Loving California

I just wanted to share some of my favorite pictures from our trip to California two weeks ago. Obviously, I have a lot more to post. But, you might notice, there is a theme to these pictures: family members, smiling, laughing, having a good time TOGETHER. Love, love, love it! That was the best part of the trip for me absolutely. Seeing them happy and getting along. It was really a lovely experience. So glad we did it.

Weekend Getaway in Pagosa Springs

Britt has been wanting to take a weekend trip with his snowmobiling buddies and their wives all winter.  But it is not the kind of thing you can really plan, when it is all contingent on the weather (especially since for the first part of this winter, the chances of him getting to hit the snow with his buddies wasn't looking good at all).  Well, after Britt discovered that Wolf Creek Pass near Pagosa Springs, Colorado was getting hit with the most snow, he decided they needed to check it out.  He went out a couple times, and decided it was definitely a place worth taking the wives to.  I think he was feeling a little guilty about enjoying the natural hot springs without us.

So, the second weekend in January, Britt and I headed over to Pagosa Springs with Kyle and Melissa Fullmer, and Bruce and Patty Lyman.  We stayed in a timeshare condo there courtesy of Joe and Carol (Britt's parents).  We arrived in plenty of time to find a great place to eat and then we enjoyed a few card games.

Kyle and Melissa have never spent a weekend away together without the kids.  It was a new experience for them, but I think they had a good time.

The place we stayed was lovely, and it was fun to discover our own personal snowman out our back patio:

The guys took off early in the morning to play on the mountain, and the girls hit the town.  We decided we really like Pagosa Springs, with or without the guys ;)  We enjoyed yummy breakfast burritos at a place we happened upon on the old town Main street, after we drove around taking pictures.  There was snow everywhere and it was really cold, but we didn't mind the cold too much there in town.

We loved discovering this cool old church 

and taking pictures of the steam rising off the hot springs 

We also did a lot of shopping.  We discovered a couple really cool antique places and some other fun shops there.  We went to the Spa at the Hot Springs Resort and got massages.  That was the best!  And we decided to save the complimentary passes for the hot springs until our men got off the mountain.  We found a cool little place to eat lunch, and it was packed, as everyone around was watching the playoff game between the Denver Broncos and the Baltimore Ravens.  We didn't really care about the game, but we decided we made the perfect choice for lunch.  It was absolutely tasty.  All of us loved the food we selected.  (I shouldn't have waited to write this; now I can't remember the name of the place or anything).

Around 5:00, the guys called and said they were on their way back into town and we met them at a little cafe, so they could get burgers.  They had been so cold on their snowmobiles, it had been nearly impossible to eat lunch up there.  They like to keep fried or roasted chicken in these compartments they have attached to their pipes (keeps the food warm when they ride, or something), but with the temperatures in the negatives, their fingers were too frozen to handle the food, which also obviously didn't stay warm for long.  Anyway, they were really looking forward to a soak in the hot springs after a cold day of riding.

The hot springs were really enjoyable, but we could hardly see each other (not such a bad thing, I guess) with the steam rising off the springs.  The guys had icicles hanging from their wet hair, but the hot water felt absolutely wonderful after being out in the cold all day.  We told the guys they should have booked one more night at the condo.  Then we could have gone back and relaxed, then drove home in the morning.  We will have to remember that next time.

We changed into dry clothes, turned up the heaters in our vehicles, and headed to Durango for a late dinner.  The Durango Steamworks ended up being the perfect choice.  Thank you, Facebook friends.   Anyway, it ended up being a late night getting home, but it had been such a fun little trip.  We definitely should go again some day.  Thanks, Melissa and Patty for joining me for a little girls day out.  I know I need more of that in my life.

Britt's First GoPro Videos on the snowmobile

This was Britt yesterday, "sledding" as he and his friends call it, over by Mancos, Colorado.  It was so cold when they were playing up Wolf Creek Pass last weekend, he couldn't get the video to work.  I have some pictures from that which I might post later. Let see what happens here when I hit publish first.

Decorating Gingerbread Men

It has been such a pleasant Christmas Day here. Santa really spoiled us this year. On Friday we had a fun party here with our neighbors and friends. Last night we enjoyed soup and bread with family and friends. I even got to play Settlers of Catan with our friends, and Britt almost beat me--almost.

I believe it was Saturday the kids decorated these cute gingerbread men. Garrett didn't decorate a cookie, but he left us with this little pearl of wisdom:

"If the man that delivers bread has red hair, does that make him a Ginger Bread Man?"

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, Everyone!! More pictures to come. . .

Oh, The Weather Outside is Delightfully Frightful!

It has been a dry winter.  So dry.  Most of us around here have been running around in flip flops and shorts, and no one thought we were crazy for it.  Until this week, it hasn't even really been cold. 

Everyone around here has been fasting and praying for moisture to sustain us in this land.  But I have to admit, my motives in praying for snow were a little more selfish.  My husband recently purchased a new smowmobile and a new truck, and all "winter" long he has been itching to get out and break in that snowmobile.  I am all for people having a hobby to relieve stress.  (My hobby is watching Netflix on my computer while making blog books and photo books, and/or playing the Settlers of Catan App on my iPad).

Anyway, it has been a loooong, dry winter.

One of the happiest sounds in the world to wake up to is hearing your young daughters exclaiming, "It snowed last night!  Dad, Rachel doesn't believe me that there is snow on the ground!" 

 
 We may or may not have made it to school on time this morning, because we had to spend a few extra moments enjoying this:

 

 

 

And you know what else?  It has been snowing off and on all day.  Oh my!  We LOVE Snow!!!

Just Saying "Hi"

This is just another one of those test posts. The only Blogger App I could find is an iPhone one, so I'm probably not going to love this option. I just wanted to try it.

And here is a picture that won't post because I have exceeded my limit. But I had to try anyway.

Fun at the Tree 4 All

 Aren't my girls adorable?

 I love that my little princess still loves sitting on Santa's lap.  And I love that when you want to visit Santa, if you wait until Saturday morning instead of Friday night, you can see him right away instead of waiting an hour or more in line.

The thing I love about this picture is how patiently and straight Olivia is waiting for their dance to start.  She stayed right in place the whole time they were waiting (and it was a while, too).

 She loved being one of the "flames"

 I love my pretty little dancing girls!

This year, when the school year started, the girls immediately begged me to let them participate in dance, and in gymnastics, and in the singing youth performing group "Hold That Note".  I said yes, they could be involved in the different activities, but they would have to choose two each.  Tyler is doing gymnastics and "Hold That Note".  Rachel is in jazz dance and "Hold That Note".  Olivia participates in ballet dance and gymnastics.  It keeps my afternoons pretty busy, remembering to take them to their various activities, but it has been such a joy to see how much they have progressed and how much fun they are having being involved.

Olivia dances at the Tree 4 All

And here is Olivia.  As you can see, she takes dance very seriously.  But she loves it even if you can't see it in her face.  Both girls were fun to watch.  I will post some pictures, too after this.

Video of Rachel's dance at the Tree-4-All

For those of you who couldn't be there, here is Rachel performing at the Tree-4-All.  She is in the back right corner.