Ok, so I'm a pretty bad "blogger". I probably shouldn't call myself a "blogger", but more of a "sporadic documenter of things that we do". And here I am, over a month after it happened, blogging about one of our favorite times from the past year:
LARSON FAMILY CHRISTMAS VACATION!!!
Since this post will be overloaded with pictures, I'll try to keep my writing short except to say that all of Matt's siblings (and spouses where applicable) along with Mimi and Papa came out to spend the week before Christmas with us in Colorado, partly in Denver and mostly in Winter Park at a perfect cabin tucked away in the mountains. It was awesome. Seriously. Such a special way to spend holidays. I just wish we could all be together more often! It was a time of relaxing, getting to know each other better, playing games, tasting new beers, cooking together, tubing and sledding, watching Frozen and Elf, opening presents... I mean, what isn't there to like in that list of activities!?!
So yes, I took a million pictures (and stole a few from other family members). But it's not often we have everyone in one place, so I wanted to be able to look back and remember all the fun. And it still brings a smile to my face looking at the fun memories that we made.
Here are only a small, teeny tiny portion of the pictures. :) (Beware, I'm guessing only family will appreciate the sheer number of photos here....)
We got the house ready for SEVEN guests! Which meant we needed to make the music room/2nd guest room a little nicer... It's amazing what $20 will do to a room :)
David & Emma arrived first so David could shadow an ENT doc, and it was fun to get a little time with them before everyone arrived! Plus, one of Emma's old friends from Germany came to stay with us briefly too before they all headed up to the mountains to meet with Emma's fam.
Emma and I took Benjamin to Rowan's second birthday party at a fun music place where they had a glow in the dark party too!
Matt & David took in a fancy schmancy beer tasting night at our friend Mike's house. Lucky boys!
Meanwhile, this happened at home ;) I won't name names here, but someone put dish soap into the dishwasher....
Taking the guests to Euclid Hall/Larimer Square:
Pam was a hero grandma and took Avery during the nights so Matt and I could attempt to get some sleep!
The next day we took everyone to Union Station to enjoy a tasty breakfast at Snooze before D&E headed up to the mountains!
And then everyone else started arriving! Sara and I took a fun trip to Beatrice & Woodsley to grab a fancy cocktail together (and were talking so much that I forgot to show her the awesome bathrooms! ERGH!). :)
Benjamin certainly loved showing off for his aunts and uncles...
Oh, and get ready for lots of Jacob/Benjamin pictures - he's just about the coolest uncle any kid could have! And Benjamin LOVES him!
After packing up for Winter Park, we stopped at Snooze (a different one) for a very tasty brunch. Normally we hate the wait, but with this group, the wait was no problem! It was a fun way to kick off the trip!
Oh, and a quick stop at Costco of course...
Here we go! Leaving the nice sunny/warm weather....
And magically entering a winter wonderland less than an hour later!
Right away we got settled in and started cooking of course :)
And I was the lucky person who got to use the mini-mini wine glass :)
Look at that view!
Sara and I made a pretty AMAZING dinner that night, if I do say so myself...
Early morning dancing...
And Matt found a sweater at the house that he wanted to take home...
Out for a little sled expedition:
Meanwhile, Dave and Jacob tore it up at Winter Park!
We took a walk to find the ice skating rink...
Only to find out it wasn't filled up yet. But Benjamin got to slide on the patches of ice from random drips :)
And wouldn't you know it, the firetruck pulled up to fill the rink! That was probably cooler for Benjamin to watch anyway!
Then Papa joined us for the trek back up the hill to the house:
These Swedish people and their gross food ;)
Next morning was perfect time for pictures!
And then a trip to the TUBING hill in Fraser! Talk about FUN!
A visit to a local brewery in downtown Winter Park:
And Triv Pur (a pic for Suzie!):
A beer tasting at the house:
Papa Bear made some salmon:
And just like that, we had to pack up and head home in a big snow storm :)
And of course it was nice when we got home, so BWL wanted to play some football and baseball!
While football was also on the TV...
Quick trip to Crooked Stave:
The men putting together the train set for Benjamin...
Last family supper:
Time for Christmas! What a fun time surprising each other with fun gifts and laughs. :)
Benjamin was so surprised by the train table and SO happy to get it from Mimi and Papa! He was certainly spoiled this year :)
He didn't want to say goodbye to Uncle Jacob :(
And after everyone left, we had a little extra time with D&E, so Emma embarked on cookie making :)
PHEW - I probably missed a bunch of pictures, but who am I kidding, did anyone make it this far?!? :)
We are so blessed to have such a wonderful, supportive, and FUN family!
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