Fun in the Snow

Last fall we bought some CHEAP Southwest Airlines tickets to Denver, and heartily enjoyed our stay with the Shaffers this past week. With Michelle gone to A&M and Harry spending part of his week in Seattle for work, I hope we weren't too much a pain. After all, they had a Japanese exchange student staying there along with us. Her name is Mai, and the kids LOVED her. I think the feeling was mutual. She was quite nice and didn't mind the kids mobbing her.

Along with the Shaffer's, we had great visits with the Crabbs and Stewarts. I wish we had more time to visit other families, but there is so much a family can do between naps and bedtime. Some of my favorite moments included an Alvin And The Chipmunks concert with Olivia Crabb on lead vocals, Everlie on backup and Benny on guitar. It was truly hilarious seeing them perform at the top of the stairs. I'll try and post some pictures and video from Geri's IPhone. Their only song was a Christmas tune that Olivia started and stopped at least 10 times. Truly a great moment in parenthood.

We also spent a few afternoons at Keystone's Nordic Center. They have a great tubing hill for little kids. I viewed this as mountain climbing training. Instead of helping to carry up the tubes after each run, Benny would complain of a "sore knee". I never could get him to point out which knee actually hurt, though. So here I was, trudging uphill, with Everlie on my shoulders and Benny snugly in his tube. Delaney didn't last too long out in the cold (although she is a trooper), so Geri took her in the main building to hang out and eat. I was astounded to learn that Delaney ate an entire 1/4lb hotdog. An older gentleman came up to us and declared that even he couldn't finish a hotdog that big. That's our girl!

I took Benny to the Highlands Ranch Skate/Bike park on Friday, where he marveled at the teenagers jumping around with authority. I have to admit that the kids were nice and more than eager to set up some shots for good pics.

Saturday morning came too early. On my way to pack up the car at 6am, I slipped on top of the stairs and promptly bruised my tailbone. Not fun for a 2 hour flight. After Benny's preschool class on Monday, his teacher came up and declared that his favorite part of the trip was me falling down the stairs.