Christmas in Colorado

This year we celebrated Christmas in Colorado, going to visit Heather's brother, Jason, and his family.  The whole family, in fact (her parents and other siblings), made the trip.  In many ways, it was an unusual Christmas: no fewer than five people got extremely sick, some of them staying in bed to the extent that I feel like I didn't even get to see them.  Then there was the age discrepancy.  Aydan and Brennan are significantly older than their cousins.  The closest is in first grade.  So there was a very different feel about what each of the separate families wanted to do--particularly in light of what their children COULD do--and very little cohesive activity.  

But despite all that, the trip culminated today in a much anticipated event; the big Christmas present for the boys: our return to the slopes.  Several years ago we all tried our hand at snowboarding (except Brennan--he was too young and had to ski), and after two exhausting, truly frustrating days we finally got the hang of it.  I was a little worried as I picked up my gear this morning.  1) I had injured my hamstring a couple weeks ago and was still feeling less than 100% in its use; and 2) After three years, is snowboarding just like riding a bicycle, or would I have forgotten everything?

 I'm glad to say my (albeit, rapidly aging) body remembered what to do and I had a great time teaching Brennan and making runs with Aydan.  Not to toot my own horn, but I did pretty well out there, and had a blast.

 Snow-capped mountains are always beautiful.  The scenery was enhanced late in the day by a light downfall of flakes.  Though it was cold, it was absolutely wonderful.

I tweaked my hamstring a bit, and I'm certain my back and legs will be angry with me tomorrow, but the biggest thing was trying to keep icicles out of my beard!  All in all it was a great day.  I'm excited to get to bed early tonight and eager to head out early tomorrow and get back to good ol' Texas.