Not The Christmas We Had Planned...................

It's New Year's Eve - and if I don't blog about Christmas, I'll wonder what we did!!

After our tea at the castle, the following night we went out with friends' Jan and Jan to the Mexican restaurant to celebrate Jan's birthday - and the following evening, Jessi's arrived while I was at the Un-Choir Party.  After I got to the party and got the punch set up, I realized I wasn't feeling very well!  But I hung around through dinner and kept feeling worse and worse so left a little early.  It was fun to see Gary, Jessi and the kids at the house but we didn't stay up much later as I needed to get to bed!

Sunday morning I woke up and felt awful..................aches, pains, horrible headache, chest congestion, runny nose - I was a mess!  I spent a lot of the day in bed and felt so bad since I wanted to be up and around with the kids!  Jessi and Gary were supposed to go to the Hot Springs early Monday morning for Gary's birthday and I just knew I would wake up feeling OK so I could babysit - NOT!

Monday I felt even worse - so bad in fact that Jessi's decided to head on home and I got dressed and told Glenn I needed to go to Urgent Care - we all thought I had pneumonia!  The Keppys' left and we headed into the dr - he checked out my lungs and heart and said I didn't have pneumonia (that was good) and I probably had influenza!  He gave me 3 different types of meds and after filling them, we headed home and I went back to bed.

Tuesday morning Glenn woke up with the same stuff...................we were downright miserable!  It was all we could do to get from the bed to the recliners - no appetite - no energy - no desire or ability to do anything!  By Friday I had to text our friends and ask them to get us groceries - we were too weak to even think about heading to town.................

And that's been our life for the past 2 weeks............today I am 2 weeks into this stuff!  And I finally woke up this morning and felt better!  I know I'm not over it yet and I'm still very weak but my appetite is back and Glenn is up and about today too!  What a horrible 2 weeks!!

I was pretty depressed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day - we had plans to head to Jessi's to watch them open their gifts - and of course that didn't happen!  In fact I was so sick that I didn't even feel like reading!  And anybody that knows me, knows I LOVE to read above all else!!

So even though 2016 didn't end on a good note, I know that we're both heading in the right direction now and within another week or so, should have our energy back and feel good once again!!

Tea At The Castle

I always enjoy going to the Glen Eyrie Castle in Co. Springs and having tea, especially at Christmas when the castle is decorated to the hilt!  Beth, Arlyne and I headed down Thursday afternoon to enjoy this special tea and it was fun to walk in that beautiful castle with the huge fireplaces going strong!  Don't we look festive in our red!

 Here is the food menu - the tea menu was on the other side - and they had fancy tea names so I don't remember them BUT the one tea had an almond taste to it and the other a strawberry taste - both were delicious!

 Our plate of goodies!

 And our plate of desserts!  It was all very well done and tasted delicious!

What a special way to celebrate Christmas with friends!

Christmas Celebration #3

I didn't go swimming but Jaime, Rayna and I walked over to the indoor pool to check it out and to watch the kids and grand kids swim - the water was actually pretty warm - and the viewing area was even warmer!!  We stayed for a little while but it was so hot in there that we were sweating so decided to go to the game room and play some ping pong!

The YMCA has an awesome game room with ping pong tables, Foosball tables, pool tables and shuffleboard - we turned on some music and had a great time!

 Jaime headed back to her cabin to get dinner put in the oven while Rayna and I went to the museum - it was a house set up in the early 1900's and was very interesting!  After a great meal of lasagna, bread and salad, we headed over to play Bingo - all 15 of us!

 For a little while I thought we were going to be the only ones there but soon it was packed!  Standing room only!

 We had a great time playing for an hour with all kinds of different scenarios to win - many of us won - they had a prize box with little trinkets for the kids or you could get a certificate for a hot drink, cold drink or brownie at the Rustic Cafe in the lodge - we all had fun there!

And how awesome to get a group picture - this is something that rarely happens!

 Whoops - this picture got out of order - this was Happy Hour and Jaime went to her cabin to get her dish and look what she brought - a snowman cheese ball - cute as can be!!

 Later that evening, I went down to the other cabin to play a game - Jill popped popcorn and we enjoyed watching Parker play with Lego's at the other end of the table!

 It snowed a little bit during the night!  Gary did the scooping and then 3 of us went for a walk but it was darn icy out so we ended up just walking in the snow!

 After our walk, I enjoyed coffee and another of Jessi's cinnamon rolls - what a treat!

