Paul and Maureen Visit

In the middle of January Paul and Maureen came for a visit. It just so happened that the girls had both the Friday and Monday of their visit off school. They arrived on Thursday night.  On Friday we went down to the Cave of the Winds in Colorado Springs.

We have been there before but the girls really didn't remember it. They really enjoyed it this time.

The view out the back is amazing!

This slide was new. Mia made it to the top and slid down. Anna tried but got a little scared when she was half way up. I know I could not do it. They put it right on the edge of the canyon!!!

On Saturday we headed up to the mountains to go to the Ice Castles. Becky and the boys joined us.

The castles were much more kid-friendly than the last time we were there, about six years ago.

The roof of this one room was spectacular!

There were ice blocks called T.V.'s that the kids could go behind for a picture.

This time there was also a big ice slide. There were some smaller slides for Oli as well.

On Sunday we relaxed at home and on Monday the four of us adults went to the Avalanche vs. Ducks hockey game. We will see them again in just four short weeks for Dan's retirement!

La Quinta New Years 2017-2018

Two days after Christmas we headed to California! We have some places we always go when we are there, the tennis courts, Sweet Tomatoes, the Mexican restaurant nearby but this time we decided to go somewhere new for a little outing. Our first stop was the Salton Sea. We have only been to the west side before, and that is pretty much a ghost town. But to get to our final destination, we went along the east side this time and happened upon the Salton Sea State Recreation Center. When I was young, I had a friend that went to the Salton Sea for vacation. It was a hotspot for fishing and boating until it became too salty and all the fish started dying. Now we learned the only fish that live in there is a species of tilapia and there are 400 million of them in the lake.

After a short visit at the lake, we headed to Salvation Mountain. One man, in his quest to spread the message of the Gospel, made and painted this entire thing. He spent 30 years of his life working on it.

The man who originally did all this passed away a few years ago. The man below is the caretaker, John. His job is painting, as needed, for upkeep and to keep people walking only on the yellow brick road. We saw him throw a few people out because they wouldn't listen to him and kept standing in the waterfall to get pictures.

I completely forgot we were supposed to go a few more miles to Slab City. This is an old army base where only the slabs are left. Artists camp out there and create works of art that you can walk around and look at. Yes, the desert lends itself to extreme people!

On the 30th, Dar had everyone over for a gathering. Both Aunt Helen and Bill were staying at Dar's. I miss the family gatherings so much. It felt like old times.

Dar's pool was just finished and it was a beautiful sunny day so we all hung out there.

Matt and Lauren are having a baby in May!

The girls were happy to have other kids there.

Joey and Brittany were able to make it.

Once back at home we swam and swam and swam. It may be the last time we are there as we are putting it on the market. It doesn't make sense to keep it if we are only going to use it three times a year. Dan spent the entire first day there, his birthday, doing chores.

On the 31st, we had our usual New Year's, find an old video from a few years ago and do the countdown at 7:00!

We came home on the second!

Christmas Weekend

On the Thursday before Christmas we got to participate in Operation Santa Claus. I believe we have only missed this charity event twice since we have lived here - 12 years! It is a very special time for our family and each year I see the girls understanding more and more about doing service for others.

On Friday we all were supposed to take the Georgetown Loop Railroad Santa Train. I had a weird 24 hour bug so Dan went by himself with the girls and met up with Becky and Arek and the boys. They had a blast, but Dan says he he is done with Santa trains. :)

The hair gets a little crazy when Mom is not there.

On Christmas Eve the girls sang in the choir at church just like they did at Easter. They loved it. Mia is in the back on the right. Rylee is next to her.

Anna is in the middle row on the left.

Afterwards we got home and Oli put Baby Jesus in the manger.

We ate lasagna and then opened presents!!

Oli loved the backpack we gave him so much he wore it all Christmas morning as he rode around on his new bike.

And then it was Christmas morning at our house! Mia wanted her electric guitar from Santa to be wrapped. And so, of course, Anna wanted her bike wrapped too! That wasn't going to happen. Instead, we wrapped a big box with a bag of rice in it and a note that said to look in the unfinished basement. She didn't get it. She was actually happy to get "her own" bag of rice. She LOVES plain white rice.

But somehow we got her in there to find her rainbow bike. This is the bike she said she wanted BEFORE she told Santa she wanted a gold bike. We decided we were not going to take back the bike we already bought. And do you know what she said when she saw it, "Just what I asked Santa for!!"  Huh?

Mia was soooo excited about getting an electric guitar! She hasn't used it once since Christmas Day. Oh well.

Whatever this was I don't remember but Anna was sure excited to get it!

We also surprised the girls with electric scooters. I was a little apprehensive about it but they love them and are using them responsibly...so far!

In the afternoon we had a few families over for prime rib which Dan smoked in the smoker. It was a Merry Christmas!