Well, I haven’t been doing much blogging during our time here in Colorado. We’ve been busy, we’ve relaxed, we laughed, we cried (well….mostly Lilly cried), we’ve been spoiled with amazing food, played in the snow, and saw a hair metal band. Yes, we really did! Andy’s parents took us out to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I might make Andy practice his electric guitar more so I can stand behind him with my creme brulee torch for our very own pyrotechnics show. As our time here draws to a close I thought the easiest way to share our Christmas break is with a few photos.

A couple of days after our arrival we got a foot and a half of snow.  While the world swirled white outside, Trinity and I hung out cozy in our jammies and made a gingerbread house together inside. 

After asking me to finish the piping so she could put on the decorations Trinity decided I needed some encouraging. “Mom, you’re just doing your best. You don’t have much skills at this but you’re okay.” Despite my obviously questionable piping skills we managed to complete the house with relative success. 🙂

Once the snow let up in late afternoon we decided it was time for snow angels and sledding. The original intent was for all four of us to head out to play together…but after opening her new snow pants early and declaring them “AWESO!!” Lilly decided they were not her favorite gift of the year. She apparently doesn’t like her mobility hampered by bulky clothing. Here she is saying “Auk! Auk!” which is her word for ‘Off!’:Trinity, however, loved her new snow pants and snow boots and happily headed out to play:Christmas Eve! Legos are fun…..but not as much fun as Lilly’s other favorite activities: Climbing on Daddy…having a dance party with Sissy…and well….Meanwhile Trinity hangs out with Aunt Kathy and Uncle Pete…while Grandma Biggz and Grandpa Jed are hard at work making Seafood Chowder and Beef Tenderloin.Not to be forgotten is Linda’s famous Yule Log:They later enjoyed some much deserved relaxation:Christmas morning was no small amount of chaos in direct proportion to the energy levels of the littlest Shaffer. However, after the madness Lilly got right back to her favorite past time:and Trinity lost no time in designing and modeling her first necklace from her new jewelry making kit:After which we had a little Team Shaffer Fearsome Four hike on Dawson Trail:Yes, that is a wardrobe change on Trin!Last but not least, we got to see Uncle Nathan!! We decided to check out the Denver Aquarium, which was a lot of fun! Lilly explains to Uncle Nathan all about the fish she sees. I believe here she is telling him the Latin names for the fish in this tank.

Trin and Nathan check out some seahorses:There was a bubble you could climb up into to stare at the fish face to face! So in we all climbed. Nathan took a picture through the aquarium tank:

Lilly wasn’t so sure about the tiger pacing the glass. She stayed a ‘safe’ couple of feet away! Then we climbed the bridge to see the other two tigers snuggling up above:Again with the Latin! Now she’s just showing off.After this we pet some sting rays and while we may have enjoyed a little bit more time to walk around, our timer went off:There’s nothing like a child who hasn’t had her regular nap to let you know your time somewhere has come to an end! This also wraps up our coverage of our time in Colorado! Tomorrow we head home…and get back to our regularly scheduled programming….which hopefully means a return of the two hour nap! 😉