick knew he need not fear the King's army. The King was impressed, and not only allowed Patrick to live, but allowed him to continue his mission throughout Ireland. (Of course, he was greatly helped by all the storytellers present at Tara who also told the story far and wide.)

Eventually a monastery was built on the Hill of Slane, the ruins of which you can see in the pictures above. Every year at Easter, a paschal fire is lit on the spot where Patrick lit his fire. For three hundred years, the eldest Baron Fleming lit the fire, proclaiming the light of Christianity to the Boyne Valley.

New Kid on the Block!

Congratulations to Shannon and Elias on the birth of their son, "ELIAS CHRISTOPHER", on Monday. We are so happy for you! Please send pictures!

ScrabbleBlast Revisited

New high score for all of you enthusiasts......

"Poppa" got a 2221 tonight!

"Poppa" is Jack's new name for his grandpas.....I LIKE it!

Summer Schedule

Now that we've made a kennel reservation for the dogs, I just wanted to give everyone a heads up on our anticipated summer schedule. We are going to a wedding on Saturday, June 27th in Gainesville. So, we plan on leaving Sunday, June 28th around 6am, which should get us to Ann Arbor around 11pm. We plan on staying overnight in Ann Arbor and then dropping the dogs at a kennel in Canton at 8am on Monday, June 29th. That should mean that we'll arrive at Long Lake at about noon. We're picking the dogs up on Sunday, July 5th between 4 and 8 pm and plan on staying in Ann Arbor until Tuesday, July 7th around noon. We will then leave to visit some of my relatives in Kentucky.

Finished

Phil finished at 3:50:48 with a tough headwind on a tough course. It's time for some celebratory lunch in Boston, then we're on the road again.

Phil says, "The headwind and the hills were the big winners today, but I finished, and that makes me a big winner too."

2:01pm

Saw Phil! He was able to stop for a few seconds and say hello. Now we're off to meet him downtown.

1:03pm

At 01:09 PM: 30km Athlete Alert. Philip Fleming. Time 2:37:13, Pace 8:26

12:42pm

Captain America just ran by!

12:20pm

At 12:20 PM: Half-Marathon Athlete Alert. Philip Fleming. Time 1:48:35, Pace 8:16

Half way there, nice going Phil!

11:23am

At 11:23 AM: 10km Athlete Alert. Philip Fleming. Time 0:51:11, Pace 8:14

10:33am

He's off! Phil's wave has started and he's on his way. After a scenic tour of the area (getting more lost, then found, then lost again) we've made our way to mile 22 where we'll be cheering.

9:33am

We've dropped Phil off at the starting line, and wished him well. He's excited and ready to go, but the race doesn't actually start until 10:30!

Dave and I drove further into Boston....and are now lost. Google maps to the rescue!

Tracking Uncle Phil

We learned this weekend that we can track Phil's progress on the Boston marathon website via a computer chip in his shoe. The link to track him is here. (I'm sure most of my computer-savvy cousins have figured this out already. But putting this out there just in case).

Phil and I chatted this weekend about how you wish someone luck for a race like this. In the theater, we say "break a leg" which is never a particularly warm and fuzzy thought anyway, but feels especially ominous for a marathon. Phil said the best wish you can give a marathon runner is "finish strong," since the goal is to finish, but finishing strong means you reached your goal with style (and maybe a really good time).

Finish strong, Uncle Phil!

6:44am

We crossed the state line into Mass. This is going to be trickier than I though. Apparently, I can't edit existing posts from my blackberry, so I'll have to create a new post with each entry. The sun is up now, and we're enjoying the ride through the Berkshires.

The Boston Marathon

11:33pm: I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update this, but I'll try to keep it going. It's the night before the marathon and everyone's in bed. After a big pasta dinner for the carbs, Phil set up his pack and his clothes for running. We printed out directions to the starting line and where we hope to see him along the route. We're all set and ready to go. In a few short hours, we'll be getting up and on the road the brginning of the race in Hopkinton, MA.

5:35am: The sun isn't up, but we are. We're groggily making some quick breakfasts and getting moving. We have about a three hour drive to the starting line in Hopkinton, which should give Phil plenty of time to warm up and settle in when we get there. The forecast says 50 degrees and overcast, which will be perfect for running. Phil says he feels good, we're all excited to get out the door!