 We got a late check out which was super nice!!  Glenn headed over to the lodge by 11 to watch the Broncos game - the Savages and Smiths left for home and I helped Jessi and Gary pack up!  Then we went to the lodge to relax with Gwyn and Papa while Gary and the 2 kids went roller skating!  Gwyn decided she was going to stick out her tongue at me!!

 Here is the awesome fireplace in the lodge where Jessi and I sat and relaxed!  What an elk!!

And then it was time to say good-bye to the YMCA!  What a fantastic weekend - and after comparing notes with everyone, it's very possible we may do this again next year!!

Christmas Celebration #2

Today was "open the presents" day! Glenn and I had breakfast duty that morning so while Gary started a crackling fire in the fireplace, we cooked!  Kenzie and Aleah were up of course - but not Rayna who we didn't expect to wake up till later..............

We slid the big table back into the kitchen after breakfast and set the chairs in front of it for our opening - the Smiths and Savages came up mid-morning and the fun began!!  It was snowy and blowing outside so it sure seemed like Christmas was here!!

 Gwyn was taking a nap during a lot of the opening but once she got up, we had her open most of her gifts at once!!  She smiled and smiled!!

 About 1/2 way through the present opening, we stopped for coffee and homemade cinnamon rolls, courtesy of Jessi - they were delicious as usual!!  YUM YUM!!

Each year I either make a photo book or a poster of pictures of the kids throughout the year!  Evan, Kylan, Kenzie and Aleah each received picture books of their adventures at our house this last summer!!  Gwyn and Rayna also had books to open and Parker received a poster!!  Not sure what they're all looking at here?

 Gwyn LOVES dolls!!  She was enthralled with the two she got and she loved the little play stroller we got her!

 We attempted a picture with the grand kids - like I said, attempted!!!!

 I also make picture calendars for the adults each year!!  What a great looking crew!!

 We sent the kids off to play and the adults (plus Rayna) had our "sock" exchange!  We each spent $20 on a pair of socks and whatever else we wanted to and then played a game to see who got what sack!!  Jessi made up the game and it was hilarious!!  We drew from a couple of gift bags and then had a choice of 2 things to do - whether it was to pick a gift to open or something crazy like steal from someone older than you or everyone with a gift pass to the left!  We laughed and laughed but all were happy with our little gifts once we were done!  Check out all of our socks!

After a quick lunch, some of the gang went swimming and some relaxed!  And that's where I'll take up tomorrow's blog!

Our Estes Park Christmas Celebration #1

Something new for our family this year - celebrating Christmas at the YMCA in Estes Park instead of our homes!  And it was AMAZING!!!

Jessi and Gary have been to the Y twice and had always talked about how much fun it was and how much there is to do!  Glenn and I had been there and rented a cabin on New Year's Eve with Cindy and Rene' many years ago but we didn't do any of the activities! 

So after a lot of discussion, we decided to rent two 3 bedroom cabins and celebrate Christmas!  And this past weekend that's exactly what we did!!  Glenn and I headed up mid-morning for our 3 1/2 hour drive - it's beautiful up that way and we arrived just after Gary and Jessi who had checked us in!  The Keppys and us were sharing a cabin and right beside us were the Smiths and the Savages!

 The cabins were great - full kitchen and a nice living room with a wood fireplace - and this is who greeted us when we walked in the door!  She's always excited to see her Nana and Papa!!

 Jill's arrived shortly after us so we helped them unpack and soon were all settled - then it was time to head to the roller skating rink!!  Now if these pics look a little fuzzy, that's because they ARE!!  I took several but as everyone was whizzing by, the camera just couldn't focus!!  I decided NOT to roller skate but Glenn decided to and he did great except for one scary fall!

 Gary, Evan and Kenzie are masters at skating - the rest, not so much!  But hey, they tried and gave it their best shot!!

 Jill even got Robby out to skate!!

 The Smiths arrived early evening - Jessi and I were in charge of dinner that night - soup, rolls and pumpkin bread!  We had a long table at our cabin and since we had brought a couple of folding chairs, there was room for the adults at the table with the kids sitting around the coffee table!

 We celebrated Kenzie's 8th birthday!  She was excited to get a locking diary from us along with her money to buy books and a coupon for a movie!

 And her choice of dessert - oreo fluff!  It was great!

 In the meantime, the kids opened their packages from their parents that held their matching pj's (all except Rayna).  The pajamas were cute as can be but the pants were huge!!  We all got a good laugh out of that!  Here's the boys!  (note our little Christmas tree in the corner!!)

