Sledding at Trout Lake (day 1)

The first morning that we woke up at Trout Lake the kids were anxious to go play in the snow.  Corey was working, so I was on my own.  It seemed to take forever for this Texas mom to get all 3 kids plus myself into our layers of snow clothes, but we finally made it outside and went to the sled hill that the cousins had made the day before.  (By the time that we made it to the sled hill, they were done sledding, so it was just me and my 3 kiddos huffing & puffing at 10,00o ft. altitude up and down the hill.)  The kids had a lot of fun, and after a few really fast runs down the big hill, we headed back closer to the cabin to find a more kid-friendly (mom flyin' solo) sized hill.

~ Allie going to the sled hill ~

~ Allie Cat ~

The sparkling snow was a million times more beautiful than this in real life.  It literally looked like someone had thrown diamonds onto the snow.  My girl - well, she is beautiful too!

~ Jack ~

~ Jack going to the sled hill ~

(I love this photo of my little man with the big woods behind him!)

~ Jack after a crash & burn ~

(still smilin')

~ Cooper ~

 All of my kids love eating fresh snow.  

Well, I kind of love it too.

~ My Boys ~

They discovered that the plowed snow from the driveway would make a great mini sled hill.

~ Jackson ~

~ Coop ~

~ Happy Jack ~

Then, they discovered that the driveway was just enough of a hill that they could sled on it... and it was a long run!  Perfect.  I love this picture of Jack running up the hill carrying Cooper's and his sled and Cooper running along behind his big brother.

~ Cooper sledding down the driveway ~

~ Sister joining in on the driveway-sledding fun ~

After lots and lots of trekking through the snow and 3 potty breaks with Cooper (Potty breaks in snow clothes are so not the same as potty breaks in regular clothes!), I had a great appreciation for all mountain moms of the world... and a great need for a nap.  No nap was in the cards for me that day, but for those of you that are my Facebook friends... the photo of my bedroom view was taken soon after our outdoor adventures that day.  :)  I did kick off my snow boots, lay on my bed, and look out the windows at the AmAzInG view.  

On The Road To Colorado

On December 27th we left Texas and headed to Colorado to visit Corey's family.  We picked the kids up in their PJs and put them in the car early that morning.   I am sure that this is a horribly dangerous way for a child to ride in the car, but it was so funny when I turned around and saw that this is how Jack had made himself comfortable, so he could continue sleeping.

Coop - the one that should be easiest to get to the car asleep and the one that should keep sleeping once he got there - perked right up when he got into his carseat.  In all the hours that we drove during this holiday, he never - not even once - slept in the car.  Crazy baby!  As you can see, Allie didn't have any trouble getting back to sleep.  In fact, she slept almost the entire way to Colorado.  Awww!  To be a pre-teen on a road trip!

Cooper entertained himself for a while in the car with my camera.

Corey enjoyed his iPod as he drove.

(See that little tiny mountain in the background?  When we are on the way to Colorado, we always get so excited at the sight of any hill of any size.  On the way home - not so much.)

~ our traditional stop at the state line ~

The kids were dying to play in the snow here, but they had to wait.

After a long  - very long - day in the car, we finally arrived at Trout Lake.  (a community around a lake a few miles outside of Telluride)  This was our third time to stay in a cabin here with Corey's family in the winter.  It is heavenly... I am not even kidding!

~ frozen Trout Lake ~

We saw some people ice fishing here one day.

~ our Home Away From Home ~

We finally made it!  (This cabin is actually 3 levels, but the snow was so deep that you could only see this much of it from this angle.)  We LOVE this place!

Next up, fun in the snow and time spent with the family...

Until then...

Christmas With Grandad & Grandma

After packing until after 3am the night before and hosting my Big Ol' Family for breakfast and gift-exchanging, we were ready to for the next part of our holiday... the traveling part.  The day after Christmas, most of my side of the family - 17 of us - headed 6 hours north to my grandparents' house.  It was the first time that we had all been together in their home in a long time, and it was really, really fun!  

I loved spending time in the kitchen with my grandma preparing a few meals.  I adore this lady!

