I didn't want to forget Ashley's birthday and treated her to one of our family traditions of candles in a birthday breakfast. I made orange rolls for her.
Amy had a follow-up doctor appointment at 11 am and 10:40 was our cut off time to get done all that we needed. We had to make sure that each of us had plenty of winter gear--snow pants, boots, gloves, hats, scarfs, balaclavas--as well as Balls. We borrowed boots and snow pants from friends, and even then, we ended up short a pair of boots. Plus we worked on just our regular packing for a couple of days away.
Misha woke up not feeling very great. She wasn't keen on staying home by herself for a couple of days, and I probably would have stayed home with her if she had opted to stay home.
We got everyone packed up and left Balls to set the alarm and get groceries as we had to get to Amy's appointment. Chris took time to wash the car while they waited for us. Amy's mouth looked good, she needed to take more care to brush the area and received instructions on how to irrigate. Happy day!
Before leaving Longmont, we stopped for a few groceries and then were on our way. Our next stop was Subway in Estes Park where we met up with Balls. The Subway was small and very busy so we ate in our car.
We drove to Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. The drive was a little slower going than usual with ice on the roads, but we all made it safe and sound. And then we had to put on all of our snow gear in the car. Kristen was worried about people seeing her change, but seemed to give up on that thought as she struggled into some long john type pants and then another pair of pants over that. At one point, she had her undie-clad bottom pressed against the window, not caring who saw her. "Just get these stupid pants on!"
We walked on Bear Lake and then because the hour was later in the afternoon, we headed down to the Alberta Falls fork where we would meet up with Chris as he shuttled our car down to the Alberta Falls parking lot. I waited at the fork for Chris, Amy, Misha, and Jonathan for about ten minutes. They still hadn't come so I thought maybe that had already gone ahead of me. I passed Candace and Joseph making their way up the path. I was breathing pretty hard in the effort of walking in the snow, so I could just imagine how these Texans might be feeling at such a high altitude.
It was probably 20 to 30 minutes later when Chris and kids finally reached the frozen waterfall of Alberta Falls. If you have ever been to Alberta Falls in the summer and heard the thundering of the waterfall, you would be amazed at the peace and quiet in the winter. Kids and dads played until the sun started getting low in the sky, and we decided to head back.
Chris and Kevin and Amy drove back up to the Bear Lake parking lot to pick up Ball's van while the rest of us waited trying to find a spot protected from the cold breeze.
We were all happy to get checked in to our Worldmark condos, peel off the layers of clothing and winter gear, and warm up. Candace had plans for dinner, so we headed over to their condo, leaving Misha to rest and trying to breathe through her stuffy nose.
I didn't stay too long, returning to our condo with some soup for Misha and then dozing until the others arrived.