 And here's the girls!

We had a fun time just visiting and hanging out together!    But we all hit the sack pretty early that night hoping to get a good nights' rest!

Hollywood Studios

Since we were so late getting to bed the night before, I told Glenn I was NOT going to set the alarm to get up - whenever we woke up would be fine and it was no problem if we weren't there when the park opened!

Naturally I woke up early - figures - and we were dressed and out the door for breakfast at our normal time...........and we were on to Hollywood Studios!!

 We had the "entering into the park" down to a pat!!  Zippers open on the backpack so it can be checked - press the Mickey on your bracelet to the Mickey at the gate and then use the same finger as yesterday to put in the fingerprint place - (and then I would always hear a "welcome Rebecca" from the gate attendant - oh yes, we're talking high tech stuff here - they know everything about you, ha ha ) - look for the information booth that has the map of the park and the daily schedule - snap a picture of the Christmas tree - and finally look for a coffee place on the main street as you walk by - it will come in handy later...............

 We headed right to "The Great Movie Ride" - my favorite in this park - you ride in a train like booth through several sets of famous  movies!!  And it makes you want to go home and watch movies!!

After watching the live presentation of "Voyage of the Little Mermaid" on stage which was wonderful, we headed out to Main Street to watch the Star Wars Launch - gosh, these guys looked awesome!!

 I actually had a fastpass for the "Star Tours" ride but had talked to some people the day before and the gal told me if you're claustrophobic or have motion sickness at all, don't ride it!  Ha - I have both so we opted to skip that ride!!

Instead, we headed back to Main Street and got some wonderful coffee that we sipped on while people watching - very relaxing!!

After the Muppet presentation (which is really not that great and I'm not into the Muppets anyway) we had lunch - I know exactly where we ate but for the life of me can't remember WHAT we ate - only that it was good - didn't have a bad meal all week!

And then we were headed to Pixar Place where the Toy Story characters and rides were - check out this cute picture of the green guy!!

 I had a fastpass for the "Toy Story" ride and it was awesome - in fact, after I used the next fastpass I went and got another one for this same ride so we could ride it again!!  2 people to a car with a pull type gun in front of you and you went from game to game, hitting things by pulling the string!!  It was a great ride and we laughed and laughed as we tried to hit the items!!

After than, it was the "Tower of Terror" - I didn't really remember this ride that well and after I got into the place, then I remembered that I didn't really enjoy it last time so why the heck was I riding it again!!  But I did - you are in an elevator type situation and then it drops and goes up and then drops again and continues on and on - I was GLAD when it was over and don't believe I will ever ride that one again either!!  Where's my adventurous spirit???  Apparently it has left the premises!!!

We enjoyed watching a live presentation of "Beauty and the Beast" and had a guy snap our picture here!  Dessert time was next with hot fudge sundaes - yum!!!

 The Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular is always good - they've changed it quite a bit and it's very exciting!!
Then it was off to eat pizza but the place was closing so we couldn't get in - darn - we actually went back to the place where we had lunch and had some bbq chicken for dinner which was great!!

The evening show (which was at 6:45 since this park closes at 7) was called "Jingle Bell, Jingle Bam" and it was showcased over the huge theatre outside - clips of Christmas movies with wonderful music playing - and snow coming down!!  Disney does it up well!!!  We certainly enjoyed it and were so glad we stayed for it!!

It was nice to get back to the room at a good time and get packed for Friday's flight - the bus was picking us up at the lobby at 5:50am!!  We were ready and waiting for the bus so had plenty of time once we got to the airport to eat breakfast and enjoy coffee!!

We flew Frontier and after getting seated (for once I sat by the window) and shutting my phone down, I happened to look out at the wing and lo and behold, it was Marty the Marmot on our plane!!!!  I immediately turned my phone back on and texted Jessi!

Evan and Kenzie's school were in a contest to help name the next animal for the Frontier plane - the older kids all wrote letters on why it should be a marmot and Evan's was selected out of all the 3rd graders!!  He even got to read it at an assembly!  For some reason the contest got cancelled.  BUT apparently Frontier liked the marmot idea as a couple weeks ago, the entire school was taken to Denver International Airport and shown a plane that had Marty the Marmot on it, their school's mascot!!!  The kids were all so excited and they all got t-shirts from Frontier.

Anyway, Jessi said to take a picture out the window which I did!!

 Evan and Kenzie thought that was so cool that their grandparents got to ride on that particular plane!!  We thought it was cool too!!

