Beauty of the Lanterns!

Brrr! We probably couldn’t have picked a colder day to go see the Chinese Lanterns at Fair Park, but gosh darnit, we had a Groupon and we were using it! Thankfully good spirits were still abound:

We arrived a little before nighttime, so we took our time at the start of the exhibit, as nighttime is really the right time to experience the lights at their best!

This dragon was truly amazing. Covered in china!

While we waited for the darkness to settle in, we grabbed some traditional Chinese treats: egg rolls and nachos .

Plenty of time for the night to take over. What a beautiful display!

My favorite was this amazing blossom out in the middle of the pond. According to the notes throughout the lantern trail, this one was brought all in one piece!

Longhorns!

B’s favorite was definitely the dinosaur section:

I loved the peacock-inspired pieces:

But after a while, someone was only interested in pushing her own stroller. Joy.

Time to head out for home!

You Just Know...

Double-check flu shot administered during annual appointment last September. Double-check also that flu shot is still effective 5 months later. Two of 8 kiddos in her preschool go down with it 3 weeks ago. Two family members in her evening sitter's house are diagnosed last week just hours after she's picked up by the sitter. I'm in class and don't even see the pleading messages (she didn't want to pick her up and risk exposure for B!) until two hours too late.

My angel was a trooper and stayed healthy through it all. But come Saturday night, a small, clear runny nose snuck into our routine and I was on complete high alert. Wipe nose, hand sanitizer/wash hands, repeat. Repeat. Repeat. I even breathed a sigh of relief when our little buddy, Alexandra, woke up with a nasty stomach bug that night (the girls attended the same bday party that night) but my B was still all smiles. It was too good to be true. I just knew something was coming. Probably why it didn't matter when she "coughed" at 4am and I immediately leaped out of bed to run to her rescue with zero surprise to see the icky sicky in her bed. Poor baby! I ended up sleeping on the floor to help her through the night of yuck and we snuggled together in the morning for a few extra minutes just to make sure she had that extra dose of love from Mommy.

Miraculously, she was my normal little sprite an hour after waking, had a hungry tummy, and was stoked to hear that Mommy was staying home on a Miss Kathy day. The doc said she was the healthiest sick kid he'd seen all day, and since it was just a freak virus we'd better run out of the office before she actually caught something to worry about. Phew!!!

No flu. No strep. Day at home with my baby AND Daddy took the afternoon at home so I didn't have to miss class. Ahh. Life is in order once more.

From sick to silly in a few hours flat. Happy day!!!

Colorado Christmas Wrap-Up!

 

How refreshing to wake up and be reunited with these old friends:

Christmas #3 finally arrived! (Jonathan banked with a new Subaru tailgate chair and his coveted terry robe that he’s been searching for for years!)

My family was able to wait for the cookie decorating until our arrival, and man did we enjoy us come Christmas cookies! My mom even found MY old Christmas apron for Bridget to use. Adorable!

Mom’s cousin, Matt, and his family joined us for the party, too. He and his wife have two lovely daughters, the younger of which Bridget immediately latched on to. Seriously, B came up the stairs from the basement, saw all the to-do going on, saw Laurel, walked right up to her and said: “I want to play with her!” Laurel was so sweet to accommodate B’s needs, as well. Love sweet friends!

 

Yes, you may be able to spy a glass of wine. It happens. This is a Williams party, after all!

The finished product was pretty impressive!

After nap that day, it was time to squeeze in a quick first SLEDDING trip before the sun went behind Pike’s Peak. I’d bought B a cute, pink snow suit prior to our trip, but she opened a much, much nicer one from my Aunt on Christmas #3! Score! We got all bundled up and headed to the back yard hill:

You’d be surprised to hear that we don’t always have snow at the house for Christmas. It can be such a bummer if there’s not enough white fluff to play in! Thankfully, we had just enough for some minor sledding. It was B’s first time! Arnie wanted to join the fun, too:

We’d talked plenty about snow angels while prepping for the trip, so she knew just what to do – and loved it!

Though she was said she was nervous and required a Mommy or Daddy partner at first, this girl LOVED the thrill of the sled. Who’s surpised?!

Puzzling is a must during a Williams family holiday:

 

And that evening we opened stockings! One of my favorites!(of course, B got the best loot!)

Since this was a very quick CO trip this year, we decided to spend most of the trip together as a family at the house. Day 2 should have brought a family trip to the Hungry Bear followed by more sledding. Sadly, B woke up sick and ended up puking all over the couch right before we left for breakfast (thankfully it wasn’t at the restaurant! Also, I knew it was coming when I saw her behavior change on a dime).

She woke up happy as a clam, after about 15 minutes (I was starting to get her ready for the breakfast trip) she just turned into a different kid. Wanted to lay down. Didn’t want to put on clothes (now, this is a normal Bridget thing – girl LOVES jammies). Didn’t want to sit up. Said she didn’t feel good. Jonathan (he’s the worrier of the two of us) decided he would stay home from breakfast with B so the rest of us could go eat, which I agreed was fine (no sense in everyone staying home). She was still fever free, so I mentioned to my mom and sister that this behavior had occurred twice before with B, each time ending with a puke session followed by 100% immediate recovery. Just as soon as the words left my mouth, girl threw up all over the couch. Poor thing! Good thing we’d brought a trash can over to catch the worst of it. This Momma can tell when a stopped up nose (its so dry in Colorado at winter time, that even with humidifiers blowing in every room you’ll rarely see a runny nose) fills a little one’s belly with icky mucus. Gotta expel that stuff somehow! Her appetite was back, color returned, and smiles appeared once more – all before we left for the Hungry Bear. The rest of the fam and I were able to leave Daddy and B home to rest and watch cartoons, while we went and fetched them some to-go Bear breakfast. Not too shabby!

After a needed early nap, we decided to head to the end of our street for a family hike and some more sledding. B was tickled when I let her sit in the front seat with Daddy! Who’s the cutest bear around?!?!

Good thing we brought the sled along, because “someone” was getting tired and ended up being dragged along for much of the hike. Even where the was no snow to be found. Spoiled!

Super steep hill. Slick snow and ice. Focused Daddy. Fearless and ecstatic Bridget!

Check out the smile at the end of this quick clip – love her!

More friendly deer time. Notice they don’t even care about Arnie being out there! Probably because they all know he’s a fraidy dog .

It’s always nice to be all together at Christmas for many reasons – one of our favorites being that we get to help my parents celebrate their anniversary! This year marked 37 years. We’re so lucky to have such great role models!

A delicious dinner was enjoyed with lots of family:

And we ended the night with some ping pong, iPad time, and a rousing game of Scattergories for the grown-ups (wish I had more than just mental pictures of that! bahahahaha!):

Our last morning allowed for one last walk around the loop:

Lots of hugs and chuckles:

A quick drive through Garden of the Gods (there was SO MUCH we didn’t do on this trip! Agh!):

Before we were off once more to the airport. Thank goodness we were gifted with an easy day of flying!

Can’t wait to see you this summer, Woodland Park! Unless we just can’t wait, and we may sneak up over Spring Break. Jonathan suggested this last night – you know I’m game! Stay tuned.