Christmas in Colorado

Good golly I had been missing Colorado.  Some thoughts about our trip out for the Christmas holiday.

• If you ever find yourself stuck in Limon due to snowy conditions, stay clear of the 1st Inn Gold.  The place is a dump.  And if you do decide to lodge there, be warned that you may find yourself awaken to the docile sounds of a domestic dispute in the room next door.

• It was great seeing Grandma again, even if I'm pretty sure she didn't remember who I was most of the time (then again, there were numerous people I saw around town that I'm pretty sure didn't recognize me.  But that is to be expected when I've gained a few pounds since my last trip home, not to mention the many pounds I've gained since my days as a 150 pound high schooler).  And I'm still not sure what Grandma thinks about Brodie.  I'm pretty sure she thought that someone had released a mountain lion into my folk's house, because I'm sure I saw fear in her eyes a couple of times as he lumbered past her.  And my parents are saints for taking her in and caring for her as her health diminishes.  

• I never knew how good I had it in the Banana-Belt that is the Ark-Valley, until we moved away.  Not only is the winter weather much tamer there than in eastern Nebraska, but the Mexican food is soooooooo delicious compared to the stuff they pass off as Mexican food in Omaha.  At my request we ate at Mission Deli twice (in one day) and I will dream about their green chili each night as I fall asleep.

• Spending Christmas Day lounging around in our pj's is one of life's simple pleasures.  And I am kinda sad that we didn't do our traditional caroling/littering at Debbie's house.  But rest assured that the Wrapping Paper Bandits will strike again at a time left undetermined.

• It was great spending time with the Sharps and having lunch with Brian, but I wish I'd have had another week to venture around town and catch up with all of my other friends and family.

• At next year's Yankee Swap, I'm going to be sure to bring a really lousy present to ensure that more than one "Swap" occurs.  I'm pretty sure an ugly sweater would do the trick.

• You never really appreciate good road conditions until you pass 12 car and 6 semi-truck carcasses stuck in snow drifts in the bar-ditch on your way into town.

•  Lunch at Uncle Ron and Aunt Karen's was great.  And it was so much fun playing outside with Brodie and the cousins.  And we now know that after spending the afternoon having Brodie catch snowballs in his mouth, the guy's probably going to have to pee pretty bad.  As we were headed home, we got down the road a bit and Brodie started panting uncontrollably.  We tried opening the windows, thinking he was too hot.  When that didn't work, we decided to pull off the road and let him get out, thinking he needed a full body cool-down.  And then he peed for about 3 minutes straight.  I think he was even surprised with the amount he expelled.  Now we know.  

• Returning to Omaha was great, until we found three feet of snow blocking us from our garage.  After an hour of shoveling and after cracking the shovel handle, we decided to invest in a snow blower, and what a great investment it is.  It will now be a pleasure waking up to a nice snowfall.
  

I'm sure there are countless thoughts that I've missed, but I can't express how great it was to spend time with my sisters, brother, mom and dad, grandma, my in-laws and their families (and doggies), my aunt and uncle, my cousins, and my friends.  To say my "bucket" was refilled is an understatement.  I'll spend the contents of my bucket wisely the next six months until I can once again return to the Rockies for a refill.