Nederland-Jan 2012

Our first family trip in 2012 was to a cute little town about 40 minutes into the mountains directly west of our house.  The little town is called Nederland.  It sits at the base of the Eldora Ski Resort (which is the closest ski resort to Boulder).  The draw to Nederland for kids is the "Carousel of Happiness", which is a carousel that a man spent 22 years hand carving the animals.  Unfortunately, we went on a Monday and it only runs on the weekends.  So, instead, we decided to have lunch at a great German lodge/restaurant called Black Forest Restaurant.  The restaurant was great and we had great German fare.  The staff were true authentic Germans (with thick accents and all).  The kids had a great time and it made up for the fact that we didn't get to ride the carousel. 

Loveland Ski Resort December 2011

Tim's cousin, Christy, and her family invited us to go skiing with them at Loveland Ski Resort on Wed. December 28th.  Tim was off work that week and was "itching" to get out to the hills.  Drew enjoyed skiing with his cousins, Max and Ryan.  They were so gracious and gifted Drew some of their hand-me-down ski equipment.  We are very thankful!  Evelyn and I hung out in the lodge most of the day.  We went out to watch the boys come down the mountain and we tried sledding again.  She was still not a HUGE fan, but decided she liked sliding on her butt down the hill instead. 

Christmas Day 2011

Gifts from Santa and our family in Iowa and Minnesota

Drew's favorite present: the trumpet he asked Santa for

Evelyn's favorite gift: her puppy sleeping bag/pillow. 

Drew's 2nd favorite gift: Skis for the Rocky Mountains

Evelyn got a lot of cute clothes (perfect for Colorado)

What can I say...she has a thing for dogs...this one from Grandma Ruby and Grandpa Jim.

After the gift opening and lunch, we took the kids to Chautauqua Park in Boulder so that Drew could try out his new skis and I could take Evelyn sledding. 

 Evelyn hated sledding so we spent our time watching Daddy and Drew ski instead.

 Drew decides he is brave enough to try his new skis.  This is Drew at the top of the hill. 

 Drew made it to the bottom...Tim's back was pretty sore from helping hold Drew up. 

Family pic on Christmas Day 2011 at Chautauqua Park in Boulder, Colorado. 

Drew's Preschool Christmas Program

The cutest event of the season was Drew's preschool Christmas program. He was one of the three kings. All the kids did such a great job singing and signing words to the songs. The little boy next to him is his really good friend Joshua. They started the same day at school. Joshua is from Chicago. Afterwards, all the families got to mingle and have cookies/snacks in Drew's classroom. Evelyn really enjoyed playing with all the toys!

Gingerbread Cookies

Drew really enjoyed helping me bake cookies this year for Christmas. These are photos of the Gingerbread cookies we made. We also made Snickerdoodles, iced sugar cookies, peanut butter kiss cookies, and peppermint meltaways. 

Visit with Santa and Estes Park

One Saturday in December, we took the kids to visit Santa in downtown Lafayette.  Drew was so excited to tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas (a trumpet and a trombone).  Evelyn is too young to understand what Santa is all about but, she practically ran across the street to get to Santa.  She was fine with Santa from a distance but, when we put her on his lap...not so good!

 That afternoon we took a short road trip up to Estes Park. It is only about an hour from us and we enjoyed walking around the beautiful streets of Estes Park. We stopped for ice cream and watched a glassblower in her workshop. Really enjoyed the afternoon and looking forward to the next time we will be in Estes Park!

November in Snapshots

Being that we moved 10 days after Halloween, November is a big blur!  I am unable to determine individual posts for the month, therefore, I will do a collage of photos with descriptions!  Enjoy!

We arrived in Colorado...I promise we didn't make her ride in the kennel!

Drew on Pearl Street in Boulder.  What a beautiful week to move to CO!

The family on Pearl Street in Boulder...much thanks to my folks for helping us get moved in.

Need cowboy boots in Colorado!

Thanksgiving Lunch-Evelyn liked the turkey, green beans and cranberry

Thanksgiving Lunch!-Drew liked the same as Evelyn...next year no potatoes or stuffing?

Something with Evelyn and wanting to be a dog!

Putting up the Christmas Tree!

Whatcha lookin at Willis!?

The first snowstorm in Colorado-Ev is not so sure she likes it.

Drew is in LOVE-the snow is over his knees!!

Halloween 2011

After the "crazy" snow storm that hit NJ the night before Halloween, we still were able to make it out trick or treating.  Evelyn had fun with her friend, Emma.  We miss her family terribly!

Dragon Drew and Evelyn the Fairy were too stinkin' cute in their costumes.  And she knew it!

Last Visitors!

Our final visitors in New Jersey were Aunt Tena and Uncle Bud from Arizona.  We had such a great time with them.  The kids really enjoyed having them around.  We took them to the pumpkin patch, Piermont, and the Rockland Bakery.  Hope they can come visit us soon in Colorado!!