Christmas in Colorado

What a fun time we had in Colorado!!! Having 8 kids (all 10 and under) under one roof makes for one fun, chaotic, loud, crazy week! We stayed at completely tore apart my in-law's house, with Elijah and Isaac needing to touch everything in sight. Mike's older sister, along with her husband and 3 kiddos, and his younger sister were also there to witness the destruction. I'm sure they were all ready for us to go. No, not really. at least I hope not :)

We had so much fun playing games, pigging out, and just spending time together. The girls just love their cousin Aliya....they spent pretty much every waking moment together. They hate the fact that we all live so far away from each other, as do I.

Baby Jett got enough love while we were there to last him his whole life! I'm a little bit worried that he's gonna be dependant on all these people...you know, the ones that pick him up at the first tiny little wimper he makes. I know, I know...they needed to love on him while he'll still let them. :) The next time we see some of them will be after he grows out of the snuggly stage, and into the "put me down so I can destroy things!" stage.

It didn't snow while we were there, but there was already a little snow on the ground when we arrived. The kids got all bundled up and played for a long time. Uncle Jason helped them build pretty much the coolest snow fort ever.

Beautiful Aliya

Jett got to open his very first Christmas present!!! It's an activity mat, and he LOVES it!! I LOVE that he LOVES it! :)

Come on dad...rip that sucker open!

Just what I always wanted!!!

The kids had a blast playing at the foam factory!!! Too bad we don't have a house big enough for one of these! That would be niiiiiice!!!

Sweet Daymon :)

Crazy Dylan! :D

We took a drive up to the mountains and got some really good pics up there!

Mommy's little angel.

YAY! I finally got a picture of our family in the mountains...and it's our complete family!!!

We had so much fun and made so many memories....which reminds me of my favorite quote of the week -- "We're making memories, and you're not in them." (Aliya - after coming in from playing outside in the snow without the grown-ups...besides Jason, who helped them build their fort) I will forever remember that...she's hilarious! :)

So. Anyway. We made it back last night, and I still have yet to unpack 3 of the 4 suitcases. Eh, they'll have to wait...
I'm exhausted.
10+ hours in a car with 5 kids and a dog does not a fun car ride make. I'm just sayin'. But in all honesty, the drive really couldn't have gone better. It still wasn't fun by any stretch of the imagination, but it wasn't as bad as I had pictured. It actually started out pretty well on the way home. We stopped by Starbucks before we left town. After getting approximately 4 hours of sleep the night before, we needed a little caffeine boost. We ordered our drinks, and drove up to pay. The guy behind the window told us that the car in front of us had payed $5 of our order, so we only needed to make up the difference. I almost got a little teary-eyed. *almost* What a sweet thing to do...I'm still trying to think of a way to pay it forward.

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other. ~Burton Hillis