Here we are....

Hi All,

Our first couple of weeks in Boulder have been adventurous and rewarding. We've settled into our 1918 craftsman charmer on Mapleton Hill, with enough boxes unpacked to call this our home.  We're loving our in-town neighborhood, enjoying walks to restaurants and the company of lots of nice families and friendly neighbors.  The boys started school two days after our arrival and have been making friends, riding the bus to school and tasting their first bits of small town freedom, i.e., walking one block home from the afternoon school bus alone.  I'm loving the proximity of everything.   The three Whole Foods markets all less than a mile from our house almost make up for the total absence of Trader Joe's, almost.   We've been biking like the natives, visiting Boulder Creek on the weekends for long, flat bike rides and dips in the frigid mountain water.  The plethora of hiking trails next to our house is dizzying; we often see more joggers and bikers on our road than cars.  The boys made friends fast, aided by two gregarious nine-year-olds across the street.  Our house has two tire swings out front, so between the boys and the swings, our house is a magnet for kids.    During our first days, our porch door was opening and shutting so often that I lost count of all the new faces.  On the fourth day in Boulder, I made lunch for the all the kids on 7th and Mapleton.   On the sixth day, Grant told me we needed to have a discussion about boundaries.  Ah, there is a downside to living in Boulder.  Boundaries.  As in, please call us before you decide to drop your son off for a three hour play date.   Boundaries.  As in, homework must be completed before you run over to Zoe's house to feed her pet frogs.  Boundaries.  As in, Grant,  please give me a holler that you've invited our new friend Phil over for coffee at 8am Sunday morning so I can put on my robe.  Boudaries.   You need boundaries in Boulder.  The other Boulder basics.  For a family of five you need:  one car, one dog and five bikes.  So, if your second car happens to die 60 miles outside of Vegas on a dangerous freeway with no shoulder, it's not the catastrophe that you thought it was.  Other things of note. In our busy, in-town, residential neighborhood we have been humbled by the diversity of the wildlife walking by our front porch.  Here's the tally to date: three raccoons, one skunk, two foxes and one 300 pound bear.   I was good up until the bear.  Welcome to Boulder!

 

Love,

 

The Bessers