Happy New Year (January 4th, 2016)

It is now January 4th, and we are thawing out for the first time since we've been home.  The temperatures have not been above freezing in almost a month.  This is the type of weather that gets me down.  Steve and I have tried to go for a walk a few times, but we only go about half a mile and then it's time to come in because we're really cold.  

Shortly after Christmas, our son (in-law) had to head back to Georgia  for a few days of mandatory work.  Our daughter took him to the airport, which is always hard for her.  We took time to take down all of the Christmas decorations and get the house back in order, which always feels kind of good.  

On December 30th our oldest daughter headed up to Estes Park. She is the matron of honor in her sister-in-law's wedding.  She, the groom and the brides dad all headed up early to string some lights and get things set up.  The rest of the bridal party would join them later in the day.  

Our son (in-law) was supposed to arrive back in Denver at about 9:00 p.m. on the 30th of December.  This meant that he would miss the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner, but would be there to help with any last minute details for his sister's wedding.  As we watched his flight throughout the evening, it just kept getting delayed.  

For some reason, flights out of Georgia, especially in the evening, are always late.  He ended up getting in at about midnight, so Steve and I were on-call to go get him and help him get to Estes Park as quickly as possible.  We sat in the Cell Phone Lot at Denver International Airport until he saw on the train back to the main terminal, then we headed out to Terminal East to pick him up. It was a very busy night at DIA.  As he came out of the terminal, we were stuck in the traffic waiting to pick people up.  We stayed in the left lane (which is usually the fast lane), but it seemed to be moving slower than the right lane.  As we were waiting, we could see our son (in-law) walking out of the parking structure toward us.  We were still waiting to get into the structure.  We made our way into the right lane, and as we passed through the structure, we could see that there was an SUV parked in the fast lane of traffic, holding up everyone who were trying to pick up their passengers.  

Once we got our son (in-law) in the car, we took him back to the Cell Phone Lot where we had his car waiting for him.  He quickly headed out for Estes Park and Steve and I headed home.  We got home at about 1:00 a.m. and by 2:00 a.m. we were heading to bed.

New Year's eve was wedding day.  Our oldest daughter and son (in-law) were already in Estes Park.  We picked up our youngest daughter's boyfriend at about 4:00 and headed for one of the most beautiful places in Colorado.  It takes about an hour and a half to get there from our house, and we were hoping to get there while it was still light enough to see and maybe take some pictures, but as we came over the hill and started dropping down into Estes Park, the sun was setting.  The beautiful mountains quickly disappeared into darkness.  We were sad that we didn't really get to take in this grand valley before the sunset. 

The wedding was held in a beautiful rustic church that was all decked out for Christmas.  We had a chance to take a few pictures before the ceremony started.

Our youngest daughter and her boyfriend.  I love it when they get all dressed up.  It doesn't happen often.

The Christmas tree and poinsettias made such a pretty backdrop

When the wedding was over, we headed to the reception, which was held in a lodge on the edge of the lake.  Most of the wedding pictures were taken outside during the heat of the day, but the high today in Estes Park was 6 degrees, so from what our oldest daughter told us, it was a cold affair.  We're very excited to see the pictures, I bet they are gorgeous!

The reception was a lot of fun and included party favors and a toast for the New Year, and of course lots of dancing.  We left the reception at about 1:00 am and arrived back home at about 2:30.  

We had a very low key day on New Years day.  Early in the afternoon our youngest daughter wanted to try her hand at some photography, so she and I went on a trek to get some snow pictures.

Bunny tracks

It's been almost a month since it snowed, but the front yard still has quite a bit.

Although it was cold, the snow sparkled and shimmered as we walk along and shot our pictures.  It was great to get outside and enjoy a little fresh air while the sun was up to warm our faces.  We're looking forward to warmer days, but it was nice to enjoy the beauty of Colorado snow.