Durango, Colorado

We had so much fun skiing in Breckenridge last year that we decided to plan an annual ski trip. This year we decided to go to Durango and it was amazing!! We rented a ski in-ski out and it made the trip so much better. Our back porch was on the ski run so we could go out, ski for awhile, and then take a run to our back door. Sharon, Colleen's mom, can't ski because of an injury so she took really great care of us all week. We'd get back from skiing all day and she'd have dinner ready for us. She's an awesome cook. The skiing in Durango was great because they have two sides to their mountain and tons of runs! Even the wait to get on the lifts was super short. At lunch time when most people take a break to eat we'd go out and ski and literally there would be almost no people on the mountain. Riley and I skied the back side of the mountain the whole last day. We ended up on one lift that took us to the highest point on the mountain. I was so scared! It looked like blacks were the only way down. Luckily, that was not the case. The ski resort has a sledding hill that was also a lot of fun too. Other than skiing and sledding we played games, watched movies, and hung out in the condo. On New Year's they had a firework show that was amazing!! I love fireworks and watching them with mountains as the backdrop was beautiful. The first night we decided to eat out because it was late and for whatever reason agreed on a Mexican food restaurant. It sounded good, but why a group of Texans didn't realize that eating Mexican food in Colorado would be a bad idea is beyond me. It is definitely not a place we will be returning ;)

Christmas

It is no surprise that I love Christmas time! This Christmas we are going skiing in Durango, Colorado as our main gift. We thought it would be a lot of fun to celebrate with a vacation and family time as opposed to gift giving. My love language is gift giving so it was hard for me not to buy things for everybody, but I managed. This year we spent less money, but put more thought into our gifts. Riley bought me a gift pretty early and was really excited about it. He said and I quote "I only spent $12 but I bought you the best gift. You will love it! I'm pretty sure you're gonna cry". Of course I was so excited to see what it was and he was right! He made me a coffee cup that says Merry Christmas Mom. I love you so much. Your the best mom I could ever ask for. Enjoy your coffee! Then he decorated it with christmas trees, snowmen and snow. I absolutely LOVE it!! Bailey did really good too. She was so sweet to remember that months ago I was looking for a flannel shirt to wear with my Uggs and take on our trip. I never found one and just stopped looking. I was so surprised that she remembered and I can't wait to wear it (picture to follow soon). Bailey is currently obsessed with Justin Bieber, so we had to get her his movie. She listens to his CD over and over again. It's really cute. Who knows maybe we can make it to a concert this year. They make a barbie size Justin Bieber doll that we almost got as a joke but thought $20 was too much to spend on something that's just supposed to be funny. Of course we all got our Christmas Eve pj's. That will never get old and I will never stop that tradition. Normally, I love surprises and get really upset if anyone finds out their gifts. I even prefer that no one know what we are getting for one another. I kinda' ruined that because all I asked for was the new iPhone and there was no way for Jeremy to get that without me knowing. So Jeremy decided that he should be able to pick out his gift too since I knew mine. I was reluctant, but eventually agreed. Even though we knew our gifts we wrapped them anyway. We've joked about it since they went under the tree and it was kinda' fun, but I won't let it happen again. Next year we're back to all surprises.

Bailey & Chelby

Bailey and Chelby have been friends since Elementary School. We used to live near each other when we lived in Fort Worth and they moved to Keller the same year as we did. These girls are inseparable, so when they're not together they're usually on facetime. Chelby has become a part of the family :) They are super sweet and super silly. Of course, you should be able to see that from the photos. Right now they are in LOVE with Justin Bieber (which I think it's cute!), they love dogs, Vans, Uggs, Miss Me's, and Northface. I'm excited to be a part of the phases and fashions they go in and out of, the experiences of high school, boyfriends, sports, camps, and all the other fun things that come with being the mom of a daughter.

Billy Bob's

While my family was in from North Carolina we all went to Billy Bob's to see Randy Rogers perform. Riley took his girlfriend, Jess, with us as a birthday present to her. He decided to borrow some boots, jeans, belt, and belt buckle to dress up as part of his present as well. I thought they looked really cute! Billy Bob's was packed and we couldn't hear any of the concert, so I still have no idea if I actually like Randy Rogers music. Jeremy doesn't like country music or dancing so if it wasn't for Riley I wouldn't have danced at all. Riley asked me to dance and what mama's heart wouldn't melt at that request. It was definitely my favorite part of the night.

Spending Time With Rudy

Rudy spent the night with us, so we decided to take him to the dog park. He played with the dogs for awhile, but then decided the leaves were way more fun! Rudy LOVES his boots and will not take them off. I put him to bed in those boots. He'll tell everyone, even strangers, to look at "my boots."

Riley's 17th

Riley wanted to stay in for his birthday this year, so we ordered Buffalo Wild Wings (one of his faves), had cake, and opened gifts at home. Note to self: do not wait to write blog posts months after an event has occurred because you do not remember all of things you wanted to say.

Fabian's Visit & Thanksgiving

Fabian called us the week of Thanksgiving to tell us he was in Texas. It was so nice to have him home for Thanksgiving. Love when he come's in town and hate that we don't see him more often.