We arrived in one piece from our Senegal to Paris and back to Paris to London to Denver trek. Fortunately the roads were cleared, and the snow banks were solid, so we had smooth sailing to the mountains. We had rented a front-wheel drive Monte Carlo (cherry red) and we made it to the mountains with nary a slip.
Chris had made the traditional Christmas dinner, Shirley's canneloni. I thought it tasted pretty dang close to the original! We opened our gifts, from family all over the country, and though it was tough to top the Sarah McClachlan CD "Wintersong" of Christmas favorites, and the Scrabble-a-day calendar, Chris had compiled a family cookbook with about 50 recipes, and great family photos for each of us. Needless to say, that eclipsed all the other gifts.
Jim couldn't make it to CO because of the huge snowfall a few days before, so it was just the Colorado fam and us. Kealey was so cute, and we watched her DVD of her school's holiday chorale show. Culley is 15 going on, well I guess 15. He is your good kid, always has been, always will be.
So, after the jetlag knocked us both out, we awoke the day after Christmas to see all the beautiful snow, and to make plans for sled riding and catching up. Chris baked a fabulous turkey with all the fixings for dinner, something I had been begging for, for nearly a year. Apparently, the french only serve turkeys at Christmas, and I had missed my chance. As the turkey cooked, I spent most of the day listening to US news, and catching up on the political gossip, not to mention quality time with my dear friend who happens to be my sister-in-law.
Wednesday morning everyone got up bright and early to see the guys off to the ski mountain (Keystone), while Chris, Kealey and I were to make our annual trek to JJill and the mall (Cherry Creek).
Thursday morning, with another blizzard expected, Pat and I headed off the mountain and down towards Denver, for more shopping, expecting to go to Evergreen for dinner and a night at George and Suzan's. We always try to shop for our basic essentials in the US, because it is so much cheaper. Socks, Levis, and t-shirts can be twice the price in Paris, or more. We looked for a passport holder for me, but didn't find one. Pat got one last trip to Cincy, and it carries all the necessary ID papers, rather conveniently.
As the early afternoon approached, so too did the snow accumulation and the mall employees were talking about closing early, we still needed to head to Evergreen, in our Monte Carlo, so off we went. It was a little treacherous, but we arrived about 1.5 hours later, safe and hungry. Suz & George came to the rescue and the rest of the trip was fabulous. So instead of one night, we spent a couple two nights on that mountain shoveling, snowshoeing and jumping in the hot tub.
We left Evergreen and made a sunny ride back to the family for a couple more days of sledding and well - family time. It was a great Christmas.