Geni

I just joined Geni through Facebook and wanted to let everyone know that it's really neat. It's basically an online family tree that everyone in the family can add to and edit. I've added as many Flemings as I can, but it would be wonderful if we could get a few more generations and details (wedding dates, birth dates, etc.) on there. I would love to see all the Panning, Trueblood, and Trudeau generations on there as well! It would be great to have a huge family tree compiled for the next generation! Thanks for your help.

Who's Heading to Beantown?

Yes, Uncle Phil, we know you're going!

Anyone else? Let's get a thread going to work out some plans. Anyone driving up from the south (like, oh, Virginia...or even Florida) pretty much has to come through NYC. You're all welcome to stay with us before or after the race if you want to visit. And if anyone has extra space in their car, maybe we can save some gas and go together?

Time to rally the Fleming cheering section!

Skiing was Great!

Tim, Mike, Jessica E., and I had a real experience of "THE GREATEST SNOW ON EARTH" during the recent Utah ski week. Actually only four and a half days - but what days they were!

We were blessed with cold weather and blue skies the first two days, but because of a recent snowfall of four inches a few days earlier, you could ski anywhere, even between the groomed runs, which means tree skiing! The resorts felt much different when you could go virtually any direction and be in decent snow.

During that second day we tried a new area called Powder Mountain, out past Snowbasin. It was worth the longer drive and we had a great day. Jessica skied her first black diamond run and you should have seen the glow on her face! Tim and Mike were roaring down the tree runs and yours truly was "carving 'em up"! Lots of pix on Facebook!

At Mass later that evening, we heard a homily about "transfiguring moments" and the priest actually used the analogy of skiing a black diamond run for the first time as an example of a grace-filled experience which reveals the love and glory of God!

Then the snow came...we skied at the Canyons in a blizzard and had a blast. As the visibility worsened, the snow got better and better! The mogul runs softened up and we skied some pretty interesting stuff off the top of the highest lift, "Ninety-Nine Ninety", representing the altitude of 9990' at the top! Jessica manged to pull off two "firsts", first mogul run (thanks to me for taking her on an ungroomed powder bump run) and her first deep powder run (thanks to Mike for leaving her behind). But she survived and thrived! Way to go, Florida girl! Must be the new skis!

The next day, our last, was at our favorite, Solitude, where we remembered Aunt Paula (Solitude was always her favorite) and skied as many runs as we could using the express lifts. Burned our legs out before noon, but kept skiing anyhow :) You should have seen Mike and Tim blasting through the moguls. I mostly stuck to the groomed once the powder areas were skied out...until the end of the day when Mike had the bright idea to take me down Milk Run, a double black off the back side, er the dark side of the mountain! I felt like an old man, thrashing around in the deep stuff trying not to kiss the trees...oh, well, it WAS beautiful in there. Thanks, Mike! We'll try it again someday!

Next year in Colorado! Hope to see alot of you there. Keep the dates free - February 27 thru March 6, 2010. Begin thinking about which half of the week you can make it. By splitting the week we can give more people a chance to come.

Another Address Update

Hey there! Chrissy and I are making the long trek (ok, really only about a mile) across the river to Brooklyn. As of April 1st, we will live at 20 Schermerhorn St. Apt. 1, Brooklyn NY 11201

Our new apartment is on the ground floor and has a backyard, a rare treat for New Yorkers. We'll be grilling all summer, and our home is always open if anyone wants to visit!

Long Lake!

UCF just posted the class schedules for Summer, Fall, and Spring. I don't have to take Summer B classes!! So, we are definitely going to Long Lake!!! (Can you tell I'm excited?) We can't wait to see everyone there!

Scrabble Blast Contest

While Dad was down here in Florida for a few days he got me hooked on this Scrabble Blast game. It's like Scrabble, Boggle, and Tetris all in one game. You can play the free version here. I think we should have a little running contest here to see who can get the highest score (3 level version only for now). Post your scores as comments to this item. My best so far is 1622.

Address Update

Hi everyone! Just wanted to update you on our new address, for those of you who keep track of that sort of thing. We are currently living at 119-B Prosperity Ave. SE in Leesburg, VA 20175. Have a happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Love,

Barbara