The Polar Express

This past week I asked Kelly and Lindsey if they would rather have gifts from Santa or go to the North Pole, and see him there. They are getting older and I thought they might like to actually see him at his home at the North Pole. They decided that going to the North Pole would be a good experience. So we loaded up and headed to Durango to get on the Polor Express. Along with us, Jenny and her family, Julia, Jolyn, and their kids, along with Grandma Bills, all dared the winter roads with the help of the Polor Express Angel, to keep us safe, as we enjoyed a wonderful andventure. It was majical - with excitement in the air - and snow coming down all around us. Dave made it too - so I tip my hat to him for making it through the ticket line and surviving the rush - as we all headed out the door to bourd the train. It was fun! It was awesome! Everyone should go at least once in their life. We got hot chocolate, sang carols, laughed, and were blessed to see Santa and two elves. Santa gave the kids a bell, and one of the elf's, you can't see him in the picture, slipped one to me and Dave too. :) By the way, if you ever make it, don't forget to wear you pj's.

Polar Express Hot Chocolate Recipe:

What You Will Need
The recipe below makes one cup of hot chocolate!
1 teaspoon of Hershey's Cocoa

2 teaspoons of sugar

Approximately 12 ounces of milk

A dash of saltA dash of vanilla

Assorted mini chocolate bars

Candy canes or peppermint flavoring (optional)
How To Make It -
Mix Cocoa, sugar, milk, salt, and vanilla
Put the mixture in a microwavable mug, microwave for 1 and a half minutes or until warm
Drop a mini chocolate bar into the hot cocoa, stir as the chocolate melts
Add a touch of peppermint flavoring or put a candy cane in the hot cocoa for stirring
Top hot chocolate with whip cream and chocolate shavings, or with festive marshmallows
Enjoy!

Only In Blanding

We went for a ride tonight looking at christmas lights, and as we passed by the theather it was hard to overlook that three cars were parked the wrong way. I wasn't able to get all three in the photo but you can see the one car that is parked the right direction. After living out of state for so long and seeing this I could not stop laughing. Right after I took this photo a cop drove by. Then Dave and I started laughing even harder saying, "ONLY IN BLANDING!"

There that's better

Lindsey and I decided to put a Christmas stocking on Dave's foot, for the magic of Christmas on his cast adds a little Christmas cheer. Now we just need some good old fashioned wassail to help calm him down and keep him down. :)

Christmas Surgery

We drove to Cortez early yesterday morning for Dave's surgery. It took 45 minutes longer than expected - he will be down for 8 -10 weeks instead of the 6-8 weeks. Things didn't go quite as good as the dr. had expected, but all is well now that we have him home. I've been keeping him busy stringing popcorn and cranberries for our charlie brown tree. Dave's toes were cold, so I made a Christmas hat to cover his poor red toes up, since socks don't go over the cast. He liked it - hopefully it lifted his spirits. All of you who know Dave know that for him to be down a day is going to so hard on him. So, please keep him in your prayers and if you think of any other creative things he can do - sitting in this chair - we are open to suggestions.