(Yes, I stayed in my PJs most of the day - that is Christmas to me!)

We all enjoyed eating "Grandma's Noodles".  If there is one thing that tastes like Christmas at Grandma's, it is her noodles.  I asked her for the recipe this year, and she said there isn't one.  It is a-little-of-this-a-little-of-that.  This year, my cousin Alex made them with her... I think that next year, I might have to try to be her apprentice, so I can learn how to make them too.

My grandparents (along with a special elf, I think) made sure that all of the great-grandkids had something special to open at their house.  I can't tell you how wonderful it was to see the chaos of all the kids opening a gift and the joy that those gifts brought them all day.  It is really one of the most defining things about Christmas-get-togethers with kids for me.  

Jack had fun playing with his cousins, Alex & Jonathan.

The little ones had fun playing too.  Grandma had said that they could play with anything in her house - they couldn't hurt a thing.  I am not sure that she had this in mind...

While we wouldn't encourage the usage of stamps in this way, it was hilarious.  The kids were so proud of covering Asher in "stickers"... about $10 worth of them.  :)  

Maybe one of the reasons for the "stamp-incident" is that there are so many babies to take care of.  :)  The grown-ups get a little distracted between all the kiddos, the game playing, the meal cooking, and the football watching.  We don't mind... I guess that it is worth $10.  Actually, this was the first year in a while that I was able to relax a bit and not be on my toes the whole time as I cared for a little one (and a couple of big ones), so I empathize with the fun accompanied by a whole lot of work that these mommies had to juggle while at a new place with more than one kid.  But aren't these Little Bitties just adorable?

I thought that it was hilarious to see Chloe with Grandad's big, huge remote control.  Seeing it next to her even makes it seem bigger than it really is.

~ Ainsley ~

Look at those eyes!!!

Cooper and Claire did their part to help with the babies.  :)  I think Claire would walk around with them on her hip if anyone would let her.  She adores babies!  Good thing she has one coming to her house in just a few months.

Mostly, we just spent time together.  Grandma & Grandad's house is such a comfortable place filled with gobs of love, and it was wonderful to get to spend time together there with them.

 Grandad still holds us on his lap when he gets a chance.

Allie took this cool picture of Claire peeking over the table.

~ Skyler ~

I love this girl so much!

~ my dad & mom ~

I think that they are still a bit shocked at the chaos that we all create each time that we are all together.  :)

Daddy's Lap - a good place to be!

My Big Ol' Family's Christmas

The last week has been a whirlwind of family fun. The day after Christmas we left home and headed to the Texas panhandle to have Christmas with my grandparents. Then we went on to Colorado for Corey's family's get-together... thus the delay in posts. Today, we returned home, so I will get some posts put together as quickly as I can. I will probably do several small posts instead of one large one. Tonight I am a bit exhausted after the 3 day drive-a-thon from Colorado that I just did (with a sick husband), so it may take me a few days to get caught up. (Sorry Grandad!)

Before we left for our road trip, we had my side of the family to our house on the day after Christmas. Corey and I made breakfast for the bunch, and we all ate and exchanged gifts. Here are the highlights of the chaos... umm, I mean the fun. :)

~ my family ~

When I was a kid, I thought that my family of 6 people was huge. Who knew that we would grow into this... And we are still growing! Right now, we are up to 18 with one on the way. Here's a photo of the whole bunch. It is rare that we are all actually in the same place at the same time, so this was a special day.

~ Poppie & Gibbie with their 8 grandkids ~ This is what it took to get that picture...

~ our individual families ~

Coby & Adrielle's Family

Corey & Amy's Family Beau & Sara's Family Allan & Emily's Family

~ other pictures from our fun time together ~

~ Allie & Emmie ~

~ Jack ~ ~ Cooper, Skyler, Claire, & Asher ~
~ MiMi with The Littles ~
~ my dad & mom ~
~ the shirt! ~ And after all the fun and gifts, this is what we have to say...

Next up, Christmas with the grandparents (and 17 of these 18 crazy people)...

Until tomorrow...