Christmas 2000

To friends far, wide, east, west, new, old, worst, and best;

The year 2000 has been a real sleeper; it started out slowly but ended up a sell-out! Our low point was early January when we spent 8 days with 5 kids in 2 rooms at a Colorado Residence Inn. One day things got so bad that Phil and I had to retreat to separate rooms (with big plastic cups of wine) to call our moms! Let the house stress begin...

Our new home has a four-page punch list, a postage stamp-sized backyard, a New York style price tag and that pretentious but trendy “theatre”…a major selling point according to the kids (mind you these are people who decided on a school based on its ketchup supply!) While our oversized closet of a theatre is not up and running yet (what? why would wiring be included in the price?), life has been pretty dramatic on its own. We've been trying to come up with a title for this comedy: Nightmare On Elm Street seemed rather pessimistic: Home Alone seemed a bit optimistic (Rugrats in Denver is more like it). There's always The Money Pit, which does sum up our experience with the builder (aka The Jerk), but might be considered libelous.

When we were enticed to Denver by the great American Dream of an entrepreneurial start-up, the idea of Trading Places was irresistible (though perhaps Phil thought that Jamie Lee came with the job…). Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?- We do!! But we ran out of lifelines... an hour after we unpacked the last box, hit the credit limit on our Mastercard at EMS thanks to camping gear, ski equipment, and all the other Colorado necessities), the start-up… finished up.

Since then, Phil has been exploring the recreation industry with lots of skiing, rollerblading, and weight-lifting. We have recently updated our title to Who used to be a Millionaire. While Phil does his best not to be a Scrooge, he’d sure be happy to see something The Color Of Money! Having him around is a bit like being married to The Odd Couple- I’ve got Felix doing flow-charts to “help” me manage the breakfast, backpack, brush teeth routine, and Oscar conspiring to paint J-E-T-S-! on the children’s chests for the Christmas photo.

Kristen’s top movie pick is Drive Me Crazy (hmm does that mean me or her?) She’s like all grown up ya know…like she wasn’t thrilled about the move (uh duuhhh, moooommmm) like it was really unfair ya know, like leaving all her friends. But she’s sort of recovered, like with the mall only a mile away…that’s like, rad, ya know…Let's not even talk about the Never Been Kissed aspect...

Will quickly found his niche in Denver landing the lead role in Oliver at the local theatre. It was brilliant casting as “Please sir, I want some more” has been a signature phrase of Will’s for years! "Food, Glorious Food" has also always been a favorite of his…witness the 123 candy wrappers on his floor less than a week after Halloween. You guessed it...Willy Seefried and the Chocolate Factory.

Rookie of the Year is Kev’s favorite flick. It’s a fitting title for our little buddy. When we first told him about the move, he grabbed his head with both hands and bellowed “But New York is my life” (he was 7 at the time). Kevin has remained a stalwart Yankees fan, tho’ basking in the glory of the World Series was tough when surrounded by Rockies fans…He’s become our own rookie of the year, in less than 4 months he’s mastered rollerblading, downhill skiing, crayfish hunting and has even weathered a simultaneous sleeping bag claustrophobia attack with Phil on our first (read: last) camping trip.

There is Something About Nicki. She plays a mean game of golf, a worrisome game of doctor, and attracts friends like flies. In her terrific pre-first class, she has learned cross-stitch, sign language,, and how to cook thai food. She can ride a chair lift with the best of ‘em and even mastered the tricky technique of peeing in the dark in the woods while being held aloft by her bionic mom.

Lethal Weapon 5 is Cameron’s top pick. At 16 months, he is fast violent, and unrepentant. He loves head-banging, hair-pulling, and hitting his sibs with weapons as varied as Seseame Street videos, unopened waterbottles, and stray golf balls. They continue to adore him despite head injuries and hair loss, and have taught him the delightful phrase "Whaassuuuppp? (Phil is sure Cam has a future with Anheuser Busch). We are still waiting for him to adjust to Mountain Time as he' still awaking at 6 AM... EST!

As for me, I feel like a supporting actress in an old cowboy flick. Pack up the wagons, head west, and set up a new camp. If you'd asked me 6 months ago, I would have called it Mission Impossible, but we did it. Now we are just dealing with Sleepless in Seattle, make that Denver. My co-star, Cameron, is attached at the hip. I've mastered one armed-cooking, shopping, and cleaning even while being head-banged by the best of them. While I look forward to a future feature of Eyes Wide Shut, Phil will be disappointed to hear that it's not the Tom Cruise/Nicole Kidman version that I'm fantasizing about!

We have lots to be thankful for this year; welcoming new friends and loyal old ones, memorable times with our families, and the birth of a healthy son to my brother Chris and his wife. Things are still hectic, so I guess it's us, not New York, that makes life so busy...but we wouldn't have it any other way.

It's A Wonderful Life!

Peace, health, joy to you all.

Gretchen, Phil, Kris, Will, Kev, Nicki, and Cameron


STAY TUNED FOR 2001, WE HOPE THAT IT WILL BE A REAL BLOCKBUSTER!