First Time Snowshoeing

In January, Chris' brother Nick sat us down with a calendar and said, "Pick a Saturday.  I'm watching the kids and you guys go snowshoeing."  So we did.  

Chris researched a bit and found what looked like a great place to snowshoe and we headed up into the mountains.  

There's a little back story to this story.  

7 years ago, Chris bought snowshoes for me (and himself) for Christmas.  This was when we lived in the foothills and figured we'd get some pretty good use out of them!  But that year we got almost no snow. And then we moved to Southern California.  Of course, as the story goes, we moved out to Colorado where there is plenty of opportunity to use snowshoes.  We were missing a key factor still; a babysitter or the extra funds to pay for one for almost an entire day.  And then along comes Nicholas, who is not only willing, but is determined to get us out there to finally do this thing!  

There was traffic on the way up to the mountains, so Chris took an alternate route.  It was very snowy and our car isn't actually the greatest in snow, so we drove quite slowly and saved no time at all.  Plus it was a little stressful on icier roads.  It was also breathtaking, so that's where I chose to put my focus and it was a really lovely and memorable ride up.  

And then Chris had to show me how to properly put on snowshoes (which I messed up several times), but finally we were off on our uphill adventure.  

Eventually we reached this lovely view.  

And this one.  

Selfie to prove it's really us.  Also because I love him. 

 

The snow is several feet high, which is difficult to tell except when you get to building and most of them are buried.  

 

It was a lovely hike and the trek back down was a breeze since it was all downhill.  

We stopped at Chris' favorite brewery on the way home and grabbed a few drinks to celebrate our achievement and his new job, a management position for a German based company that is just starting up a branch in Denver.  Cheers to you, Chris, for all the hard work and sacrifices you've made to get here.  We are so proud of you and thankful for you.  

January Overview 2019

January went by quickly!  I got my word of the year (SHINE) after some time spent with Jesus.  And one morning I opened my Bible to this lovely verse speaking to me.  

But the verse He gave me on January 1st when He first confirmed it was "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."  -John 1:5

Can't wait to spend more time unpacking this word in my life this year.  

Some New Year's Day Quirkle game playing with my girlies. 

We celebrated the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God with a fun dessert.  

Kayla made lovely place mats for everyone for dinner with different depictions of Our Lady.  

And the girls insisted on some dress-up.  They are each a different Mary though I forgot to ask which ones they chose.  It looks like most of them are Our Lady of Fatima to me.  :)  

Kolbe wanted in on the picture fun

We had a special date dinner with Kayla.  We fed the other kids earlier and put on a show for them and ate dinner just the three of us all fancy.  Kayla wanted a Beauty and the Beast theme.  She wore her Belle dress and drew pictures to decorate the walls of the characters from the movie.  We made a loosely French-themed meal.  And we got some wonderful time to chat with our big girl.  

Kolbe is straight up crazy.  He can be found constantly doing the unexpected.  Eating lipstick, smearing toothpaste on mirrors and walls and any other surface, spilling protein powder and packets of energy fizz, putting on ridiculous costumes and showing up right behind you dancing in them, breaking his sisters magnatile towers, singing random songs, putting on other peoples' clothes, reading naked in the middle of the living room,  dumping out raw oats and stuffing handfuls in his mouth, jumping on everything, climbing on counters to scavenge food left there, looking in trash cans for gum, stripping naked and rolling in his sisters' beds....basically anything you could think of plus more.  

           

We got out of this habit, but I'd like to get back into it because we did it for a week or so and it was wonderful.  We gathered our religious themed coloring books and the girls colored while we said a family rosary.  It mostly worked out pretty well.  I am hoping we can at least get back into the evening habit with a decade together each night.  

Oh, did I mention that Kolbe also convinces his sisters to aide in his craziness; sometimes they are so gung-ho that they think of terrible ideas for him and then they carry out the terrible plan together.  This was an Ava and Kolbe conspiracy.  I'm still crying in case you're wondering.  And offering it for souls.  Why though, kids???

Sunrise...

Sunset

Chris traveled for the last time with Oracle the week of my birthday.  The kids did a great job of filling in and making my day special.  And my brother in law, Nick put the kids to bed that evening so I could go out for a glass of wine at a local winery with a few friends.  Thanks, Nick!  

Here are the a few of the girls and Kolbe making Daddy a little welcome home note.  

             

We got quite a bit of snow this January.  The most surprising part is that normally we get warmer temps in between snows so most of it melts quickly before the next storm.  It's been chillier so the snow has stayed on the ground more this January.  But we still got a few really nice days to get out and enjoy the weather.  

And here are a few Linkin' Logs creations the kids made one day that they insisted I take pictures of.  

Great work, kids!