Falling into Winter

(Ava "Minnie Mouse")

               With Summer behind us, we started preparing for the Fall and all the festivities that it brought with it. In October we went to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo for "Boo at the Zoo" to trick or treat. This was Ava's first year to trick or treat, and we had a blast! She really took to it when she figured out that she got a treat just for asking for it. She got to do it all over again when we went to Manitou on Halloween night. Downtown Manitou is walking distance from our house, and every year, the people at all the shops sit outside and hand out candy to all the little ones. It is really fun. Ava enjoyed it. The only candy she will eat is Smarties, so mom and dad got to eat all the other candy for her. Ah, the perks of parenthood! 

                On November 16th, Kyle and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary. We made plans to go to dinner at a nice restaurant called Peppertree. About a week before the big day, Kyle somehow tore his ACL in his knee. He didn't know that at the time, he just woke up one morning with knee pain. After a couple of days, he saw a doctor. He was prescribed some meds, which made him loopy, so we decided to cancel dinner all together. I made dinner and we watched TV on our anniversary. It was a bit disappointing for both of us. Ten years is a big deal, but we'll make it up double next year. To top it off, we had to put a new alternator in the car, so the timing just couldn't have been more perfect. Sarcasm. It get's you through the day! 

We had a nice, quiet Thanksgiving at Cousin Debbie's house. Then we hit the shopping scene for Black Friday. The crowds here are so tame compared to Houston crowds. We were able to walk into a store, find things we needed, and quickly get out. It was great! All in all it was a good November.

(Debbie's Thanksgiving table)

                     In December we did the usual. Put up the tree and decorations, shopped, watched the same ole Christmas movies we do every year. Around mid month, we met up with friends Matt, Tami, and Auti at The North Pole. It's about a 10 minute drive from our house. It's a Christmas themed amusement park. They are open year round. Unfortunately we picked one of the worst weekends to go. It was soooo cold and windy that day. We braved it anyway. It was the only weekend we could go. Once we got in, we headed straight to "Santa's House". Kyle and I were trying to pump Ava up to sit on Santa's lap, but when it came time, Ava absolutely refused! She held onto Kyle and would not let go. Needless to say, we didn't get a Santa picture this year. Maybe next year. Poor Ava. We did have a good time though.

(Ava, Auti, Kyle, and Matt at North Pole)

                 The following weekend, Kyle's parents and sister Suzi came to town to spend Christmas with us. We were very excited to see family. Ava had such a good time with everybody. She loves visitors! On Christmas Eve we went downtown to see Santa ride in on the firetruck. Since we knew Ava was not going to sit on his lap, we just took some pictures and hung out a bit with the crowd. It was bitterly cold and it was snowing, so we headed back to the house and had dinner. Christmas morning, everybody came up to the house for gifts. All I have to say is our daughter is really loved! I thought the tree was going to explode with presents! It was also my first white Christmas! It made the morning so perfect.  We ended up at Debbie's for dinner that evening. Sadly it was the family's last night in town, so we stayed as late as we possibly could before having to take Ava home to put her to bed. It was not easy seeing Grandma cry when she had to let Ava go during our goodbye's. We had such a great time with them, and we cherish every moment that we have with our family. Skype is great, but it just isn't the same. 

(Take 5. At least)

(Downtown Manitou Springs. Suzi, photographer)

(View from our street. Our house on left of pic)

(Family picture)

(Barb, Suzi, Mike, Kyle, Ava, myself, and Cousin Debbie)

                      We have a lot to remember in 2012. Some good, some bad. We saw a job loss, a second birthday, a surprise visit from family, a wildfire and evacuation, a two thousand mile road trip, the meeting of new friends, a first trick or treating experience, a milestone wedding anniversary, lots of car repairs, and more family visits! I hope that 2013 will be as good as 2012. Maybe even better! We really do have a lot to be thankful for.