Hopefully this Christmas is the harbinger of many times come. The Austin family joined us in Colorado to discover what the Rockies in winter have to offer. Where to begin? First there was the gifts to be opened Christmas morn, where all the grands discovered Santa had brought them hot pink Barbie sleds (except for Bo’s bright lime green:). This was the beginnings of much fun in the fluffy white stuff barely ever encountered in Texas.

There was hot apple cider for the grands and Swedish glogg for the grownups, while waiting for the turkey and dressing. Last year Matt gave the Granby house a sous vide oven that provides continuous moisture for the most succulent turkey you can imagine. I highly recommend you check this out for future holiday fare. 

We headed to Grand Lake where the most challenging sledding can be found. The locals were there to share with buckets filled with heaters, to prevent frost bite in the most important places:). The Grand Lake crowd are an adventure in themselves. We caught a group of Christmas elves dressed in “bumper” suits in the park, knocking each other over into the soft snow, with lots of glogg to soften the blow I think.

Then back to the mountain house to build Matt’s present of choice, a self contained gym, complete with bench press and weights I couldn’t even budge myself. The gym was a little bonus room we discovered below the garage. The wonderful thing about homes in Colorado is that nearly all sport a basement. With an upgraded black iron pot bellied stove, it’s the toastiest room in the house, helping us all thaw out for more adventures ahead.

The next day we discovered Snow Mountain, otherwise known as The YMCA of the Rockies. What a jewel nestled among the peaks, offering ice skating, tubing, x country skiing, rock climbing, and indoor roller skating, among other activities for the brave-hearted. Matt hooked Bo and Hanna up in a Papa-drawn sled, while the other grands braved a new style of skiing. It turned out to be a family favorite. The downhill style will always be fun, but the parents were definitely more comfortable with keeping up with the kiddos on a less challenging terrain. Hanna tried her little hand at ice skating with the help of a sliding walker and her mom. Bo hopped on a tandem tube with his papa while this Mamou recorded it all.

Finally back to the foothills of Golden after a week of wearing their parents to a frazzle. We shopped the mall for after Christmas sales, discovered an indoor bungee jump and an old-fashioned carousel for some warmer indoor fun.

The final adventure landed us in downtown Denver for the Museum of Natural Science, where the girls discovered a virtual reality moon expedition and a “colours” special exhibit with spectacular visuals of the colors nature has to offer us. A final stop at The Denver Central Market for the culinary delights offered in food court style was the icing on the cake. There was a “green nature “ booth that offered amazing poke bowls and a booth that specialized in Belgium chocolate for dessert. Much of the latter was packed for the trip home. If there was ever any doubt that the Austin family would be moving to Colorado, that doubt has completely vanished:)