It's always great to arrive back in Colorado - however it was snowing lightly when we landed and was pretty rough coming in!!  It was REALLY cold outside with our light jackets on - and by the way, I had found a coupon from the Co. Springs airport for $1.00 a day long term parking until Dec. 31st!!  WOW - we were charged a whole $5.00 from Sunday to Friday!!

And then the roads got bad heading up the pass and this was the scene out the front window!!

 3 accidents on the way up so we were glad to get home!!

And the picture below?  It's my Walt Disney World file so if any of the kids go there, I can hand them my file and show them what WE did!!  An awesome trip - an awesome time!!

Magic Kingdom

We woke up pretty refreshed for our Magic Kingdom day!  Headed over to the dining hall for Glenn's wonderful instant coffee and I ordered an omelet to split which was very good!

While I was waiting for the omelet to cook, I glanced back and saw Glenn talking to a guy - now usually when we go on vacation, it seems Glenn ALWAYS finds someone he knows.............yes, really!!  So I wasn't surprised to see him talking to someone.  When I got back to the table I asked who it was. Glenn said he had no idea - the guy had come up to him and said, "I want to be JUST LIKE YOU when I get older."  And Glenn says, "WHAT???"  And the guy replied - "You have on your "Islands" hat, (Glenn had worn a ball cap that had a palm tree and Island written on it) and your Mexico jacket (Glenn had on his jacket from Cabo which has a large fish on the back on it and CABO written on it) and that's just what I want to do later in life!!"  Glenn got a real kick out of that!

I went out earlier than usual to stand in line for the buses and they were already running that day so we didn't have long to wait before we climbed on and headed to the Magic Kingdom!  (And no, it wasn't so early that it was dark out!!  I took this when we came back that evening!)

 All of the parks have a huge decorated Christmas tree with decorations representing the park it's in - this tree was beautiful at night!!  And of course all the parks are decorated for Christmas so it really makes it special to go this time of year!  Several places had Christmas music playing too!

 And here is the magnificent castle!!

 We started at the back of the park again and basically walked on 2 rides - the park was pretty crowded that day and it felt like we were dodging strollers all day long!!  Which we were!!

Our first fastpass was Splash Mountain - it's a roller coaster but  not a steep one and it does go through some water so I knew we would get a little wet but nothing serious!  After riding it, I decided that would be my last roller coaster ride!  Even though most of the ride was really enjoyable, the steep part we came down was NOT FUN for me - guess I am just getting old!!  So I didn't have to worry about riding any more roller coaster rides that day!!

I was extremely disappointed when we went to The Haunted Mansion (one of my favorite rides) and found it was closed for renovation....................But we headed over to Pirates of the Caribbean which is my all time favorite ride in this park!  It's SO NICE to just walk on with that fastpass as the lines were almost an hour long!

We had Mexican for lunch (along with more frozen lemonade) and then enjoyed the Hall of Presidents - we have never seen that production before as I guess it just didn't interest me but it did this year and it was very well done!

And then I found it - the place I had been looking for but didn't quite remember - it was the Dole Pineapple stand and they make the most amazing pineapple/ice cream drinks ever!!!  If you ever go, you must have one!!

We started standing by the rope for the parade about 1/2 hour early so we could be right in front - I hadn't brought the umbrella or the ponchos that day (0% chance of rain) as we just carried one small backpack and those 2 items made it rather bulky - and of course it started raining!!  Luckily it wasn't heavy so we just held our spot for the parade!!

And the parade was well worth waiting for - all the princesses and characters are in it and it's wonderful!

 This dragon even breathed fire as it goes by!!

 After the parade we did "Peter Pan" which is a fun ride as you're in a small sailboat that suspends and it feels like you're flying through the sky!!  A fastpass for this ride is a must as it's always busy and the line was up to a 90 minute wait time when we went!

Since the evening fireworks over the castle is not till 10 at night, we opted to go back to the hotel to rest and eat before coming back that evening - a wise choice!  I stopped and got a frappachino to enjoy on the ride back.

I think our longest wait out of all 4 days was 25 minutes and we did wait it out so we could ride Buzz Lightyear - it's a fun ride where you go through different sections and shoot the gun in front of you at all different kinds of items!!  Of course Glenn beat me!!  We stopped for ice cream again before the fireworks that night  - they were amazing and the castle changes colors during the evening!  There was also a production shown on the front of the castle which was fun to watch!!

Once again, an awesome day - and only one day left!!