After a quieter than normal December, school was finally out for two weeks. Since we are likely moving out of the country during Summer 2021 we decided to visit family for Christmas. We packed up our car and made our way to Colorado!
It's a 14 hour drive to Denver, but we decided to split it up into two legs so we could visit a friend in Colorado Springs the second day. Our first day was a drive to Amarillo, TX. Our 7 hour journey turned longer due to bathroom/gas breaks, lunch, our check engine light coming on, stopping at a VW dealership in Lubbock to find out it was likely bad diesel, then get gas again to add a fuel additive, and then Dan got pulled over for going 6 over the speed limit. Luckily the check engine light was nothing serious and Dan only got a warning from the sheriff (in a cowboy hat).
On the road!
Whatever path we took from San Antonio to Amarillo was littered with these wind turbines. I've never seen so many in such a long stretch.
Everyone loved having Carson along for the trip, especially Cade. Carson was falling asleep in his lap in this picture.
Once in Amarillo, much to our children's dismay, we set out to do a little exploring. It turns out that Cadillac Ranch is in Amarillo. I'd heard of it but didn't realize it was in Texas. These Cadillacs are in the ground like some sort of art installation, but you can spray paint them however you please!
Representing one of his favorite groups, Vulfpeck!
Cade by a Brandon Sanderson symbol from the Cosmere
Cade stood in the wrong place at the right time :)
EST!
Another Brandon Sanderson symbol they added
There are so many layers of paint that you can see the build up and drips off the tires
If you can't read it, it says: M is for McBride!
Turns out the kids had fun, imagine that! After inhaling plenty of spray paint fumes, it was time for dinner. There's a restaurant in Amarillo that's famous for their 72oz steak. If you eat it in an hour, you get the meal for free! Even though we didn't want to do the steak challenge, we still headed to the Big Texan for an iconic Texas meal and experience. Everything's bigger in Texas, right?
Sidewalk markings
That's one big bull!
Dan and I had steak, Cade had chicken tenders, and alex had the best meal of us all, a Buffalo burger!
Watch out for the T-Rexan!
After resting in Amarillo, we actually managed to get on the road EARLY! We told the boys the earlier we got on the road, the more time we'd have to spend in Colorado springs. If you know us at all, then you know that getting on the road at 6:30am is nothing short of a miracle. I actually really enjoyed the quiet drive in the dark as the sun rose, it was quite beautiful.
Something funny about leaving so early is that we didn't factor in the time change. It wasn't long after Amarillo that we were in New Mexico and the time jumped back an hour. Score! Extra time! And what did we do with that extra time? Another moment that made the kid's eyes roll, but turned out to be an awesome detour. If you have a moment when you're out that way, you should totally stop at Capulin Volcano national monument. Nothing like climbing around a dormant volcano with fresh snow on it! The boys and I hiked down to the cone while dan took the dog around the rim.
Carson was so excited to get out of the car and explore! He's the cutest!
Yup, that's Cade in a cthulhu mask, in shorts, in the snow
I underestimated how excited the kids would be to play in the snow again!
I guess most of us were wearing shorts. I had sandals on! Darn Texans...
It's pretty amazing how once you're out of Texas the drive gets A LOT prettier. We were so excited to cross the border into Colorado and watch as Pikes Peak got closer and closer. After all this time it still feels like coming home. The mountains really call to us.
While in Colorado Springs we stopped by our good friends, the Grays. Their son Aidan is Cade's age, but gets on remarkably well with both of my kids. Aidan actually had an ATV accident right around labor day where he shattered his pelvis. He has been through a long recovery, but much to our kid's surprise Aidan was up and walking around, and by the end of our visit they were all wrestling on the ground! Drake, Leslie, Dan and I even fit in a game of Pounce where the competition was fierce! What a blast we had catching up with them. So glad they welcomed us into their home for an afternoon!
Carson just loved being with Leslie!
Also, I think he loved not being in the car. Don't worry, you'll get to see lots more pictures of Carson laying in funny places :)
Then, after a stop at Christy Sports to pick up some skis, we finally arrived in Denver at my Mom and Brother's house. We were super excited to spend Christmas with them, and we had a magical time.
On December 23rd, Dan and Cade planned a ski trip to A-Basin. With COVID regulations you had to secure a reservation for your lift ticket and your ski rental well ahead of time. We knew that the 24th would be full of fun Christmas activities and felt it would be busy the weekend right after Christmas, so the 23rd was the date to go. However, booking that far in advance you would never be able to know what the weather was going to be like. You guys, it was the absolute worst possible day for them to go skiing. Not only had it snowed heavily in the mountains overnight, but it was COOOOLLLLDDD. I'm talking wind chills well below zero, and actual temperature in single digits. I'm sure when Cade updates his blog about the trip he will give you the excruciating details, but let's just say they were in the car longer than we were on our drive from San Antonio to Amarillo, and they were in the car 4x as much as they were skiing. The snow was packed and icy, and the wind was strong. Not even all the layers and hand and foot warmers could protect against that much cold. I'm sure it was miserable, and I felt so bad for them. They came home in good spirits, and with a lot of an audiobook read!
While they were 'skiing', I spent the morning wrapping presents and then that afternoon we went to this Christmas experience where you walk through the sets of classic Christmas movies. It was fun, although I hadn't seen a few of the Christmas movies in quite awhile.
Narwhal from Elf
The Lite Brite Welcome Santa sign from Elf
Mom and Daughter selfie!
The famous leg lamp :)
Polar Express!
We enjoyed Christmas at the Movies!
On Christmas Eve, it was a wonderful day to sleep in, do some baking, cooking, eating, and movie watching! The boys even got to open up some PJ's for Christmas Eve.
Carson all cuddled up in our blankets on our air mattress
Carson loved looking out the back door for squirrels
Putting Alex and Grandma to work in the kitchen!
Cookie decorating time!
Cade made Cade
Christmas China for a delicious Christmas Eve dinner.
Enjoying our dinner by candelight
Alex gave us a poignant toast- "Screw you 2020!" Hahahaha
I love the peaceful feeling sitting in the dark by the light of the Christmas Tree.
We also watched Jingle Jangle on Netflix, and enjoyed it much better than the George Clooney movie we had watched the night before.
Finally it was the long-awaited Christmas morning. I didn't take very many pictures, but we all had a great time opening presents and just enjoying the day together. We even zoomed with Valerie's family and I was able to chat with my Dad. We had cinnamon rolls for breakfast and I made my famous homemade pizza for everyone that evening. We ate that while enjoying the new Pixar movie on Disney+ called Soul. What a wonderful holiday together.
That concludes the first part of my Holidays 2020 blog. On the next post you'll hear all about the boys trip to Boise, my extended time in Denver and our trip back home! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas too.
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