Colorado Christmas Present

This is his "Mom! Look at this! Can you see how AWESOME this is?!" face.

Last year, Aaron and I decided to hang up our Santa hats and stop getting the kids Christmas gifts. Instead, we decided to take the money we would have spent on gifts and go on a trip as a family instead. Last year we went to San Francisco for the weekend and explored Union Square and Chinatown. We stayed at the St. Francis, which had a glass elevator that opened up views of the city and scared the bejeezus out of our heights-hating little dude. By the end of the weekend we had had a great time and Tyler had conquered his fear of the glass elevator. It's always helpful when little sisters aren't afraid, making you want to get a little braver lest they show you up.

Our side trip to the rock shop was the highlight of Tyler's trip. He would have happily spent hours there!

Since our very good friend was getting married this year in Colorado, we decided to make the wedding and the trip out there the kid's Christmas present this year. I had thought it would be a tough sell, but the kids actually had so much fun on last year's trip that they were thrilled to get to go on another trip this year.

Yes, I took my kids walking in the snow in Vans. Because I am from California and we own no winter wear, people.

The first few days of our trip were wedding related, which was fun, especially for my girls. They were flower girls and Lily, being seven, knew this was her Big Moment. After the wedding we visited Rocky Mountain National Park. It was beginning to snow, so we didn't get to stay long or do much. Being wussy Californians, the sight of snow and hail as we drove up the mountain, unnerved us a little. Ok, a lot.

Minutes before we left for the park, Lily fell and twisted her ankle, making hiking and impossibility. Tyler and I walked out to Bear Lake while Aaron and the girls threw snowballs in the parking lot like the dorky Californians we are. Tyler was most impressed that the "whole lake was frozen!" Not something we see every day (ever) around these parts!

The "postcard" picture. I cannot begin to imagine how pretty this is in the summer. Where it is "foggy" in the photos is where the snow is coming down. It was awesome. I'd love to visit the park again in the summer. I know it is significantly more crowded, but well worth the visit, anyway.

A frozen lake. Far more interesting in person. Much like me talking about my vacation.

It was funny, we always knew animals were nearby when we would come around a bend and see cars parked on the side of the road with arms and cameras stuck out the windows. I wish I had thought to take pictures of the onlookers, but frankly, I was too busy being a dorky onlooker myself. We got so many great photos of animals. We were even treated to a rare ram sighting as we drove into the hotel on our very first day. He was about 5 feet from us.

The girls had had enough of the picture taking...