New Year's Eve

We didn't have any great plans of our own for New Year's Eve; we offered to Kristen an opportunity to invite some friends over. There may have been a little distress when her friends waited until the afternoon of to begin RSVPing.

Chris and I ordered pizza for them and they played games, watched movies, and set off fireworks (at the beach) to ring in the new year.

Granby Day 4 - Going Home

We had to check out of the Worldmark cabin by 10 am on Wednesday morning. That's okay because both Amy and I had appointments later in the afternoon to be home for.

Misha wanted to find a souvenir t-shirt or sweatshirt and found Moose Hollow in Winter Park. The girls were able to make their purchases and then we were on our way home.

Granby Day 3 - Sledding

Tuesday was another lazy morning. Exactly what Chris, Misha, and Amy needed to rest from their day jobs.

It had snowed overnight and continued to snow throughout the morning. 

By mid afternoon, it had stopped snowing. Here's the view from our cabin.

It was still quite chilly, but Chris had planned for the five of us to go sledding at the Fraser Sledding Hill. We all agreed that daytime sledding would be moderately warmer with the sunshine than waiting until evening for a less busy time. 

Chris waited in line for about 45 minutes. Crazy how busy it was for such a cold day. 

Chris rented four tubes for an hour and a half. I made one run down the hill and then handed Amy’s tube back to her. 

It was too cold for me to just stand around so I sat in the car and stayed warm. They were all quite frozen once they finished up and bundled back into the car.

Granby Day 2 - Adams Falls Hike

We weren’t in any hurry to be anywhere Monday morning and enjoyed a relaxing morning lazing around the cabin. 

Chris and Misha found donuts at the grocery store.

After pulling together sandwiches and wraps to take with us and bundling up all of our winter gear, we set off toward Grand Lake and Rocky Mountain National Park. 

Chris found a hike at East Inlet. Adams Falls were about 3/10 of a mile in. As you can imagine, there wasn’t much water flowing. 

We continued on with the sound of scuffing snow pants and crunching snow walking toward Lone Pine Lake (though we never intended to go the full 5.5 miles there). 

The girls had fun sliding in the snow and making snow angels.

Seeing that the river had frozen over and noting the many footprints on the river, we went off trail and walked on the frozen river for a mile or so. There were occasional breaks in the ice where we could hear the trickling of water. Even some sections where boots kind of broke through. 

We got further and further away from the trail as we walked and had no choice but to keep walking on the river. Even over and under fallen trees. It was an hour or so in that first Kristen and then Misha got a little more wet than they planned on or appreciated. 

Kristen broke through the ice into 5 to 6 inches of water. She was not happy. There might have been some tears and frustration. Misha went to rescue her and ended up filling her boots as well. 

We climbed over more trees and rocks, I even snagged my new puffy jacket, until we finally found the trail again. Quite an adventure. Probably not in Kristen's top ten though.

Kristen pulled off her boots and socks and Chris wrung the water out of her socks once we found a place to sit. We hiked a mile or so back to the car where the girls peeled off wet boots and socks and tried to warm up. I think they will always remember that hike. Amy and Kristen were more than ready to jump in the hot tub.

The thicker line is the actual trail; the narrow line is the path we took along the river.

After getting back in the car and turning the heaters on full blast, Chris wanted to make a quick detour into Rocky Mountain National Park to check out the burn area from the last summer. Many places were saved from the devastating fire, but there was a lot of damage as well.

The brownish orange trees were next to the road and behind and even next to them were trees that had been burned.

Granby Day 1

The older girls were more than happy to take off a few days from work for a quick getaway to Granby, Colorado. 

We packed up the car after our church meetings Sunday afternoon and set off for the mountains. The roads were clear until we turned off at the Empire exit (highway 40) and then there was a little packed snow on the roads. 

We drove past the Mary Jane and Winter Park ski resorts, Fraser, and Tabernash before reaching Granby. 

From Hwy 40 we turned off by the City Market and arrived at the Worldmark. We were happy to enjoy a Christmas gift from Grandma Ball with our stay in one of the Presidential cabins: three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a living area, a kitchen and a hot tub on the deck. Quite lovely. 

We brought our leftover gnocchi and meatballs from Christmas dinner and had a delicious meal on Sunday evening.

Christmas Crackers

Another tradition I grew up with was Christmas crackers, or poppers, as Kristen likes to call them. 

I didn’t buy any this year and thought it would be more fun and personal to make our own. 

Kristen was all over that task. She and I bought tiny gifts that were unique to each family member. Kristen found funny jokes to put in each cracker and even made tissue paper crowns. The Christmas crackers were easy to wrap. Voila.

No popping sound though. We'll have to work on that.

Christmas Gnocchi and Pasta

Making gnocchi is a new tradition that I enjoy a lot more than making a big turkey dinner. 

And the girls love making the pasta.

Kristen and Misha made the meatballs the day before, so after making the pasta and the gnocchi, dinner came together quite quickly. 

I have found that Yukon gold potatoes make the lightest and fluffiest gnocchi and my skills at making it have improved over the past couple of years. 

Cook, cool slightly, then mash your potatoes. 

Add 1 to 2 eggs and then flour and approximately1 tsp of salt. 

Add enough flour for the mixture to hold together without sticking to your hands. Don't overwork the dough or the gnocchi becomes tough.

Divide the dough into smaller sections and begin to shape the dough into a snake-like roll. 

Cut the rolled dough into small bite-size pieces. 

Cook the gnocchi in boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes. The gnocchi will rise to the surface of the water when cooked.

Christmas Morning

I slept in. 

I woke up just before 7 am and had to hurry to exercise and shower before 8 am. 

Chris and I were a little late coming out of our bedroom and the masses were rebelling. Okay just three girls, but they were anxious to come out of their rooms. 

We have trained them well over the years. 

I love that they love Christmas traditions as much as I do! We enjoyed a slow morning of breakfast, opening stockings, and settling in for our gift exchange.

St. Vrain Christmas Walk

We left the St. Vrain Christmas Walk to the last minute. Christmas Eve was fairly mild for us to check out the decorated homes and backyards along the path. All the girls were available join us.

Unique Present Wrapping

Kristen’s creative wrapping.

 

Misha’s equally unique creation.

The Owl

I heard this crazy squawking noise all night long. 

It woke me up around 2 am, 3 am, 4 am, and finally at 5 am I got out of bed to shoo whatever it was away. 

I figured it was just an annoying dove or something. 

I opened the curtain and couldn’t believe my eyes: a huge old owl. 

I flipped on the light and all it did was turn and look at me. 

“Chris, look at this!” 

Fortunately his phone was sitting on the nightstand, and I snapped a couple of pictures. I flipped the switch on the sliding door lock and that finally inspired the owl to fly away. Fortunately, it hasn’t been back since.