Christmas 2017

We've been doing all manner of fun stuff leading up to Christmas (see earlier blog posts), but the final fun stuff began in earnest with the arrival of Uncle Craig the morning of Christmas Eve. Once again Christmas included all the best stuff: Christmas movies (all kinds), open-me-firsts on Christmas Eve (with spaghetti carbonara), stockings all hung by the fireplace (well, the dog's was nearby), constant sand tarts and fudge, bubble bread, fruit pizza, Denver omelette (Trevor thought maybe we could drop the Denver now!), gifts from California and Kansas City, puzzles, goofy toys that keep even the adults laughing, a scavenger hunt, fart whistles (that got old after a while), transportation devices, braised ribs, mashed potatoes, garlic-roasted carrots, and cheesecake. All the photos are here.

Stockings...

A Harry Potter script!

Many of the gifts kept the kids busy quite a while.

And parents distracted.

Broncos gear for everyone!

Sandy made a mermaid quilt for Fina.

This turned out to be a scavenger hunt for a bath-bomb making kit.

Cars and trucks are always a big hit for these two.

First bike!

Transportation devices are a huge hit.

Laser Tag with enough guns for all.

Matteo got by far the most complicated package.

Mid-morning we discovered Santa had dropped a few things in the garage.

The puzzle almost got finished. By the time Craig left we
were down to the most difficult (nearly all black) pieces.

The boys thought this was Hamilton chess.
The store thought it was Revolutionary War chess.

Four by Brother Luck

Recognize the name? It's a new restaurant in downtown Colorado Springs, just opened in May. You may recognize Brother Luck as the name of one of the contestants on Top Chef Colorado. The TV at the bar was playing excerpts from the show. And we met him, talked a bit with him! Better yet, we got to enjoy his food at the restaurant tonight. OMG! We finally found a truly "foodie" experience nearby in CO. The menu is uniquely simple. Each of the four quadrants ("Four by") is essentially a Pris Fixe 4-course meal. There are choices within each quadrant, but you can also mix and match across the menu if you want. But each quadrant is designed to go together. I went with quadrant II, Lynn did III. See the dinner menu. All the photos are here. Do not miss a chance to enjoy a great food experience here. And at $65/person including wine paired with each course, it's a bargain.

Bacon-Chipotle Popcorn and the "Four by" menu.

SERRANO JAMON TOAST: 

Goat Cheese, Everything Spice, Capers

ASPEN RIDGE FILET MIGNON: 

Persimmon, Chimchurri, Parsnips, Peppercorn

Electric Safari

Apparently for the last 27 years the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has decked its halls for Christmas. It was a little chilly, but the lights and animals were distracting enough. In fact, once again, the giraffes stole the show, to the point where the kids barely noticed that Santa was there. All the photos are here.

Touring the Broadmoor

Nana and Papa stepped out a bit tonight and joined the Wandering Monkeys (a free guided tour club) for a tour of the Broadmoor, one of the best hotel and conference centers in the U.S. (maybe the world). It's about 30 minutes from our house, very close to Cheyenne Mountain, Pikes Peak, etc. Actually, Jamie was here before back in space authority days. The Space Foundation holds a major conference, the Space Symposium, here every Spring, and the organization he was with attended a couple times. Tonight's tour was as much about Spencer Penrose, the unlikely rough-around-the-edges guy who built the place in the early 1900s, and his wife Julia, as it was about the place itself. We've got to come back for the free art tour offered by the Broadmoor itself. Oh, and dinner at Ristorante del Lago (in the Broadmoor), wonderful food and wine overlooking the small lake that sits between the two main buildings. Great evening. (Sorry for the cell phone pics; I'll take the real camera next time.)

And, we caught a pretty good-size Geminid meteor go by from our table.

Santa at the Club

Santa stopped by the Club today! So we did, too. And he brought some animals with him, including a camel. It was a kick. And look at the great Christmas photo we got thanks to Edward Martens of Visual Masterworks. Jamie took a few pics that day, too; they're here. Matt was in California visiting Sam.

Lexi's first haircut

At Floyd's... Oh my.

Thanksgiving in KC

We had something of a family reunion in KC for Thanksgiving. Trevor's family from CA and the rest of us from CO converged on Jamie's sister's and Lynn's sister's homes in the KC area for a delightful week taking in as much of KC as we could. Many thanks to our hosts Vickie and Rob, and Laurie and Andy! All the photos are here. Not pictured are trips to various haunts like Velvet Creme Popcorn, Laura Little's Fudge Shop, Andre's (napoleons!), Panache (truffles), and the Luminary Walk at the Arboretum. We also drove by where we lived way back when. I hear the Nipomo Fosters went ice skating after we left for home.

At Fritz's Burgers, the meals are delivered by train to the table!

Marshmallow playdough fun at Function Junction.

Outdoors action at Crown Center (Hallmark).

The bow-making machine at the Hallmark Visitor Center was a huge hit.

Kaleidoscope. Very cool activity-packed place for kids at Hallmark.
The kids' great uncle has worked at Hallmark for 40+ years!

All the cousins, including some seconds. Or is that
cousin-in-law. I'm never sure.

The kid-sized hamster wheel at Science City (in Union Station)..

Generating some electricity.

Very cool climbing structure (still at Science City).

Spotting some stray balloons at Union Station.

The kids' table at the Harvey House in Union Station.

Can you spot their order written on the table?

Even the big kids had fun.

The "kids" table at Thanksgiving. The following Saturday, Nick's (on the right,
plays right tackle) football team won the state highschool championship!
Serafina was there. Nick is Hailey's boyfriend; she's a cousin.

The ferris wheel inside Scheels (like a Cabellas).